Chapter 9:

By Transformersnewfan

It had been a full month since Skywarp's ultrasound, and he was still having difficulties believing this was all real. He had been replaying his souvenir tape every night for weeks, trying to process everything.

Part of his CPU couldn't comprehend the idea that he was going to be a Creator; another part of him was terrified he wasn't ready yet.

So, at night, he would read Soundwave's datapads on pregnancy and sparklings. Some things were hard for him to understand, so he read them twice. Sometimes he would fall asleep at the desk with all the datapads open and wake up back in his berth. Apparently, Thundercracker would put him there.

But he didn't mind staying up all night. Because when he didn't sleep, he didn't dream.

By now he was two-and-a-half months pregnant, or ten weeks, and he was worrying more and more. At some point, the others were going to figure this out. He was not what one would call 'showing' yet, but he would be soon. His waist was already thickening some.

He was so scared. Maybe it was his elevated hormone levels, maybe it was his heightened emotions, or maybe it was that he had suffered the nearly identical nightmare almost every time he closed his optics.

Skywarp's bad dream was always the same: He was eating or watching television, and a mech he'd never seen before starts speaking to him and then materializes in front of him before attacking him in some brutal manner. Sometimes he'd dream of being impaled; sometimes it was falling out of the skies; the most disturbing were the ones featuring his sparkling being ripped from his body.

And the vocal…he could hear that same cold, vengeful vocal repeating the same things over and over and over:

"You are going to die!"

"Because you destroyed my family."

"I think you've ruined my son's life enough already."

"You are going to die!"

"Because you destroyed my family."

"I think you've ruined my son's life enough already."

"You are going to die!"

"Because you destroyed my family."

"I think you've ruined my son's life enough already."

"You are going to die!"

"Because you destroyed my family."

"I think you've ruined my son's life enough already."

"You are going to die!"

"Because you destroyed my family."

"I think you've ruined my son's life enough already."

What was this nightmare telling him, he wondered. He didn't think he had ever destroyed anyone's family. And who was this mech's son anyway? The donor? "I didn't hurt anybody…" he sobbed.

And then there was that feeling of dread that always came at the end of the dreams, that if he told anyone, ANYONE, it would get so much worse.

By 3:00 A.M., Skywarp didn't want to fall asleep. He got up and paced around. Thundercracker was fast asleep and snoring as usual. The black and purple flyer didn't care; he didn't think TC would understand anyway, the only being that would have understood and been able to help the dark Seeker had been murdered long ago…

Christopher.

Christopher would have known what to do, what to say.

Starscream, on the other hand, was always confusing when he jabbered on about his science slag.

It was a terrible thing to think, but, Skywarp wasn't entirely comfortable talking to Starscream about what he was going through, and it wasn't just because of the red and white Seeker's penchant for showing off his Seeker School degrees with his fancy language. His hurtful diatribe was the reason that Skywarp had decided to conceive the sparkling out of a desire to have his own little one without Starscream's constant criticisms and always snatching his own triplets away. He hadn't so much as gone NEAR the Seekerlings since the big fight that day.

"Listen to me, you little fool," Starscream seethed with rage and got right in the younger's faceplates, "NEVER, EVER teach MY sparklings anything! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

Skywarp would never be able to forget that. And that's why, when his own sparkling would be born, he planned to tell Starscream that he would have no say in her upbringing. The only mech he trusted in the whole universe was Thundercracker anyways…

"I think you've ruined my son's life enough already."

Skywarp: "Huh?" he could have sworn he heard someone speaking to him, "Ugh, maybe I should get something to eat again…" He grabbed his blanket and draped it over his wings before heading for the kitchen.

It's 3:15 A.M., some humans call this 'The Witching Hour' because of the amount of spirit activity documented during this time.

But Skywarp didn't think about that stuff. He was thinking of his sparkling-to-be and the human man she was to be named after.

"Should we start with the Energon-Spaghetti-Os?" he addressed his daughter for the first time, seemingly slipping into the Creator-Creation affinity with a natural ease, "I loved these when I was a sparkling. You'll probably like 'em too."

