Author's Note: Long update, I know! I'm sorry! Hopefully now that one story is done, I can be a little more occupied with this one. (shot) So much to do, so little time…(head bleeds excessively).
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformer.
Chapter 2: Bonding
A terrible coughing woke Optimus from his recharge.
Rolling over on the berth, he unhitched himself from the energon mainframe before rising to his feet. Groggily, he wandered from his room and first went to check on Starscream, who was across from him to ensure that if anything went wrong, then Optimus wouldn't have to go far to get the child. Especially with Megatron in mind, which was something he honestly didn't want to think about now. Entering his room quietly, he did not proceed to flick on the light, just for the sake of the sparkling. Rather, he kneeled by his bed in the darkness and with a touch on his arm, said, "Are you feeling sick, Starscream?"
The little one nodded, being dragged into another coughing fit. Fear stroke through the leader at the sound of his suffering, but forced himself to remain calm as he said, "I'm going to get Ratchet, okay? I'll be right back."
Once again, Starscream nodded and rolled over uncomfortably, trying to get relaxed on the cold berth. Standing, Optimus left him to get the doctor, finding his legs going faster than his CPU was working. He arrived swiftly at Ratchet's door and knocked hard, not wanting to waste time, and almost immediately it was responded by an irritable ivory Autobot.
"Dear Primus, Optimus, don't you realize what time it is?" he started, "It's two in the morning…"
"Starscream is coughing and won't stop," the leader replied, his tone desperate. "I'm afraid for him."
The doctor stared at him for a moment, then nodded as he rubbed his optics tiredly and left the room. Following him down the corridor, Optimus begged to Primus that nothing was seriously wrong. He had just grown too attached already, and it would be unfair for all of them if Starscream was ripped from their hands at this point. Everyone seemed to really accept him and enjoy his presence, no matter where he came from. Arriving at Starscream's room, Ratchet took no hesitation to flick on the light, and to their horror, a dark pool of essential lubricant surrounded the child.
"Oh my—this is bad," the doctor gasped, rushing over the little one while tearing away the wires from his body. "I need to get him into surgery right away."
"What happened?" Optimus asked as Ratchet lifted Starscream into his arms, shoved through the door and bolted towards the medical bay.
"I overestimated his immunity systems, he's got internal bleeding," Ratchet said quickly, "It's filling his air vents and it's going to suffocate him if we don't blow them out."
The leader felt his spark sink in utter dread. How could have this happened? Starscream suddenly lifted his arm over Ratchet's shoulder, reaching for Optimus. Gulping down his fears, the elder reacted and touched him, more as a reassurance to them both more than anything. The poor thing…he didn't deserve this. It took only a few moments to get down to the medical bay, but several of the Autobots were up from their noise. Ratchet was the kind of person interested deeply in his projects, uncaring for the healthy, for the sake of the injured he made as much racket as it took get them better. As they arrived, the doctor ripped the offending bandages off and tossed a numbing agent to Optimus.
"We're going to need to put him in a deep sleep state," Ratchet explained, "I need to get under his armor."
"What happened?" Hound asked, one of the Autobots who was woken up.
"Is he going to be all right?" Bumblebee questioned softly.
"Where do I stick it?" Optimus asked.
"Just in his arm, right there," the doctor said with a point of his finger. He then became occupied with gathering some of his more necessary tools, leaving Optimus on his own.
The leader pressed the tip of the needle against Starscream's arm, but did not put in the liquid before the little one touched his limb. Glancing up, he noticed that Starscream looked apprehensive, afraid. Expression softening, Optimus smoothed a hand over his head and murmured, "Don't worry. I won't leave your side, okay?"
The mini Decepticon continued to give him a frightened look, clutching Optimus with tiny fingers. Completely afraid. Undesirable to leave his perceptive world to these strangers and this upsetting situation. "I promise," the elder urged, growing more desperate by the nanosecond, "I won't leave your side. I'll be here when you wake up."
For yet another moment, Starscream seemed to be reluctant, moistness even building up in those sky-blue orbs, but then nodded gently and squeezed his optics shut. At this, Optimus pressed the needle, allowing the fluid to flow into Starscream. There was a soft sound of foreboding, a plead, before Optimus noticed the little one become relaxed and fell to unconscious. Prime himself had a hard time holding his composure. Just a child. A little one, already so connected with the Autobots and Optimus himself. Clear lubricant was already at Prime's optics, blurring his vision. Please, please…please don't let him die.
