Thank you Amkano for your review! It is much appreciated!

Anyway, this chapter is kind of dark-ish near the end and there is more character death. Just so you all know, I will alternate between calling Luna's given designation (Silverwing) and her nickname (Luna) though I mostly use Luna.

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers and never will. I do claim Wingbolt, his trine, Wavecrasher and his mate Drizzle.

Tell me what you think of this chapter! R&R thank you!


Another decacycle passed before Luna got over her initial jealousy of Aqua Blade and actually started to get to know her. The younger femme was quite shy around other bots and usually hid behind someone's leg when a new, unfamiliar bot approached her. Luna had, on more than one occasion, dragged little Aqua out from behind her Carrier and shown her to the other Autobots, even as she clicked and chirruped frantically, frightened. Boomer made it his job to introduce her to everyone on the base though it hadn't gone over very well. The moment she met Ironhide for the first time, Aqua had screeched and taken off, hiding in one of the storage rooms. It had taken them hours to find her and when they did, they found her fast asleep, exhausted from running.

"It's our turn to sparkling sit!" The twins grinned at Ratchet. The CMO tried hard not to twitch when they said this and merely watched them as they interacted with the sparklings. The little ones had picked up a few undesirable things from the two and more often than not, they ended up in the med bay because they got injured. The sparklings had also begun to talk, growing out of the clicking and chirping. When they were angry or upset though, they reverted right back to it. Shadowblaze had chased Ratchet and the twins down when Luna said 'slag' for the first time. Needless to say, they were all careful of what words they said around the sparklings now.

"Don't corrupt them too much," Ratchet muttered. The twins only smirked and continued playing with the sparklings. The medic grumbled and went over a few datapads, trying to block out any annoying noise from the twins and sparklings.

"Ratchet," The CMO looked down when he heard the tiny femme voice. Luna was standing by his foot, looking up at him with large reddish optics and she was holding a small datapad.

"What is it?" He grumbled.

"Read," She demanded, holding the datapad out to him. Ratchet was completely perplexed by this. Couldn't the twins read it to her?

"Have Sunstreaker and Sideswipe read to you," He grunted.

"Read," She persisted. Ratchet looked at the twins who were occupying themselves with teaching Aqua and Boomer how to get into his... wait..

"If you two glitchheaded afts don't get away from my energon stash, I am going to reformat you into mini-bots and then reformat that into a toaster." He growled at the twins. Both jumped and smiled sheepishly before taking the two sparklings and dashing out, leaving Ratchet with Luna.

"Read now?" She asked him this time, clutching the datapad close to her chest. Ratchet gave a sigh and picked the sparkling up, settling her in his lap before he took the datapad from her. He found it was an old Cybertronian nursery story, though where she'd found it was beyond him. The CMO just smiled softly and began to read the story to the little femme who sat curled up, listening intently. By the time Ratchet finished, Luna was in a deep recharge. Chuckling softly, he set the datapad aside, lifted her up and put her on one of the berths. She whimpered from the loss of contact but immediately got over it as she curled up.

"Have you seen Boomer and Aqua?" Stormchaser asked as he entered the med bay.

"Last I saw them they were with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe," Ratchet responded. Stormchaser merely nodded before he moved towards the berth that Luna was resting on and reached out a servo, stroking her cheek softly. "She's a bit demanding, forced me to read to her until she fell into recharge."

"She reminds me a lot of Wingbolt when I met him back in Vos," Stormchaser chuckled, smiling when Luna tried to cling to his finger. Shifting, the blue mech got onto the berth and cradled the sparkling in his arms. "He was rash, pushy, stubborn, adventurous," He smiled as he remembered the day he'd met his trine leader. "She looks up to you, Ratchet."

"No, she looks up to Optimus," Ratchet shook his head.

"She looks up to you both," Stormchaser insisted.

"I can tell that Luna will be the trine leader," The medic told him offhandedly.

"Yeah, she will be," The other mech smirked. "Just like her Sire with her Carrier's attitude."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Ratchet asked with a serious face.

"Depends on how you chose to look at it," He shrugged, stroking Luna's arm softly as she slept. "She'll make a wonderful trine leader."

"Give them a few more years and I'm sure they will be perfect together," Ratchet nodded. "Boomer and Aqua already get along well enough."

"Yeah," Stormchaser nodded. "Do you know why she looks up to you and Prime? Because she knows that you both are excellent leaders in your own right and she wants to learn to be a great leader from you both."

