Chapter seven: Race against time

Savage was panting heavily, not to mention in a fair bit of pain after that. He had not been expecting that to happen, now he only had a matter of days until the birth of the twins and... His death.

"What are we going to do now?" Breakdown asked.

"Give him a pain killer for starters." Ratchet said it started to approach the flyer.

Before he could administer the pain killer, the medbay door burst open and Megatron and Optimus stood in the doorway. Megatron's optics looks as if they were going to pop out of his head when he saw his bother.

"I thought I told you to terminate them." Megatron growled not at Knockout but at Ratchet.

Knockout and Breakdown flinched at the barely contained rage of their leader. Ratchet, however stood his ground.

"that was what I was about to do when this... unexpected growth happened!" the white and red medic replied, arms crossed over his chest and glaring. "Now however, abortion isn't an option anymore!"

Megatron was pale with helpless rage. he tightened his fists, baring his fangs in a feral growl. Ratchet didn't looked too impressed, and he didn't budged from his position. "However, there is a solution that will let your brother live!"

Optimus, putting a hand on Megatron's shoulder to calm him down, stepped forwards to ask, his tune holding a bit of hope. "And what would this solution be, ratchet?"

"Removing the sparklings from the gestation chamber and put them into a artificial womb to finish the gestation." He replied firmly.

Knockout was stroking his chin thoughtfully at Ratchet's proposal. "That actually might work, only problem is I don't have the energon gelatin for the artificial womb."

"I do... back at the base." Ratchet replied.

As they continued to speak about the situation, the room was slowly filled with light purple smoke that only Savage could see. Moments later, Unicron was standing before him. He flinched when his master places hand on his stomach where the twins were now almost fully grown.

"It's only a matter of time now," Unicron said. "They cannot save you, my pet. No matter what they do, you are still doomed. You gave me your spark, and I will reap it when it is ripe for the taking, when the twins are born."

Savage nodded once, he had already accepted his fate. "I understand, Master." He said quietly then said loud enough for everyone to hear. "It doesn't matter what you do I'll still die."

When Savage spoke aloud, every optics turned to him, and in moments, Megatron was by his side and holding his hand in his own, in a tender, loving gesture so unlike him. The others decided not to interfere, and let him talk to his brother.

"Savage, don't say that! We'll find a way! There is no way in the pit that I'll let Unicron take you from me!" he said and squeezed his hand, his voice filled with determination. "You hear me Unicron? I WILL NOT let you have him! I'll rather die and go to the Pit then let you take his innocent spark! I hadn't shielded him, protected him and raised him for all those Vorns just so you sick God can have your twisted way with my little brother!"

A dark laugh filled the room and Unicron materialized in the middle of the room, tall and intimidating as ever. Savage flinched a little and turned his head away, his hand twitching in his brother's, clenching slightly. "You are so confident, Megatron. It amuses me. But you are wrong. There is nothing any of you can do to save my pet now. He chose his own fate."

Megatron snarled with rage and straightened to his full eight, glaring at the God fearlessly. "I will die protecting him if I have to, but he is NOT going to the Pit with you! I will find a way to destroy you and send you back where you belongs, Monster!"

"So you say, but what hope do you have? I am a God!" Unicron snarled.

"He has the power of a Prime, Unicron." Optimus actually growled.

"You? Ha! Don't make me laugh, it took 13 Primes, plus Primus himself to defeat me. And you... are the last of them." The Dark God replied.

"He has The Matrix of leadership. That alone can and will defeat you." Ratchet told him.

A flicker of fear passed through the purple optics of the dark God. The Matrix of leadership was the only thing he truly feared, the only thing that could defeat him.

"You may have The Matrix but his soul is still mine," Unicron growled. "Savage is far from innocent, Megatron. His soul is as black as yours, if not more tainted, there is nothing you can do to change his fate."

"We'll see about that..." megatron growled, looking at Unicron with a hard glare. "I'll save my brother, even if it means dying in the process."

Unicron laughed, and his purple optics shone with amused glee. His fangs gleamed in the bright light of the room and wings moved some, making him look even larger. "You are such a fool, Megatron. Even if you selflessly sacrifice yourself, Savage's soul will still be mine in the end. It will be for naught."

Optimus let out a angered growl himself, and stepped forward. "I will fight you until the end, Chaos Bringer. I will not allow you to reap more sparks to bring to the pit. Here is your warning: I will not hesitate to use the Matrix of Leadership to defeat you, Unicron. Even if I have to forfeit my life to achieve that."

The medics were close to their patient while the three where threatening/speaking to each others. Soundwave could feel everything that was going on and he was both terrified that he could not see anything and angered that the one responsible for his injuries was here. he was feeling helpless, like a useless pile of spare parts. and it was maddening...

