Disclaimer – I do not own Transformers, and if I did, there would be more Optimus. :D And he wouldn't be dead... but I'm just gonna ignore the movie altogether. :D
Just a heads up, I'm no good at suspense.
The sparklings stared at the giant servo, huddling together as it descended.
Megatron froze when he heard a menacing snarl, turning in time to see Starscream launch himself in his direction. He moved out of the way, moving just in time to avoid the deadly claws that belonged to his second. He was about to snap at him to cease his actions, lest he order the Vehicons to open fire, but then stopped before he could utter a single syllable.
Starscream had moved in front of the sparklings, aiming his missiles at the leader of the Decepticons.
His optics were wide and feral, as if he wasn't looking at the mech in front of him. As soon as this happened, all the Vehicons pointed their weapons at the Seeker, which made him tense and aim his missiles at them next. The sparklings behind him started wailing, which caused him to flinch and let out a snarl once more. He gave a threatening glare to all those in the room, which actually caused some mechs to recoil.
Which was strange, since this was Starscream.
The warning look he gave them was enough to make them take a couple steps back.
The gladiator was older than most models, having been around since the Golden Age. Ever since they forced mechs to work what they were designed for. Fighting for the entertainment of the higher-ups. Having been around well before Vos fell. But even though... Megatron had no idea why Starscream was acting this way. Though he had a suspicion.
"Stand down, Starscream!" Megatron ordered, stepping forward.
The Seeker sent the mech a dark glare before pointing both weapons towards the warlord. The mech stopped and ground his denta together, optics flicking towards the sparklings for a moment before he took a step back. The Seeker remained tense.
In a room filled with mechs.
With weapons turned on.
He couldn't relax.
Starscream hissed when one of the Vehicons tried moving towards the sparklings.
Said sparklings crawled towards his feet and wrapped their tiny servos around his ankles, whimpering and looking around the room in fear. Coolant filled their optics and spilled over, holding onto the Seeker tightly.
The SIC tensed and quickly cooed and clicked at the sparklings, calming them slightly before he went back to pointing his weapons at the mechs surrounding him.
Star whimpered, holding onto K.O.'s servo as he looked around. His carrier wasn't happy.
"If you continue to present yourself as a danger to the sparklings, then I will rip out your sparks!" Starscream's threat hung in the air, making the tense air grow frigid. He glared at anyone that looked at the small frames around his feet.
Had his programming not activated, he would have most likely tried saving his own life. But since there were sparklings involved, then... he would throw away his own life away to save them. Since the warlord was just ten feet away from him. A dangerous mech. Gritting his denta he sent the former miner a dark glare, daring him to get close.
"What are you doing, Starscream?" Megatron had his own weapon pointed at the Seeker. It would be foolish to have it powered down while his SIC was obviously going crazy. Narrowing his optics, he glanced at the sparklings once again for a moment. "Put down your weapons."
"You put down yours first!" Starscream's growl wasn't as impressive as Megatron's, but it still made many Vehicons step back.
A moment later, Knock Out and Breakdown ran in and instantly skidded to a stop when they saw the situation and could feel the tension in the air. The medic flicked his optics downward, seeing his sparkling turn his helm and smile when he saw them. K.O. got down on all fours and tried crawling towards them before a foot appeared in front of him. He squeaked and looked up, seeing Starscream sending him a stern stare.
K.O. pressed his lip plates together, whimpering at the same time coolant filled his optics.
Knock Out hesitated before running forward, throwing caution to the wind. That was his sparkling, for Primus' sake! K.O. looked up and smiled brightly.
Starscream turned, optics wide and feral, looking at the medic for a moment before he went back to pointing his weapons at the warlord.
The medic bent down and grabbed his sparkling, blinking his optics when K.O. snuggled into his chest and whimpered. Standing up, he looked around and frowned. Maybe he should've thought it through before running into the fray. Since he was now in the middle of a... what did the humans call it, "Mexican standoff?"
"Commander, not that I don't love seeing you take command, but... perhaps you might want to put down your weapons before you get us killed?" Knock Out gave a nervous chuckle and glanced at the SIC.
Only to frown when he saw that Starscream was still keeping his attention on the biggest threat in the room.
