Hello all! I am back! With a new chapter! I've also thrown in a cliffhanger for free! (Hides behind sturdy barricade) have fun!

Review Response: Dear Something dictionary related, hi! Oh, was that you who made the guess? Sorry, I wasn't sure if was you or not. I guess Fermium does sound like a good double agent ... but whenever I try to picture that I start hearing the Get Smart theme song in my head (shudders).

Dear KHGiggle, hello there! Yes, yes it is. (Nods understandingly) I was kind of surprised as well when I first thought of the pairing and everything seemed to click. But since both of them have lost someone important to them in the past, maybe they can help each other out, yes? ... You guys are scary good at guessing stuff, do you know that? The way you can come so close to guessing my intentions at times when you have so little to go on is really rather shocking. It is also very impressive. At least Ravage is a cat ... yeah, I suppose that doesn't help much with the stalker status does it? It's still creepy. I'm glad it makes sense! It seemed to be the only logical reason a femme would be so loyal to Megatron. It also explains why Megatron wouldn't try to offline said femme like he tried with Airachnid. As for why he's closing her off, to put it in one word? Protection. Both of them lead very dangerous lives and have high risk positions. If they give any outward sign that they are sparkmates, then Soundwave's cover is blown and she is put in even more risk. On the internal side of things, should either of them be severely injured in battle or offlined, the wall between their sparks makes it possible for the other to survive the trauma and keep fighting. It's simply Megatron's way of showing he cares ... by pretending she is nothing to him, no one will think to harm her in order to get to him. See?

Dear Abyss Prime, greetings! Glad you do! Here's another chapter for you!

Dear igeegeei, hi! Huh, I can't believe the plushy idea worked (gives energon goody to mini Bumblebee as reward for the idea), if all tanks are mentally unhinged then its a good thing I didn't make Hardwire one isn't it? That could have been a disaster. Yep, the bonding thing is going to be lots of fun for me ... not so much for Megs and Soundwave (evil smile). Ouch, that sounds like a very painful glitch. She reorganized grey datapads by the color of their blink lights? Did Sideswipe put her up to that? Or was that just an accidental prank of awesome proportions?

(Soundwave toy stares at Flare for several seconds, turns and walks away) Uh, that's Soundwave-speak for 'thanks but I don't need the blackmail material anymore'. He's got plenty of entertainment footage from recording Megatron's attempts to play video games. Tiny hands don't do so well with big controllers and far apart buttons. No, no, I don't think you're exaggerating at all. That probably would happen if they were both in the same room. Or they might, you know, accidentally teleport themselves and everyone in a twelve mile radius to another dimension. You can never tell with mildly crazy (if friendly) scientists. That's okay! I like long reviews!

Dear Rumbling Frenzy, hello there! Oh ... it did? I didn't think I had to introduce femme Soundwave since she's already made an appearance in my one-shot Christmas and Cyber-Kittens. Oops. Oh well, here's another chapter for you!

Dear OrionRedde, greetings! You are correct on both counts.

Dear SunnySides, hello! I figured that whispering wasn't going to work too well in such a heavily monitored and high tech city, so I came up with something else. It isn't really telepathy, it's a short range pulse with an imbedded message that is transmitted through physical contact. Oh now, that would be telling, now wouldn't it? Mmm ... maybe, (is mobbed by Transformer toys who want the offered alloy cherry) ... fine, I see what I can do. No promises, though. You're update wish has been granted!

Dear xVentressx, hi! Heh, heh, my bad. I forgot that most of you probably haven't read my Christmas one-shot where I introduced Soundwave as a femme. Sorry about that. But yes, in my personal opinion, Soundwave from Transformers Prime is a femme. I mean, always silent, surprisingly slender compared to most Decepticons (Starscream doesn't count), wears a face mask, it just made me think that Soundwave was a femme in disguise. (Deadpans) Really. And here they say flowers and jewelry are the way to a femme's spark. (Breaks out grinning) Oh well, the other reaction is going to be more interesting anyway. Thank you! I'm glad you like my story so much! I always try to make the characters feel real, no matter if they're an OC of mine or not. Don't worry, only a word or two disappeared this time. I think there might be a glitch in the fan fiction review box, but I can't tell.

