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Chapter Text

Seekers are mysterious creatures that were not known for sure if they could live alone, and because of this, many rumours arose around these special Aerialbots. With so many stories circulating, it was almost impossible to know which stories were true or not. One thing was for sure, Seekers were loyal to each other, especially if they were Conjunx Endura or belonged to a Trine. Within the Decepticons, it was no different, but two seekers did not belong to a Trine or a Flock. In the Decepticon army, one flock was no more than eight individuals. In the Trines, there was an internal leader who commanded the others.

Thundercracker and Skywarp were the names of seekers who had not joined a group or formed a Trine. They joined the Decepticons together at the beginning of the war, attracted by Megatron's promise of equality for all bots regardless of frame type. TC and Warp, nicknames they affectionately called each other, were always seen together. Lately, both seekers were acting weirdly. The lilac and silver seeker did everything to escape the Hook, the Decepticon's doctor. Thundercracker seemed to have a fixation on making sure Skywarp didn't get hurt. Even the most minor scratch sent them to their quarters to treat personally.

Thundercracker's overprotectiveness with Skywarp grew to such an extent that he assaulted another seeker, Ramjet, simply because he got too close to Skywarp trying to figure out why the two were acting so strangely. This incident caused Thundercracker to lose the rank of Commander Aerius and have his energon rations cut in half. There were two things Megatron didn't tolerate within his army: infighting and internal relationships. Despite this, Megatron was not against interfacing between members of the Decepticon army but did not accept anything too serious; anything more than trysts and the bots would receive 'firm instructions' from the commander himself. And everyone knew what that meant.

Loss of rank or ration, nothing stopped Thundercracker from being hyper mega protective with Skywarp. It got to the point where both seekers disappeared for a while after a fight against the Autobots. Thundercracker informed the communications leader and second-in-command, Soundwave, that the last battle inside an abandoned oil plant resulted in Skywarp contracting Rust. Rust was a highly contagious Cybertroian disease that could take months to recover from. So TC said he would take care of Skywarp outside the base to prevent the spread of the disease. Soundwave found this all very strange and tried to find out and spoke of his suspicions with Megatron but the Warlord was too worried about beating Prime and his team. He dropped the matter as TC reported Skywarp's status monthly; everything he said matched rust's symptoms.

The two seekers returned months later, with Skywarp fully recovered, but even that didn't make Thundercracker decrease his protection with his friend. On the contrary, it seemed to have increased even more, especially in the fights against the Autobots.

It wasn't uncommon for seekers to protect each other, but even Ratchet Autobot medic and warrior found the protection quite unusual. He was only sure something wasn't right when Skywarp protected his cockpit instead of his wings which almost cost him a pretty nasty wing wound if Thundercracker did not make him duck at the right time. After that, the glass in his chest to Skywarp chipped a little bit, and the face the two seekers put on made it look like it had been a massive wound that would cost Skywarp his life or worse.

"No...it cant be..."

Ratchet was no idiot. His years of study meant he was always aware of the smallest details that other bots didn't see, and knowing what was going on between those two made the calm ambulance doctor lose his composure.

"FOR PRIMUS SAKE!!!"

Ratchet's scream took everyone by surprise, the Decepticons more so when the old bot grabbed a Decepticon with one arm and flipped him over his shoulder on the way to the seekers.

“TC!!”

Skywarp got behind Thundercracker, who already had his blasters ready to fire if Ratchet got any closer, but Blitzwing got in the doctor's way. However, for a short time, Optimus Prime appeared and caused the Triple Changer to miss the shot at Ratchet.

"Ratchet! What are you doing?"

"I can't explain it now, Optimus! But I have to get to those two idiots over there!!"

Optimus trusted his longtime friend and knew that it must be something important for Ratchet to have to expose himself that much. Without asking, the young Prime started covering the ambulance until he got to the two Decepticons seekers.

"How long?"

Ratchet said as he approached Thundercracker, ignoring that he had his weapons ready to fire on the Autobot.

"Do you really want to shoot me knowing I'm the only doctor who can help you? Or would you rather trust Hook who apparently hasn't figured it out yet?"

TC and Warp exchange glances until the blue seeker lowers his weapons.

"How long since it went down?"

The two seekers exchanged glances again while Prime continued protecting them, trying to understand what was happening there.

"How long since descended?"

Ratchet asked again, starting to lose patience.

"I think this kind of question is already a little overdue for the current situation..."

Skywarp said, giving a nervous smile.

"What do you mean late?"

He took a few klicks for the ambulance to realize.

"Wait, Are you telling me it's already happened…?"

Both seekers nod

"And without any kind of professional help?"

Again they both nod.

"All I need is for you to say that it took place inside the engine room..."

"Actually... it happened inside an abandoned coal mine in the middle of the desert."

Skywarp said nervously as he watched as Ratchet grabbed Thundercracker, shaking him.

"How did you let it get to this point??!!"

"There was a lot at stake. We didn't have time to plan, it was all too fast!"

"All too fast my aft!! Do you have any idea the risk you are taking with Skywarp's situation right now!!"

"Hey! We might as well take care of ourselves!!"

Ratchet now looks at Skywarp without releasing Thundercracker.

"And how long since the armour formed? How long did you have to wait to get back into action?"

The two seekers exchange looks in total silence for the third time.

"Do you...-....want to tell me...-.....that the armour...-hasn't formed yet....-?" Ratchet slowly said.

"Hey! It's only six months old!!" Skywarp revealed with the utmost innocence.

"JUST SIX MONTHS??!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ratchet's scream was so loud it made the fight between the Autobots and Decepticons stop, and now everyone was seeing the two seekers facing a furious Autobot medic with Prime right by their side.

Ratchet opened his mouth to continue his verbal lashing. Suddenly, Optimus grabbed him by the arm and wrenched him to the left, bringing him out of the path of a blaster shot. Ratchet had to back off, along with the leader but still had his eye on the seekers as Thundercracker helped Skywarp to his feet. The fight continued for some time until Megatron ordered a retreat. The Decepticons then left through a portal that opened by their side. Optimus took the opportunity to ask what Ratchet was trying to do with the enemy seekers, but the only answer he got was that they should capture Skywarp and bring him to their side as soon as possible, deciding to leave it for now.

But all was not well on the Decepticons' side. As Thundercracker and Skywarp exited the portal, they came face to face with a furious Megatron who didn't like their interaction with the Autobot doctor at all.

"Explain."

The two seekers knew that their lives would depend on the answer they gave, or at least the answer Megatron would like to hear.

Skywarp trembled as he hid behind Thundercracker, both of whom knew they wouldn't be able to escape this situation unless they told the truth, all of it.

"Skywarp and I...we are Conjunx Endura."

Megatron growled as the other bots started to get surprised.

"Actually, we were Conjunx Endura before we joined the Decepticons."

Megatron kept looking at the two, waiting for more answers.

"Sometime after we joined the cause...well...it's better to show than to talk."

Thundercracker walks up to Skywarp and gently touches him, whispering, "I love you," to him and receiving, "I know" in reply. Skywarp then got up, opened his cabin and carefully removed something from inside.

It seemed the bots forgot to ex-vent when they heard a small yawn coming from what Warp was holding.

"I want you to meet Starscream,"

Tc placed himself next to his Conjunx, who now held a small Protoform with very clear red eyes.

Some gasped as everyone's attention diverted to that squishy little life form. Megatron was the most surprised of them all and was silent just looking at the Protoform until finally, the Warlord decided to break the silence.