Which happened to be Megatron.
"Scrap," Knock Out murmured with dismay, and quickly jumped and stared down at his sparkling. "D-Don't say that. That is a bad word!" He whispered hastily, inching towards the safest place(behind Starscream).
Besides, if they did shoot, they'd shoot Starscream first and then he'd run. And hopefully they wouldn't shoot after him.
"Starscream," Megatron kept his optics trained on the Seeker. He ignored the medic, since the issue at the moment was his SIC. "if you do not wish harm upon the sparklings, then set down your weapons."
Starscream bristled, which sounded like a threat to him, and stood firm.
Perhaps he should try and different tactic.
Taking another step back, he glanced at the Vehicons and silently ordered them to do the same. The Seeker relaxed only the slightest, optics flicking back and forth to stare at the soldiers. Breakdown glanced around, not even bringing out his weapons, and held his servos up and walked forward.
Starscream glanced at him and snarled, quickly relaxing when—through the fog that was in his head—he recognized that this mech had tried looking for the sparklings, as well.
"So, you two are working with him?" Megatron sent the medic and the assistant a glare, seeing the two tense and shake their heads.
"N-No, Lord Megatron, this is—"
"Quiet! I won't hear anymore of your excuses!" Megatron glanced at the Vehicons. "Restrain them, but don't cause any harm to the sparklings!"
The Vehicons tensed to get ready, since Starscream was going to go crazy when they got close, and were about to jump when the doors slid open. Everyone turned.
Megatron relaxed when he saw Soundwave walk into the room.
So did Starscream.
Knock Out vented loudly and held the sparkling closer.
Soundwave walked across the room, all the soldiers lowering their weapons when he walked past them without seeming to acknowledge the situation. Which was strange, some of the Vehicons thought, since the "traitors" were right there!
"Soundwave." Megatron said in his deep, gravelly voice.
The TIC seemed to ignore him and walked until he was in front of Starscream, turning to face the warlord. He stood tall, servos by his sides, as he faced the mech. Megatron tensed in surprise, widening his optics just the slightest before his face twisted in rage. Soundwave didn't move a cable, and refused to move. The Seeker widened his optics before looked at the silver mech.
Soundwave had almost beat Megatron in the pits, which was only known by Decepticon officers. If he was standing up to him... then he must care about the sparklings more than he shows. This new information caused the Seeker to relax a little more.
"What is the meaning of this?" Megatron gritted his denta, pausing when he started receiving information and data.
Soundwave was using his "telepathy."
Several moments of silence, everyone tense, before Megatron powered down his fusion canon and stood straight. He glanced at the Vehicons and ordered them to put down their weapons, which they did after sending one another looks of confusion. The warlord looked at the mechs crowded together and narrowed his optics.
Starscream relaxed—completely relaxed—and turned to kneel down. Star held up his arms, clicking and cooing when his carrier picked him up and nuzzled his helm. Star whimpered and nuzzled back, coolant still leaking down his cheek plates.
Sound crawled towards the communications officer, grabbing his ankle and using him to stand up. Data collectors reached down and wrapped around him, lifting him up until Soundwave held him in his servos, looking down to see the tiny screen light up with a smiley face on it. Hugging the sparkling close, the TIC looked up, seeing Megatron sending them a firm stare.
"I would like an explanation for this," Megatron said, folding his arms behind his back and giving a frown. "Two breems. In the meeting room." Sending them one last look he turned and walked down the bridge to head for the destination.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Knock Out let out a whimpering groan and almost fell, if Breakdown hadn't been there to catch him in time. The fog in Starscream's head cleared, looking up and observing the command room. All the Vehicons were slow in going back to work, still staring at the four mechs and three sparklings.
"You always know when to arrive, sir," Knock Out sent the mech a dry stare. "But maybe, next time, you can arrive a few kliks earlier?"
Soundwave turned and gave a nod, which made the medic raise his optic ridges in surprise.
"The sparklings..." Starscream frowned and stood straight. "They're hungry. We need to feed them before we go go the meeting room."
Turning, he started for the door before he stumbled. A Vehicon nearby reached out and grabbed him, quickly stepping back and holding his servos out. The SIC vented slowly before heading for the door. He had his weapons aimed at Megatron... and was still living. Not only that, but it seemed his master did not want to hurt the sparklings. Narrowing his optics, the Seeker frown and kept walking.
