Sorry for the the grammatical/spelling errors. I'm lazy. XD

Cross the Burning Bridge

2

The clouds spun before them, their tailfins cutting the air elegantly like the blade of a sadist. Starscream rode the with the wind chasing his tail, the gods of this ball of dirt seemed to favor him and his Trine-Mates.

Skywarp let out a maniacal laugh as he did a pinwheel turn and then looped back to join the other two. Starscream let a small amount of satisfaction slip though his bond to his bonded, he may not look it, but their joy was his as well.

Yes, he was a stuck up ass and cocky to boot, but he was loyal to those he bonded with. The thing about being bonded, they are you, and you are them. How can you not enjoy their emotions? Once you bond, a part of you lives within them; being Trine-Mates came with plenty of bonuses but also many downsides.

Being bonded, that a decision for never or forever; you can't back out once the bond has cemented. You are forever with them until they leave you behind and return to the Well.

The Sparkling, his mind jolted back into present, the fog of enjoyment faded off. Seekers, that's what they were. Seekers not only found Energon but were in charge of the younglings. It was hardwired into their being that no Sparkling could ever be hurt, intentionally or not. Seekers themselves were unable to harm a mere child of their own kind, their own Sparks refused to travel down that dark path.

That is where the Trine's hatred of Megatron sparked from, he killed Sparklings that barely had a moment to live. He crushed them mercilessly, he broke open their casing long before they could stand the outer space around them; they needed a Spark to be nurtured by.

:We'll make it.: Thundercracker mentally comforted his mate. :We will always make it for a Sparkling, you know that.: He sent a wave of comfort, the tinged energy was received gratefully.

:Starscream, even I know that you were respected by Sparklings.: Skywarp joined in. :You always protected them, no matter what.:

Both his mates comforted him to the best f their ability, their efforts bore fruits and Starscream let his wings spread further, their speed bracing on the edge of mach three. They formed a tight line, their wings hovering over each other, the Fleshlings that barely caught an upward glance at the roaring jets above them knew it was almost inhuman with their precision on how they competed but stayed perfectly in tune with each other.

O-O-O-O

"Optimus, we have to get that Sparkling. Now." Ironhide forced the matter on his superior.

The giant mech sat in a desk fabricated for the Autobots, specially made to hold their weight and size easily. He was fingering through files on a data pad. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, an all to human movement for a mech.

"I need clearance to ship you out, I need time for the clearance, and I don't have time." He sighed heavily, this was wearing him down. Ironhide acted like he hadn't heard the desperation in the call for help, he was a Prime, Prime's were bound to Sparklings, even in a time of war they enforced the law that no Sparkling shall be harmed.

"Ironhide." Ratchet put a hand on his counterpart. "Optimus know." :Quick badgering him, he's a Prime and you know what this is doing to him as well, look at the lines of stress.: Ratchet gave him a hard look, a wrench was begging to be lugged at the dark bot.

Ironhide glared back with equal heat, his cannons begging to shoot the pest of a medic's servos off.

Optimus sensed the rising heat between the two bots.

He couldn't hold back a snort.

"What?" Ironhide lost his formality, his tone sliced the air like an ionic blade.

Optimus let out a small sigh, "Good thing not all mated pairs are like you two, we'd have plenty of sadist Sparklings running around." Optimus stood and let the flustered pair of bots struggle to come up with words to throw at their leader. "Anyway, I'll get you two clearance, might take more than a moment though." The mech left them behind, their worries lessened slightly.

"Starscream probably found the Sparkling by now, he and his Trine-Mates."

"He'll keep the child safe, we know that he can't harm it even if he wanted to."

"Didn't you two work together, before all this?" Ironhide leaned against the wall, his impatience only showing as he tapped his ped against the floor.

Ratchet slumped next to him, "Yeah." He rubbed his head in defeat, his words lost for a moment as he remember days under the Cyerbtronian sun, Sparklings crowding around him as he entered the Spark Grounds, the children clamoring for the Energon he brought to their caretakers. He always loved those children, each one of them special in their own way. Only one of them survived, Energon raced through his system as he remembered the days, nostalgia rising within him; his optics offlined as to not leak Energon.

"You okay?" His blunt companion patted his shoulder, hoping to take some of the burden, the bond sung with mixed grief and regret.

"I worked with him, I brought the Energon he dispensed among the Sparklings. We protected them and I healed them when they played too roughly. He taught them about the stars and I taught them about the world around them; I loved them all." Even if they were offline, small Energon tears leaked through. "Each one of them, all but one, they all perished."

"Bumble-Bee?"

"Yeah, he was the last." He hung his head. "I saved him, that day. I saved the young bot as his creators passed into the Well right before his eyes. I saved him from the fire of enemies, Starscream failed me that day." His frame shook with an anger that no words could hold. The bond between them glowed with a fiery red of disgust and revulsion.