"Why?" Megatron wondered,

"Why all this secrecy?"

"If I may speak, my Lord."

Thundercracker didn't know if it was better to say it or not, but he mustered up the courage to say it anyway.

"We didn't trust you. I didn't trust you."

Megatron looked at TC, who continued the train of thought.

"You didn't allow relationships, I was afraid that if you found out that I and Warp were Conjunx Endura you could exterminate us and not long after that we found out that Warp was waiting and we panicked. I panicked. I didn't know what to do. We didn't know what you would do if you found out the truth so I came up with the plan to make everyone believe that Skywarp has rust, and we would come back when the Protoform had his armor formed but rust does not last that long so we had to go back and pretend everything was fine and well,."

"We were afraid you would order the protoform to be exterminated before it even descended into the gestation tank."

Megatron heaves a huge sigh as if he exhales all sorts of thoughts he's been having.

"As cruel as I am, I would never order a sparkling to be exterminated."

Megatron approached Thundercracker and put his servo on the seeker's shoulder.

"A new life is a cause for celebration, it's a new hope to revive Cybertron."

Thundercracker breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that everything will be okay.

"Soundwave," Megatron continued, "Send a message to all Decepticons that we now have a new member and rearrange the distribution of Energon. Skywarp will need extra doses to make sure the sparkling grows healthy and let Hook know what happened and get him a full check-up. in Skkywarp and in..."

Megatron looks at the sleeping Protoform.

"Starscream, my lineage," Warp said

"And for Starscream," Megatron said smiling, a very rare sight.

Starscream let out another yawn while Hook appeared skidding into the place, thinking that Soundwave had played a prank on him, or at least his cessations, but as soon as he saw the Protoform, reality hit him. He went into a full medical mode, lecturing Skywarp and Thundercracker, who were now accompanying him to the medical wing along with other curious bots.

Megatron sat on his throne, throwing his massive body weight onto it.

"This changes everything."

Chapter Text

Outside the medical wing was a small cluster of curious bots, all wanting to see the little Protoform that Thundercracker and Skywarp had. The news of the sparkling spread through the base like wildfire in an oil mill. Everyone wanted to see the little Starscream, and of course, the whole mess made Hook furious that the medical ward was packed not with patients but with unoccupied bots. The problem he soon solved by saying that whoever stayed there and wasn't a patient would be turned into a toaster by his hands. The crowd quickly dissolved at lightning speed, especially after the Decepticon doctor gave the warning while holding a power saw on. TC and Warp were trembling when Hook, now with the medical ward empty, looked at them both and slowly approached the seekers. For the next two hours, they both had to listen to Hook's taunts and endure ear pulling from him as he listed in chronological order everything that could have gone wrong with hiding the sparkling from him, a doctor. The check-up on Skywarp and the Protoform were intense, especially on the Protoform. For Starscream, the tests were lighter because of his fragile state since he didn't have armour, and he was nothing more than a soft, fluffy blob of grey with little red eyes and two tiny lumps on his back.

"Until Starscream has formed his armour, I will want to see him every two weeks for weigh-ins and to see if everything is okay. I will pass on to Skywarp formulas the Energon cubes that will be nutritional. The longer he is fed through Skywarp's feed cable the better, as the Energon is more filtered and contains the necessary vitamins and minerals cleaner than our filtering method so a controlled feed to Skywarp is the best choice at the moment. I also want Skywarp to avoid stress so as not to affect the Energon produced for nursing."

Hook wrote everything down in the seekers' files and sent a copy to Soundwave responsible for the Decepticons' Energon distribution. Upon reading the message Hook sent to his HUD, Soundwave went to the Constructicons; he had a new job for them.

The Decepticons were astonished at Megatron's orders to Skywarp. First, he forbade the seeker to participate in missions that could become dangerous and also fight against the Autobots. Until the Protoform had its armour fully grown, Skywarp would be stuck with internal work inside the base. Thundercracker would only participate in Energon-seeking and scouting missions for as long as the Protoform needed to grow strong, which surprised the Decepticons as they didn't think the Warlord could be so...so kind and understanding about it. Of course, the bots didn't say it out loud because they didn't want any confusion. Meanwhile, the Constructicons were almost finished with the Soundwave request. The SIC had ordered them to completely renovate an old warehouse, but no one knew yet what the warehouse would be turned into, except Megatron.

The Decepticon base was quieter in the last few days, although some bots were still trying to see little Starscream since they couldn't see him yet, and among them were two twin Casseticons. Frenzy and Rumble were known for playing pranks and getting into trouble when they were bored. They were the youngest Decepticons at the time. Curious and even a little jealous that everyone was talking about the Protoform and now not even paying attention to them, the twins decided to find out if Starscream was all they were talking about.

Being Casseticons, which were small in size, they easily entered Thundercracker and Skywarp's small quarter through the ventilation duct. They found the lilac seeker sleeping in the berth and, besides the berth, a small makeshift metal cradle with a thin blanket and, on top of the blanket, little Starscream. Frenzy and Rumble quietly got down from the duct and went to the metal cradle. They stood on their tiptoes to see what was inside and found little Protoform sleeping.

"All fuss over that little goo?"

The blue Casseticon spoke as he looked at Starscream.

"He doesn't even have wings. Is he even a seeker?"

The little red bot gave the Protoform a little nudge, causing it to wake up and the little glowing red eyes to look at the two Casseticons staring at it.

Starscream blinked, and he began to cry out as he saw the two unknown figures staring at him. The crying was so loud that it now made sense that Thundercracker had given the name scream to it as part of its designation. Skywarp woke up with a jump; he looked at the metal cradle and managed to catch Frenzy and Rumble escaping through the ventilation duct. His main concern was for Starscream and not the troublesome twins, so he quickly got the Protoform and started the calm him until Starscream stopped crying and went back to sleep. When Warp put his sparkling back in the crib, he sent an angry message to Soundwave without a second thought about what his Casseticons had done. Not long after, Frenzy and Rumble's cry of "We're sorry" can be heard by the base. The Casseticons were forced to apologize to Skywarp and revealed that they were curious about Starscream and didn't want to scare him. They just wanted to see why everyone was abuzz over "a piece of goo"; that same day, Soundwave explained to the twins where the sparklings came from and their shape until the armour formed, and again the halls were filled with another scream, this time those of disgust coming from the Casseticons.

A few more days passed before Megatron entered Thundercracker and Skywarp's quarters, asking them to accompany him with his Sparkling. Tense moments on the part of the seekers were felt until they passed through a corridor where the other Decepticons were until they reached the old warehouse.

"Your new quarters"

Megatron said as he opened the door to the old warehouse, now a very large berthroom.

The new quarter was roomier than the old one and now had a metal berth where TC and Warp could rest comfortably together. Next to the berth, there was a metal crib with protective bars and a thick blanket for Starscream to stay warm. On the floor were gift packages from the other Decepticons to Sparkling; blankets, Energon cubes, handmade toys and even small armour to protect the Protoform while its armour grew. Never did it cross their processor that something like this could happen; or that the Decepticons would do something like this for anyone, let alone the Seekers. The surprise didn't end there; Ramjet pulled Thundercracker to the side, saying that he hoped that, as soon as Starscream was bigger, the blue seeker would challenge him to a battle for him to be the Aerial Commander again. Reassuring that he wouldn't take it easy in the fight and would give his all to finish him off and rub his face on the ground. Tc laughed and said that would never happen and patted the cone-headed seeker on the shoulder. Seekers cared about each other even though they were rivals, and they solved problems their way.