Dear Giddy, greetings! Soundwave: Awesome! (Jumps back in surprise at the sudden glitch. Blinks, then hurriedly calls Ratchet.) Are you okay? If you wake up you can read the next chapter! (Gets chased away by angry medic with a wrench.) Ah! Have-fun-I'm-running-away-now-bye!

Dear SavvyOrion childofcommander, hello there! Don't worry, the attendant tends to lose any sanity you leave with her anyway. Better to keep it if you have a good grip. (Bows) Thank you, I was going for crazy. Is your OC okay? That's the second person I've glitched with that pairing... I'm not much for writing dark romance, but ... that was kind of fun. Thrill and suspense make the story world go round! That and car chases! (Watches SavvyOrion storm off, then return) So that's where all of my cold weather went. I was wondering why it was so nice outside. Jazzy is on the way! Now if they can just escape with their sparks... Yes, Bumblebee was telling Starwish about the incident with Arcee, Tailgate, and Airachnid. I think you were the only person to guess the Arcee/Hardwire pairing. Clever of you. Yay! No pranks! (Japanese style bow) I will do my best to keep writing on this story! Have a nice day!

Author's Note: Another cannon character has made an appearance. For now however, he has requested that his identity remain a secret. So I can't tell you who he is. The Insecticons also appear for the first time. No named insecticons, just your regular mindless ones. I fought those things on FOC ... not fun. At all.

Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, Cybertronian terms, or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot. (Or I did before my OCs stole it and ran away laughing.)


Chapter Twenty-Nine: Sparks

Prehnite looked up calmly as Lance approached, the mech's scarred faceplates frowning in concern. Turning back to her task, she asked, "You read the report?"

Lance growled darkly, "I read it and it's utterly impossible! There is no way!"

Prehnite's lips twitched faintly with a knowing smile as she carefully ran her fingers over the delicate strands, weaving them into an intricate pattern, "Why not? He has a spark does he not?"

Lance leaned against the wall, his ire still clearly visible, "77095 was performing an extraction and that … mech intervened!"

Prehnite hummed noncommittally at her friend's indignant tone before asking, "Did he cause any Ripples?"

Her question sparked a sullen silence from Lance before a short, "No. He … actually … smoothed a few of them."

Prehnite didn't look up from her work as an older, primmer voice broke into the conversation, "Then what is the problem, my dear mech Lance? Was that not the point of sending them? To cure from the inside what we could not from out here?"

Lance gave a startled growl at the new voice before mumbling something unintelligibly. The newcomer smiled indulgently at Lance before saying, "There is no need to be so worked up over this development. While it is exceptional, especially considering the circumstances, it is merely another thread in our little tapestry of the world, eh? Is it not? So, instead of worrying and standing there yelling at my mate, why don't you go see to the clean up efforts in sector M-EMH, that's a good fellow."

Prehnite raised an optic ridge in silent humor as she heard Lance mutter a respectful goodbye and stomp off to do as bidden. Sitting back slightly, she inquired, "What draws you from your watch, My Spark? Normally you leave the handling of things to me."

Her sparkmate, an old, wise looking mech with an intricate decorative wire beard that reached his chest plates, sat down next to her with a creak of gears and a grunt. Settling down, he answered, "True enough, true enough. However, those refugees of yours have gotten my attention…"

Prehnite carefully clipped the thread she had finished using and moved on to the next piece, "If it were merely your attention they had attracted, you would not have left your watchtower. There is something else on your processor."

His white optics glinted as he leaned into her line of view, "Your Herald does not have the complete transcript of the original programming."

Prehnite's slender servos stopped their tasks as she finally locked optics with her mate, "No. She does not."

His golden helm tilted fractionally, "Why not?"

Prehnite's yellow optics flashed dangerously, "So that she will not be bound as we were. She will not die as my sisters did."

Compassion flooded their spark bond as her mate gently rested a worn, golden servo on her shoulder plate. He did not say anything else, he merely offered his presence as comfort while he pondered over her words. Finally, Prehnite spoke, "What do you think of it?"