Ratchet then turned back, all doctor and surgery, before he glanced at his cohorts, murmuring, "All right, let's get to it."
--
"Lost?!"
Skywarp and Thundercracker flinched.
Argh, and the report they had put in was actually putting it nicely. 'Leaving Starscream behind' was more of the truth than being 'lost', but this ended up causing them to be in a situation neither Seeker would ever suspect would come to pass. Starscream was an absolute yellow-belly, therefore it didn't seem logical that he would stay behind and not come back; whether or not one energon block was missing. It seems they underestimated his dedication in getting the energy source, for he remained to fight with Optimus over it. What could he have been thinking?
Obviously their leader had the same thoughts going through his own CPU.
"He can't get lost!" Megatron snarled, throwing his hands into the air.
"B-but, we looked everywhere!" the purple and black Decepticon stuttered, sinking back into his cohort. "The only other thing is that he could've been captured by the Autobots!"
Megatron glared at him, only being further pursued in the idea of throwing him into the sea for a lesson well taught. "He's too much of a coward to hang around for that! We must find him, immediately!"
"Will do, sir!" the two Seekers exclaimed simultaneously.
Unnecessary of a second invitation, they skittered away from the enraged Decepticon lord's throne room to do his orders. The massive, lavender metal tower rose from the trembling sea as they parted from their underwater base and headed towards the sky, the pair looking skeptically at one another.
"This is your fault," Thundercracker groused.
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is NOT! Besides, what else could've happened? Starscream gave orders for us to get the energon back to the base, and we did!" Skywarp exclaimed, scoring past the cliff side and once again searching the desert plains. "It was his own damn fault that his bolt butt got left behind!"
"Well, it's our job to find him now, isn't it?" the blue Decepticon snapped back, "The idiot can't have gotten far; let's just find him and get it over with!"
--
A few days later…
Starscream hummed softly, happily holding his cup of energon to his lips.
"Are you going to drink the rest of it?" Ironhide asked.
The mini Decepticon nodded cheerfully, lifting the cup up to the other as if in a toast, before tipping it back and letting it drain down his throat.
"Good, you want to be strong, yeah?" the crimson Autobot continued, smiling as he patted the little one's back.
Though Starscream said nothing, his only response was the empty cup that he held up to Ironhide again. The elder rose, reaching for the pint that held a larger amount of the special mix, and poured it for the little one. Starscream smiled and clapped happily, taking the cup and downing it again.
"You're always hungry, aren't you?" Ironhide continued, even as the little one offered his empty beaker again. "At least you're healing up again."
The click of the door brought the two's attention, a familiar Autobot leader coming into the room. Starscream suddenly lost his interest in energon and leaped off the berth, laughing joyfully as Optimus bent down to bring him into his arms. "Did you have a good time with your bigger brother, Starscream?"
Ironhide rose from sitting beside the bed, saying, "He's easier to take care of than most of our colleagues…"
"I don't find that surprising," Optimus muttered as he straightened and held Starscream to him. "I don't know how he does it."
"He must be secretly taking happy and obedient protocols or something," Ironhide grumbled.
Optimus laughed somewhat, patting Starscream on the back as he exited the room. Lifting the sparkling into his field of vision, the leader asked the little one, "Would you like to go outside today? To play? Yeah?"
Starscream nodded, grinning as he swung his legs between Optimus's arms. The leader smiled as he brought the little one down to him again, pressing a kiss on top of his head. The little one then moved, shifting so that he could rest on top Optimus's shoulders. Taking two palms, Starscream placed them on his cheeks and waved Prime's head back and forth, resulting a drunk walk through the hall. The two laughed, Optimus hoping that these types of moments never had to change. Why didn't they have more sparklings like this? Optimus even found himself amused at the thought that Starscream could probably warm Megatron's spark, which was saying a lot. Ironhide gave him a funny look.
"Are you taking those protocols, too?" he grunted.
"Optimus!" Skyfire, who turned the corner, asked, "Are you going outside today with the young one?"
"Mm-hm," the leader replied.
"You think we should see if he can transform yet? I'd like to see how well he flies," the ivory Autobot responded.
"That's not a bad idea. What do you say, Starscream?" Optimus asked with a glance up. Starscream nodded earnestly, holding out his arms as if they were wings. Prime did the same, making a silly sound like a 'woosh', and bringing Ironhide and Skyfire to exchanged funny glances.
"I think he's officially lost his CPU," the crimson Autobot muttered.
--
"Ready, Starscream?"
"Optimus, stop."
"Ready?"
"Don't do it Optimus."