Time passed, but the fight against the Autobots continued and, even tired after long battles, the Decepticons' energy was recharged just by seeing Starscream's small smile that grew bigger with each passing day.

Skywarp ran through the corridors in a hurry, wanting to get to his companion, reviewing some data with Megatron, Blitzwing and some other bots about the newest Energon mine he had found. Not long after, and when he saw Warp out of breath and with Starscream wrapped in a blanket, he started to think about the worst until Warp said it was all right.

"Look!!"

The purple seeker removes some of the blankets to show his Conjunx something. The surprise was such that Thundercracker dropped the datapad he was holding.

"Is Starscream all right, Thundercracker?"

Megatron asked something worried as he watched the blue seeker take his creation wrapped in the blanket and go to them.

"Couldn't get any better."

Thundercracker removes some of the blankets, showing the sparkling's armour developing and the colours starting to appear as well as the wings forming.

Megatron put his digit to pet the little Starscream, and the sparkling holds it tightly and not wanting to let go; There were signs that he would have claws on his fingertips.

Starscream developing was a good sign but unbeknownst to them with his growth came their helmaches. With the armour taking shape and Starscream growing, his crying became part of the Decepticons' daily life. The bots had to start taking turns to take care of the seekerling because TC and Warp couldn't handle it on their own apart from the many hours of sleep they had lost because of crying and trying to get Starscream back to recharge. The frequent wailing was because of growing pains, specifically the chassis; normal for every bot even if they didn't remember it.

In addition to the chassis, Starscream's teeth began to grow as well; Starscream, in addition to the claws, would have canines, something that was common in seekers in the past but that now few of them had, and this was a sign that he would be a strong bot in the future. Now the Decepticons were only concerned about whether the seekerling would have inherited Skywarp's intelligence because if he had... anyway, the Decepticons helped in any way they could in creating Starscream, who now slept peacefully using the Warlord's huge arm as a bed.

Thundercracker asked Megatron to hold him for a moment while he fixed some data on the datapad. His teammate was resting in the quarter, and TC didn't want to disturb him and would be quick, but the blue seeker ended up sleeping sitting on the metal chair, exhausted while fixing the data. Megatron didn't mind; he liked the seekerling, although he didn't quite know how to hold him properly and tried to hide the panic he had the seeker. Megatron watching Starscream sleep so peacefully on his arm felt so peaceful and peaceful, something he hadn't felt in a long time, that he ended up dozing off sitting on his throne while still holding the seekerling. Soundwave, seeing the scene, covered the Warlord with a blanket and fixed Starscream better on his arm, thus ensuring that no accidents occurred. He also didn't miss the opportunity and took a picture of Warlord like this, calmly recharging with little Starscream in his arms and covered by the blanket; at the opportune moment, he would give the photo to Warlord.

Chapter Text

Time doesn't stop for anyone, not even the Decepticons. It seemed like just yesterday that Ravage showed up in the control room, angry and saying that Starscream needed a chew toy, his tail littered with tiny seekerlet sized bite marks. Nowaday's, the Decepticon feline's concern was not biting, but because he was being treated like a pet by the little seeker, now more grown-up.

Even as time passed, the war continued. It got to a point where the battle between Decepticons and Autobots reached a planet full of organic life: Earth. Starscream had grown a bit, and his armour had fully formed. The little goo ball was now a young tricolour seeker full of inquisitiveness and questions about the world and how curious he was! Starscream wanted to know about everything; Soundwave fueled his curiosity with his first datapad that connected to the wireless network of the planet they were on. Starscream could spend hours on the datapad researching the organic life on Earth, so much so that he started doing research himself.

An act that caught Shockwave's attention as the seekerling constantly invaded his laboratory to get any kind of material he needed, including some dangerous ones. The cyclops bot didn't care as he deprived himself of feelings for a long time. When he noticed that the seekerling was not normal, he started to test on him. Said tests weren't a big deal, just some puzzles and complicated formulas he arranged for Starscream to solve, and surprisingly, he solved them with ease. When other bots learned that Shockwave was doing "experiments" with the seekerling, they thought the worst and, even after seeing that it wasn't at all what they had imagined, they were worried about leaving Starscream alone with Shockwave. It took the scientist Decepticon showing the research data to Megatron for everyone to calm down. The data revealed that Starscream was a genius and that he easily solved complicated formulas that even adult bots had difficulties solving. Due to his high curiosity, the seekerling could be a future scientist when he grew up. That's when the harsh reality hit.

They were at war, and neither side wanted to surrender. Starscream would become an adult, and the war would continue, and he would have to enter the battles at some point. Thundercracker and Skywarp worried about that future as the time to teach Starscream to fly approached. Unfortunately, it was coming sooner than they liked.

Megatron held Blitzwing by his neck. The Triple Changer was responsible for looking after a small Energon mine taken over by the Autobots. Despite Megatron being smaller than Blitzwing, he didn't mean he was weaker, "Because of your incompetence we lost valuable Energon, Blitzwing... and you know what happens to the incompetents in my armada..."

Blitzwing swallowed hard as he wondered what the Warlord was going to him and how long he would be in the medical wing, but before anything could happen, a metal door opened, revealing a happy seekerling.

"Megs!!"

Megatron immediately released Blitzwing, who dropped to the ground in a big "thud" and looked at the little tricolour seeker and smiled.

"Little Star!!"

Blitzwing, at that moment, gave thanks to Primus that Starscream had shown up at just the right time. Megatron looked like another bot whenever Starscream was around; if he were to put it in human terms, Megatron would be "the favourite uncle" who pampers the child in every way possible.

The Decepticon leader took the seekerling into his arms and lifted him, and that's when Starscream noticed Blitzwing on the ground.

"Why is Blitzy on the floor?"

Starscream, even though he was still small and very young, still couldn't speak all the Decepticon's names, especially the complicated ones, so he called most bots by nicknames. Blitzy was Blitzwing, Megs was Megatron, Ram was Ramjet, Airachnid was Spidey and so on. Bots that didn't have one were jealous of the others. Hook was one of them as Starscream called him by name because he could say it. Nicknames aside, today was a big day as Starscream started his flying classes with his creators, "Blitz did not listen to my warning that the floor was slippery and that he could fall if he was not careful. An act he will not repeat in the future..." Megatron then glared at Blitzwing out of the corner of his eye, and the Triple Changer quickly got the message, stood up again, explained it was his fault, and ran out.

"Sounds!!"

Starscream shouted when he saw Soundwave enter with TC and Warp and jumped out of Megatron's arms and skipped to the TIC. Soundwave already knew what he wanted and promptly responded. From his chassis came the cassette Ravage. The feline Decepticon was ready for whatever kind of mission Soundwave would give him. Seeing that he was hugged from behind and held by Starscream in squeezing arms, the Casseticon promptly realized it was not a mission, but because the seekerling wanted to hug him and use him as a pet,again.

Soundwave chuckled a little as he saw how Ravage looked at him before Starscream led him to a corner where the seekerling began to pet him. As much as Ravage said he didn't like being treated like a pet, his purring whenever Starscream pet him in the right place said the opposite, but whoever mentioned that got a good scratch on their face.

"Has everything been prepared?"

Megatron asked as he headed towards the other bots.