It was too much hassle to warm them up in the microwave, so we just dumped two or three cans (or was that four?) into a bowl. Then he sat at the kitchen island and started stuffing his faceplates with the cold, gooey deliciousness. Oh, Primus, it tasted so good.

He started thinking about all the things Starscream had told him about sparkling development and all the information in Soundwave's datapads: At ten weeks, the wing nubs were supposed to be forming now, "Tomorrow I'll take you flying. Won't that be fun?" He could have sworn he felt movement in his gestation chamber, even if all the datapads would probably say it was too early for fetal movement.

"Okay, so um, you've got two uncles, Thundercracker and Starscream," the dark Seeker said as he shoveled forkfuls of Energon-Spaghetti-Os into his mouth, "but I'm not gonna let Starscream near you, okay? Because he's a smart-aft and he's got his own family. So technically, you have two uncles, but you're only gonna meet Thundercracker."

Skywarp suddenly felt an ice-cold breeze come into the kitchen, making him shiver and wrap his blanket tightly around his frame. He turned around to see if a door had been opened, but it hadn't.

So, he carried on the conversation he was having with his daughter-to-be, "I'm gonna name you Crystal after my friend," he paused momentarily to get the next part out, "He died years ago though…you would've liked him. He was a musician. But that was his day job. Before that he was um, a pharmacist," he laughed to himself, "he hated it when I called him that. He was a drug dealer…"

Skywarp stopped suddenly and whirled his helm around, fully expecting to see someone there. But he was still alone. He shrugged and went back to his food…

Skywarp: "He used to write songs about me, y'know? So…I'm naming you after Christopher. Your uncle TC liked him. Your uncle Starscream didn't like him, but so what? Huh? That doesn't matter now…"

"I think you've ruined my son's life enough already."

Skywarp's optics widened. He heard the vocal clearly. But was it in his processor or did someone just speak to him? He quickly finished his food, suddenly feeling like he was being watched.

"Hello?" he asked around the room. "Is someone there?" After a few moments, when no one answered, the carrying Jet felt silly for imagining things, "Must be the hormones like Soundwave says…"

So, he went back to the cupboards, looking for more food. The Energon-Spaghetti-Os were good but not enough. He was eating for two and finally felt like pigging out after weeks of nausea. "AHA!" he found what he was looking for: Energon-Hamburger mix and Energon-Macaroni and Cheese! He grabbed a few boxes of each and poured them into the same bowl he'd eaten the Energon-Spaghetti-Os out of. Again, not taking the time to warm anything up.

Gravechaser watched with abhorrence as the young Seeker chowed down on his impromptu main course. It was no surprise that those two wanton flyers raised such a disgusting slugoid! And impregnating himself by choice without even having a mate! Typical of a product of an affair…

"I'm not a slugoid!" Skywarp shouted at the ceiling, mouth full of food. "That's what I liked about Christopher; he never criticized me when I ate!" He sighed, talking to himself more than anyone else, "And I never criticized him either. He told me so…" Considering the human weighed over three hundred pounds, that was saying something.

He sighed, still eating, wondering why he had these negative vocals that kept popping into his processor. His thoughts continued to go back to his deceased friend, the one he would name his sparkling after. "Wonder what he'd say if he knew I was naming you after him, Crystal?" Not that this was the first instance; half the baby boys born in Brooklyn in the past 15 years were named for Christopher.

"I'm sure Starscream will freak when I tell him what I'm gonna name you?" Skywarp continued to talk to his daughter-to-be, unaware that they weren't alone, "I still remember the day I met Christopher, that was thirty years ago…"

Flashback:

1985 Brooklyn, New York.

"Skywarp, where'd you fly off to?" Thundercracker asked through their Comm.-Link.

"Just had to get away from that slagger!" Skywarp spat back. The darker Seeker had a falling out with their Trine Leader while on a mission to New York City and decided to go out exploring the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Thundercracker: "Alright kiddo, just remember what I taunt you if you ever get lost." and with that, he closed the connection.

