Author's note. I wrote this while away on holiday, I hope everyone enjoys it. Thanks to Decepticon Chick for her suggestions, a little bit was used in this chapter.

To guest's leaving questions, I cannot answer you because you are not signed in. Please sign in if you want me to answer you. I thought it was very obvious this wasn't the end of the story, I'm just not updating this every week because I have other stories.

Suggestions are welcome.

Enjoy and please review.

"What's with you?" Darklight demanded, watching as her lover stamped about their quarters in a bad mood.

He didn't answer, just continued with sorting through data pads and bits of weaponry. She knew him and the other Cons would be busy repairing their base and then building up the defences. The Autobots had done a number on the place. She couldn't help but grin as she remembered how the bots had cut through several floors to make their escape easier. And for the most part, it had worked, Elita, Arcee and Firestar had certainly made good their escape.

She sighed, it really was a shame she hadn't managed. As they'd gotten closer to the exit, the femmes had been dispersed among the Autobots and they'd ended up being attacked by the Cons. The last two femmes had been snatched in the struggle and carried off. The two of them weren't fighters so that had been that.

If there was one thing she'd learned on the streets, it was never to hang around when someone became unpredictably dangerous. Merely being dangerous wasn't that bad, you just needed to learn how to handle them. And right now, she hadn't the faintest idea how to handle Megatron.

She still wasn't sure of all the details but she'd definitely heard enough to know it was bad. As a heavily pregnant femme, she was not feeling terribly safe right now. All she could rely on was her grumpy lover.

When he stamped past her once more, she huffed and muttered. "Fine, be that way."

There was a sullen silence for a while after that, only broken when Darklight let out a hiss of pain.

"What is it?" Starscream instantly demanded, hurrying to her side as she half curled in pain.

"Just a bit of pain," she replied through gritted teeth.

"Is the Sparkling coming?" he wanted to know.

"I dunno," she muttered, then jumped when he snapped.

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

"I don't know," she snapped back.

"Well, you'd better know," he declared, drawing himself up. "That is my sparkling in there."

"It's my sparkling too," she argued back, crossing her arms in agitation.

"Then start acting like it," he growled, looking angry.

"What in the Pit does that mean?" Darklight wanted to know.

"Nothing," he said darkly, producing a cube and thrusting it at her. "We will visit Hook tomorrow to check the sparkling's progress."

"Fine…."I guess," she mumbled as Starscream continued what he'd been doing previously.

She sipped her cube, it seemed to help with the ache in her abdomen. Some more time past and gradually, she relaxed. However….

"Screamer, what's the deal with Mega-guns?" she asked softly.

"I told you not to call me that," the Seeker automatically chastised.

"Yeah, yeah. But seriously, what happened?" the young femme asked eagerly.

"Oh, you don't want to know," he said with a dark chuckle.

"Aww, come on," she wheedled. "I wanna know all the gory details."

Starscream gave her a smirk and finally climbed up beside her. Happy at the charge of events, she cuddled into his side, listening closely when he said.

"Believe me my dear, the details are extremely gory. Do you really want to hear them?"

"You know I do," she teased.

"Very well," he said silkily, wrapping an arm around her. "I believe it began when Megatron tried it on again with Elita."

"He doesn't give u," she said in wonder. "I know Mechs don't like to be denied but come on, the guys been getting plenty with Ivory. What's the point in continuing with her?"

"That is our glorious leader for you," Starscream replied sardonically. "He wanted Elita and he was going to have Elita. Only….."

"Only?" she prompted.

"Only," he began delicately. "He appears to have discovered something of a…..spike-blocker."

"What, more than that chasity belt?" she questioned. Elita had said that all Megatron could do was molest her with her valve completely out of the picture. To Darklight, they should either get on with it or give up. After getting to know the older femme, she did favour the latter now.

"Much more," he pronounced with relish. "Unless of course, he really is a total perv."

"Now I really want to know," she giggled and he drew her closer.