"We shall see, Disciple of Primus," Unicron growled before he vanished, he looked at Savage and said with a smile. " I'll see you soon, my pet."

Those words sent a shiver down Savage's spine. Megatron cursed in their native tongue when Unicron vanished from the med bay. He then turned to Ratchet, optics blazing.

"You and Knockout do whatever it takes to keep him alive!"

ratchet nodded, he wasn't going to let a patient die, even if he had to face off Unicron Himself. The medic made a oat to save all life, and he was going to uphold this. He walked to Savage's side, and turned to knockout. "We'll not let the Unmaker win. We'll beat the odds and save three lives! Sparklings are never born evil. They still have a chance."

Knockout was confused and a little scared, what he felt from Unicron and Savage was raw and very dark. But Savage... he felt like his spark was slipping away already. Like he was fading, and it was worrying him. He hooked the mech's chest and abdomen top a spark monitor and the Sparklings' and Savage's spark beats appeared. the sparklings were strong and steady, but Savage's was a little slow and Weak.

"We need to strengthens his spark, or the labor and birth will extinguish it. I can hook him to an energon feed line and a spark energy generator. At least, it'll help." Knockout said, and went to work.

Optimus was deeply worried for everyone. he knew that megatron was pissed, and that Ratchet was dead set on saving both the sparklings and Savage lives. He faced Megatron and said, trying to sound reassuring and confident. "They know what they are doing, Megatron. Let them work."

Megatron huffed, too worried and mad to listen to reason. "I'll destroy him, Prime. I'll make sure he pays for what he's doing to my little brother."

Savage was barely aware of what was happening within the medbay all he knew was that he was hooked up to something and he heard his and his little one's spark beats.

As long as I can hear their and my spark beat, I know that I am still alive. He told himself.

He just hoped that before he died he got to see his little ones, that would be enough for him. But sadly, nowadays, hope was something he couldn't afford anymore...

***

After gathering the supplies they needed from the Autobot base, using the controls that Ratchet possed so they wouldn't have to use the Con's ground bridge, thus give away the location of their base which Ratchet was not willing to risk.

Better safe than sorry. Ratchet thought.

They quickly got to work on creating the artificial womb for the sparklings as they would have to perform a C-section on Savage pretty soon.

Knockout glanced over at Savage who was sleeping, not that he could blame the guy, he needed to keep his strength up for later when they would perform the C-section.

Hold on just a little longer, Savage. We will save you. He vowed.

It took almost 6 hours to get the artificial womb ready for the sparklings, and by this time, Knockout and ratchet were very worried for Savage and the sparklings. Savage's sparkbeat had gotten even weaker, and the little ones were starting to weakens too. The strain to all three of their systems were too strong. But at last, they were ready to perform the C-Section and transfer the sparklings.

"Alright, let's get to work, shall we? No more time to lose." The red and white medic said, and knockout agreed.

The psychic Decepticon could feel that Unicron still lingered here, and he couldn't tell if he would try anything when they start to do the surgery. he could very well interfere and screw things up. he bit his lower lip, hoping his hunch, this time, was false. However, past experience were making him wary. he usually was right...

"The patient is ready, Ratchet. We can proceed." He said and stood on one side of the berth ready to transfer the sparkling as soon as they were freed from their mother.

And he was hoping, praying Primus that nothing goes wrong...

Megatron was pacing in the observation room, watching the proceeding. he would've preferred to abort the sparklings but this option wasn't open anymore. If Savage died... He let out a growl, he knew the procedure was risky in normal circumstances, but with Unicron lurking about, it was off the charts.

Optimus was watching him pace with concern, and tried to reassure him many times, but the warlord would hear nothing of this. He sighed, and settled to watch as the medics begins.

Savage was rather surprised when he could no longer feel anything from that waist down. But that might also have somethibg to do with what ever Ratchet had given him a few minutes ago.

"Uh, I can't feel anything." Savage said a little nervous.

"Its alright, its the numbing agent doing its job," Ratchet told him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You are in great hands, you will be fine."

Savage nodded once but was still nervous but he knew he had to trust them to save his little ones.

Ratchet pressed a gentle hand on Savage Shoulder and smiled at him kindly. "We'll save them, Savage, I promise."

Savage nodded shakily, and gulped, closing his optics when he felt the pressure of hands on his stomach. Ratchet moved and positioned himself and Savage felt his spark start to race. He was terrified, he wanted to run but he knew ratchet was the best medic of Cybertron, and that he was in the best of hands.

Knockout watched as Ratchet onlined the laser scalpel and brought it down to make the first cut. He was very meticulous, and so far, everything was going fine. Knockout could see the sparklings being uncovered, so very tiny and fragile looking. the first one was soon free, and Knockout quickly put him into the artificial wounds. it was a little mech looking a lot like Unicron himself, with tiny leathery wings and horns.