Yeah, he knew: Make a mental note of every landmark, so if you get lost, you can tell your family where to look for you. So Skywarp looked around at the human city block: Gyro Shop, 'Poppy's' Barber Shop, Grocery Store, etc. "Fulton Street…" he noted.

By now, several humans had run screaming from the overhead shadow of a black Jet. But then there was a group that didn't. They were too busy gathered around this one 12-year-old heavyset, African-American kid, who was regaling them with stories, exchanging bags of substances for cash, and even singing without music!

Skywarp had known from the human movies he had seen like 'Annie' and 'West Side Story' that New York-based humans sing in the streets. But this human was the best he had ever heard!

"My man, drop me a beat!" his seeming Trinemate said. And the young man obliged, singing rhyming lyrics he made up on the spot, and his two Trinemates provided the background sounds by blowing into their hands somehow. At least, that was all Skywarp could tell from his advantage point from the nearby darkened alley. The Seeker was too shy to come forward and say how much he was enjoying the show. Instead, he waited for the crowd to disburse and the fascinating entertainer was alone.

Christopher, wearing a red and black checked jacket with a matching hat and blue Lee jeans, began packing up his stash of opiates he had for sale for the night. Finally, the two beings were alone.

Skywarp: "I really like your singing."

Christopher: "Thanks!" he turned, expecting to see someone there, but didn't see anyone.

Skywarp: "Are you a professional singer?"

"Not exactly," the young man shrugged, "I mean, I wanna be…" he looked at his suitcase filled with drug paraphernalia, thinking that this was his only future.

Skywarp: "I think you're good enough to be a professional singer. I mean, you don't HAVE to stay a pharmacist with YOUR vocals."

"Pharmacist?!" Christopher rolled his eyes, "You shittin' me?"

Skywarp: "Oh, are those yours?"

"NO!" the young man snapped, "I never get high on my own supply!"

Skywarp started laughing, "Oh, that's funny!" he got the 'Scarface' reference.

"Think so?" he closed the suitcase and made his way towards the alley where the voice was coming from, "Yeah, this isn't really what I've wanted to be doing and stuff."

Skywarp: "And what do you wanna be doing?"

"Well, I—" Christopher stopped and stared into the darkened space and was completely surprised to not see anyone there. He approached and looked beyond the metal boxes (which, in reality, were Skywarp's pedes) and still couldn't find anyone. He looked up at the windows: Nobody was looking down from their apartments. The only thing that seemed to be out of the ordinary was that the building's floodlights had red lightbulbs.

Christopher: "Where are you?"

Skywarp: "Here."

The vocal was above the young man, but he still couldn't see anything. Trying to play it cool, he cleared his throat and told his 'friend,' "Uh, hey listen, man, the cops are probably gonna be patrolling any minute. Why don't you come outta there and we can chill somewhere else?"

Skywarp narrowed his optics, "I'm not afraid of your local law enforcement."

"Yeah? Well, I AM!" Christopher threw his hands up and started walking away, "Listen, I may be the King of New York, but those jealous asses in the blue suits don't know that!"

"Sounds like my brother!" Skywarp laughed, but was intrigued, "King of New York?"

"Um yeah," Christopher shrugged, "I decided after the Decepticons took over the city and everybody moved down here to Brooklyn, someone had to be the King. Might as well be me!"

Skywarp gave a sneaky sneer: "Oh wow…you have no idea who you're talking to, do you?"

The young man gulped, "You're a narc?"

"Eh?" The Seeker didn't know that word, "No, a Seeker."

Now it was Christopher's turn not to know a word, "Eh, yeah, well anyways…" he was seriously worried now who he had been conversing with, "My momma's gonna wonder where I am…" his mother was working at her second job, but whoever that was in the alley didn't need to know that.

Skywarp: "I don't need my mommy's permission to talk to my friends!"

Now he was getting on Chris' nerves, "Hey! I didn't say I needed anybody's permission!"

Skywarp huffed his vents, "How old are you anyway?"