He studied his sparkmate's work, taking in the design, a mix of soft blue and white hues that gave an artistic representation of something very few still among the living could remember seeing, "Perfect, My Spark. But come, let us see to our duties. For even here, there is no rest for the weary."

Prehnite gave a dry smile, "Says the mech who spends his cycles endlessly watching and ceaselessly sitting on his lazy aft."

Her mate scoffed as he helped her up, "Who are you calling lazy? It takes immense concentration to do my work. I simply cannot spare the time or concentration to do any of that youthful exercise scrap!"

Prehnite continued to smile knowingly, "Of course. Your creaking old bolts have nothing to do with it."


The little used inter-city speedway K-A-027 unfolded across a large chasm in Cybertron's landscape just ahead of Cliffjumper's wheels as the party of Autobots drove with all the speed they dared to make it back to Algol. From well behind the scouting Cliffjumper, Ratchet internally marveled that the speedway they were driving on hadn't been destroyed long ago. Then again, it was a route long since forgotten by most Cybertronians in favor of the much faster, more efficient routes to Algol pass that had been established over the megacycles.

An ominous creak sounded through the metal as Ratchet drove hurriedly over it and the medic internally prayed that it would continue to hold them until they had safely crossed the chasm. They had certainly had more than enough trouble on the mission as it was than to assume that the speedway wouldn't break.

First, the rescue mission had been ambushed by waiting Decepticons, causing Hardwire to fall into his special mode. Then, they had been attacked by a sizable pack of Decepticons who had found them via a cloaked probe while Ratchet and Flashpoint had been busy trying to keep Arcee from practically offlining herself. After finally managing to stabilize Arcee while Optimus and the others drove off the Decepticons, they were now hurrying back to Algol City to finalize Arcee's repairs and hopefully snap Hardwire out of his Bāsākā rage.

As if he could sense Ratchet's thoughts, Hardwire drove a little closer to the medic's bumper, revving softly as he had taken to doing over the past three joors of driving. Ratchet resisted the urge to yell at Hardwire, instead keeping his voice low as he called, "She's doing fine Hardwire. She's in a peaceful recharge." With another soft rev, Hardwire allowed Ratchet to pull away a little bit. Ratchet grumbled under his vents as he smoothly took a turn, emphasis on 'little.' Honestly, he's even more possessive of Arcee than he is of Lickety-Split and Lightbright and they're the youngest bots here!

Cliffjumper's voice cut over the com from his scouting position ahead of the group, ::Anyone else think that it's too quiet?::

Hardhead sounded decidedly unhappy as he answered first, ::You mean the peaceful quiet that you just shattered with your question?::

Flareup entered the conversation next, ::I agree with Cliff, it's too quiet. Like Moonracer when she's lining up a target.::

Optimus rumbled, ::Be on your guard, Autobots. This speedway has not been used for many vorns, but the Decepticons may still know of it.::

Ratchet grunted as he quickly checked Arcee's vitals again, ::Agreed. Megatron is not the type to leave things to blind chance. If he knows of this speedway, then he would have certainly ordered it to be booby trapped.::

Lickety-Split joked weakly, ::Well, aren't you all such cheerful mechs. I haven't had this much fun since-::

Cliffjumper's yell and the sharp report of his blaster caused the conversation to be cut short. Optimus, Hardhead, Ironhide, Flareup, and several others surged forward, driving to Cliffjumper's aid while Firestar, Trailbreaker, and Hound fell into a protective formation around Ratchet, Flashpoint, and the two youngest femmes. Hardwire revved angrily from his position behind Ratchet, trying to drive past Ratchet without scattering the protective formation. Ratchet shouted over the com in concern, his vision was blocked by Firestar and he needed to know what was going on ahead of them, ::What's going on up there?::

Optimus rumbled over the com, his voice tight with concentration, ::Insecticons! Autobots, we must get off this speedway!:: Ratchet felt dread fill him, insecticons were a relatively new danger, but by far one of the deadliest yet. Said to have been found by Shockwave in the depths of Cybertron's forgotten Underworld, insecticons were strong, brutal, totally loyal to Megatron … and always traveled in groups.