Perhaps the mech that wanted equality was still in there...
"You did not think to consult with me first about this weapon?" Megatron narrowed his optics and glared at the medic.
All the officers were seated around the large table, which was able to fit ten or more mechs. After all, Megatron had much more officers at the beginning of the war. But as the battle went on his officers fell one by one. He had remembered a mech, an Autobot, that was an honourable warrior, a mech that went by the name Ironhide. He had fought most of his officers, and he had only engaged in one fight with the mech. A warrior to the core. Last he heard, that mech was last seen with the twin terrors known as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.
Mechs that even Starscream wouldn't dream of taking on again.
After all, they always jumped on the Seekers with the help of their jet-packs.
"Sir, I'm still working on it," Knock Out frowned and sent his sparkling a stern stare when he started getting greedy for more energon. "No more." He looked back up, seeing Megatron sending him a dry stare. "Uh... As I was saying, it's still in the experimental stages, when I shot... the three of us..." He cleared his throat. "it was the first shot that was fired from the weapon. I was not expecting this... to happen."
He held up the red sparkling as an example, large optics blinking before he began wiggling and smiling brightly.
K.O. cooed, even when he was brought back to Knock Out's arm, reaching out to try and touch the medic's face.
"You were testing the weapon?" Megatron leaned forward, interlacing his digits and giving a small frown. "So am I right to guess that you have no idea how to reverse this... effect?" He watched as Soundwave's sparkling waddled across the table before data collectors plucked him up to move him off the table.
"We had been trying to work out theories when... the sparklings got away from us," Starscream frowned and glared ahead. "Through the... air ducts."
Megatron frowned. "I would have expected you to report this to me as soon as it happened."
"Lord Megatron—worried that you—would not react well—to the news." Chopped up audio left Soundwave, which made his sparkling look up at him in wonder.
"I may be a monster to most mechs, Soundwave, but I would never harm a sparkling," Megatron sent the mech a firm stare, leaning back in his seat and glancing at said sparklings. "Even if they were brought into this world by... weapons." He directed a stare at the medic.
Knock Out lowered his helm and chuckled nervously.
"I expect the three of you to work out how you will handle the sparklings, where they will recharge, who will watch them while you work around dangerous weapons," Another stare directed at the medic. 'Stop staring at me!' Knock Out thought as he lowered his helm some more and looked away. "but you will direct most of your attention on this matter, Starscream. And you, as well, Knock Out."
The two mechs straightened in their seats and nodded.
"Soundwave, you will continue to work as you normally do. We can't have our communications officer working elsewhere," Soundwave nodded. Megatron's optics lost focus and he got lost in thought. "As for the sparklings themselves... Breakdown, you will watch them, along with other Vehicons when Starscream and Knock Out are working."
Breakdown blinked his optics and stared at the sparklings, all three wiggling to get free from the mechs holding them.
"Uh... Yes sir." Breakdown nodded, trying not to show how nervous he was at the thought of caring for sparklings. What if he accidentally crushed them? The thought made him widen his optics and gulp.
"We would have a better chance of figuring this out if Shockwave was still alive," Megatron mused, narrowing his optics and glanced at his SIC to see him nodding in agreement. "but seeing as he's not, I will need my second best to work on this issue."
As much as Starscream hated that one-optic'd mech, he couldn't deny that he was brilliant in his field. But that 'second best' comment still made him bristle and nod with a glower.
Star, now full and tired, stared at the warlord with tired optics.
He cooed and started kneading Starscream's plating as he slowly dozed off, making the mech glance down and gave a small smile when he saw the sparkling had slipped into recharge. Though the smile was quickly wiped off when he remembered where he was.
"We don't need sparklings in the middle of a war," Megatron said, the look on his face plates grave as he thought how the situation would go over. "Though I have no trouble believing that Optimus would never harm a sparkling, it would be best that we lay low until this matter is resolved."
To Starscream, since his programming was now active, this was reassuring news.
"Sparklings—safe on—a warship?" Soundwave tilted his helm just the slightest.