"Yes. Soundwave found a perfect spot with little wind for the first flying lessons. There are no human cities nearby either."

The blue seeker spoke.

"Good. Blitzwing will go with you as a precaution."

The Triple Changer looked at the group and went to them, and as he passed Megatron, the Warlord grabbed his arm.

"If anything happens to Starscream or if he comes back with a single scratch, I will personally take you apart piece by piece."

Blitzwing gulped and nodded.

Starscream released Ravage when Skywarp called out to him and said it was time for the first time the seekerling to leave the base, and he was crazy about it. He held his Carrier's and Sire's servo as he first walked through the portal he'd seen Soundwave open so many times for the other Decepticons.

Starscream let out a big gasp when he saw the blue sky with the white clouds of that planet in person. He had already seen pictures on his datapad, but it was his first time in person, and he was ecstatic. He lifted his legs and stomped hard on the ground, feeling the texture of the dirt and sand. Soundwave had taken them through a desert landscape, sand and rocks as far as the optics could see. The wind wasn't strong, which made it perfect for flying lessons, and with no humans around, there was no danger of having the presence of military personnel who had allied with the Autobots.

Everything seemed to be perfect. TC and Warp let Starscream explore a bit. While Blitzwing stayed close, watchful for any s change in the environment. Little did they know on a nearby mountain in a ship under many rocks, an alarm had gone on and on a screen, three red dots appeared. An extra dot appeared with an unknown sign catching the attention of a group of glowing blue eyes.

Chapter Text

Prowl sat down in the nearest chair he could find. Minutes earlier, he and a small group were on their way to investigate the Decepticon signals when Ratchet held him back, telling him that he had to talk to him before he went on his mission and that it was urgent. Of all the things that the SIC Autobot could have imagined what the ambulance might say to him, he never imagined that it could be something like that.

"A Sparkling? From Thundercracker and Skywarp?"

His surprise was quite evident, and he still seemed not to believe it even after Ratchet told him the whole story.

"Why tell me now, Ratchet?"

"Since we saw Thundercracker on small missions and no sign of Skywarp I figured Megatron had discovered and exterminated Sparkling due to the seekers being demoted, hence the few missions but from the new signal it seems that is not the case."

"What are we going to do then?"

"I have a plan."

"What will we tell Optimus?"

Prowl inquired in front of the door before leaving and looking at Ratchet.

"Let me handle that part."

Prowl nodded and left to get the two bots that would be part of this secret mission.

Meanwhile, Dreadwing gave TC and Warp the green light to approach the area. Starscream didn't even wait for his Creators and ran towards the Triple Changer, standing in an open field surrounded by some large desert rocks with no sign of life nearby except for a small lizard that came running out when it felt the earth tremors from the Seekerling's pedes. Dreadwing started filming as inconspicuously as possible. Later he would pass the video of his first flying lesson to Decepticon communications.

When Thundercracker had finished explaining to Starscream the basics; how he should feel the power going through his cables, where the turbines were and how he should feel and control them. Skywarp held his hand assuringly while the seekerling tried to copy his sire's instructions.

"Very good Starscream, now turn on your turbines in your pedes and slowly give them more power,"

Starscream looked a bit nervous and turned to his carrier, "Don't worry, I won't let you go," Skywarp said as he gave a quick kiss to Seekerling's helmet while holding his little clawed hand. Starscream got into position and started diverting energy to the turbines on the soles of his little pedes. Little by little, the flames increased, and the wind made dust, and small stones moved around him as Starscream lifted from the ground a few centimetres.

"I did it! I did it!" Jubilated Starscream before nearly falling to the ground as his sire caught him.

"Concentrate Star. The main point is balance," Thundercracker warned as the Seekerling started to put more strength into it until he managed to stay in the air a little above Skywarp's face, who was still holding him. He couldn't hold back his happy smile and, slowly, let go of Starscream's hand, and he started to stay in the air by himself, trying to balance himself to be completely straight; his arms were moving to try to find a balance point for the rest of his body.

"Wings." The blue seeker spoke, diverting's Starscream's attention to his wings.

"Find a good spot for the wings to be positioned along with the rest of the body."

"Don't forget that a seeker uses the whole body during flight. We have to have total control. Speed, Agility, and Control, that's what separates us seekers from other aerials."

Starscream then decides to close his optics and feel every part, every piece of his little body, making a kind of mental map of everything that made him be him. When he opened his eyes again, he immediately moved his wings in a different position than before, straightened his posture and the placement of his legs and stood perfectly straight.

Blitzwing uncrossed his arms and stopped leaning against his rock to pay more attention. The first flight was never easy for any aerial bot, especially seekers, who had more complex programs, but Starscream managed to do it in a few tries. Even Skywarp and Thundercracker were surprised and couldn't hide it when they saw how easily Starscream was getting everything. And the surprises didn't stop there. Of his own volition, Starscream transformed into an F-15 in mid-air. Ramjet, during a mission, had brought to base a human jet that he "found lying around" so Starscream could scan an alt-mode without exposing himself to humans. Thundercracker had to reset his optics a few times to be able to believe what he was seeing while Skywarp anxiously put his arms tightly under the little tricolour jet so he could catch him fast if something went wrong.

Finding himself confident and capable, Starscream put more power in the turbines and began to fly away at high speed.

"Starcream!!"

The scream of the three Decepticons going after him was unanimous. The seekerling was having fun flying for the first time in his alt-mode but was going too fast. The velocity was incredible for a small body, which meant he would be a tall and fast seeker when he was an adult, but now, still very small, that speed was extremely dangerous for him.

Thundercracker and Skywarp yelled at Starscream to slow down, but the seekerling didn't hear them. Now the speed he was at was disorienting him, and he began to panic. Thundercracker noticed this and put all the energy he had to get himself quickly in front of Starscream and transformed in front of him managed to catch him in his arms.

"It's okay, Calm down, it's okay, I got you."

Starscream transformed and hugged TC, bawling his optics out. Thundercracker landed, and shortly after, Skywarp and Blitzwing arrived. The Triple Changer breathed a sigh of relief to see that Starscream was fine while Tc and Warp calmed him down.

"And that's why lessons on speed are given after mastering balance and correct use of wings in draughts."

Thundercracker wiped Starscream's eyes and apologized.

"It's all right, my little star. You can't learn everything in one lesson and mistakes are common during learning."

Skywarp catches Starscream in arms.

"But don't do that anymore, you've given us a tremendous scare."

"Okay, Carrier."

"Good. Now let's get back to class, this time going slow and not skipping parts, ok?"

Starscream gets all happy back on the floor.

"Okay, Sire!!"

Starscream listened to every word that his Creators spoke and obeyed. It didn't take long for the tricolour seeker to master the basics he needed to know to be able to fly like a seeker should and all the effort was worth it as now little Starscream was in Skywarp's arms sleeping after spending the afternoon training. The smile on Starscream's face was the biggest achievement of that day.

"Let's go back."

Thundercracker signalled to Blitzwing to contact Soundwave, who opened a Bridge they passed through to return to base. Megatron was going to ask how was the first class when he saw them come back, but as soon as he saw Starscream sleeping happily in Skywarp's arms, he decided to leave it for later and signalled to the seekers releasing them from the day's duties.

"I'll let Starscream recharge in the quarter."

"Okay, my love."