"All she's going to learn from me is how to scare someone off with a wrench," He snorted. "She'll learn more from Optimus than she will from me."

"If you say so," Ratchet frowned a bit. Stormchaser gently set Luna back down on the berth before he stood, wings flickering a bit. "Whiplash will be by later to retrieve the sparklings," He told the CMO before leaving. Ratchet only grunted before he went back to work, checking on Luna from time to time to make sure she was still there and still in recharge.

-X-X-X-

A vorn passed and before everyone's eyes, the Seeklets began to grow up. They were upgraded with new armor for their larger chassis and were beginning to train at their Creators request. They were also beginning to learn how to fly with and without their alt modes. It was a tricky task but they were catching on though their first attempt had been quite disastrous. Boomer had lost control and crashed into Aqua who nearly tumbled into Luna. The black and silver femme had panicked and accidentally ignited her thrusters. She'd then crashed head first into a wall. She'd been extremely upset, clicking and crying as Shadow cradled her. Ratchet had deemed her to be just fine after that but she'd certainly learned a lesson that day. Along with the new armor, the Seeklets had all requested to be fitted with a visor that would be retractable. It would serve as a scanning device, tracking and whatever else they chose to use it for.

"Can we please go on patrol?" Boomer whined as the three younglings followed the adult Seekers. "Prowl doesn't let us do anything!"

"It couldn't hurt," Whiplash murmured as he looked at the three Seeklets. "It's just recon, not like it's anything dangerous. And we'll be in familiar territory, right over the camp."

"I suppose we could bring them," Wingbolt sighed. Their optics brightened when Wingbolt said this and they had expectant smiles on their faceplates. "Alright but you have to stay close," The Seeklets gave a small cheer and followed the adults. Ironhide saw them and raised an optic ridge but he said nothing as he continued on his way. The Seekers all transformed into their alt modes and headed towards the border. The Seeklets had a bit of a rough time controlling themselves but with the help of the adults, they caught on quickly. "Boomer, Luna, do you remember this place we are going to?"

"A little bit," Boomer called back, flying beside his Sire. Boomer had recently added another reason to the list of why he was called such. In his alt mode, he could create a larger than normal sonic boom at will, which could disturb the air flow and send anyone within range off course.

"All I remember is Wavecrasher..." Luna responded sadly.

"Aqua Blade, where did you grow up?" Shadow asked the young femme.

"Somewhere near Praxus," She told the femme that acted as her Carrier. "When the Decepticons invaded, I was taken away and brought to Iacon." She'd learned from Optimus not long ago about how she had come to be in Iacon and for a while, she had been distraught and upset. Wingbolt suddenly signaled for everyone to land, which the Seeklets yet again had trouble with. They weren't the most graceful things in the air or on land yet. They weren't anywhere near the camp but immediately, they knew something was horribly wrong.

"Stay close together," Wingbolt ordered. Slowly, they approached the camp but what they saw had them gasping in outrage.

The camp was in ruins, smoke still billowing from the destroyed buildings, some falling over. Fire raged in some parts, destroying what had not been decimated in the initial attack. Wingbolt raised a servo to his helm and contacted the Autobots. It had only been a few orns since they'd chosen to ally themselves with the Autobot faction and they had yet to regret the decision.

"Wingbolt to base. We have a situation."

::Red Alert here. What seems to be the problem?::

"We just arrived at the refugee camp and it seems to have been attacked. I am not sure if anyone is alive or if there are others waiting to attack us but I think it would be best to ask for back up."

::Roger that. I'll inform Optimus and you should have a team coming to assist you shortly.::

"Thanks, Red," He let his servo fall to his side. "I want you three to stay as close as possible. If we run into trouble, you need to run."

"Yes, sir," They all grumbled. Cautiously, the group entered the decimated camp and began searching for survivors. The Seeklets all had their visors in place over their optics to help in the search but the more they did so, the less hope they had. Energon was spilled everywhere and mangled corpses littered the ground at their pede's.

"I found someone," Boomer gasped. "Three klicks straight ahead!" Hurrying, the Seekers rushed to where Boomer had indicated and sure enough, they found a barely online mech. Wingbolt knelt and helped him to sit up, grimacing at how bad his wounds were.

"What happened here?" He asked softly. The mech looked at him, shuttering his optics and gritting his denta.