"Oh, it's good," he assured her with another chuckle.

"Tell me," she pleaded, she couldn't take anymore suspense.

He smirked at her before declaring.

"Elita One is mighty Megatron's…daughter!"

"What!?" she exploded in shock. "Are you serious?"

"Very," he acknowledged. "What a thing to do, lusting over your own daughter."

"No kidding," she muttered, her mind reeling. All this time, Elita was being felt up by her own….yesh.

Glancing at her lover and seeing his smirk, she couldn't resist saying.

"So I guess that means you perved on your leader's daughter?"

His smirk froze at this statement, making her giggle. She wondered how long it would take Megatron to remember it. However, he of course soon rallied and drawled.

"He is the one who offered her in the first place, he can't complain. I barely did anything to her, we merely enjoy each other's company."

She chuckled before a new thought struck her. "Hey…..wait a minute….what about Arcee?"

"Hmm, an ironic twist to be sure," Starscream mused. "I believe this means little Arcee is Elita's niece. Rather amazing how they found each other."

Darklight could only nod, it certainly was. Slag, this was unbelievable. That poor femme, that was truly fragged up.

"Anything else I need to know?" she questioned quietly.

"Like what?" he asked.

"I dunno, what did Megs do to frag off that Prime? Announce that they're now related?"

Starscream chuckled but shook his head.

"No my dear, that wouldn't have slagged him off nearly as much as it did. Essentially, he raped that blue femme…."

"He raped Chromia!?" she yelped, staring at him in horror.

"I'm afraid so," he said with a nod. "An unpleasant turn of events."

You're telling me," she exclaimed. "So…what happened, is the sparkling alright?"

"I would assume so since Prime did not mention it," Starscream stated. "We do not have much information yet."

"Guess asking old Megs isn't a good idea, huh?"

"I would say not," he stated dryly. "And on that subject, I would prefer that you stay away from him as much as possible."

"Sounds like a good idea," Darklight agreed. "He's too crazy for me."

"Hmm," Starscream murmured.

She took another gulp of her cube before yawning widely.

"I think I'll have some recharge," Darklight declared, setting down on the berth.

"Very well, go on," Starscream said graciously. He was a little too pepped up to think about interfacing with her and besides until she was checked out, it probably wasn't a good idea.

What started to play on his mind was not the Autobots renewed attacks or his leader's condition. It was something much more personal.

"Why did you try to run?"

….

"Elita."

The femme turned around and stopped at the sight of the naked, muscular Mech before her. Her expression became resigned as she said.

"Yes Megatron?"

He smiled and said.

"I thought we might try something different, Elita."

"Like what?" the pink femme replied cautiously.

He slowly made his way over to her, watching as she kept stock still. Placing his hands firmly on her shoulders, he said quietly. "On your knees, my beautiful femme."

Her face creased in slightly revulsion.

"Megatron," she started to say but he tightened his grip.

"Do it," he commanded, applying pressure downwards.

With a grimace and resigned sigh, she knelt before him. Smiling triumphantly, he gently cupped her chin and said.

"Now open up."

She did as she was told, opening her mouth and allowing his spike to enter. His optics brightened with his lust, while his spike swelled obscenely. He was obvious to the femme's fists clenching, instead he began to move back and forth.

"Oh yes," he growled, now gripping the back of her head, forcing her to move while she did what he wanted.

He was close, so close, he could feel his overload rapidly approaching. And when it happened, he was going to shoot his load into her and make her swallow ever last drop. The noises she was making every time he hit the back of her throat where music to his audio. She had a good mouth, he could only imagine what her valve would feel like.

Yes, it was almost here, just one more thrust and he would…..

"Argh!" Megatron roared as he sat up in his berth, optics alive with energy.

He growled as his load shot into nothing, merely splattering onto his legs and berth. Ivory slept on oblivious at his side, she could clean up the mess later. Not baring if he caused more of a mess, he swung his legs off the berth and bent over moodily.