"Should any mech try to harm the sparklings..." Megatron narrowed his optics as his face plates grew darker. "they will be scrap metal."
The officers nodded in understanding.
"Seeing as the day is growing to a close, I expect you all to return to your quarters and put the sparkling to rest," Knock Out slowly turned his helm until he was staring at Breakdown, waiting until he got his attention. He then raised his optic ridges in shock. Breakdown slowly nodded in agreeing, at the fact that Megatron seemed to be thinking of the sparklings' well-being. "Now, I expect you to be well rested to get to work." He sent the SIC and medic a pointed stare.
"Of course, my liege." Starscream nodded, with Knock Out repeating after him.
"Dismissed." Megatron rose to his feet and sent them one last look before he started for the door.
"So..." Knock Out glanced at the mechs around the table. "...Who wants to keep my sparkling at nights?"
"Stop wiggling." Knock Out scowled, looking up to see Breakdown dragging a box into the room, already having sheets and pillowing inside for the sparkling.
The things that humans used—plush pillows and all that—didn't really make a difference for them, if they were lying on a hard or soft surface did not matter. But Knock Out couldn't deny that they felt heavenly—he had some sheets on his berth. Nice and plush. So, it only made sense that his sparkling should have the same luxury. Breakdown pushed the makeshift crib until it was next to Knock Out's berth, rolling his shoulders and glancing at the yawning sparkling.
"You going to be alright without me to back you up?" Breakdown smirked, seeing the red mech roll his optics.
"I'm positive I can handle a sparkling." He walked over to the crib and—carefully—put him down against the pillowing.
K.O. curled up, optics closed and venting softly.
"See? I'm halfway to being the universes' greatest sire." Knock Out smirked and placed his servos on his hip plates.
"...Don't you mean carrier?" Breakdown grinned when the red mech glowered at him.
"...Goodnight, Breakdown," Knock Out waved a servo towards the door. "I'll be sure to call you extra early to pick up my sparkling."
"You can still drop him off before working," Breakdown rolled his optics and walked towards the door. "Recharge well, doc."
Knock Out waved, watching as the door slid shut behind his assistant. He then shut off the lighting and settled on his berth, only now realizing how exhausted he was. Sighing lightly, he stretched and relaxed on the berth, closing his optics and starting to go into recharge.
"Ah!"
Or he would have, if sparklings recharged like they are supposed to.
Pulling himself to the edge, he looked down into the crib to see K.O. waving his arms and squealing when he saw Knock Out's head poke over the side of the berth.
"What is it?" Knock Out frowned and glared down at the sparkling.
K.O. rolled over and used the side of the crib to pull himself up and held his arms up. Knock out continued to frown in confusion before his optics widened his understanding. Was he expecting to sleep in his berth? Scowling and sighing, he ran a servo down his face. He was exhausted. He wanted to recharge. And what if he fell over the edge? Glancing at his berth he hummed lightly. He supposed the little guy could recharge in the corner, so he didn't fall off.
Sighing loudly he closed his optics for a moment before reaching over the edge and grabbing the red sparkling. K.O. gasped before he began babbling happily. Laying him on his back gently on the berth he made sure he wouldn't crawl over the edge and fall off. Then he finally settled down and closed his optics to recharge.
Except K.O.(oh great, now he was calling him that, too!) was still babbling.
Scowling, Knock Out opened his optics and turned his helm to see Knock Out reaching towards the ceiling and clapping his tiny servos together.
Reaching over, he was about to put his arms down, he opened his mouth to tell him to sleep. Except as soon as he reached over K.O. had grabbed his servos and babbled, turning to smile at the medic happily.
The medic hummed lightly and wiggled his digits, frowning when K.O. grabbed one and held it close to his tiny chest.
K.O. hummed quickly in contentment, wiggling into the pillows and closing his optics with a smile on his face plates.
Knock Out watched for a moment before a small smile crossed his face before he tensed and shook his helm lightly. What is he thinking? He can't get attached! As soon as he reversed... whatever this was he was going to be gone! Gently removing his servo and looked at the ceiling and closed his optics.
And ignored that sad feeling in his chest.
