Sitting on a table in the Repair Bay watching Ratchet deactivate Laserbeak's weapons is not as interesting as it sounds.

In fact, once one has already seen all the alien medical tools adapted for use on beings with a metallic body, the Repair Bay is quite boring.

Even Ratchet's grumbling has grown old by now.

So, Spike lets out a tired sigh, pulls his legs to his chest, wraps his arms around them and rests his chin on his knees.

This has to be some kind of punishment for before, even though Optimus said the boy was innocent of the incident because of his lack of knowledge about the situation.

He entertained himself at first trying to imagine what would befall the twins and Bumblebee—though mostly the frontliners—for their careless communication with the Decepticons and their, as Jazz had put it, psychological warfare against their own faction, even though Cliffjumper had been the one shouting, in Cybertronian, of course, loud enough for the whole Ark to hear as they took Prowl and the still knocked out Cassette to Ratchet.

Which is why the Prime, with a loudly growling Ironhide that was a second away from literally shooting the twins, entered the room rather hastily as soon as Ratchet started looking over his patients, the Head of Special Operations calmly following.

Whatever the red Minibot told them, still in the clicking and whirling and overall mechanical noise that was their native language, almost made the Weapons Specialist join the list of 'casualties', but the sound of a smirking Jazz's fans coming online kept him conscious, even if it was just to shout—shriek, shouting in Cybertronian sounds like shrieking, more so at the pitch Ironhide's voice got to—and threaten the black and white mech.

And that was when Ratchet started throwing wrenches.

The Repair Bay emptied rather quickly then.

Spike followed out of self-preservation, and so he witnessed Optimus ordering, with a really disapproving look, the twins and the two Minibots to his office to talk about the situation, and was reassured that it wasn't the boy's fault.

Jazz had just made the comment about psychological warfare when the door to the Repair Bay opened and Ratchet literally picked the teenager up by the scruff of his neck.

Well, by the collar of his shirt.

Spike only had time to yelp in surprise before the medic plopped him in a sitting position on his other servo, to let him be more comfortable but keep the message clear.

You are staying with me.

After the twins told him that they had been trying to explain the human about creation before the whole Starscream-Soundwave mess, Ratchet shooed the group off, entered the Repair Bay and locked the door.

And Spike was left on a table with an order to 'not touch anything, and I mean anything' before the medic went back to his job of disarming the Cassette.

So, he is bored.

More so because making sure a bot doesn't have access to their weapons means connecting a cable from Ratchet's arm to a port on the back of Laserbeak's neck and stay completely still.

Sure, watching the medic's blue optics dim, like the times he's answering internal comm, and flicker between shades of blue was interesting, as well as trying to decipher all the clicking and whirring mutterings, but that lost it's attractive soon enough.

The only other Cybertronian with them is Prowl, but he's still out of it, lying on his back on one of the metallic beds, doorwings spread to the sides the most the boy has ever seen them.

So, Spike is bored.

With another mournful sigh, he presses his face against his knees, trying not to think about the nice day, and how he'd wanted to go for a ride with Bumblebee, maybe race the twins…

Another sigh leaves his lips before he can stop himself.

"Is there a physical reason why you're ex-venting like that, or is it just to annoy me?" The teenager jumps a bit at the sudden voice, looking up quickly to see Ratchet coiling the cable and looking at him with optics dim in slight irritation.

"I was bored." He answers sheepishly, shrugging, and the medic lets out a huff of air through his vents that makes the boy smirk. "Can you talk now? Because I'm going to start sighing again if you don't."

The ambulance just gives him a deadpanned look in response, putting the cable back in his arm and closing the panel so that it isn't visible anymore.

"Yes, I can talk. I fact, I need to talk to straighten the tangle of data those three put in your processor." Spike blinks in surprise before remembering what he had been talking with the twins and Bumblebee before they found Laserbeak.

He can't help the grimace appearing on his features.

The medic doesn't see it, busy as he is restraining the Cassette to the bed.

"Do we really have to talk about sex? Can't we just leave it with 'things are different between our species'?" He tentatively asks, and Ratchet, who was reaching for some tools, stops, eyes dimming.