Both seekers shared a quick kiss, and Warp took Starscream inside, and just then, TC noticed that Megatron was looking at him with his arms crossed. Showing affection was allowed, but it had to be in private. Thundercracker covered it up by forcing a cough and went to Soundwave, asking if he needed help with something. Blitzwing held back his laughter as he passed the videos he made of Starscream's first flight lesson to Decepticon Communications.

Skywarp arrived at their quarters and placed Starscream on a small berth with railings on the sides to prevent him from falling over if he moved in his sleep and covered him with a small blanket. Sleeping Starscream held his favourite stuffed animal, one that had the shape of a blue Turbofox that Soundwave made for him and that the little seeker always had with him when he recharged. Warp patted the seeking's helmet before leaving the room and heading back to the command tower where he was before and that now all the bots were seeing Starscream's flight lessons on Soundwave's computer screen, including Megatron.

Warp arrived at the scene and went to stand next to his companion to have fun watching the faces that the Decepticons were making when they saw Starscream fly for the first time. After a few klicks, Soundwave paused the video looking at an odd blip on the screen.

"Soundwave, what is it?"

When Soundwave managed to zoom in and improve the photo, it revealed Prowl looking at Thundercracker and Skywarp. Below him was Jazz and another thing that looked blue. A tense mood came over the Decepticons. The Autobots had seen Starscream. Soundwave started to type faster, the computer revealing an Autobot with the alt-mode of a Ferrari: Mirage.

Skywarp and Thundercracker wasted no time and ran towards their quarters. Soundwave put on the screen separated into two images of when they arrived from training. The right image showed the four coming back. The left, recorded using a thermosensor, showed that five bots had left that portal. The numbers didn't add up.

"Sound the alarm!! No one in and no one out!! We are in Alpha Black code!!"

Megatron's screamed for the alarm to sound. Decepticons began to receive messages that the Autobot Mirage had infiltrated the base.

"Soundwave watch the cameras!!"

The first image came, as Skywarp's cried of despair. On the berth where Starscream was supposed to be, wrapped in his blanket, a turbofox plushie lay alone.

Chapter Text

It was hard to see Optimus Prime angry, morse so enraged, so the Autobots were surprised by his and Ratchet's tumultuous argument that leaked out in the hallways. The whole mess started less than two hours ago when Prowl's team came back from the mission with Mirage holding something swaddled in a blanket, a sparkling. Optimus asked where they found the sparkling, and Prowl, not having many other options, revealed that it belonged to the Decepticons and that Ratchet was the one who created the plan to get the little seeker. It was at this moment that Optimus exploded. He didn't know if it was because his team had kidnapped a sparkling or because Ratchet had overstepped his authority, but before he could start reprimanding, the sparkling woke up. When he saw that he was not in his Creators' quarter and surrounded by strange bots, he began to cry; loud and high pitched.

The sound the sparkling was making was so shrill that the bots' audios hurt. It was a natural defence for sparklings to have a disarming scream, but he was well above average, and it got even worse when the wails started to get louder. Visible sound waves came out of the seeking's mouth. Seekers could have powers, and clearly, the little tricolour sparkling had inherited one. Mirage fell to his knees on the ground and released the seekerling, his body paralyzed and his HUD filled with error messages. The one who finally managed to calm him was Jetfire, a shuttle, who was the least affected because of his size. He took him in hand and held the seekerling up high, making small movements that resembled a flight, and slowly the tricolour seekerling calmed down until he stopped crying, and the bots started to stand up again.

Optimus gave orders for Jetfire to take care of the seekerling since he seemed to be the only one keeping him calm. After the incident, he made Ratchet follow him to the office for a small conversation heard well into the hallways.

"What were you thinking, Ratchet?! Do you have any idea what you just did?"

"I know exactly what I did, Optimus! I saved a sparkling from being turned into a Decepticon soldier!!"

"You've given the Decepticons a reason to continue the war; that's what it is! What were you thinking, taking a sparkling from their creators??!!"

"They would turn him into a weapon! I won't let that happen!"

"You kidnapped a sparkling!"

"I saved the sparkling!"

Both bots had to stop yelling at each other to prevent their systems from overheating. Optimus sat in his chair, racking his processor for a solution to the oncoming mess. The Decepticons wouldn't be quiet, especially the sparkling's creators.

"First, we have to check if the seekerling is healthy and, when it is calm, contact the Decepticons. For now, make the bots that are outside the base to get back inside,"

"You know this had to be done sooner or later." Ratchet interjected.

"Not like this!"

"We didn't have time. When I told you about the sparkling Eons ago, you agreed with me that the Decepticons couldn't and wouldn't know how to take care of a sparkling and that if Megatron didn't kill him, he would turn him into a warrior."

Optimus rubs his helm, trying to ward off the oncoming helmache.

"What sets this act apart from a Decepticon?"

"That we saved an innocent life from the war, that's what sets us apart from them."

Optimus motions for Ratchet to leave, and when he opens the door, a group of curious bots has dropped to the ground, causing their leader to heave a huge sigh and stand up.

"Where is the seekerling?"

"With Jetfire and Bumblebee, sir looks like the seekerling has accepted the two as caretakers," Reported Jazz, who was the first to arrive.

No wonder. Jetfire had a spark bigger than his body and got along with bots much smaller than him. Bumblebee always cared about others more than himself and did everything to help anyone who needed it.

Optimus went with the Ratchet to where the seekerling was. The little bot sat on Jetfire's lap, who was sitting on the floor with Bumblebee, who had given him some metal cubes, a cybertronian toy he had when he was younger. Bumblebee was an orphan and lived on the streets until Optimus found him and gave him to Ironhide and Chromia to nurture, which they did with great pleasure. Jetfire stood up, holding the seekerling in his arms; he had received an internal message from the young Prime explaining everything, or at least the main parts about Ratchet wanting to examine him.

The seekerling only accepted because Jetfire would keep him company the whole time. Starscream was fixated on the white bot since it was the first time he had seen a shuttle, and Ratchet took advantage of this to get some information out of him despite the look on Optimus' face radiating displeasure.

"So...what is your designation, little guy?"

The seekerling was trying to hide behind Jetfire's arm despite Ratchet having a metal stethoscope in his chassis.

"You can trust him. He's a doctor." Jetfire said, looking affectionately at the sparkling.

"Are you like Hook?" He asked, suspicious of the new presence.

"Well, not to brag, but actually I'm a better doctor than he is." Ratchet bragged, grinning as he continued examining the seekerling

"Can you reattach parts like Hook does?"

Ratchet had an idea

"How about a game? If you answer one of my questions, I'll answer yours.

The seekerling thought it over with great consternation but eventually accepted,

"What is your designation?"

"Starscream."

The bots standing outside the medical wing and watching everything seemed in harmony in agreeing to his deserved designation because of the loud shout from earlier.

"Who are you?"

"I am Ratchet, Starscream. Next to me is Optimus, and I think you have met Jetfire and Bumblebee."

Ratchet gently touches Starscream's wings carefully to observe his reactions and see if he has any problems.

"How many times a day do you get fed?"

"Three. Carrier gives me small cubes, and before I go to sleep, he gives me a warm cube with additional iron. Sometimes I eat little cubes of sweet Energon.

"Hmm..."

Ratchet continued with the tests and this time held Starscream's face, searching for any nicks or dents,

"Where are my Creators?"

Jetfire tensed up a bit at the question but continued to hold Starscream.

"They are fine. They are with Megatron and the others."

Technically it was not a lie.

"Do you receive any kind of training?"