Hardwire's engine roared as he suddenly transformed, taking a running leap over Ratchet and Firestar before transforming again and careening toward the steadily nearing firefight. Ratchet slid to a stop along with Lickety-Split, Lightbright, Flashpoint, and their three guards. They couldn't risk getting involved in a fight with insecticons, not when Ratchet had a patient in his emergency carrying bed and the femlings had little to no combat training. Trailbreaker stayed close, ready to raise a shield to defend them if one of the screeching monsters noticed them and attacked.

Not that there was a very high chance of that. The insecticons seemed particularly preoccupied with the thundering Hardwire. An insecticon frame went flying past their group and over the speedway minus its helm and Ratchet felt his spark flutter a little bit in worry. It was terrifying to see the normally friendly and easygoing mech act so savage and Ratchet knew that the longer Hardwire remained in his programed rage, the higher the chances were that the violent tendencies would carry over into his every-cycle life.

Lightbright whispered over a short-range com so as not to distract the combatants, ::Look at him go … and I thought he was letting loose in the warehouse. Is it just me, or is he getting faster at taking his opponents down?:: Her innocent statement had Ratchet worriedly scanning Hardwire from afar.

His scans bounced back with results that confused him, how is this possible? With all of the combat Hardwire had been forced into that cycle, his energon levels should have been dangerously low. Yet, Ratchet's scans indicated that Hardwire's energon levels were maintaining a steady 95% in all systems. Where is he getting the energon from? Did he have extra in his subspace? If so, how is it being injected into his systems?

Ratchet's pondering was interrupted when a pathway suddenly opened in the battle and Elita-1's voice barked commandingly, ::Ratchet! Now! Go through now!:: Ratchet surged forward, straining for every ounce of speed he possessed in order to get through the gap and to the end go the speedway bridge before the insecticons noticed him. The femlings, Flashpoint, Trailbreaker, Firestar, and Hound followed hot on his bumper as he plowed between two temporarily separated battles.

An insecticon broke free of the skirmish and began to charge the speeding medic when Optimus' energon axe seared through the air, slamming into the charging insecticon and cracking its outer armor on impact. The insecticon, distracted by the pain of being attacked from the side, turned away to charge back into the fray in search of its attacker.

Ratchet barely had enough time to process just how close to offlining he had been when he broke through the fray and surged over the end of the speedway bridge to the safety of a normal surface road once more. Ratchet knew better than to stop even as he commed, ::We're through! Get out of there Optimus!::

A flash lit the area behind them as someone threw a flash grenade, buying the other Autobots enough time to transform and drive off of the bridge. As soon as they were all across, Optimus shouted, "Hardwire! Take out the bridge!"

With a growl, Hardwire spun on his heel strut, dropping onto all fours as his powerful cannon unsubspaced. Just as the light died away, Hardwire's cannon cracked the air. The heavy-duty plasma shot tore through two insecticons unlucky enough to be caught directly in its blast and exploded upon impact with the surface of the speedway bridge.

The old metal caved against the force of the blow, crumbling away from underneath the still disorientated insecticons, sending them tumbling into the chasm below along with sizable chunks of the bridge. The insecticons systems, still working on rebooting the optical sensors from the flash grenade, failed to register the commands to transform into their flight-capable alt-modes, causing the insecticons to plummet to their doom rather than fly to safety.

All of the Autobots gave a relieved vent as Optimus called, "Well done, Hardwire! Transform and roll out!" Hardwire paused only long enough to glare down the chasm where the insecticons had disappeared before transforming and driving away with the rest of them. Ratchet felt relief seep into his spark, they were almost back to Algol Base. It should be visible just over this rise…

It was. But the sight that greeting him was far from the comforting one he had expected. His systems jolted with shock and dread at the sight of Algol City, it's frontal walls utterly destroyed and smoke rising like thick flags of vapor, testifying to the one thing Ratchet hadn't even considered when he had been mentally griping about the bad fortune of the rescue mission.