Starscream clicked and cooed at the sleeping sparkling, trying to drown out the noise of the Vehicons carrying one of the makeshift cribs Knock Out was using. The soldiers couldn't help but feel... uncomfortable. Starscream was smiling. Smiling. And not that creepy smile that said 'I'm gonna take over the Decepticons' but a real, genuine smile. He held the sparkling in his arms, gazing down at him with one of the most softest smiles they ever saw grace his features.
"I'm scared." Greg murmured, pushing the crib with a small grunt.
"At least he isn't hitting us." Mikey spoke up, all pushing the crib until it was at the side of the berth.
If they thought they were being quiet, they were sadly mistaken. He turned and sent them a glare before he went back to staring at the sparkling in his arms. A sparkling... The last time he had seen one was when he had been with Thundercracker and Skywarp. Before this war began.
"We are done, Commander Starscream." One of the Vehicons bowed his helm.
Starscream gave them a dry stare. They could have left after they put the "crib" in the room. If they wanted to see the sparkling they could see him tomorrow. Not today. Rolling his optics he dismissed them, noting the slumped shoulders as they all turned to exit the room. He turned his attention back to the sparkling, a smile once again gracing his features. He walked towards the crib and gently laid the tiny Seeker inside.
He didn't go to his berth, instead he knelt down and peered down at the sleeping sparkling.
He reached down and brushed his digits against the tiny mech's cheek plating, the look on his face growing softer. He crooned softly, watching as the sparkling smiled and stretched before relaxing. Standing up, he quickly turned away and frowned. This was trouble. When was the last time his programming had kicked in?
"Sparklings..." Starscream scoffed and rolled his optics.
He had let all the drones see him like this, Pit, he had let Megatron see him in his protective mode! He was ready to give his life! Why? Why did Knock Out's weapon have to do something this... idiotic! Sighing, he reached up and rubbed at his optics, lightly shaking his helm. It would be better if Skywarp and Thundercracker were here. But no, they weren't. That was that.
He could try and hail them, but no... he can handle this on his own. Besides, he didn't want Skywarp rubbing in the fact that sparklings preferred his playful brother than him. He was strict, he had rules, and, as far as he knew, sparklings hated rules. Thundercracker was stern, as well, but he knew when to give up. Especially when a sparklings' optics would grow wide and give that innocent look that made most mechs—Ah! Now he was thinking about it!
Now he had a job. And despite how much his programming wanted to fight the fact that a ground-pounder—someone that didn't know how to care for sparklings—was going to watch the sparklings... he had to let him do it. He had to help Knock Out figure out a way to fix this. How was the only question.
The weapon's function was supposed to split a spark. Not... this, he thought as he turned to stare at the crib. So how this happened is what he was trying to figure out. He would need to see what resources Knock Out used. He needed to see everything. The weapon was still in tact, thankfully, so he would need to look at it. When it was powered down. Who knows what a second shot would do. It would probably kill the mech a second time.
Shaking his helm once more, he turned towards his berth—and shut off the lighting at the same time—and practically collapsed onto the berth. Almost throwing away one's life tends to make a mech exhausted. He was grateful that Soundwave made it there before he did something foolish. Though he already did do something foolish.
He had pointed his weapons at Megatron.
And lived.
Yes, he was definitely grateful to Soundwave.
Not that he would ever tell him that.
"Soundwave," Megatron frowned, turning to address his TIC and stared briefly at the sparkling in his servos. "What is it?"
The silent mech stood before him, tilting his helm up until his visor looked at the warlord. Megatron narrowed his optics and frowned, turning around and huffing while folding his arms behind his back and interlocking his hands. The TIC stayed silent, waiting and being patient. Being as loyal as he was he had to find Lord Megatron. The large mech looked back and him and gave a nod.
"It is understandable, Soundwave," Megatron watched the silent mech, seeing him staring at him calmly. "Had I been in your position I would have done the same." He huffed in amusement. "Then again, I would have tried dodging the pulse before it hit."
Soundwave didn't react—outwardly. Of course he would have tried to avoid the attack, but he had turned to see what had Knock Out and Starscream screaming. He just didn't realize until he was hit and now had a sparkling. Looking down, he stared at said sparkling, who peered around the deck with curiosity. Pausing for a moment he set down his other half, seeing him steady himself before he started waddling forward.