This question from Ratchet now received the attention of all, including Optimus, who looked somewhat serious.

"My flying lessons have begun."

"Could you be more specific, Starscream?"

"You know...feel the engines, control past energy, balance."

Starscream wiggles his wings a little,

"Any other kind of training?"

"Hum... Frenzy and Rumble say it's escape training. We try to catch Laserbeak in the middle of her flight, climbing with Ravage on things, hiding in Shockwave's lab until someone finds us,..."

All Starscream was saying were merely innocent and harmless jokes.

"Why am I here?"

Starscream asked, looking at Ratchet.

"Well, Starscream. We are in the middle of a war. Do you know what a war is?"

"I do. I researched things about this planet with the datapad I got from Sounds that he connected to the wireless information network of this planet. I know about a lot of things!" Starscream announced.

"Well, Starscream; we are at war with Megatron."

"Why? Megs is a good bit; he wouldn't hurt anyone."

The looks of surprise were unanimous.

"Megatron? A good bot?"

"Yeah. He plays with me, gives me sweet Energon, lets me sit on his throne,..."

Most Autobots had errors in their processors just trying to imagine the scenes. Some seemed to hold their laughter at the sight of the big bad Warlord playing with a sparkling.

"Has anyone ever hurt you, Starscream?" Optimus questioned, looking at the little seeker.

"No. But my Creators fought with me when I transformed and went flying at high speed in the middle of the flying lesson. They said it was too dangerous to fly at that speed because I was too young... when can I see them again?"

Starscream might not understand the overall situation, but he understood he wasn't with the Decepticons and in a strange place with bots he didn't know.

"Soon. We are working out a problem with them, and as soon we resolve it, you can go back."

The Autobots were impressed with Ratchet and how well he could lie and trick a sparkling. To Ratchet, lying was a necessary evil to give sparklings medicine and shots.

"You can go back to playing with Jetfire and Bumblebee, you're free."

Jetfire took Starscream in his arms, the sparkling nearly disappearing in them. Then he leaves with the yellow bot to play in a larger space.

After they left, Optimus approached Ratchet waiting for something.

"Astoundingly, he is perfectly healthy and well taken care of. His Wings are developing well, and he has taken all the necessary doses against viruses and malware."

Optimus continued to glare at the doctor.

"There is a small possibility that perhaps, maybe, we shouldn't have rescued him."

"I think you mean kidnapped."

"You know I did it with the best intentions! We had no way of knowing how he was being treated by the Decepticons before!"

"Good intentions or not, you went against my authority, ordered my team behind my back, and broke my trust."

Ratchet stood silent as he grimaced.

"Your actions will have consequences, of that, I have no doubt and, for now, you, Jazz, Prowl, and Mirage are prohibited from going on missions and will have your rations cut,"

Ratchet knew that the punishment was justified and that Optimus was being lenient.

"For now, we'll take good care of Starscream and prepare for the worst. When the seekerling sleeps, we'll contact Megatron. If we're lucky, we can resolve these misunderstandings without any problems.

Chapter Text

Soundwave had barely loaded several images from the base's cameras to locate the intruder when Skywarp's terrified scream echoed through the corridors. Megatron didn't wait for an extra klick as he started running to the spot where it originated, letting his SIC work on what he was best at. When Megatron arrived at the seekers' quarters he found Skywarp kneeling on the floor in despair, hugging the blue Turbofox plush that belonged to Starscream. The lilac seeker repeated, "they took him,” in a dazed state, ignorant to anything else. Thundercracker, furious, tried to calm his companion down but to no avail. Seeing the situation, Megatron roared with anger and despair. Then Soundwave sent a message to everyone saying that he had located Mirage on the cameras, and he had the little Starscream in his arms wrapped around his blanket.

Megatron called an emergency meeting shortly after Skywarp was rushed to Hook because his condition seemed to be getting worse by the moment. The Decepticon doctor had no choice but to force stasis on Skywarp with an injection due to his state. Thundercracker did not want to part with his Conjunx Endura, but his thirst for revenge led him to attend the rally Megatron called. Seekers, Drones, Triple Changers, Grounders, Aerialbots, all the Decepticons were somewhere in the base, looking at the screens, the higher ranks were present in the throne room watching Megatron.

"Decepticons!" Megatron begins, "For Eons, we have been fighting the Autobots for the good of Cybertron! We have lost companions to them and Energon to them! But nothing, nothing the Autobots have ever played against us compares to what occurred today!"

Megatron looked at the various red optics following him.

"Today the Autobots have crossed every line! They invaded our base and took our most prized possession! They took our Little Star!!!"

Shouts of rage resonated from every corner of the base and only stopped when Megatron raised a servo for silence.

"We will not leave it like this! We will not let the Autobots getaway this time after what they have done! They have separated a sparkling from his Creators! They separated Starscream from us!"

The crowd roars with fury and insults towards the Autobots and Prime.

"Show them no mercy! Kill, main, or capture every Autobot you can find! Hunting season is open!"

The Decepticons roar as they rush through the portals

"Show them that messing with one of us messes with all of us! Destroy until we have the Autobots on our feet begging for forgiveness!!!"

Never before in Decepticon history has there been such widespread rage as that. As Thundercracker was entering one of the portals, Megatron grabbed his arm.

"I understand the anger you're feeling, Thundercracker, but you need to stay here at the base."

"They've taken my sparkling, Megatron! If you think I'm going to stay put..."

"I'm not asking you to do anything but Skywarp needs you right now. Carriers are more sensitive than Sires and he's going to need all the help he can get to stay calm until Starscream returns and..."

Megatron can't fear because Hook enters the room, saying that Skywarp has teleported somewhere. The injection he had given did not last long as the seeker's systems fought the effects fervently, and when he tried to stop Skywarp from getting up, he was attacked by him before he teleported away. Seekers were known to be very emotional, especially if it was something to do with Trine or Conjunxs Endura. Carrier had a Sparkling taken from them then... they became destructive machines until the rage calmed down. TC, upon hearing this broke free from Megatron and entered one of the portals already transforming before he entered; he was going to join his companion in the search for Starscream and woe betide anyone who got in his way.

Megatron left Soundwave in charge of the base while he joined Thundercracker and Skywarp in the mass destruction. Astrotrain and his drone trains took over the railroads and destroyed locomotives. Ramjet and other seekers accompanied by Aerialbots destroyed airports and parked planes, Blitzwing and other Grounders wreaked havoc on the highways. The Decepticons didn't care about the damage they were causing or the possible victims of all that destruction. It didn't take long for the Autobots to find out about it through the warnings that the American Government was giving them at every moment. The Autobots, unlike the Decepticons, joined the humans in search of peaceful coexistence, which was at risk due to the attacks of the other faction and whose motive Optimus could not reveal since, otherwise, the humans would be against them too.

Optimus heard a crash as a furious Warlord accompanied by two seekers, blue and lilac appeared. Before Optimus could even say anything, Skywarp teleported behind him, hitting Prime in the knuckles and knocking him to his knees on the floor. The Autobots who accompanied Prime didn't stay quiet and pointed their blasters at the seeker, but Megatron already had his blaster with Prime in his sights.

"Stand down!"

Autobots slowly lowered their blasters, but kept their optics fixed on the Decepticons before them. Optimus straightened up but still kneeled on the floor.

"I didn't give the order, Megatron. You know I'm not one to do things that way."