"Twelve!" Christopher answered proudly.

The dark Seeker swallowed hard, taken aback, "You're BIG for your age."

"HA HA HA HA HA!" Christopher mock-laughed, "How about you quit hiding in the dumpster and say that to my face?!" He wasn't afraid to face this person, not on his own tuff on Fulton Street!

"Of course," Skywarp smirked, knowing full well that the young human thought he was dealing with someone from his own planet, and decided to play along, "I'll face you…"

The dark Jet stood to his full height and walked slowly, deliberately, stomping the ground and emerged from the alley to stand face to faceplate with the one they called the King of New York. He stared down at Christopher and folded his arms so that his Null-Rays were prominently displayed. The shadow of his wide wingspan fully eclipsed the husky young man.

For a long time, Christopher just stared. Time no longer had any meaning. It was probably only a minute, but it felt like a full day. Finally, he spoke: "You're a Transformer."

"That's right," Skywarp nodded, although he was puzzled at the human's outwardly calm reaction. He had expected the young man to scream, or run, or pass out. Any of the things he had seen most humans do in his presence.

"You're gonna kill me now?" Chris asked calmly.

But the Seeker just shrugged, "Why would I do that?"

The young man shrugged back, "Isn't that what Transformers do?"

Skywarp: "Not always. Not when we…like someone."

Christopher shuttered at first, but it was becoming clear that the winged robot had already had ample time to vaporize him if that was his intent, "So um…what do you want?"

Skywarp: "Well, you said we should continue this conversation somewhere else?"

"Oh, um, right…" Chris didn't think the giant robot with wings would fit into his third-floor apartment, "How's my building's roof sound?"

The Seeker agreed.

They ended up talking on that rooftop until dawn broke.

Christopher: "So your brother Starscream's on a power trip?"

Skywarp: "Yeah, he's always telling me how stupid I am and how everything I do is wrong!"

"That's screwed up, man," Christopher lamented as he leaned against the stone façade, "Adults are like that with me all the time."

The Seeker's optics began to tear up, finally finding someone to confide in, "Everybody treats me like I'm dumb! Especially Starscream!" He stood and started ranting, "I graduated from the Cybertron War Academy! I graduated from Seeker's School before that! And everybody just acts like my brothers did my homework for me! I'm fifth in the Decepticon Army! And I hear the Autobots say, 'Oh look, it's the stupid one!' Do you know how that makes me feel?"

"Yes…" Christopher looked off into the sunrise, "Would you look at me…and know I was a straight-A English student?"

Skywarp considered his answer, "Well, yeah, you talk more grown-up than those other kids did…"

Christopher: "Think so?" he just shrugged.

Skywarp: "So why do ya sell drugs?"

"Money, Power, and Respect!" the large tween insisted, "It's what every human wants, isn't it?"

"I see," the dark Jet nodded, "kinda like the Decepticon Credo…"

Christopher was interested, "That's why you joined the Cons?"

"I joined because Starscream and Thundercracker said to." Skywarp sighed, "I do everything they say…"

Christopher: "Do you WANNA be a Decepticon?"

Skywarp snorted, "Do you WANNA be a drug dealer?"

The chubby youngster bit his lip, "Not really…"

They were both quiet for a few minutes. Finally, Skywarp asked, "What do you wanna be ten years from now, Christopher?"

Christopher: "Ten years from now?"

Skywarp: "You wanna be a drug dealer?"

"What do I wanna be?" Christopher wouldn't have told another human being this, "I really wanna be a Rapper." There, he said it. It took a lot to admit that.

Too bad it was lost on Skywarp.

The Seeker smiled, "Oh, you wanna work at Macy's?"

Chris blinked, "Huh?"

Skywarp smiled, "I just LOVE opening presents!"

"Okay…" Christopher pitched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on, "Not a gift wrapper. A Rapper! Rapping songs!"

"O-Oh, oh," the Seeker nodded, "I see. Well, on Cybertron we have a different word for that. We call those 'musicians.'"

Christopher: "We use the word musicians here too."