There's a cough of the ambulance's engine a second later as the medic grimaces.

"That is human interface? What a mess." Metals clank as small armor plates move slightly in what looks like a shiver.

Spike can't decide what's more interesting, the words, or the movement.

In the end, the decision is taken for him as Ratchet grabs a couple of tools and sits in front of the table the teenager is on, carefully extending what looks like a mesh cloth to put the tools on.

"Yes, we need to talk, because I can't have you crashing processors with every couple of words you say." The boy huddles a bit in embarrassment, and the medic softens his tone. "It isn't your fault, and crashing is a pretty extreme reaction, but knowing more about us may be convenient. Even if I can't see how creation will ever be useful to get out of a situation… unless you purposefully twist it to make others fritz." There's a slightly dark smirk on Ratchet's faceplate, and Spike chuckles after a quick glance at Laserbeak.

The memory of Starscream and Soundwave's almost white optics quickly sobers him, though.

The ambulance gives him a curious look before turning his attention to his tools, using a small needle to poke at hard to access areas, dust flecks falling from them.

"Now, how did you manage to draw Starscream as Laserbeak's creator from a talk about creation?"

Blushing seems to have become far too common lately, but Spike can't stop himself.

So, instead, he keeps looking at the cleansing of the tools.

"Well, they said that the Cassettes are Soundwave's children, and that they could have been created by two Cybertronian and… well, Laserbeak flies, and Starscream was the first Decepticon Seeker that came to mind, so…" He leaves it at that with a shrug, and quickly notices that the needle isn't moving anymore.

A look up gives him the answer, for Ratchet is studying the boy with his mouth open in surprise.

"What?"

"You thought Starscream was Laserbeak's creator because they both have aerial capabilities?" The medic retorts with a mix of disbelief and astonishment.

"Huh, yes, I guess." At the confused look, Spike moves to sit Indian style, waving his hands as if that would help the explanation come forth. "Look, I was—I was overwhelmed by a lot of images I really didn't want to think about, so I latched onto the first thing I could. Even if it wasn't that much better. So, yes, I thought that Laserbeak's father, or creator, or whatever you call him, had to be someone able to fly, and the first that came to mind was Starscream, so that's the name I said."

"No, no, that's not what I—" The ambulance cuts himself with an annoyed grumble of engines, but calms down before looking back at the teenager. "This is exactly why we need to talk. You've been given erroneous data, and have managed to establish the wrong connections between what little they managed to get right. So, forget whatever those three told you and listen." He pauses for an instant, and Spike nods, back straight.

Perhaps this will be his chance to finally get rid of those disturbing images once and for all.

"Newsparks, the new Cybertronian, can be created in two ways." The tools are left on the cloth as Ratchet lifts his servos as if those options were in his palms. "From another spark or through Vector Sigma."

"Vector Sigma?" The medic stops so completely that not even the tiniest of whirrs comes from his frame.

Then, his optics go black, and Spike worries for a second that he's somehow managed to make the mech crash, but Ratchet just lets out a loud huff as he covers his faceplate with a servo.

"I'll give you the really, really, really short version. If you want the whole one, talk with Prime." The teenager is about to ask what the ambulance is talking about, but Ratchet looks back at him that instant, so he stays quiet. "Long before the first Cybertronian records, a powerful being created robots. He used the strongest materials in the universe, gave them processors more advanced than any civilization had managed to build, and installed the most complex and precise circuitry and sensory arrays in them. And then, he filled them with the richest and most efficient energy source and turned them on."

Feeling like a kid at a storytelling, Spike leans forward.

The medic's optics flash a second with amusement before continuing.

"The robots worked perfectly, and their AI was so advanced that they could have been mistaken for actual living beings. And yet, they clearly weren't. They learned, and could mimic feelings almost to perfection, but it was too obvious for their creator that they weren't more than pieces masterfully put together. So, the powerful being gave them something more. He gave them parts of his life source." The teenager's mouth falls open in surprise, stiffening.

"To all of them?" He asks in a whisper, and Ratchet's amusement stays in his optics this time, as well as the tiny smile on his faceplate.