Despite his overload, his erection had only gone down very slightly. He was still rock hard.

"Frag it all," he snarled softly to himself.

What was she doing now? Fragging that overgrown dock worker? Attempting to free her mind of all that had happened. Or was Prime's berth still a cold one. He hoped so.

Today, he would focus on ensuring that Prime and his merry bend did not enter his base so easily next time. Since they would not be receiving any more shipments of Energon from the bots, they needed to plan a new raid. Somewhere that was a fair distance from bases but preferably even further from Prime's base. That would create suitable problems for his hated foe. Perhaps he would take a few humans hostage, yes, that would really mess things up.

He suddenly laughed at the thought of giving them to Ivory as pets for her to look after. She'd already expressed distaste for organic lifeforms. It would be very amusing to watch her care for any prisoner he took. If she refused, he would simply force her.

He glanced over at her sleeping form, he was still suffering from, he was still suffering from a fairly hard erection. He could have a cold shower but on the other hand….

"Ivory dear."

…..

His chrome showed that it was early morning and many bots would still be in recharge. It only took him a moment to realise that his berth was empty. Sitting up, he found it was still warm, she hadn't been gone long. Faint sounds echoed from his washroom.

"Hmm," he murmured, hauling himself to his feet and making his way over.

Opening the door, he found his mate bent over the sink, attempting to scrub her mouth out with cleaner. Different cleaning materials were scattered about, including those they used for mouth care. He stood there was a moment before moving forward and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She jerked and stared up at him with haunted optics.

"Bad dreams?" he asked softly.

She inclined her head before turning to spit. After quickly washing her mouth out and spitting once more, she said.

"I didn't mean to wake you."

"I usually rise early," he assured her. "Can I ask what you were dreaming about?"

She couldn't meet his optics.

"Just…something that happened on the Nemesis a while ago," she stated dully. "It was…very vivid."

"I see," he said. "Was Megatron in it?"

She simply nodded.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Is there anything I can do?"

"I don't know," she said with a heavy sigh. "It wasn't so bad before but….last night was a bad one."

He didn't need to ask what Megatron had done. Instead, he wondered what he could say to make her feel better. He felt so inadequate, how was he going to repair everything that had been so badly damaged.

"A-Arcee will probably show up at some point….do you wish for me to distract her until later," he asked, almost hesitantly.

Elita's face creased into uncertainty.

"I…..I don't know," she stammered, looking frazzled.

"Elita," he rumbled softly. "You don't have to cope with all of this by yourself anymore."

This made her smile ruefully.

"I'm still getting used to that."

Drawing her into an embrace, he said with a chuckle.

"I'll have to help you remember."

He leaned in to kiss her and she followed suit before suddenly stopping.

"Are you sure you want to kiss this mouth?"

He paused before rumbling.

"I wish to kiss every single part of you."

So saying this, he leaned in again and kissed her lips, moving to her left cheek and then neck. She gasped slightly, moving her head to allow him better access. What did she do to deserve such a Mech?

Optimus continued to kiss her, enjoying her taste. As he did this, he felt her draw closer and then start to shake. The large Mech held the smaller Femme closer, carefully cupping the back of her head as she began to cry.

"Let it all out, my love," he told her quietly. "Every bit of it."

Should he speak to Ratchet or Smokescreen about what he could do to help his mate? Maybe he would call Ratchet later and ask for his advice on the matter. There was also his daughter to consider, she too would need counselling.

"I'm there for you, sweetie," he murmured, kissing the top of her head. "Always and forever."

….

"I can't believe I was such a fool," Arcee muttered as she sat huddled on a berth.

"You weren't a fool," Firestar said soothingly, rubbing oil into her swollen abdomen. "Cee, no one could have predicted what happened."

"But I still trusted him," exclaimed the young femme. "Even after all he's done, destroying Cybertron, killing bots and enslaving us."

Her face darkened as she added.

"Trying to rape mama and me."

Firestar heard herself up with a small groan before going to sit with the younger Femme.