Skywarp cocked his helm, "Well, why didn't you say that first?"

Christopher's jaw opened. There was a pause, "Okay, sorry," he decided against calling the huge robot stupid, "I wanna be a musician…"

Skywarp smiled, "I think you're really a great singer."

"Yeah?" the young man smiled, "You think I could be famous?"

"Oh, famous isn't the word for you!" Skywarp stood suddenly and flew up into the air, "You're the King of Brooklyn! You'll be the Greatest Rapper of All Time! Other musicians are gonna look up to you! The little kids in Brooklyn are gonna say, 'He lived on my street!' They're gonna write songs about you!" He was using his hands for emphasis, "You'll be more than famous…you'll be NOTORIOUS!"

"Notorious…" Christopher smiled, "I like the way that sounds."

End of Flashback:

Skywarp sat in the kitchen with coolant tears in his optics now, "I miss you, Christopher…"

Depressed now, he got up and raided the cupboard with the desserts in it. He pulled out all the wrapped packages of rust sticks, flux, and chocolate-covered wheel-nuts.

Their friendship had lasted for 13 years. It ended when his friend died on the receiving end of four assassin's bullets. It happened when he was exiting a performance on a music awards show. His two trinemates, the same ones that knew how to make background music with their hands over their mouths, were in the car with him that night, but Christopher was the only one hit. "Where the hell was I?" he was sleeping in his quarters, cuddling his huggy android.

"Your friend is dead, is he not?"

"Uh huh," Skywarp answered the disembodied vocal, unthinking, "Fifteen years ago…"

"Must have been YOUR fault. You waste of tin!"

"I-I guess…" the Seeker always blamed himself, even if he had no way of foreseeing what happened. It was easy to stuff his faceplates when he was so upset.

"Afthole."

Skywarp: "Yeah…"

"You're not fit to bring a sparkling into the universe!"

Skywarp didn't answer that time. He WANTED this sparkling.

"I said, you're not fit to bring a sparkling into the universe!"

Skywarp: "TC's gonna help me."

"All the MORE reason I'm going to kill you!"

The dark Seeker suddenly felt a chilly wind, "W-What?"

"And his name is THUNDERCRACKER, you disgusting creature!"

Skywarp was getting scared; he suddenly realized something: THIS was the vocal he'd heard in his recurring nightmares, "Holy slag, it's happening when I'm awake now?!"

"You will NEVER see that sparkling you're carrying!"

Skywarp jumped up suddenly, looking around for whoever was talking to him, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"I WILL destroy you…"

Skywarp shouted at the ceiling, "WHY?!"

"Because you destroyed my family!"

Skywarp balled his hands into fists, still backing up, "I never broke up any family!"

"YOU DID!"

Skywarp: "GO AWAY!"

"Not until you're offline!"

Finally, cornered into the countertops, the young Seeker wrecked his processor on who this could be. He hadn't offlined any Autobots or stolen some mech's girlfriend. The only mech he could think of at that moment was the actor that was the sperm donor.

"Um, are you the g-guy with the f-five hundred sparklings?" his vocals cracked, coolant tears in his optics.

"That's just sick."

Skywarp was shaking now, his hands going to his stomach protectively, "Y-You can't have her!"

"I don't WANT your hideous offspring!" Gravechaser was pleased with how he was slowly breaking the young Seeker's psyche, "You will NEVER burden Thundercracker with your foolish choices!"

Huh? This vocal didn't want TC to help him with his sparkling? "N-None of your business!"

Gravechaser finally materialized, "MY SON'S LIFE will always be my business!"

At that point, it was unclear whether it was the spoken words or the grizzly appearance of the apparition that truly shattered the carrying flyer.

Gravechaser: "Stay away from my son!"

Skywarp just screamed. He screamed at the top of his air intakes, loud enough for birds on the waters' surface above to fly away. He cried and cried, "HELP ME! TEECEE! STAR! HELP ME! SOMEBODY HELP ME! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY!"

Every mech on the Base woke up! The triplets began wailing in unison.