"To every single one. There weren't a lot, and the being's life force was so powerful that the parts he gave them were nothing more than sparks. He gave them the ability to adapt, and then they traveled so that the robots could learn, and he taught them what he knew. And with each new thing they learned and experienced, the robots' sparks became more their own. So, it came to the point that the powerful being decided to let them go, for them to live their own lives, and so, together, they searched a planet for the robots to settle."

"And they found it." Spike cuts in with a big smile, starting to see where this is going.

"Actually, they didn't."

"What?" The medic's engine rumbles softly in laughter, and the teenager gestures for him to go on.

"The robots had been so carefully created, so specially designed, that no world felt like home to them, now that they were able to feel. Their home, they told their creator, was wandering the universe with him. And so, the being built them a world, as masterfully crafted as his creations had been, a metallic planet that would wander the universe. And that felt like home, but with it came another problem, for the planet was dead. There was no life, no energy, nothing. It could have been nothing more than a gigantic asteroid, and, like one, it would be caught by the first star it approached, and be devoured by it, because there wasn't any energy source strong enough to power a whole planet. So, the creator decided to give it his own." The teenager almost falls flat on the table in surprise, so intently was he leaning towards the mech. "His own energy source, as powerful, or even more, than any star, filled the planet and gave it life, made it the home the creator had intended it to be. And, to always be there to help the beings he had given life to, he converted his own body, housing the tiny part of his life force that had remained behind, into a powerful object that he gave to the wisest and most compassionate of his creations, for him to lead the rest. And like this, the new race of mechanical beings with the ability to transform and with a spark powering their frames, got their home, a planet they named Cybertron, thanks to their creator, Primus. Then, things happened, and here we are." The last sentence is bitter and dark, and Spike startles almost as badly as before, but the sadness reflected by those dark azure optics tempers his surprise.

"What about that Vector Something?" He asks softly, and Ratchet's optics turn black for less than a second in a quick reboot, the equivalent of a blink, to center himself.

"Vector Sigma. It's a super computer linked to Cybertron's very core, to Primus' spark, so it can create newsparks by putting a spark in an empty frame." He explains, voice no longer dark, and the teenager feels equal parts happy and curious.

"So you build frames, bring them to that super computer, and it gives them a spark." He summarizes, thinking about how artificial that sounds… but how much better it is than thinking about pregnant robots.

Besides, that's a lot more like what he would expect from a race of mechanical beings.

"In a sense. Now, the other way—" Spike cringes, but, despite seeing his reaction, the medic doesn't stop talking. "—is to create a spark from an already active Cybertronian. And that is what is called creation." The boy frowns in confusion, all his steely resolve to push away unpleasant images crumbling to nothing as he focuses on the words. "Creating happens when enough energy and coding come together, either from only one spark or through the spark-merging of two others, and form a new spark. This is a really common occurrence, since our own sparks have extra replicated coding at all times, and all it takes is a power surge for whatever reason to have a newspark."

"But shouldn't you have lots of babies—I mean, newsparks, then?" He asks, confused and curious, and Ratchet smiles in amusement.

"Creation, Spike. Creation. It's not 'a big deal' because it happens a lot. And because, 93'7855% of the times, it doesn't go further than that." The teenager's features go blank, waiting for further explanation, as he doesn't understand anything. "For a newspark to be viable, it needs to have all essential coding in it, but the percentage of it in a mature spark is of 6'2145, and it can be even less depending on the state of replication of non-essential coding. So, most of the times, the newspark is just absorbed by the carrier spark."

Spike freezes, eyes wide in horror.

It's not 'a big deal' because it happens a lot… The newspark is just absorbed by the carrier spark…

It's not 'a big deal'… happens a lot… just absorbed…

Not 'a big deal'… a lot… absorbed…

"And it—those…" He has to gulp twice to sooth the apparent dryness in his throat. "That 'absorbing' only happens with the—the ones that have a problem?"

Spike's stomach churns, and he feels himself paling.

It sounds too much like that doc about the lioness that left all her newborn cubs because one was sick.