"Decepticons..." He wheezed out. "No warning... you must... run..." His chassis gave a violent shudder and Wingbolt bowed his head as the mech faded. He laid the body down and stood, looking towards his trine with flaring optics.

"We've got to go," Shadow whispered. Whiplash's helm jerked up and he lunged, covering the Seeklets just as a plasma blast hit where he had just been. The Seekers sprang into action, defending their sparklings against the unit of Decepticons that suddenly materialized. Whiplash ushered the Seeklets up and started running with them, firing back whenever he needed to.

"Slaggit! We're surrounded!" He cursed, backing up slightly. The younglings began chirruping in distress, optics wide beneath their visors. Luna shrieked when she was suddenly grabbed up, the two others following.

"Well, if it isn't the Seekers who got away?" A low voice growled. The mech who had killed Wavecrasher appeared, a sneer on his faceplates.

"Hello again, Breakdown," Wingbolt snarled. They'd recently acquired all the names of the current Decepticon army and Breakdown was the one they had something against.

"Pretty little younglings you've got," Breakdown looked at the Seeklets who were fighting with everything they had. "What happened to the other little mech? Died did he?"

"Shut up!" Shadowblaze snarled at him, optics flaring dangerously. Before Breakdown could say another word, they heard a pained yell and looked to see Luna biting the hand of the Decepticon that was holding her. She was dropped and before long, she was making a run for it. Another Decepticon fired at her, causing the adult Seekers to cry out in rage and fear. That same Decepticon hurried to retrieve the little femme who was dazed and slightly damaged. Aqua managed to get free along with Boomer but they suffered the same fate as Luna.

"You leave them out of this!" Stormchaser roared angrily.

"Lord Megatron would be pleased if I brought those back to him," Breakdown mused. "I'm not so certain he would be so pleased with you though," He frowned at the adult trine.

"Take us but leave our children," Wingbolt growled. "They are young still, they don't need to be drawn into this war."

"You dragged them into it by giving birth to them!" Breakdown barked back at him. "They've been apart of this war since the day they were sparked!" Wingbolt fell silent, knowing that what he said was true. However, he would never regret having Luna with Shadow, the little femme was his life and he would be damned if he let the Decepticons take her away from him. He heard a message from Bumblebee, stating that back up would be there shortly and looked at his trine who all nodded, a grim expression on each of their faceplates.

"Let the children go," Shadow bit out.

Breakdown only smirked. The trine all got into a stance that Breakdown knew meant they were preparing to fight and grinned even wider. "Join the Decepticons and I will free the children. Refuse and we will kill you, taking the sparklings with us to join the Decepticon ranks."

"Never!" Wingbolt bit out. The four Seekers struck out quickly, taking on any Decepticon that got in their way. They heard the pained shrieks of their children and paused for only a moment.

A foolish mistake.

A Decepticon grabbed Whiplash and wrestled him to the ground, trying to immobilize him. The children shrieked in rage, calling out to their Creators as they fought against the Decepticons that held them. Stormchaser rammed into the 'Con that was harming his mate and angrily shoved his hand through his chest plates. He withdrew sharply and went for another 'Con, only to be overpowered by several others.

"Stormy!" Whiplash tried desperately to help him but there were just too many Decepticons. Shadowblaze and Wingbolt weren't fairing any better as they fought back to back, energon leaking from the many wounds that now littered their chassis. Boomer watched with frightened optics as his Creators were overpowered and forced to the ground.

"Don't you touch him!" Stormchaser snarled when he saw the con reaching for Whiplash's chest. The 'Con smirked and rammed his servo into the purple mech's chest. Whiplash's optics widened and he let out a scream as the Decepticon withdrew his servo, energon dripping from the tips of his fingers. Stormchaser howled with rage as his bonded left him and fought to get free, killing off a few of his attackers in the process. Boomer watched as his Sire attacked blindly and he desperately shrieked for him to look behind him. It was too late however. As soon as the dark mech turned, a plasma blast ripped through him, disintegrating his spark. Boomer let out a howl as he cried and sobbed, struggling strongly. Aqua was crying as well and she'd offlined her optics so she didn't have to watch anymore.

"Mama! Sire!" Luna screamed when she saw they were losing the fight. Her Carrier was the third one to fall. A Decepticon grabbed hold of her as another ripped her wings off and then proceeded to stab her with a blade in a vital line. Wingbolt fought on though, even as warnings flashed in his CPU, warning him of imminent offlining. He ignored it though as he went after Breakdown. The 'Con gave him a bored look as he dodged each of his increasingly weak strikes.