"Starscream, Starscream…look at me. Are you ready?"
A nod.
"Okay then! Whee!"
Optimus threw Starscream in the air, taking him a good foot up before he came back down, safely landing in the confines of the elder's arms. The little one giggled gleefully, swinging his legs while throwing his hands up to emphasize his delight. The leader brought him up again and gave him an Eskimo kiss, wiggling him a little as he did so. Ironhide rolled his eyes, giving an exasperated look to Skyfire. The Seeker merely smiled, staring at his old cohort with an interesting expression. No doubt it was the oddest for him; Skyfire was once a scientific colleague to Starscream, the one who spent the most time with him thus far, and now seeing him not only as a child, but a happy child probably baffled him out of belief. The evidence was clear, however, that Starscream was indeed a very joyous sparkling with them, and even the aggressive nature that the blue and white Decepticon showed Skyfire was further denied at this point.
Nevertheless, even with testing from Ratchet, they still found the answer unclear as to why Starscream remained silent. Laughing, sighing, crying and coughing aside, he had practically had his mouth zipped from morning to night. They had all asked him questions, inquiries that were difficult to respond with simply hand gestures. Yet, Starscream managed it out, if he wasn't confused by the question itself, before giving Optimus a pleading expression. The leader would sigh, glance at the doctor who would warn him with a glare not to say anything, once more glance back at the sparkling who gave him the 'Help me' expression on his features. Except that with a child's face, it came with those huge, adorable blue optics and pouting face and…and…in the end, Optimus would elaborate and eventually Starscream would get his way by responding through silent communication. Ratchet eventually got fed up and left the little one for Optimus to hand on his own accord. He wasn't going to talk. Period.
"Shouldn't we try with a smaller cliff?" said an apprehensive Ironhide whom gave an even more uneasy look to the drop. "If he doesn't know how to transform, then I'd say he's nothing short of screwed."
"Let's go down there," Skyfire ventured with an assisting pointed finger towards the left.
Optics moved to what looked like a kiddy playground against the edge they were leaning to now. In other words, it was a perfect match for the sparkling. Even Starscream seemed a bit more pleased when they arrived, walking on his own as he pointed at the cliff with a knowing look.
"You want to try to transform?" Optimus began his questioning, an already common practice when it came to the child, "Do you know how to transform?"
There was a nod. And then there was a pause, expression changing from comfortable to seeming a bit puzzled. A hesitant glance was thrown in the twenty-foot drop, then coming back upon Optimus that seemed even more unnerved. Then there a shake…and then a nod. Then eyebrows furrowed in frustration. It was obvious that the baby was flustered, unsure of how he could respond. Another one of those ugly questions that seemed to puzzle him down to the bone, though he never gave up in trying to reply to it.
"I take that as a 'no'," Ironhide muttered, kneeling beside the little one. "I don't find his reaction very promising, Optimus."
"Just let him try to convey his message; I think he tells us that he knows, but can't do it by himself, is that right?" Prime suggested, curious optics moving to Starscream.
With that, there was a definite nod. That was another step forward for their sakes, and it left Optimus a little relieved. At least he had memories of doing it before, rather than having to go off of completely nothing. Still, there was demise amongst the team.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ironhide said almost quietly, giving a concerned gaze to the child, "I mean, I understand your intentions, but…still. He might not be ready."
"We won't know if we don't try," Optimus countered all the while taking Starscream by the ledge, who still seemed unsure and hesitant in the matters. A very puppy, pleading expression shifted from the leader, to Ironhide, then settled on Skyfire. There was a pause, Starscream wiggling away from Prime's confines before he began pacing, an odd thing in itself, continuing to stare apprehensively at the edge as if it might jump out and bite him. Silence retained beside the small pit-pat of Starscream's feet shuffling in the loose dirt of the desert floor, waiting silently for his own pace to take a toll. Then it stopped, a stillness holding the dust and heat in the air, three pairs of blue optics watching the spectacle as the little one moved again, slowly but steadily, towards the edge. It might as well taken him a century to get to the ledge, finally, before he tilted over to see his challenge.
What resulted was not a good omen—Starscream yelped and threw himself back, nearly losing his balance to the small cliff before Optimus caught him around the waist and brought him away from the evil thing. The leader hugged the youngling gently, all too aware that he was trembling violently from the sight. Ironhide gave Prime a knowing look; the blue and red Autobot sighed at this, before turning to Starscream and saying, "Why don't you like it? It's not that bad. Look—"
A whimper of fright escaped Starscream's throat as Optimus tried to bring him to the ledge and he backtracked, even falling down from attempting to get away from the offender. The leader gasped at this and took him into comforting arms once again, Starscream clutching to the other as if it was only Optimus was his protection against his worst enemy. The little one grabbed his entire arm, giving a very terrified gaze to the edge. This was not good. If it dealt with being afraid of heights, then Starscream was definitely in trouble.