"Exactly." Ratchet answers carefully, examining him attentively. "Are you alright?"

"I… it's just that… I didn't know you…" The medic frowns, and Spike shakes his head, not sure if he really wants to find the words to explain. "You kill your kids just because they are sick." The ambulance looks away, pondering it, and the teenager shivers.

"I don't know if I've understood it right but… Spike, non-viable newsparks are like 'eggs'. The ones you humans eat." The boy looks up sharply, looking at the mech. "They could have been chickens. Or ducks, or whatever. But they aren't. So, even if you left one of those eggs with its creator, there would be nothing coming out of it."

It clicks loudly in place in his head, and the whole picture rearranges itself.

Non-viable newsparks aren't like deaf or blind babies, they're like unfertilized eggs.

Lifeless from the very start.

The teenager smiles in relief.

"So, you don't just 'absorb' a newspark because it has a tiny defect. I thought… for a second I'd thought… I thought you guys did that too with ones that were, you know. Like, born blind, or deaf…" The medic's face goes blank, and Spike's eyes widen. "Ratchet?"

"If it has all essential coding intact, a newspark is viable." He simply repeats, and the boy pales.

"So you do…"

"Let me explain something." He has to physically shake himself before finding enough strength to nod. "You know I can repair almost everything, right? Even reattach limbs, or replace parts." The teenager nods again, still not over his shock, but more curious. "Well, there are things that just can't be repaired, least of all replaced, because they are so attuned to the spark that they are the only pieces that would ever be compatible with it. Any others, any changes, and either they will malfunction or the spark will give out, if the change is too big." Ratchet's solemn gaze doesn't look away from him, and Spike finds himself completely lost in those blue beacons. "Those are the parts regulated by essential coding. So yes, some of those malfunctions you've just described, and some others I know humans suffer, are reasons for a newspark's absorption, because they are caused by mistakes or lack of essential coding. Our own sparks recognize it, so they absorb the newspark. And the bot isn't aware of the newspark until the absorption is over."

Just when he began to feel better, to understand, Ratchet's words make it worse again.

"You don't realize you had a kid until it's dead?" He squeaks, not as shocked as before now that he knows the reasons behind the absorption, but still stunned.

"No, we don't. It takes two orns, about 16'6 of your days, for the carrier spark to completely analyze a newspark. This is known as trial time, with the confirmation of its viability marking the beginning of the development period, during which the newspark will strengthen for when it is transferred to the Newspark Protoform, its frame."

"So that is when they are really born?" Ratchet nods, looking satisfied that he's finally cleared that. "Do you… have you…" The medic gestures for him to go on and, feeling like the rudest guy in the planet, he pushes out his question. "Have you ever created?"

That… sounds awkward.

But the ambulance just gives him an amused smile at his 'I think I've eaten a bug' look, and nods.

"Yes, many times. But I've never had a successfully developed newspark, if that's what you wanted to ask next." He answers easily, not looking uncomfortable at all, or sad, or anything, and Spike realizes, just then, that it really is normal, and not that big of a deal.

They really are a different species.

"Ratchet?" He calls after a couple of minutes of calm, in which he finally takes in everything, a list of questions slowly developing.

The medic doesn't look away from the tools he's gone back to cleaning, but nods as an indication for him to ask away.

"Prowl said that Laserbeak may really be Soundwave and Starscream's creation, but you said that being fliers may not be proof of it. So, why did he say that?"

"Because it would be a tactical advantage." The medic's mouth is open, but the voice is not his.

When they look at the beds, they find Prowl calmly sitting up, as composed as always.

Though, the way his doorwings are twitching on his back kind of break that usual seriousness.

They look too much like a bunny's twitching whiskers, to be fair.

But, the answer is more interesting than the now settling doorwings.

"A tactical advantage?" The boy repeats, looking to the side to see Ratchet scowling before turning his attention back to the Second in Command, who gives the Cassette a look before approaching the other two.

Laserbeak, yellow optics alight, watches them in silence.

"The chances of obtaining an airborne Cassette would be higher if he was to get a Seeker's coding." The Tactician explains calmly, and the Decepticon squawks indignantly. "Of course, it could also happen naturally, but the chances of that are far lower."