"Arcee," she said gently. "Anyone held captive for a period of time has a stronger chance of forming attachment. Look at me, I'm carrying one of my captor's Sparklings."

"But they didn't hurt you…..did they?" Arcee asked, her face full of concern. She didn't think the Combaticons had but with Decepticons, you could never tell.

"No," Firestar said slowly. "They weren't the most sensitive of Mechs and it sometimes took them a while to work out that I needed things. But they were never cruel or hurt me."

She paused, organising her thoughts before saying.

"They did make it clear they were going to interface with me so I wasn't in the best of positions. Especially with five of them."

"That's horrible," Arcee said quietly.

"It wasn't all bad," Firestar said gently, rubbing her back. "I was a single Femme who hadn't had a boyfriend in a long time…..I made the choice to accept their advances, and I did enjoy it," she added firmly. "Some were better than others but none of it was unpleasant. I'm happy to have their sparkling even though I'm not in a proper relationship with any of them."

While Arcee processed this, Firestar offered with a chuckle.

"Complicated, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Arcee said with a small nod. "I just…..he raped Chromia and for what?"

"I know," the older Femme agreed. "It's pretty bad. At least she's not on his base."

"No but they weren't on his base when he attacked. He could still get them again or mama," Arcee said pensively.

"We'll do everything to protect them," Firestar said firmly. "What happened was completely out of the blue but now we can prepare for another such attack. Chromia isn't carrying now, she can protect herself better. So can Elita."

"I hope so," Arcee murmured. "Uh, do you need any Energon? The Sparkling must be hungry."

"Now that you mention it….," Firestar said with a grin. "Why don't you show me the Rec Room?"

"Sure," Arcee agreed with a smile. "This base is great, it's loads better than the Nemesis. It's much fresher and lighter here and you can go outside anytime you like."

"Sounds like a perfect holiday," the flame coloured Femme sighed happily.

They exited the quarters and started to make their way to the Rec Room.

"Hey, Firestar!"

"Inferno," Firestar exclaimed in delight as she came face to face with her brother. They hugged each other enthusiastically and exchanged kisses.

"I'm so glad you're here," Inferno said with a big grin. "I was going crazy with worry over you being cooped up in that dingy old base."

"Well, I'm happy to be finally out of there," Firestar declared, patting her middle as she added. "And I think junior is too."

"Can't wait to meet the little guy," Inferno agreed. "At least when he's out, we can work out which Combaticon I'm supposed to beat up."

"Inferno," his sister laughed as Arcee giggled.

"Hey, no one knocks up my little sister and gets away with it," he teased. "Isn't that right, Arcee?"

"Yeah," the young Femme giggled. "Inferno, have you seen my creators?"

"No but Prime usually rises early," Inferno told her. "You could always check at his quarters."

"That's okay, I don't want to disturb them if they're…..busy," Arcee said, only flushing a tiny bit.

He smiled in understanding. No one would be disturbing the Prime this morning unless there was an urgent problem. And as far as he was aware, everything was fine, even Ratchet was coping. Speaking of Ratchet….

"By the way sis, Ratchet wants to see you ASAP."

"Should have known," Firestar sighed. "Well, I think I'll have a cube of Energon first before I face him."

"Good plan," her brother agreed. "I'll provide escort to you gals."

He offered them each an arm which they both accepted. Together, the three of them made their way to the Rec Room. Once there, Inferno bade them to grab a table while he got the cubes. They found a free place and sat down, Firestar doing so very gratefully. Surely no Femme sparkling could feel this heavy.

There were lots of greetings thrown their way and they replied in kind. However, when Inferno joined them with three large cubes, some bots decided to approach them. This included some of the Minibots.

"Hey, good to see you guys," Hound said warmly, his smile broad on his slightly dirt splattered face. He looked like he'd just come back from patrol.

"Good to see you too Hound," Firestar greeted back. "How have you been?"