Megatron grabbed his Fusion Cannon and came running.

Starscream, momentarily horrified at the choice of his Trine brother and his sparklings, decided to grab them as best he could, thinking this was either a fire or some kind of attack.

"Lock the door!" Soundwave barked to his sparklings as he raced down the hallway, blaster in hand and cocked to fire.

But not surprisingly, Thundercracker was the first to rush to his baby brother's side, "Skywarp!" he yelled as he rushed into the kitchen. By then, Gravechaser had vanished, and Skywarp was on the floor sitting in a fetal positing, crying his optics out. TC was at his side immediately, wrapping his arms around him.

After Thundercracker they all came, crowding into the kitchen. "Skywarp! What was all that yelling?!" Megatron hollered, looking around in every direction for the source of the Seeker's terror.

Skywarp was shaking like a leaf, burying his faceplates into TC's neck cables, whimpering. The blue Seeker held him tightly, trying to figure out what had happened.

"What is it?! What happened?!" Starscream shrieked as he rushed in, gently letting down his sparklings and kneeling down to see what was wrong.

Soundwave scanned the room, but no threat was detected. Although he couldn't help but notice all the empty junk food wrappers.

The room was freezing cold. And Megatron swore he saw ice or sleet melting on the counters.

Both Seekers were holding him, trying to find out what happened. When Skywarp finally calmed down enough to open his optics and look around, he saw that only the Decepticons were with him, "I-I s-saw s-s-somebody…"

"WHO?!" Megatron demanded, "An Autobot?!"

The Seeker just sobbed and cried more.

Several Cons began looking around the hallways, "I don't see anyone, sir!" Dirge shouted.

"Who was it, Skywarp?" Starscream tried to speak softly.

"Were you attacked?" Thundercracker asked, stroking his wings.

The dark flyer rasped out, "I-I saw a m-m-mech…" he couldn't bring himself to tell them who.

Soundwave: "Was it Mirage?"

Skywarp: "I-I s-saw blue and w-white…"

"That's definitely Mirage!" Megatron growled, "That slaggard Prime, how the hell did his spy get into my Base?"

"I can detect his heat signal," Soundwave insisted, "come on!"

Megatron told Starscream, "Take the triplets to your brothers' quarters and barricade the door. I'll find that slagger!"

Before following Megatron, Soundwave took a moment to give Skywarp a dirty glare and gesture at the wrappers, "What did I say about eating junk food?"

After Soundwave scanned the Seekers' quarters to make sure it was safe, Thundercracker carried his still trembling younger brother in, while Starscream tried desperately to calm his terrified sparklings back down. They moved a dresser against the door while the Decepticon Leader and his 3ic did a room-by-room search for the offender.

Skywarp couldn't stop bawling and keening. Something that scared him so bad. He couldn't stop shaking. TC began looking him over for any injuries, "Is that…ice?" the youngest Seeker had melting ice on his wings, "Skywarp? Were you outside?" When there was no answer, Thundercracker took him by the shoulders to force his little brother to look at him in the optics, "Just tell us what happened!"

But he couldn't tell him the truth. Not about Gravechaser being his…and what he said.

"Was it Mirage?" Starscream asked again.

This time Skywarp lied, "Y-Yeah, it was Mirage. H-He was yelling at m-me and stuff…"

Thundercracker: "Did he attack you?"

"I-I d-don't k-k-know," the darker flyer shrugged, "I-I was c-covering my optics…"

Starscream: "Did he shoot you with some kind of ice gun or what?"

"I TOLD YOU I DON'T KNOW!" Skywarp was getting upset with all the questions, "GO AWAY!" He brought his knees up to his chest and cried more.

Thundercracker sighed, again looking over the ice, "You need a hot shower." He helped his brother to his pedes, took him into the wash racks, and ran the warm water over his wings.

Thundercracker: "When Soundwave finds Mirage, I want five minutes alone with that glitch! I swear I'm gonna break his smell receptors!" he took a washcloth and ran it over the still tender wings, "Look what he did to my baby brother…" When he was satisfied that the sleet was all gone, he shut the waters and wrapped the still catatonic flyer in some towels and took him back to their berthroom.