"I'm telling you, Optimus, not now," Ironhide persisted, the leader discovering that he was beginning to lean towards his reason.
"If we try to force him into something like this," Skyfire added, "Starscream, in the end, will lose his trust in you."
Prime held still for a moment, finding that he was losing his will to get Starscream to try and fly. So, he didn't like heights. That was obviously a big thing, to say in simple terms. If he didn't learn how to fly, then he wouldn't know how to escape when it became necessary. He'd probably have a better chance at survival in the air where things were far more open, compared to the ground where his little legs could only go so fast and his energy levels could only take him so far. What was worse, however, was the idea of Optimus pressuring or shoving the little one into something he ultimately feared and, thus, would only have his intentions be returned to him with a child that forever distrusted him. Optimus drew a breath in to cool his heated-up systems, and a way to relax his troubled mind. Then he let his gaze fall to the little one and that turned out to be a fool's mistake.
"We'll just try again some other day," Skyfire suggested, patting Optimus's shoulder.
It wasn't so much of his friend's statement that made Prime rise from his position, taking Starscream into his arms as much as the little Seeker himself. That type of expression was terrible. It needed to be outlawed, for the sake of Optimus's own spark. By and by, Prime allowed it to be. If Starscream didn't want to go, then he didn't have to.
"Good idea," Optimus murmured, straightening himself and beginning to go back to the base. "Maybe we'll just make another one of those New York models. What do you say, Starscream?"
"OPTIMUS!"
Even the cry of his name wasn't enough for the leader to react soon enough; an enormous force threw him off course and he flew, if for a brief moment, plasma cannon blasts exploding in his audio receptors. In reaction, he clutched the little one harder to his chest, a way of protection and knowing he hadn't been seen by the coming onslaught. Optimus tried to ignore the fact that if they had already seen the child Starscream, then war would certainly only brew hotter from this point. What was necessary now, however, was shielding the child. That was more important than anything, even if it meant harming himself. Thought proven, Prime slammed into the ground, sputtering somewhat as his back hit the hard surface with impeccable power. Ouch.
Starscream wiggled in Optimus's arm as he tried to compose himself, rolling over with a groan and putting the little one in the barrier of his body to the sky. Innocent and frightened optics stared up at Prime, concerned, panicked. The leader managed to tear away his own weary gaze away for a moment to take in the heavens, noticing a pair of all-too-familiar F-15 fighter jets blasting overhead. Skywarp and Thundercracker. Not altogether unexpected, but seriously unwanted at this point. How long had they been looking for him? For now the question would remain unknown, as Starscream needed to be taken away from here.
"Skyfire, take Starscream back to the base!" Prime instructed, painfully reaching his feet, with a few pops and cracks along the way, taking the tiny Seeker into his arms.
"Yes, Optimus," the ivory one said quietly, picking the child up into his arms, but not without interference.
Starscream whimpered, proceeding to make only more distressed sounds as he attempted to remain with Optimus. The leader felt his spark sink; no, not that look again. Those enormous, sapphire eyes begged for compliance, that Optimus didn't have to do this. Even though his words went on unsaid, it was clear to what the little one was trying to convey. No. No, no, no, no. This had to be done, for his safety in the least. If he were to remain here, then his chance remaining with the Autobots or even of survival would be slim. Prime turned away, finally, honing in on Thundercracker and Skywarp once again. Skyfire was heard stomping away from the scene, Ironhide jumping beside his leader, prepared for a fight. Prime stood rigid as he raised his cannon, aware that every shot count that he could bring distance away from Skyfire and those two droids.
--
Hey, did you see that? Skywarp asked through the commlink, casting a glance over towards the ivory Seeker who was running. It was clumsy the way he was jogging like that—his arms were bent and he seemed to take extra precaution, like there was something he was carrying. Something important.
See what? Thundercracker asked almost distantly, more interested in the fight Optimus was clearly offering rather than the coward running off.
That soft sparked Skyfire is carrying something, the purple Decepticon mused, tipping a wing to round back towards the Autobots. I want to see what it is.