"Brillaint, you've no idea how happy I am we landed on this planet," the scout said enthusiastically. "The landscapes, the wildlife, it's amazing. In fact, it's so good that it's pretty hard to drag Beachcomber away from it all."

This made Firestar laugh, that did sound like Beachcomber.

"Congratulations on the sparkling by the way," the green Autobot added.

"Thanks," she said just as Huffer asked.

"Who is the father?"

There was silence before Firestar said with a shrug. "I don't know."

Before Inferno could say anything, Cliffjumper exclaimed.

"You don't know? How many Cons did you sleep with?"

"Cliff," Inferno said warningly.

"It's a fair question," Gears offered, earning a glare.

"And an inappropriate one," Inferno growled. "Drop it."

"Why didn't you fight them off?" Cliffjumper demanded.

"Well, it's rather hard to do so when there's five of them," Firestar replied, taking a delicate sip of her Energon.

There was a very awkward silence. Unable to stay silent any longer, Arcee burst out.

"She did it because she didn't want to be raped. You've no idea what it was like living there. Mother had to let fragging Megatron molest her just to stop him from raping me!"

There were gasps at this as Arcee glared at the red Minibot. Inferno had an arm around his sister's shoulders as he also glared. The Minibot shifted slightly, not looking so righteous. Firestar sighed before saying.

"Look, all of us Femmes were forced to make difficult choices while we were held prisoner there. Megatron made us all slaves who his Cons could use in any way they liked. Chromia was lucky in that her master just wanted her as a worker and not as a pleasurebot."

Taking another drink of her cube, she added coolly.

"Try not to judge us too harshly."

"Or don't judge about something you don't know anything about," Inferno declared hotly. "Now leave us alone."

"Do it," Hound said quietly and most obeyed.

One of the Airelbots, Fireflight, had remained though and now said nervously. "I uh….thought it would be nice to have another Sparkling here."

"Thank you," Firestar told him warmly. "I'm glad my Sparkling will have a little playmate."

The flier nodded with a grin, gazing in wonder at her bump before politely withdrawing.

"Seen Chromia's little guy?" Hound queried, tactfully changing the subject.

"Not yet," Firestar admitted. "I was too tired last night to try."

"I think mama's seen him," Arcee said softly, looking morose again.

"Let's hope he didn't inherit his Sire's looks," Inferno joked as Firestar punched his shoulder, making him laugh.

"Only joking," he chuckled as Hound exclaimed. "Speak of the devil."

There was Ironhide standing in the doorway wearing a frown on his haggard features. Spotting them, he strode right over.

"Ah hear there was some trouble a yew breems ago."

"Nothing we can't handle," Firestar assured him as Arcee got to her feet a little shakily.

"Ironhide, I….," she began but he interrupted by holding out his arms. "Come 'ere kid."

She flew into his broad as he hugged her tightly. Stroking her hand as she started to cry, he said gently.

"It's okay, little Cee."

"I'm sorry," she gasped out through sobs. "I didn't know he was going to do that….."

"None of us did," he said gently, holding her close as he looked at Firestar.

"Don't listen to anyone that starts bad mouthing yah or yer sparkling," he stated firmly. "It's no one's business but yers."

"Thank you," the pregnant Femme said gratefully. "How is your little one?"

"He's a fighter," Ironhide stated, smiling wryly. "He'll pull through, just needs a little time. Yah wanna see him later."

"I would love to," she said with her own smile. "Just give me a call when it's convenient."

"Ah will," Ironhide said before saying to Arcee. "Ah'll take yer to yer folks, they're in the Med Bay."

"Thanks," Arcee mumbled. "I'm sorry for being a baby."

"Yah ain't a baby," he told her firmly, beginning to lead her away. "S'alright tah cry sometimes."

"Hmm," she murmured, feeling safe with his strong arm around her. No one would dare to ask or accuse her of anything with Ironhide around. "Is my mother and father okay?"

"Yeh, they're fine," Ironhide stated. "Yer mom's stressed out by it all but she'll get over it. Prime will see to that."