Meanwhile, Soundwave sat in the Control Room watching the play-back from the security camera in the kitchen. Skywarp was indeed attacked by someone invisible (The tapes failed to record Gravechaser's image), but there was clearly a point on the film that the Seeker seemed to see his tormentor.

Soundwave took off his visor and rubbed at his optics, trying to process the evidence: This just didn't add up! Mirage was not an assassin; he was an espionage specialist. Even if he WERE to somehow breach the Base's security, he would stay invisible, steal whatever information he came for, and slip away. Why would he even confront Skywarp at all?

The 3ic had done an exhaustive search with Megatron for the Autobot but found no evidence he was ever even here. Finally, Soundwave sent Laserbeak to check on the Ark. And eventually, the Condor reported that Mirage was at the Autobot Base—in recharge in his own quarters. But Soundwave wasn't sure if this was good news or not. Frankly, on the list of possible threats whoever was on their Base might pose, Mirage was on the bottom of that list.

Finally, Soundwave, still covering up for Skywarp, got up and spoke to Megatron, "Apparently, Mirage was on our ship. Skywarp heard something and got up to investigate, and scared Mirage off while he was stealing Energon from the kitchen." The lies just kept on piling up.

"Prime's gonna pay for this." Megatron growled, "Where's Mirage now?"

Soundwave: "Laserbeak confirmed his whereabouts at the Autobot Base, Sir."

Megatron raised an optic brow, "How in the hell did he get away?"

The 3ic shrugged, "Apparently, he swam…"

Megatron grunted and left. But for Soundwave, there would be no rest tonight. He went back to his computer to research the Seekers behind the Speedwing Donor Bank of Vosnia and the mysterious 'actor' that sired Skywarp's sparkling.

It was dawn by the time Megatron declared the Decepticon Base secure again, and by that time, everyone who had been on the search was frustrated and exhausted. Megatron was forced to postpone the raid on the power plant he had scheduled for that afternoon.

Finally, he knocked on the Seekers' door to collect his mate and sparklings. Thundercracker answered the door, gun in hand. He was the one that had stayed awake on guard duty.

Starscream was fast asleep on the sofa bed with Dawning. Skywarp was asleep on Thundercracker's bed with Darkmount and Darkwing.

"Looks like you guys had a rough night," Megatron smirked, "How'd you ever get the sparklings to sleep?"

"Wasn't easy," TC yawned, "They were worried about Warp, but when he settled down, they settled down. Did you find Mirage?"

"He's gone." Megatron insisted, "But this is NOT over! I can promise you that. Prime's going to have hell to pay."

Thundercracker: "When you're done killing him, you can give me Mirage."

Megatron snort laughed, then looked back at his family, "So eh, do you mind if the little ones stay here? Or do I risk waking them up?"

"They can stay…" the blue Seeker yawned again.

Megatron: "Alright, see you later." And he left.

Starscream woke up as Thundercracker was laying an extra blanket over him.

TC: "Sorry, you looked cold."

Starscream: "Mhmmm…" he glanced over at their recharging brother, crashed out in a food coma with his huggy android and two of the triplets curled against his frame. The sparklings looked like they were afraid to leave his side.

Starscream sighed, "They love their uncle…"

Thundercracker nodded, "He really misses them, Star."

Starscream: "I didn't…I mean, I just didn't want them outside, I…" he groaned, "Can you believe their first birthdays are in a couple of weeks?"

"No," TC laughed. A year already?

Starscream, falling back to sleep, "Maybe…we could have a birthday party for them? Together?"

"Sure," the blue Seeker agreed, "Maybe then he'll wanna tell the others about Crystal."

That's her name?

Starscream: "Crystal?"

TC: "His sparkling."

Starscream made a face, "Oh."

TC rolled his optics, "Goodnight, Star…"

And with that, he flopped down close to Skywarp and wrapped his arm around the other's middle.