"So, you mean, Soundwave wanted a flying Cassette and that's why he… uh… 'created' with Starscream?" The boy asks awkwardly, and Ratchet's engine gives a short rev in a snort-like gesture.

"Spark-merged, Spike. I'll explain that another time, but when two Cybertronian want to create together, they spark-merge." Laserbeak squawks again, struggling a bit with his restraints. "Though he seems really sure about being Soundwave's split spark creation." He adds, gesturing to the fuming Cassette.

"Split spark?"

"It's how a newspark is created by a single mature spark. Those that were created that way are called split spark creations." The medic answers easily, and the boy nods, filling the information away before turning to Prowl, calmly studying the captured Decepticon that is clearly glaring at them, pale yellow optics on the Second in Command's calm blue.

"That's what you meant when you said it was a tactical advantage? To spark-merge with a Seeker so that the Cassette would be a flier?" He asks the Tactician, who turns away from the once more squawking Laserbeak without a second glance.

"No. I meant that having a Flier Cassette as a spy would be more beneficial, more so because he already had a Grounder Cassette spy in Ravage, so, to increase the chances of that, spark-merging with a Seeker would be the best option to gain an unimpaired mech. Also, seeing how Starscream is the best Flier in the Decepticon ranks, that would make him a prime candidate."

Spike can feel his brain whirling but, instead of succumbing to the urge to just speak whatever words manage to get to his mouth in hopes for an answer, like he did back in the Rec Room, he takes some time to let them settle.

He doesn't like what he ends with.

"I think I've got it wrong. To my understanding, what you are saying is that Soundwave wanted Laserbeak to be a flier so that he could use him as a tool. Are you really saying that Soundwave created his children to use them in the war?"

"That is exactly what I've said." Prowl answers, and the teenager can't help but be glad he's sitting down.

Ratchet's servo feels warm as he wraps it around his back.

"Spike? You've got to understand one more thing. Cybertronian don't have a development period as comparatively long as humans. In fact, our own 'growth' can be over barely a joor after activation, which to a human would be like being in your adult frame an hour after 'birth'." The boy's eyes widen even more as he looks up at the medic. "We are installed all essential data, which means language packages, city state blueprints, law and conduct codes, and frame type directives, before becoming active for the first time. Those created by Vector Sigma are also installed work protocols for their assigned station, which is something that became a standard practice during the last part of the Golden Age for most of Cybertron's population."

"You didn't have a childhood? A time with your creators for them to—to teach you? Like you said Primus did?" He squeaks, gesturing a bit, as he snaps out of his shock.

The Autobots' optics darken.

"I did." Ratchet answers softly, the servo on Spike's back retreating. "I was created by two mate bonded mechs, and we staid as a familial unit for a vorn, before I joined the Medical Repair Academy, but kept close even after that. But I was created long before the Newspark Law was passed." And then, he carefully looks at Prowl, whose doorwings are hanging low but tense, trembling softly. "Some of us did not have that luxury, and most were simply created by Vector Sigma."

"It is worse than that." The Tactician whispers, an almost inaudible growling of his engine permeating his voice. "It came to the point Newspark Protoforms weren't available to all castes, so when a viable newspark was created, the carrier had to give it up."

"You mean, they had to… to let the government take away their children?" Spike asks tremulously, paling when the Second in Command nods.

"The creators never knew what happened to them. Most thought they were transferred to a frame and put to work as soon as they were extracted, treated as if they'd been created through Vector Sigma. But others… others suspected that only those the Senate deemed useful were released to work."

"What does that mean?" The teenager whispers to Ratchet, unable to look away from the harsher trembling doorwings alternating between lowering almost limply and straightening tensely.

"It means that the newsparks were transferred to a Newspark Protoform and tested to see what their frame type and capabilities were, and if the Senate thought they could be useful to them, fill some work position, they were installed the needed data for that post and set to work. But if they weren't… they were deactivated." The boy gasps, turning to the sad-looking medic. "Most creators just forgot about their creations, but others…" Dark azure optics flash briefly as doorwings stiffen and the Tactician's optics flare an almost white blue, a growl-like rev cutting through the unvoiced words like a hot knife through butter.