Algol City was under siege.


Sunstreaker plunged his sword cleanly through the low quality armor of a vehicon, not even pausing as he ripped his sword out of the punctured spark chamber of his enemy and rolled past, optics hard as he made his way as fast as he could toward the secret Bunker. Terror washed over his spark from two young bonds and Sunstreaker glanced down swiftly at the youngling magnetized to his chest plates. Fast Track huddled against him, his favorite toy Prowl clutched in his servos as he shivered and whimpered at every noise. A swift glance at Sideswipe showed that Zipline was acting the same way.

Sunstreaker wrapped one arm around Fast Track protectively, working in conjunction with his twin to send soothing feelings to their terrified charges. Sideswipe was hunched slightly, trying to use his frame to shelter Zipline from the noise of battle as he effortlessly swerved around a vehicon's wild shots and decapitated it with one swift flick of his sword. Together the two of them skated around a corner, Sideswipe exchanging his sword for a blaster to open fire on a small party of vehicons that had somehow made their way into the main base.

Zipline screamed in terror at the loud noise just above his helm and Sunstreaker winced as Fast Track immediately started to wail in chorus with his twin, "Hush, you two. It will be alright. I promise, Sides and I are not going to let anything happen to you. You're safe." Sunstreaker sliced and hacked his way through the group of vehicons with the skill of a gladiatorial veteran, his motions quick and brutal.

Wild emotions of panic, worry, confusion, and a desperate desire for everything to just go away answered his attempt at comfort. The twinlings were scared to point of no longer being able to speak coherently even over their Guardian-Ward bond. Sunstreaker's spark burned protectively as a red haze clouded his vision. The Decepticons would pay for the terror they had inflicted upon his charges.

A low snarl from Sideswipe as he seamlessly switched back to a single-edged sword indicated that his twin was very similar in temperament at the moment. But not as much as Sunstreaker. Sideswipe had never felt rage like Sunstreaker could. As the red grew, Sunstreaker began to lose the rigid control he had attempted to master ever since being assigned the twinlings. His vocalizer growled dangerously as it became more and more pleasurable to cleave his sword through sensitive parts just to hear his victims scream in pain as they offlined.

The terror increased and Sideswipe's voice suddenly cut through the haze, "Sunny! You're scaring them!" His brother's words suddenly snapped Sunstreaker out of his growing rage, what? Looking down, Sunstreaker saw that Fast Track was crying, huddling as close as he could to Sunstreaker's plating, shivering in horror at the energon now splattered over both his plating and that of his guardian.

Sunstreaker felt a flash of regret, he hadn't meant to terrify Fast Track. Turning his optics back to the halls in front of them, Sunstreaker moved his left arm to more fully cover Fast Track, "I've got you. I'll never leave."

With a final burst of speed, the two twins arrived at the hidden entrance to the Bunker, where a decidedly tense Whitestrike stood waiting for them. Seeing them, Whitestrike remotely triggered the command for the Bunker entrance, allowing them to pass as the reinforced wall panel hissed to one side. Rolling into the room, Sunstreaker crouched down, demagnetizing Fast Track from his chest plates and carefully setting the youngling on the floor, "Stay here. We'll be back."

Fast Track's optics flew open, tears falling more rapidly as he lunged for Sunstreaker, scrabbling desperately at the golden armor as he wailed incoherently. The Guardian-Ward bond throbbed with a wordless plea to stay, to stay and keep them safe. Sunstreaker knew without looking that Sideswipe was experiencing the same thing with Zipline.

Sunstreaker hesitated, loyalties torn. He wanted to go out and fight, to slaughter the Decepticons who had dared attack Algol. But his recently activated parental programing railed against even the concept of leaving his younglings alone. Whitestrike had only stuck around long enough to open the Bunker door, by now, the mech had already returned to the battlefield. If they left, the twinlings would be all alone in the bare room. Helplessly, he glanced at his brother for an opinion. Sideswipe looked and felt just as conflicted as Sunstreaker. Hesitantly, Sideswipe whispered over their private bond, "Separate? I'll stay…"

Sunstreaker loathed that idea even more than straight up leaving the twinlings alone. An explosion sounded faintly from the outside and Sunstreaker twisted around to stare unseeingly at the door. The other Autobots needed him out there. More importantly, if he could kill the Decepticons out there, he could make sure that none of the fraggers came anywhere near the twinlings in the Bunker.