"I, I never knew." Ironhide took a step back, he had known that Ratchet had been close to the Sparklings, he himself had never really gotten the chance to visit them; he was a ground-pounding-gun-totting-mech that had little self restraint. "Frag it all." He set his head against Ratchet's shoulder plate, his hands wandering over the mech's face.

"Bumble-Bee, the poor child."

"That's why he fight so hard?"

O-O-O-O

The open com link sung with a force that knocked the Sparkling down till it's knees scarped the familiar metal. It screeched happily, it's rage pushed forth and it flicked open its servos as to receive a signal from its saviors.

Starscream ripped the sound barrier above the carrier, his sonic boom comforting the child beneath him. Skywarp and Thundercracker followed in suit, their actions mimicking their mate's.

The Humans flinched and backed up, cries of dismay and fear ripped from their throats.

Starscream landed steadily, his transformation taking less than a second before his peds touched down on the steel. His clawed hands dug into it, finding himself purchase as he scanned for the Sparkling.

"Fleshlings." Skywarp snarled out. He had landed behind Starscream, Thundercracker hovered overhead.

The Humans didn't react for a moment, their cried quieted down as they studied the beasts before them. Starscream let his Machine gun slide out onto his arm, the barrel glowing red hot as he prepared to fire.

The other two noticed his reluctance to fire, but understood why; the Sparklings. He dared not harm it, and he knew it was here somewhere. If he sank the ship the Sparkling would be last, if he misfired the Sparkling would be lost, if it was hidden and he shot the wrong person it would be lost; they knew they had to find it quick.

Thundercracker did a quick scan, the energy he released sent the Humans flying overboard. :Starboard, right behind the mass of fleshlings.: He sent the silent message to them both, the Sparkling cried out once more; breaking the tension.

Skywarp ripped through the left side, his own machine gun tearing the humans to tiny pieces; his laugh echoed eerily but happily. Thundercracker let his sadistic side have free reign, his guided missiles strategically blowing the larger hoards of humans sky high. He caught one, still alive, in his cockpit. He rushed out above the unnamed ocean, mach three twist and turns and death defying stunts common of Seekers ripped the internal organs of the captured being into nothing. He ejected what remained of the lump of flesh and returned to the ship.

Starscream made a beeline for the Sparkling, his open com link sending comforting signals that had laid dormant in his programming; the other received the upgrade as he sent it directly to their servos. He bent down low, his clawed hand fingering the small pod. He saw the optics shining in the darkness, the light green light reflected with fear as it gazed up; unsure.

:Sparkling.: He let relief wash through him, it was in one piece.

He sent his hand down, palm up and cooed gently. His former self basking in the relief that there were still Sparklings that needed his care. His optics scanned the child repetitively, making sure nothing was harmed. He snarled at the sight of a human's bullet hole, the damaged wires, and the shaken state he had found it in; it was nothing to serious though.

The Sparkling pinged at the link, trying to send him a message.

He opened it willingly, hoping to receive a clear message.

:Safe?:

:Always.:

The Sparkling smiled, it reached up with both arms. It cried out for attention, it's servos claiming this was a safe place, that this was a good place, that this would always be a good place.

He let a small genuine smile cross his features, Skywarp and Thundercracker waited behind him, anxious to see their new ward.

The small bot stretched up, its peds still unable to bear its weight. He cradled it one hand, his other gently running over its small head; the creature was tiny in comparison to everything around it. He sent comforting signals, promising to feed and protect it, to nurture and care for it. He turned to face his mates.

"It's safe, but it's build… I don't comprehend." He eyed the wings and extra ports, wings of a Seeker, the build of a Ground-Pounder, the eyes of an unknown faction, and the mindset of a Sparkling. His confused optics looked to his mates for answers, but neither of them knew.

:Sparkling, what's your name?: Maybe that would hold answers, he opened the link so all three of them heard his words.

The child looked at him with wide innocent eyes, it was unsure. It had a look of concentration that lined its face, it bit its lips and then scrunched its face up, the words were escaping it. It answered, in an odd dialect, :Speedburst.: It fumbled and eventually its message was read loud and clear. Starscream got a shot of nostalgia, that name was familiar.

"That's a Femme name."

"Ho damn, a Femme Sparkling." Skywarp looked at the child with wide eyes, he must have enriched too close for its comfort for it cried out, the decibels rising higher and higher in its desperation. It scrambled for a foot hold on Starscream's hand, her tiny hand gripping wires furiously. Energon raced in its system, its fear infecting the others around it.

"Holy hell, back up!" Starscream screeched, true to his name. The fear from the Sparkling surged through him, much like a virus would. "This one's different, no doubt." He shook his head, Megatron would have his aft if he learned about the Sparkling.