"I hope so," Arcee said softly. "She gave up a lot to protect us all."

"Mm," he acknowledged. "She's a brave lady. Prime lucky to have her."

"That's what papa always used to say," she said matter-of-factly, with no small amount fondness.

She hesitated before asking.

"Ironhide, do you think they'll ever have a Sparkling?"

"They already have one," he reminded her with a smile.

"You know what I mean," she told him, making him chuckle. "Anyway, I've always wanted a little brother or sister. And I think some Sparklings would be good for them."

"Sparklings?" Ironhide repeated, laughing. "How many yah think they're gonna have."

"I don't know," she mused. "Maybe….three? I think papa would look cute with three Sparklings crawling over him."

Ironhide roared with laughter, already picturing his leader on his aft with gurgling Sparklings using him as a climbing frame. And the overgrown softie would enjoy every moment of it.

"Three, eh?" he managed to say. "So what would they be?"

"Two Mechs and one Femme," declared Arcee. "That way, we'd all have at least one brother and sister."

She used to always imagine having younger siblings. And now that she was grown, she felt her parents deserved to have their own Sparklings especially after everything her father had missed. And maybe it would help her mother forget what had happened."

"Not bad logic," Ironhide mused. "Well, ah know Prime wouldn't complain about three."

"What about mama?" she asked softly.

He sighed.

"Ah'm pretty sure she would to but that might be a while coming. All that's happened recently hit her pretty hard as yah know."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Ironhide….do you know…..why this all happened?"

"Ah know the events leading up tah it," he said quietly, his tone very serious. "But ah think yer Sire should explain all that."

"Is it really bad?" she queried and he nodded. It was.

She looked down, how could Megatron have done that?

"I'll ask papa," she concluded softly.

"That's a good idea," he said encouragingly. "Hey, would yah like tah see Dynamite at some point?"

"That would be great," she agreed. "I bet he's really cute."

"He is," Ironhide confirmed proudly. "Ah couldn't ask fer a better son."

They were coming up to the Med Bay, she recognised the various scuffs and cracks in the walls. Not in as much disrepair as the Nemesis but still in need of a touch up. Both though were in much better condition than what was on Cybertron. She wondered if she'd ever see a repaired Cybertron. She'd grown up around bombsites and shattered buildings, and played with other war orphans.

"Here we go," Ironhide announced, palming the button to open the door.

Immediately, Arcee saw that several berths were still occupied as the result of the previous day's battle. She bit her lip, some of them didn't look good. She hadn't fought in a proper battle yet, would she be capable of being a proper warrior? Knowing that she could become as horribly injured as those lying in this Med Bay.

"Ironhide," Ratchet exclaimed, spotting them. "I thought you were going for a walk?"

"Yeah but ah picked up a little something," the red Mech explained, indicating Arcee who had been staring at one of the injured bots.

"Ah, Arcee," Ratchet said. "Are you here to see your creators?"

"Yes Ratchet," she agreed solemly. "Are they in a back room?"

"Yes, they've been giving each other some basic check-ups," Ratchet stated, gesturing towards a room. "I'm too busy to do that right now."

"Okay," she said before adding. "Firestar said she would come round later."

"Good, I set aside some time for her," Ratchet said, looking pleased. "I want to make sure both of our mothers and Sparklings are healthy and safe."

"Good thinking," mumbled Ironhide. "Yah need any help with anything, Ratch?"

"Yeah, I think I could," the medic mused. "Arcee, you go into that room and see your creators."

"Thanks," she said, pausing and then saying. "Ratchet, if I don't have any other duties, I'd be happy to help here as well once I've spoken to my creators."

He blinked before smiling.

"Just like your folks. I'd be happy to have you if you aren't needed elsewhere."

She smiled back, making her way to the room he'd indicated. Arriving, she knocked before going inside.

"Baba?" she said gently upon seeing him sitting on a berth, slightly slumped forward with his optics dimmed.