Megatron watched, seeing the sparkling continue to waddle until he tripped.
Though Soundwave's reaction... was interesting.
As soon as the sparkling hit the floor his communications officer quickly got to the young one and picked him up, checking him over for injuries. The only reason for the reaction, that Megatron could think of, was that Soundwave simply missed being a caretaker. He had had other creations other than Laserbeak, and unfortunately, while on a mission, they had all perished. On that day Soundwave was working, as he normally did, and just froze. He had started shaking before he turned and stiffly left the bridge.
He had received news several joors later that Frenzy, Rumble, Ravage, and Buzzsaw did not make it.
They had died all at once and it had obviously caused some grief to his communications officer. Seeing as he was loyal and always working, Megatron had given him several orns to himself. Of course, the next day Soundwave was at his station, working.
Were it not for the war, Megatron would let him keep the sparkling and have other creations.
Sound crawled around the area, looking up at everything and trying to touch anything that was in reach.
"Lord Megatron—what will happen—if—Optimus Prime—were to find out?" Soundwave stared at the warlord.
"He will not," Megatron rolled his optics and looked to the side. "Unless they pull another stunt and get on board, though I see no reason why they would attempt to do so. We will, as I have said previously, keep low until we find a way to resolve this. I am sure Knock Out is already tired of... this." He glanced down when the sparkling touched his pede, the tiny mech looking around in wonder before he pushed off and started waddling away.
Soundwave nodded. "Starscream..."
Megatron smirked, arms still behind his back. "I have been around a long time, Soundwave. After I had gained enough support I learned plenty about Seekers, and their interesting... programming," The smirked widened before he frowned. "This will keep Starscream busy enough."
"Are you—positive?"
"You'd be surprised, Soundwave, just how effective this programming is. It works on any Seeker, no matter how they view the world, and they would kill to protect a sparkling or a youngling. Starscream's only priority is focused on the sparklings. No doubt, however, he will be wary of us." Megatron watched as the sparkling was picked up, a smiley face popping onto the visor when he caught sight of the TIC.
Soundwave tilted his helm in question.
"Besides you, we all do not have experience when it comes to sparklings. This is my sixth time seeing sparklings, and only then it was in passing," Megatron peered down at the tiny mech. He saw them, when he tried to rise up against the senate and then found out they would do nothing. Some mechs would walk by with a sparkling. He was always curious of them. "Starscream would not trust anyone other than Knock Out to make their formula."
The silent mech looked up.
"Besides you," Megatron frowned and narrowed his optics. "The three of you carriers," He ignored his communications officer when he tensed briefly and registered retrained elation in his field. No doubt Soundwave missed being a carrier. "will need to stay on the ship at all times, and Starscream would not let you leave had he had his way. At the moment it seems he trusts you, Knock Out, and Breakdown if he is willing to let him watch the sparklings."
Soundwave had tensed once again. He trusted the gladiator with all his life, but the thought of Starscream even trusting him... It was laughable at best. Of all the years they've worked together, Starscream never had an ounce of trust in him or anyone, really. Other than his trine. And he made that clear from the start. Even the thought of Skywarp caused him to feel a tiny bit of irritation. Though he was curious as to how he was with sparklings. Was he like Starscream?
"Hopefully he stays like this until we resolve this," Megatron murmured as he looked in the distance. He would hate it if Starscream went back to scheming behind his back. Then again, it wouldn't be Starscream if he didn't scheme behind his back. "You're dismissed for the rest of the day, Soundwave. Make sure the... sparkling gets his rest."
Soundwave gave a nod and turned, heading for the exit and put the fussing sparkling to rest. After a long day he had to be exhausted.
He was exhausted, anyway.
We all know Shockwave isn't dead. XD
I'm sorry this came so late. I had writer's block like you wouldn't believe, but I did it. :D
Some of you are most likely wondering why Megatron is acting so... diplomatic. I actually like the thought of Megatron still thinking he'd doing everything for the good of all Cybertronians... just forget his attitude. XD And still thinking that without the senate, and if Optimus just backed down, he would try to lead a new life. He just went about it the worst way imaginable.
Besides, I like the thought of a diplomatic Megatron. :3