Last chapter, folks! It's been fun.

16

Soundwave stood waiting for the elevator, cradling the sparklings with one arm. A week had gone by since they had been born, and since then they had begun exploring the world around them. It was the little things like the ability to attract attention in different ways with a smile or a wail, as well as plenty of hitting and chomping. And neither sparkling responded much to 'no'.

The elevator arrived and the doors slid open. Soundwave was met by a dozen gasping seekerlets.

"The sparklings!" a few of them shouted.

Skywarp had to actually grab some of them from rushing out of the elevator at Soundwave. "No, stay put!" He looked over his shoulder at Soundwave. "Well get in here before they get out!" It seemed Skywarp was the one to watch over the little group more than any others.

Soundwave stepped in and the doors shut. Skywarp stood up straight and the seekerlets crowded around. They bombarded him with questions.

"Wow, can I touch one?"

"Who is who?"

"Yeah, which one is Hardknock?" a light blue one said, "My name is Thunderknock! Cool, right?"

"Hey," Little Warp said with agitation, "How come you didn't come show us the sparklings before?"

"Yeah," another agreed. "It's been forever!"

"Everyone said there was sparklings but we didn't get to see."

"We were waiting and waiting," one whined.

Skywarp interceded. "Believe it or not, some of the grownups have other things to do besides come over and play. You're getting to see them now, aren't you?"

The seekerlets nodded.

"Seekerlets: careful?" Soundwave asked them. They nodded as hard as their helms could manage, and Soundwave knelt down for them to get a closer look at the little ones.

"Ooh look at his teeth!"

"He's got purple paint like me," Warp said, looking at Hardknock. "We're going to look awesome together!"

Skywarp laughed lightly.

Soundwave focused on Soundbite as he began to cry. It was undoubtedly the crowd of gaping little faces overwhelming him. Soundwave pulled the worn cog from a small compartment on his frame and handed it to the seekerlet named Thunderknock.

"Cog: peace offering?"

The little seekerlet stared dumbly and Soundbite continued to cry.

"Give: cog."

"Oh," he said, waving the cog in front of Soundbite's face. The sparkling's large optics followed it hypnotically, his vocals quieting. He reached for the cog and the seekerlet handed it over. Soundwave watched them all as he gnawed on the cog, still blinking away his tears. Soundwave was pleased with Soundbite's demeanor thus far.

Hardknock's arms reached out, examining Warp's helm and servos. Warp looked mesmerized. Soundwave mused that perhaps the seekerlet thought there was something important happening. But Soundwave and Knockout had learned over the week that Hardknock had a strong preference for mechs with shiny enamel. Hardknock was simply determining the playmate's worthiness. At least he was passing.

Soundbite, on the other hand, loved anyone as long as he had something to keep his mouth occupied. The seekerlets were all petting him now and he let them without complaint. Soundbite hadn't reflected much of Megatron's demeanor on any basic level thus far, and Soundwave was glad.

The elevator arrived at their destination, and Soundwave and Skywarp stepped out with the youngsters. The race track was enormous, taking up a good percentage of that level of the ship. Soundwave was continually amazed at the amount of things on board the Ferocitress. Much of the Nemesis had been comprised of large rooms with high ceilings, not making the best use of its space.

And equally surprising was that the seats were packed with seekers and drones. Soundwave had expected a handful of viewers other than the seekerlets.

He smiled when he heard a familiar voice call to him. The red and white racer strode over, looking smug. He put a servo behind Soundwave's neck and gave him a lingering kiss. He pulled away slowly, leaving Soundwave dizzy.

"Show off," Soundwave murmured.

Knockout smiled. "Anyone with a mate like you would show off." He looked down at the sparklings and rubbed their helms. "Gonna watch your alpha leave that yellow mech in the dust?"

The twins responded eagerly. Even if they were too young to understand what was happening, they could sense the thrill of excitement around the stadium.

"I'll see you soon," Knockout said as he headed back to the track where Bee was waiting.

Soundwave turned and saw Thundercracker waiting nearby. He beckoned him to come along. As he followed the seeker he saw various mechs in the crowd glance his way, more than a few formally greeting him as he passed. He was a private mech and preferred not to have too much attention. But it was difficult to look intimidating with two adorable sparklings in tow. For that reason Knockout was helping him learn to keep up a pokerface.

Thundercracker lead him to a seat beside Starscream. On his other side sat his mate, preoccupied with another louder vehicon. As he sat down, Soundwave noticed that Starscream's optics were glued to Soundbite, as they had been every time Starscream caught sight of Megatron's son. Soundwave wasn't too concerned about the reaction. It was common. What counted was that Soundbite's fellows would not have the same preconceived notions. Despite what their alphas and carriers might tell them, word of mouth was not the same as experiencing the late Lord's presence in person. Soundbite would likely face some hardships because of his alpha signature, but he would have enough of a clean slate among the post-war generation to get by.

Just for a moment, Starscream looked at the sparkling kindly. "Once things settle down on the Ferocitress I might consider carrying."

Steve whipped around, but Starscream didn't seem to notice. Starscream sighed, looking down at the track, now deliberately ignoring his mate's shock. "I'm sure you didn't expect the crowd." Soundwave gave a nod of agreement. "At first I thought that they were eager to see some good sporting between a Decepticon and an Autobot, but Steve tells me the scout is well acquainted with the vehicons. Isn't that right?"

"Y-Yes Captain," Steve stammered, still struck by the previous comment.

"And Knockout has become quite popular with the seekers." Starscream looked at Soundwave pointedly. "Keep your servos on that flashy mech. One of them will try and steal him, I'm sure."

Soundwave nodded, but he wasn't worried a bit. He looked out toward the starting line where Knockout and Bumblebee were chatting animatedly. The medic had risked his life enough times to prove where his spark's loyalty lay.

A volunteer vehicon stepped out and called for attention. Knockout looked up at the crowd. He smiled when he caught sight of Soundwave. Soundwave pointed to catch the sparklings' attention, showing them where their alpha was.

Knockout and Bumblebee transformed and drove up to the starting line. Although months away from being old enough to transform, Hardknock's frame shook with eagerness to shift into alt mode. His tiny engine revved along with his Alpha's.

The signal rang and the racers took off down the track.

END

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing and I hope you enjoyed it! I will probably post a short thing about the sparklings when they're just reaching maturity. Some people were asking, so I'll tell you I ship Warp with Hardknock, and Soundbite with Steamscreamer (Starscream and Steve's future sparkling). Again, thanks so much and please let me know your thoughts on the fic!