The second one was even tinier, and was a little harder to get out of the gestation chamber. it was a little femme, and she was a seeker built. She too was put with her brother and the two curled together in the clear artificial womb. The medics could see them floating on the gelatin rich in energon and nutriment.

"They are so cute..." Savage said reaching a hand to touch the glass, optics glazed with happy tears. At least he'd seen them before dying...

As Knockout hooked Savage up to an energon feed to replenish the energon he had lost during the procedure. Ratchet went over to the intercom that led to the observation deck and pressed a button then spoke into the speaker.

"It's done, both Savage the sparklings are just fine." He told them.

Optimus pushed the button in the observation deck and spoke in reply. "That is good news, old friend. And the sparklings, what are they?"

"A mech and a femme, they both appear to be fliers." Ratchet said.

"Appear to be?" Came Megatron's voice.

Ratchet looked up and saw that Megatron had moved Optimus aside to speak into the intercom.

"It's hard to tell at this stage." Ratchet lied.

He was quite sure Megatron wouldn't react good at the knowledge that one of the sparklings was a perfect image of Unicron. He would find out soon enough by himself.

**********

Savage and the sparklings were soon moved to a different part of the medbay so they could get some peace and quiet. Savage was roused from his sleep when he heard movement in the room he was in. He opened his optics and fear gripped his as it always did when he saw him. Unicron was standing by the artificial womb looking down at his offsprings, his expression unreadable. He pressed a hand to the glass and the sparklings shifted, feeling the presence of their Sire. The little femme shied away, and the little mech shifted closer.

"You may have escaped death for now, Savage. But I will make sure that you suffer before you die." The Dark God said turning his great horned head to him.

It was obvious that the Dark God was angry about something and it was directed at him. He then heard his master hiss under his breath as he lifted his hand from the glass, as if he'd been burned. The little femme returned to her position curled against her twin, and the mech seemed to forget about their Sire and focus on her.

"You did this didn't you, Primus? You changed one of their sparks, I can feel it."

Another voice filled the room, it pierced the suffocating darkness that was Unicron, it actually filled Savage was warmth and hope. It was the kindest, warmest, most beautiful voice that any leaving being could ever imagine. It was also deep, and soft like silk.

"I did, brother. I changed one of their sparks, but both of them are innocent. Where there is darkness, there will always be light. No sparkling is ever born evil, you should know that, Unicron. Your goal here was void from the start..."

Unicron hissed again and tightened his fists, looking up at where the voice was coming from. it sounded like it was all around them, and the entire ship was filled with it. Every Cybertronian on boar could feel that their God was amongst them and felt humbled by this. Some ever fell to their knees in awe and adoration, others cowered in holy terror. It wasn't everyday that you hear the voice of your God... This day was blessed.

"You merely delayed the inevitable, brother. You may have saved the sparkings, but their mother's spark is still mine, and there is nothing you can do about it." He growled and put a possessive claw on Savage's head, making his claim clear.

Savage shuddered, feeling both completely terrified as the two godly brothers were arguing, and awed by just the same thing. he felt like he was a primitive fleash creature witnessing the birth of a star... he was speechless, and frozen. He had never really believed in neither Primus nor Unicron up until recent events, but... he was proven utterly wrong, and it was a revelation. To be proved without a doubt that your God is real is quite a shock.

"You forget about my Disciple, Unicron, and the Prophecy that announce your demise at his hands. But for now, I will let you bask in your ephemeral victory. We shall meet again, brother."

And with that, the voice and the presence was gone, leaving the ship and all its inhabitants completely frozen and silent for many breems. Like time itself had stopped when the two brothers were arguing.

After the initial shock of what had just happened wore off Savage wanted to know if what Unicron had said about the sparkings were true. Primus himself had said that he had changed one of the sparklings.

Grunting with effort, Savage sat up and slid off the berth. He took on of the energon IV stand and rolled it forward as he made his way toward the artificial womb where his little ones now resided.

By the time he reached them, he was panting, brow slick with condensation. He leaned against the wall to catch his breath, he had just walked acrossed the room but it felt like he just booked it from end of the ship to the other without stopping.

'I have to know... if it's true...' He thought.

He pushed off from the wall so he could gaze into the fake womb. His optics softened as he gazed down at his babies they were so adorable... and innocent. Sure, the mech looked exactly like his father but that didn't matter, he was still innocent.

"I'm going to name you Sagaris." He said softly.

He then looked at his twin and his optics widend when saw that his daughter was looking straight at him... with bright blue optics... a name came to him and it seemed to fit... for his infant daughter reminded him of himself, how he use to be.

"Maelstrom. Your name is Maelstrom..."

-TBC-