"Give up now," Breakdown rumbled. "Your spark casing is heavily damaged, the more you fight, the faster you'll offline for good."

"If it means protecting those I love then I do not care!" Wingbolt hissed. Breakdown grunted and swung at the stubborn mech, sending him to the ground. Wingbolt gasped and gritted his denta as he fought to get up. More warnings flashed in his CPU, his systems shutting down and locking up. Breakdown, looked at the sorry excuse of a mech and aimed a gun at his chest.

"I'll put you out of your misery," With a whine of his guns, he blasted Wingbolt, destroying his spark. Luna screeched in horror when this happened and went limp in the Decepticons arms, her systems in shock. Just before he offlined for good, Wingbolt heard a shout and heard gun fire, signaling the arrival of his back up. Breakdown cursed and ordered a hasty retreat once he noticed, ordering the sparklings to be released as well.

"Wingbolt?" Optimus crouched by the Seeker and cursed when he saw he was too late. "Rest in peace, old friend, and may Primus guide you into the Well of Sparks." Optimus stood slowly, surveying the damage and inwardly winced. He looked to where the others were with the younglings and felt his chest tighten. The physical injuries could be easily repaired but the mental damage... he could not begin to imagine how they were feeling, they'd been forced to watch as their Creators were killed before their very optics. It was a quiet drive back to Iacon and the mood within the base was just as depressing when they arrived. The younglings refused to make any contact with the other bots and stayed huddled together in the quarters that had belonged to their Creators.

"I was able to repair the physical damage but after that, they just took off," Ratchet sighed softly. "What were they thinking taking the younglings with them?"

"They believed it to be safe, Ratchet," Optimus muttered. "It was only supposed to be a simple recon."

"Slag it all to the Pit!" He swore softly. "Do you know how damaging this kind of thing is on a youngling their age?" Optimus nodded, he'd seen it before but it was something he would never get used to.

"We will figure this out, Ratchet," The Prime said. "They can't exactly stay locked up in there forever," He walked away once this was said, needing to get his processor off of it all. He thought back to only an orn ago, when Wingbolt had confronted him in one of the halls.

-Flashback-

"Optimus, can you spare a nano-klick?" Wingbolt placed a servo on the larger mech's shoulder. Optimus looked at the Seeker, noting the worry etched into his faceplates.

"Of course," He nodded. "What is it that's bothering you?"

"My trine and I have talked about this for some time now and I decided it would be best if I spoke to you directly," He began, pulling his hand back. "If anything should happen to any of us, we want to know if you would be willing to raise the sparklings."

"Wingbolt, you speak as though you have seen the future," He commented.

"Optimus, please," He frowned. "If my trine and I should fall, I need your word that you will care for and raise the children." Optimus gazed at him steadily, mulling over what he'd been told. "Please, we don't ask for much but this is something we all feel would put us at ease."

"As your leader, your Prime and most importantly, your friend, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the sparklings will be well taken care of should you pass into the Well of Sparks." Optimus smiled gently when he saw the Seeker physically relax. "We will raise them as we would our own."

"Thank you, Optimus," Wingbolt smiled. "Luna looks up to you, Prime, she really does. If you can... could you possibly take over as her Sire, should I part from this world?"

"I could think of no greater honor," The great mech chuckled. "That little femme is always running into my office and watching me work. Wingbolt, you have nothing to fear, the sparklings will be in great hands should the time ever come."

-End Flashback-

Optimus sighed softly as he sat at his desk, having walked there while lost in his thoughts. He heard a tiny knock on the door and looked up before it opened and a tiny form inched inside.

"Luna?" He murmured, standing slowly. The little femme looked exhausted and miserable, her face stained from crying so much. She chirruped and clicked gently, reaching up to him when he made his way to her. Optimus obediently scooped her up and cradled her against his chest as he sat down again. She sniffled and clung to him, not planning on letting go any time soon. Not that he had a problem with that. "It's okay, I'm here now," He whispered awkwardly. "You're safe," He held her a fraction closer when she nuzzled against his chest. "I'll always protect you," He watched with a light smile as the exhausted sparkling dropped off into recharge. Optimus placed a chaste kiss on her forehelm and cradled her as she slept, disregarding all his work so he could focus on Luna for the time being.