Why bother? Fight now while we have the chance and ask questions later, the other grunted in response, taking a great nose dive towards the leader as well as opening the gate to a series of plasma blasts.
Skywarp wasn't convinced. He wanted to know what that thing was, for all his curiosity. And he always indulged himself in discovering what was unknown to him. Therefore, falling into temptation, he tilted back towards the sky and scored over the two other Autobots who were busy with a rather eccentric Thundercracker. Skywarp always had gratitude for the sapphire Decepticon's enthusiasm about ripping apart their foes. It let him screw off in the meantime. With a snort, the violet F-15 Seeker plowed over Skyfire at an almost dangerous level, making him duck just so that Skywarp didn't take his head with him. The purple Decepticon then released his boosters and fell softly, transforming into his natural form all the while. He hit the gorund with a gentle 'thud' before turning back to the other Seeker, smirking as he did so.
"What do we have here?" Skywarp asked while setting his left elbow on his right hand that crossed over his stomach and tapping his lip. "Smells like a bug to me!"
Skyfire said nothing, unsurprising as he was consistently stoic around the Decepticons, despite his gentle nature. Skywarp discovered himself disgusted by such behaviors the ivory one played; it was a sad mistake to try and recruit him. Of course, that was Starscream for you. He always made idiot mistake to screw up all the Decepticon's plans, and there was no exception. The purple Decepticon brushed off the thought as he strode up to the other, a grin playing across his features with sure evil intent. His interest grew the more he got closer to the other, whom merely stood there, holding the precious cargo in his arms like it was worth more than his life. It intrigued the Decepticon greatly, he found himself thrilled in the idea at torturing the little thing so that he could watch…Skyfire…squirm.
That was until he stopped dead.
Was that…?
No way.
It wasn't possible!
"Star…scream…?" Skywarp whispered, watching, waiting for a reaction.
A pair of blue optics turned to face the other from hiding the crevice of Skyfire's neck, completely innocent, completely made of sparkling material. Skywarp, from the sight, nearly blew a gasket, his gleaming crimson orbs growing wide with utter shock. At first, no words came to him but small, bleeping sounds of disbelief as he used futile body language to try and convey his message of stunned realization. Realization that Starscream had somehow, in all its impossibility, had turned into a child. The statement in itself made Skywarp stop, then, letting his air vents blow out to relieve built up stress before he composed himself, making a sound from his voice box like that of a human clearing their throat.
What came after was a series of nervous events: he scratched the back of his head, gnawed on his hand, tapped on his hip, all the while thinking of how to assess this strange, and rather interesting, turn of events. Option number one: he could take the child, return back to base with a very unlikely factor that Megatron would believe that Starscream had turned into a sparkling. Option number two: kill both and then still get screwed for murdering Megatron's second anyways! Either way, he was looking forward to a beating, whether or not he returned with a sparkling that looked identical to the adult Starscream, save for size. And his optics. And his behavior. Why wasn't he talking?
"This is…interesting," Skywarp finally began, a smirk smoothing over his features. "I'm sure Megatron will be very pleased to see this."
Actually, the F-15 flight jet had no idea whether or not his silver leader would be completely enraged at the fact that Skywarp would bring home some pathetic little sparkling, or would be happy or angry or a mixture of the previous. In all honesty, he just wanted things to return to the way they were, for the sake of his own hide. Starscream as a sparkling sure made things really difficult.
"Well, Megatron won't get the chance to get him," Skyfire said back coolly, his posture straight and strong, daring for a fight. "And I'll be sure of that."
Skywarp narrowed his optics, attempting his intimidating appearance he tried in the mirror back at the base and earned only a glower from the ivory Seeker who seemed no more intimidated by Skywarp than a wolf against a puppy. Skyfire shrugged Starscream back into his arms, the miniature of the adult clutching to him as if he trusted the larger. Skywarp found himself more irritated by the moment.
"Then I'll just have to take him by force!" he barked, lunged towards the two.
Starscream yelped, sapphire optics smoky with fear as Skywarp reached out to grab him on the scruff. When a fist contacted his face, however, he found himself spinning in mid air and then landing with a harsh 'thud' against the desert ground. Coughing, sputtering, the violet Seeker managed to get onto weak knees as he wiped away a line of lubricant that had seeped out of the cut in his face. Enraged optics fell upon the enemy, primitive instincts clawing the surface for survival. The need of retrieving what he needed. And he needed Starscream. With an animalistic roar, Skywarp threw himself against Skyfire who batted his arm again, flinging the ignorant F-15 off of his body. However, Skywarp was able to snap back into formation quicker than the white Autobot anticipated, and the smaller Seeker fired at a leg, making the soft-hearted fool collapse, howling in pain.