Megatron approached Optimus and punched him with all the strength he had. The force was so strong that Optimus' face was just below the dry earth, then Megatron put his foot on his head. Prime pushing him to stay on the ground. Again the Autobots had their blasters active, this time with Megatron in their sights, but portals opened behind them, and the Decepticons surrounded them with a blazing fury and blood in the optics.

"I don't care about excuses, Optimus. You Autobots messed with something you shouldn't have and now you're going to pay for it."

Megatron makes the young Prime stand up and launches him towards Thundercracker, who holds him by the arm with such force that it was possible to hear something disconnecting from the Autobot leader's arm.

"Listen to me Autobots and listen to me very well!"

Megatron looks at the Autobots who were accompanying Prime.

"From this moment on and with every click that passes; your leader will suffer the consequences for the act you did!"

Megatron went back to Optimus Prime and held him tightly by his helm.

'"Each click passed without the return of Starscream a Decepticon of mine will do as he pleases with your adored leader."

Megatron released Optimus, and just as he screamed in pain, Thundercracker shot Prime in the leg using his blaster.

"Fifty-seven seconds until the next hit,"

The Autobots couldn't believe what they were seeing, they didn't want to, but the portals opening behind Megatron where more and more Decepticons appeared showed why Cybertron feared the Warlord.

Skywarp, still holding the blue Turbofox plush that belonged to his Sparkling

Ratchet at the base was watching everything on the main computer screen in shock and horror, just like the other Autobots and, feeling guilty about everything, didn't think twice about taking Starscream from Jetfire's arms and giving him a small Energon candy. Sweet with a small dosage of sleeping medicine that caused Starscream to fall into recharge.

By the time Ratchet left through a portal holding the seekerling accompanied by Jetfire, Bumblebee, Jazz, and Prowl, Optimus was already in a puddle of his own Energon.

Seven minutes and thirty-four seconds and counting.

Chapter Text

Dark. Everything was dark, but somehow, he was warm. Something was enveloping him, and although he couldn't see, he heard something, he couldn't tell what it was, but it seemed to be voices; Two distinct voices and faint cries or he thought were them. After a while, he began to see a dim light and shape until he saw two faces. One seemed to be leaking something, and he understood that this was the crying. Two happy faces looked at him lovingly as they held him; he was very sleepy, so he couldn't stay awake for long, but he knew he was safe.

Not knowing how much time had passed, he grew a little, and every time he felt cold, someone put him inside something where he felt protected and warm. The perfect place to sleep. Sometimes he felt something wobbling, but nothing stopped him from sleeping until he felt a big bang as some light entered where he was. Curious, he extended his little arm towards the light, but something plugged that hole, and he recognized that it was the hand that always held him with affection. With the hole, he started to hear loud noises and someone screaming, but soon the noise started to diminish, and he went back to sleep. Again he felt the large hands holding him and pulled him out of the warm corner of his nap, waking him up. He gave a small yawn until he opened his eyes and saw something big in front of him slowly approaching him. He reached out a small hand and held on to something tightly and saw a pair of red optics wide open that seemed to look at him while he held on to whatever it was until he gave another yawn and went back to sleep, still holding on to whatever it was. Then he grew some more. This time he knew who the faces were from before, his caretakers. The ones who kept him warm and safe, he felt peaceful with them. When he was woken up and saw faces he didn't know, he started crying loudly and called for his caretakers until the hands of the ones he trusted picked him up again to soothe him back to sleep.

Time went by, and he was a little sparkling, or that's what they called him. He was never left alone and was well fed. Now he knew who their Creators were and tried his best to communicate with them as best he could. He also started to recognize other faces that seemed to get bigger every day, and only when his body started to change was when he could make the first sounds. Carrier was the first thing that spoke when he saw the bot of the hands that he loved and that always took him into his arms and protected him at all costs. He loved to stay in the air or be lifted high. One day began to feel changes in his body again. He saw denta hurt to the point where he wanted to chew on everything he could find. He ended up chewing something he shouldn't have; after that, he never saw that long piece of metal that moved slowly from one side to the other again.

With additional time passing, he was now able to talk and walk. Some sentences were still difficult for him; so he just shortened them. His favorite moment was when he ran through the halls to the big room where there was a huge chair. He loved to go there to play with a big grey bot that always put him on the huge chair where he could see everything from above. Sometimes, he would stay on his lap, watching all the rush of the place and admiringly watching bots coming and going from big portals that glowed. Despite this, he didn't understand why the others seemed so afraid of the grey bot who always played with him and even gave him candy to eat; he was a nice bot! He also loved to run after a metal bird and try to get a ride from her. Or run after a big black cat and try to catch him from great heights. Sometimes, he had 'escape training' where he hid with his frequent playmates from other bots.

The most anticipated day had arrived! He was finally going to start taking flying lessons! He squeezed and petted the black cat while he waited to be able to enter the glowing portal, and when that moment came, he jumped with joy! He was astonished as he walked through the portal, but even more so when he saw the blue sky and white clouds passing by. This was a thousand times better than the boring tests Cyclops always made him do! Not that he didn't like solving riddles or puzzles, but he preferred researching the planet and the life that inhabited it with the datapad he had received as a gift.

The first class hadn't gone as planned, although he'd had so much fun that he'd gotten tired and fell asleep in Carrier's arms. Sometime later, he got up again, but he was so tired that he didn't even wake up, and when he did and saw faces he had never seen before. He started crying, calling for his Carrier and Sire. The scream became more and more high-pitched, and he cried, even more, dying of fear until he felt big hands had caught him and placed him high up in the air, making movements that reminded him of his flying class. A large white and red bot held him, eyes a much lighter colour than he was used to seeing and seeming to calm him. Another bot, much smaller than the white one, approached him with metal toys, and the three of them played until they took him to the doctor where he saw two new faces. It was even fun because he played with them and even got candy. They told him his parents were solving a small problem and that when it was all over, he would come back to them so he went back to playing with the white bot and the yellow one until he saw the doctor go in his direction of him, offering a candy that he accepted gladly.

Sleep, he was starting to feel sleepy. Maybe he had played too much with those bots. He felt a slight cold breeze, but soon after, the heat came, and he felt something surround him with all the affection in the world. He woke up in the arms of his Carrier, who was sleeping and hugging him. On the other side, his Sire watched them sleep. But he didn't want to sleep anymore but to play, so he tried to wake up his Carrier but was stopped by Sire.

He was happy, he had met new bots that he played with until he got tired, and now he was with his Creators having even more fun when Sire threw him up, making him laugh and woke Carrier, who promptly joined in the fun. Not long after, he was already running through the halls and going to the big metal chair where the big grey bot picked him up in his arms and placed him there while he was already handing him another candy. Everything was as before, but he missed his new friends.

"When can I get back to playing with Bee and Jet? I like them! Jet puts me up high and it reminds me of flying!"

He didn't understand why everyone was now looking at him in surprise as he peacefully ate the candy happily sitting in the big chair.

Chapter Text

Megatron seemed he was dreaming, but the headache he had for losing yet another fight against the Autobots was too real to be just a dream. Megatron extended his hand to try to feel it and know whether it was real or not. Instead, he was the one touched. The little grey ball with such a small hand grabbed just one of his digits and squeezed as hard as it could. The Warlord was amazed to see bright little red optic staring at him.