"If everything's been cleared, I'll go back to my post." Ratchet nods, and, without a look back or any further words, Prowl walks out of the Repair Bay, faceplate as impassive as usual and doorwings held at shoulder level, though perhaps a bit more tense than normal.

The silence goes unperturbed for almost a minute before Spike gathers enough courage to turn to the ambulance.

"What happened to—?"

"I'm not answering." The medic cuts, going back to his tools. "That is Prowl's story. If you really want to know, you'll have to talk with him."

And the teenager just nods before looking at the door, knowing that he won't get an answer if he ever asked, not likely.

But he won't ask.

He has a good enough idea, anyway.

AN: Less laughter-oriented chapter, but not one of the darkest. You were warned.

Also, in my headcanon, Decepticons don't 'fly'. They have anti-gravs, sure, like do the Autobots, but they aren't powerful enough to let them fly. Seriously, Decepticons can fly but Autobots can't? Not computing.

So, here things work differently.

Let's make a list of the Decepticons on Earth during season 1: Megatron, Soundwave and Cassettes, Starscream's Trine, the Reflector components (who, to me, are a smaller Combiner team) and some more Seekers, if you wish (I tend not to include them, 'cause I can never figure out if they are different Seekers or the Command Trine with wrong colors, but if you want to add them...*shrugs* it's not relevant for what I'm about to say).

Now, let's make a list of their alt modes: Jets, a gun, a cassette player and cassettes, and a camera, with the last three/four able to shrink to normal human objects' sizes. And the Seekers have cockpits.

Conclusion? The Seekers carry the rest. And no, Starscream doesn't just drop Megatron to get rid of him, 'cause Soundwave's always paying attention and ready to release Laserbeak to catch their leader. Also, if the situation doesn't merit a 'run away as fast as you can' response, Megatron usually travels with loyal Skywarp.

Why don't the Seekers just fly away? Because Skywarp, as said, is loyal, Thundercracker is not stupid (Laserbeak will get Megatron out, if nothing else, and the Decepticon leader won't be pleased if they do leave him on purpose) and Starscream is the kind to dive to the rescue. Why 'rescue' the rest? 'Cause he can ask for favors later ("How many times have I hauled your sorry aft out of danger? Won't you help me with this teeny tiny little thing? What, you won't? Well, not my fault if I forget to pick you up during the next battle. And since every other Seeker follows my orders, who is going to come get you? Who? ... Yeah, I thought you would like to help.").

Also, I'm having Astrotrain come with the Constructicons to Earth instead of who knows how many chapters later. Problem solved.

So, when Ratchet here refers to 'aerial capabilities' he means real flight, not hovering around on anti-gravs. Which is also why Spike thought about Seekers last chapter.

About the ending of this chapter... I know what I'm doing, I may even have Spike say or think out loud what that 'idea' is next chapter, but I'm not saying here. Let's see what you people think.

Also, think about Cybertronian (language) as in the live movies (Bay-verse). I've always thought it fitting, even though, for everyone's sake, they always spoke English in the cartoon. Sure, Teletraan downloaded a package with as many Earth languages as possible to them when it repaired them after the crash, but that doesn't mean Cybertronian got deleted.

The non-humanoid Cassettes' noises, at least those that aren't outright growling at people, are Cybertronian speech, so Laserbeak is actually speaking to Prowl and Ratchet here, even though Spike only hears squawking. So, Ratchet is translating for the boy when he says the Cassette 'seems really sure he is Soundwave's split spark creation'.

By the by, before I forget it, I know it's headcanon for a lot of us that doorwings and wings are mobile. Here, as you've read, doorwings have mobility. Wings don't, though their flaps do. It'll get explained further into the fic, don't worry. And take into account this is all from Spike's point of view.

This fic starts someplace during the first chapters of season 2, so Perceptor, Blaster and the Coneheads are already on Earth, amidst some others, but Vector Sigma hasn't been reactivated, so no Aerialbots nor Stunticons nor Combaticons. Yet.