His optics lighting up, he exclaimed in his familiar rumble.

"Arcee!"

She smiled and as she came forward to hug him, realised her mother had been tending to his very broad back. To her optics, her mother looked tired and a little down but she still smiled at the sight of her daughter.

"Feeling better today?" she asked the younger Femme.

"Yeah," ARcee replied, allowing her father to rearrange her on his lap. "It's just good to be away from there and back with my family."

"Mm, you're right about that," Elita agreed.

"Mama, do you think grandmother will be okay?" Arcee couldn't help but ask.

"Well, she is a tough Femme," Elita mused thoughtfully. "I think she can hold her own for a while. But we will make every effort to get her back and Darklight too."

"Indeed," Optimus agreed. "I would every much like to meet your grandmother, Arcee."

Nodding, Arcee stated. "She's my only family by spark left, I don't want to lose her."

She'd deliberately left Megatron out of that equation.

"That….isn't strictly true," her mother began slowly.

"What do you mean?" Arcee asked, surely she didn't mean her grandfather.

Elita glanced at her mate so he said.

"It appears Megatron had another child, a daughter."

"Wait….you're saying I have an aunt?" exclaimed Arcee in shock.

"That is correct," replied Optimus gravely.

"Who is it, do you know?" she asked frantically, did she really have an aunt out there.

Coming forward and gently taking Arcee's hand, Elita said softly.

"It's me Sweetspark. I am your mother's sister by Spark."

"You…..you are?" Arcee half yelped in shock.

"Yes my darling," her mother assured her. "We are truly family."

"That's amazing," Arcee said excitedly. "I guess this makes daddy my uncle."

"Oh yes," chuckled Optimus, cuddling her. "I suppose you'll have to call me uncle now."

This made her giggle while she rested her cheek against Optimus's chest. She now declared.

"Wait until Megatron hears about that…..!"

She cut herself off in horror as it dawned on her what that meant.

"Oh Primus," she gasped in horror. "That means…."

"Yes," Elita acknowledged quietly. "I know."

"Mama," Arcee whimpered as the Prime enveloped both of his Femmes in his arms. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright," Elita said gently, her expression pensive. "And I know this will be hard but we are going to try and work through it."

"As a family," Optimus added firmly.

"I-is that why he raped Chromia?" she questioned and her father nodded.

"That does appear to be the catalyst," he surmised. "However, it has produced unexpected consequences."

When she looked up in confusion, he said.

"Because of the violent nature of Megatron's attack, little Dynamite now has some of Megatron's code. This has caused Dynamite to be born with red optics."

"Oh no!" she gasped, now everyone would stare at the little Sparkling.

"And as you know, coding like that cannot be messed with until he is much older. We do not know what else may have been affected."

"That's….," Arcee began but couldn't finish. What word could fully describe how dire the situation was?

Coding was a complicated matter, it was very tricky to change it. Now spotting insignia in darkness or at a distance could be near impossible, both sides had settled on an optic colour to make targeting easier. Since Megatron had red optics and many of those he'd recruited had also had red optics, that had become part of being a Decepticon. If you had blue optics and wanted to join, you had to receive a donation of red optic coding and it was spliced onto your own. And once that happened, it was practically permanent and would affect their offspring. So even if a Con had once had blue optics, his children would be sparked with red ones.

Arcee bowed her head, whenever bots looked at Dynamite, they would believe his Sire was a Decepticon.

"The important thing is that Dynamite's creators love him," Optimus said gently, holding her close. "With our support, they will get through this."

"I hope so," his daughter murmured, squeezing her mother's hand in comfort.

Chromia and Elita One had been best friends for a long time and had both been brutally hurt by Megatron. She might not be strong enough to take him on but she dearly hoped her Sire could teach him a well-deserved lesson. He'd ruined everything.

And she probably would never be able to see Thundercracker again.

Author's note. The timelines should be alright now, we're definitely in the day after the battle. Until next time.