He was a Sparkling, a real Sparkling. Somehow Skywarp and Thundercracker had made a miracle happen because sparklings made naturally were rare. Megatron looked at how it slept back in his Carrier's arms. Thundercracker was saying something, but he was so astonished that he didn't hear him. He was only brought into reality again when he realized that everyone was looking at him to know what he would do. To everyone's surprise, the most feared Gladiator of the Pit Arena proved to have a good Spark. Megatron made a small speech about how that little being brought hope to a new and future Cybertron and ordered the two seekers to rest. Megatron was the only one who didn't recharge well. He had much to do and prepare, but for his luck, Soundwave was there to guide him and say what should be done. The following days were chaotic. All Decepticons members wanted to see the sparkling, and Hook had to by order at his Medical Ward containing the couple. Thundercracker and Skywarp won a larger room due to Sparkling, but the biggest problem was still to come; how would they have enough fuel to match the Carrier and Sparkling?

Getting Energon in the middle of a war was formidable. They had to defend their energon supply at all times from constant attacks. Searching for more mines was too risky due to Autobots scouts, and cutting the army's ration amid the conflict was not a good idea. The Autobots themselves are another problem. If they knew the Decepticons had a Sparkling in their hands, they would do anything to get their hands on them. Even more so if they knew it was a seeker like its creators. The only way to keep it a secret was to keep Thundercracker on minimal missions and Skywarp on base to take care of the sparkling. Even so, the only solution for both Skywarp and Starscream to be well fed would be if all the Decepticons agreed to have a portion of their ration reduced to add to the seekers. This would be complicated as there would be bots that would not accept this.

For the first time in his life, Megatron was completely wrong. Every Decepticon agreed to have the rations reduced somewhat in favour of the sparkling. They all came together for the cause of protecting the sparkling and ensuring its security and development. And none of that was easy.

Taking care of a sparkling was difficult, especially when his armour began to form, and he cried without stopping because of the pains he felt as he grew and gained shape. The Decepticons took care of Starscream in shifts so that CT and Warp could rest; even Megatron sometimes looked after the little seeker who only seemed to calm down if he was held high, and the best bots for this were the Triplechangers and Megatron. Megatron liked to take care of Starscream, something in that little sparkling made his spark a little warmer, and it didn't take long for the dreaded Warlord to be wrapped around little Starscream's digit.

As the years passed and Starscream grew more and more, Megatron became a favourite uncle and did everything to spoil the little tricolour seeker, from giving him sweet Energon to asking the Constructicons to create new toys. No bot said anything about it because they were not idiots. Besides, whenever Megatron was furious enough to end up with some bot, it was enough for Starscream to show up for him to turn into a completely different bot. Megatron had found the only bot that could calm him down, and as much as the warlord didn't notice, the others did and thanked Primus when Starscream appeared to prevent Warlord's fury. That in fact, he did not forget, just stopped at that moment, and as soon as Starscream left, he returned to being as always was, feared and crude, although this time it was less because the little seeker had changed his spark somehow.

And when the Autobots kidnapped little Starscream, all the hatred and fury Megatron hadn't felt in a long time was brought to the surface. At that moment, the Decepticon leader did not care about the destruction it would cause or the possibility of his death. He just wanted to destroy everything along the way until he finally found Starscream and ensured that he was safe and alongside his Creators. That's when the Autobots found out how cruel Megatron could be if desperate. Roads, airports, train lines, and anything related to the Autobots, even if indirectly, were attacked. Optimus had no other option but to appear in person to calm them.

That didn't even work out. Megatron and the Decepticons were so angry with Prime that even after he denied the kidnapping they almost ended his life. They only stopped when Ratched appeared, holding a sleeping Starscream in his arms. When Skywarp reunited with his sparkling, that was when the Decepticons withdrew.

Megatron sat on his throne to rest after releasing the Decepticons for the rest of the day. Thundercracker and Skywarp immediately withdrew to their quarters with Starscream. One by one, the other bots were leaving Megatron alone with Soundwave working, as always.

Megatron was tired; he was getting too old for those types of conflict. Deep down, he knew he would lose this war. The warlord wanted the end of the war, preferably with him as the victor. But even he knew that might not be possible, especially after what they did with Prime. The Autobots would not stand still and would retaliate at any time. Amid the crossfire, even Starscream could be in mortal danger this time.

For hours Megatron was thinking about what would happen and how it should act, several scenarios passing through his processor that only stopped when Starscream came in, wanting to climb the throne to get higher, as always. As he picked up the seekerling to do their usual routine, an innocent question in wanting to know when he could again play with Bumblebee and Skyfire. Without knowing, he had given Megatron a solution to end the war.

"Soon Starscream. Soon. "

Megatron said, giving a half-smile that made the little seeker rejoice. The bots shivered when they saw Megatron smiling and sending Soundwave to prepare something for him.

Chapter Text

Optimus and Megatron had been staring at each other for some time in the video call that Prime himself had started. A few hours before he had woken up in the medical center under Ratchet's care and had barely woken up he had already had to calm the spirits of his companions who wanted to cut the Decepticons for what they had done to their leader and, only after many conversations and calm, Optimus was able to convince his team to calm down and say that what they wanted to do was not the best course out that, the main fault was his for failing as a leader as they had separated a sparkling from his creators. And now he was facing the Decepticon leader with a plan in mind and that if it worked, it could be the end of the war.

No one knows for sure, perhaps Soundwave, what the two leaders talked about for so long that it was sometimes possible to hear Megatron changing his voice to a hoarse one, a sign that he was angry. Still, it didn't last long and after the conversation with Prime, Megatron rallied his army for a warning. Optimus did the same on his side. Surprised, that was the word both factions expressed as they listened to what the leaders had told them. Truce. After so many millennia of fighting and loss, for the first time, both sides would call a truce as a kind of test to see if they could come to a better agreement for peace. The next scene was one of confusion but after Megatron exploded that it was to prevent Starscream from getting caught again in the middle of their battle against the Autobots; the leader explained that this time they got lucky but what would guarantee that next time the little seeker wouldn't get hurt? Because of this, it was easier for the Decepticons to accept the truce, but Optimus was not so lucky as using Starscream as an excuse was not enough for some Autobots to willingly accept the leader's orders but who, without much choice, had to accept.

Despite the truce between the factions, the humans didn't want them on their planet anymore, especially after the Decepticons' rage not too long ago now they also saw the Autobots as a threat to the planet and it got to the point that Autobots and Decepticons got along with each other. came together to repair each other's aircraft and thus leave that planet and return to Cybertron that was still destroyed and it was only at that moment that they came together to rebuild their true home and forget the differences and even the cause that made them enter. in war. The beginning was not easy but in the end, they managed to go to the end and the planet started to show signs of recovery sometime later, bots that fled the war and that were scattered throughout the universe gradually came back when they knew that the truce was now in place. turned into a peace treaty. Optimus and Megatron created a new Council where, this time, there were participants from all types of chassis and both factions as well. The caste system was abolished, and now all types of bots were equal under the new laws that were created abolishing the old ones, especially the laws about slavery and the type of chassis determining the bot's place in society.

And so, time passed. Cybertron had become a planet where now any bot could live anywhere on it because there were no longer cities or empires separating them, but a big city, where the capital and the Council were, and around the small cities where all of them gave for any type of chassis to be able to live comfortably, from a Minicon to a Triplechanger, everything was renewed so that everyone had the same place where they could stay and live in harmony with each other, whether on earth or in the sky where now a young tricolor seeker was flying at full speed to be on time for his first day as a lab assistant.