He had fought without Sideswipe directly at his side before, but it had never been pleasant. He always lost what little control he had and often got into more trouble than he could handle when he was without his twin. The same went about Sideswipe, the two simply couldn't operate anywhere near the same level of efficiency when they were separate as when they were together.

His comlink opened at that moment, ::Ultra Magnus to all Autobots, rendezvous at outer Sector Five! Brutes have broken through the defenses! I repeat, Brutes have broken through the defenses!::

Sunstreaker looked back down at the sobbing youngling in his arms, I can't let them get any closer. Looking up at Sideswipe he whispered, "Take care of them."

Sideswipe fluffed his armor slightly, "Take care of yourself."

Sunstreaker pried Fast Track off of his chassis and held the youngling by his shoulder plating, "Track. Track, look at me."

Fast Track reached for Sunstreaker, whining loudly, "D-don't! D-don't g-go!"

Sunstreaker felt his spark twinge at Fast Track's plea and vented deeply. Shushing the youngling, he touched his forehelm against Fast Track's, "Listen, Track. Listen to me. I'm coming back. I'm coming back for all three of you, I swear it on my spark. On the AllSpark itself! I will come back." He backed up his words with as much comfort and confidence as he could muster. Sideswipe reached out silently in aid, picking up Zipline and carrying him over to where Sunstreaker was crouched. Pulling his helm away fractionally from the distraught youngling, he said, "Just stay here, stay safe, and I'll come back. That's a promise, youngling," "And I never break promises to family. Ever."

Standing up, he turned to Zipline, who was staring at him with wide, surprisingly tearless optics. The mechling's feelings through the bond were scared. Sunstreaker brushed the emotion aside with confidence and comfort. Reaching out, he gently pulled Zipline's helm forward a little bit and touched it with his own in a sign of affection, "You'll be okay. Sideswipe is going to stay here with you and I'll be back soon. Just stay with your brother and Sides, okay? Okay."

Pulling away, Sunstreaker rolled for the exit, triggering the inside door control so that it rolled open. Something clutched at his leg, "Daddy!" Sunstreaker looked down at Fast Track, who was now hugging his leg. The word wasn't in any language he knew, but Sunstreaker somehow knew instinctively what it meant and that knowledge filled him with protective determination. Resting his servo briefly on Fast Track's helm, he didn't say a word, he just flooded Fast Track and Zipline's bond with him with love and understanding.

Sideswipe gently pried Fast Track off of Sunstreaker's leg and wrapped one arm protectively around each youngling, holding them back from following Sunstreaker as he rolled out the door. Sunstreaker looked over his shoulder strut just in time to see his family before the door slid shut.

Sideswipe was crouched in the Bunker, optics hard and worried, yet accepting. Fast Track and Zipline were huddled together, pressing themselves as close to Sideswipe and each other as they could, their well-worn and well-loved plush toys squeezed tightly in their arms as they stared at Sunstreaker with frightened, yet trusting optics. They believed him when he said he would come back. They trusted him.

Sunstreaker transformed and drove away from the hidden door at top speed, heading for outer Sector Five. As the location of the Bunker vanished around the corner and Sunstreaker barreled toward the nearest exit, he felt fire burn hotly in his spark. But this fire was different from any fire that had kindled in his spark before.

The earlier fires had been anger, hatred, a desire to protect Sideswipe and himself, or a mix of the three. This fire had no hatred, no anger, just determination. Sunstreaker would drive the Decepticons out of Algol. He would protect the base. He would protect his brother.

He would protect his younglings.


My apologies if Sunstreaker acts a little bit OOC in this scene. But I figure that he acts very differently around him family than around other mechs. Especially with parental programming beating him over the helm in a stressful situation. See you next week! (Hopefully. If real life doesn't find me first).