Skywarp snickered as he slid against the dirt, stopping from the propelling force sending him any farther from the two. Skyfire was now on his elbows, one hand clutching his leg that was scorched, black lubricant draining out of it and creating a dark pool beneath the pair. The sparkling that had been tight within Skyfire's arms now stood beside the larger, pulling at his hand to get back on his feet while adding tiny whimpers of encouragement. Skywarp smirked as he strode up to them, pride and smug satisfaction seeping into his armor hotter than the beating sun that hung in the sky. He would not go empty handed this time, he would return with Starscream, where he belonged…
--
"Starscream!" Optimus cried, shoving Thundercracker's weight from his own body while scrambling to his feet.
No, not Starscream! Please, Primus above, don't let him take Starscream!
Prime made a mad dash to the other scene, completely ignoring the incompetent threats and low blows Thundercracker offered for abandoning his fight, while forcing his legs as fast as they could go. Not now. Not when they had begun such a good relationship, when they were so close! Optimus could see even from where he stood beforehand, dooming already seeking its inevitable fate, Skyfire could not fight at his full capacity and unless he left the child abandoned, therefore left large openings to Skywarp as a result. One was left too long. The Autobot leader growled as he dashed towards the three with even greater speed, watching in slow motion as the violet Seeker strode in a cocky manner up to them, two arms outstretched to take Starscream as his own.
"Starscream, run!" the sapphire and crimson Transformer called, tears burning in his throat and stinging his optics. Skywarp grabbed the little one's arm. "Starscream, RUN!"
Ka-BOOM!
Optimus's vision was suddenly clouded by smoke, debris and sun light as the force hit him and he collapsed against the ground, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu filter through his CPU. Coughing from the impact, he rose to his feet as quickly as he could muster, shaking the dizziness away from his mainframe before taking a glance towards the site. "Starscream?" he asked, almost absently.
Dust clung to the air to the point where Optimus swatted at it, irritated, trying to get to the child and Skywarp. Skyfire had been blown sky-high and was now being tended by Ironhide, Thundercracker standing stunned on the other side of them. Prime finally wandered up to where the soil dropped off into the pit and nearly scrambled inside, looking everywhere for the young one. Optics searched, moving swiftly with great apprehension before the caught the sight of color. "Starscream!" he called, running up and through the dust.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA——H!"
"Oh Primus…" the words didn't even slip out of Prime's mouth before he noticed the child.
No, no, child-ren.
Starscream sniffed, blinking up at him with watery optics. "Waaaaaaaaaaaaah…!"
"Oh, c'mere," Optimus said softly, opening his arms to the ivory Seeker who took him with a full leap. Harsh sobs took repent from the recent occurrence; being unsurprising that such an explosion didn't leave Optimus in tears, he took a glance to see what damage was done to the small body. To the leader's relief, Starscream was still the same age as beforehand, the same size without any other ugly aftereffects that the explosion might've given off besides wounds. Bruises to the youngling's softer metal were apparent, even a few gashes here and there, but that's not what took Prime's attention the most. His gaze removed itself from Starscream to the other. "You too, Skywarp."
"Dab en ou boo-boo!" the mini violet F-15 sobbed, rubbing his eyes as he continued to cry, shakily getting to his feet before seeking shelter in Optimus's arms as well. The leader held them, softly cooing while also being aware to watch Thundercracker's movements from afar in case he would attack. The sapphire Seeker stood motionless, however, aside from a trembling finger that pointed in the direction of the two children while wide, platter-sized optics stared at them with utter shock. Then the arm dropped and he screeched, flipping into the air before taking a quick transformation half way and blasting out into the atmosphere. Well, that was one problem taken care of. Now there was…three or four thousand left. Prime sighed.
"This is perfect," Ironhide muttered while standing at the crest of the crater, Skyfire leaning against him for injury support. "And to think handling one wasn't enough."
"We have to take them back, we have no choice," Optimus said steadily, taking the pair into his arms and standing upright. They held onto him unified, their sobs quieting down but they remained still, allowing the larger Transformer to take them where he wished. It was almost easier handling the sparklings as children rather than adults, as strange as that sounded.
"Of course not, Optimus," Skyfire said gently. "It just proves, however, that this wasn't just an 'occurrence' of changing Starscream to a child. It's a virus."
--
A/N: Nobody has to notice the mistake. Okay? Okay. Read and review, please!