He snarled at the thought of their so called leader getting a hold of this child, he would rather offline himself than let the Sparkling be defiled by him, she could possibly be killed if she upset him in anyway.

The being clung to him, her own servos traveling faster by the minute; she would offline herself.

:Shhh, shhh…. Sparkling.: He rubbed her head gently once again, comforting her to the best of his ability. He pressed her against his chest casing, his Spark leaping to end her suffering. :He's a mate, kin to you, do nor fret dear.: The gentleness in his tone shocked those around him, they had never heard that tone. Sniveling, yes; hatred, yes; fearful, yes; but comforting, no… never. They hadn't known him in the time of peace, war had brought them together and tied their fates into a knot that no one could hope to untangle.

The Speedburst gripped the metal firmly, her face plate dug into his chest as she cried out happily as the Spark sung under her.

"We have to go." Thundercracker set a hand on Starscream's shoulder, "The Auto-scum will be here soon." He sneered at the last segment, they had won this small victory with a huge pay off.

A femme bot, a young one without ties to either side, the perfect liaison to begin anew without Prime or Megatron, Primus they could start Cyerbtronians once Speedburst reached adulthood, her other abilities were unknown to them, her make was unknown, she was a mystery wrapped in shiny paper.

O-O-O-O

"Ironhide, let's go." Ratchet led the way out of the Hanger, the pot-bellied cargo plane lay on the tarmac, ready to take off but they knew it was already too late.

"Tell me more of the Sparklings." Ironhide, asking just like one, wanted to understand his mate's desperation to protect the being. He knew Ratchet's need was far greater than his own, but why?

The mech let out steam from his internal systems, hot air blasted out of his nostrils, his cooling fans kicking in.

"Like I stated before, I brought them Energon each day and fixed the small wounds. Starscream and myself came to rely on each other, we needed one another to keep the children within the walls of the compound. This was long before the days of war, but I doubt Bumble-Bee remembers much of those days, he had just been Sparked at the time.

"There was this small Femme bot, no one knew her designation only that she was special and was to always be protected." He smiled happily, the bond filled with the warmth of his affection for the Sparkling. "Her name was Speedburst, the little she-devil could move faster than any other Sparkling, but she never used her peds. Her tiny wings would propel her, she could fit in the palm of my hand and still have the chance that a stray wind would knock her off." They both chuckled at the thought.

"Weather always seemed to favor her, no harsh winds, no storms appeared while she was around; it was like she affected the weather itself, but that's impossible." He shook his head.

"How did those days ever come to an end? We were happy, I was happy back then, you were happy back then, what the frag happened?" Ironhide's old wounds reopened, everyone had lost loved ones to the war.

Creators had left Sparklings behind, Sparklings had been murdered in cold blood, mates and kin had been ripped apart by offending sides and different wants and needs, so many of them had died; Ironhide's despair rose to join Ratchet's.

"Starscream left that day, he pinged me while I was looking for him, the Sparklings were hungry and would need to be fed soon. He just told me that he would return the moment he could, I knew something was going amiss then; no was in the Well would he miss feeding time."

"Is that just before it broke out?" Ironhide brushed Ratchet's face plate gently.

"It was nanoseconds before the first shot was fired." He slumped into the wall of the carrier. "I tried to protect them, you have no ability to process how hard I tried." His fingers traced the jagged scars that ran along his spark chamber, that must have been on hell of a hit to dent that metal.

"At you?"

"Megatron as a keen hatred of Sparklings." Ratchet deadpanned, the emotion in his voice seemed to just fade away. "That cannon of his, that fragging cannon…" Ratchet grew silent, Ironhide didn't feel the need to push his mate any further for fear of a wrench getting lodged in his cranium.

"That was the darkest day…"

Ratchet chuckled darkly, "For you? Maybe… mine came later, much later." Ratchet's optics grew darker, a light of malice entered them. "Megatron targeted the Sparklings, and Starscream could do nothing for Megatron was considered his Kin back then, the sick fragging bastard of a bot didn't dare step foot on the battle field, the Sparklings cowered behind me, unable to understand.

"Some of them had just been put online, the feelings of their sparks fading… the life that could have been. Primus. Bumble-Bee, he was just small little Spark then, barely intelligible when he pinged for my attention." A sad smile crept across his servos.

The cargo plane jerked as turbulence shook the hold. Ironhide and Ratchet were thrown against the wall. Ironhide wrapped his arms protectively around his mate, his head pressed against Ratchet's.

:…:

A silent bond of acceptance and willingness to hold the memories that had been hidden deep within his memory banks.

The horror and grief, the feeling of helplessness as the tiny creatures were blow apart right before him. A singular pod thrown high into the sky, his main focus was on the small being held within his hands, he was pressing the Sparkling against his chest, the small creature blipped and cried out in fear, its small hands gripping the Spark chamber tightly. He cried out, as a blast shook Ratchet and knocked him off his feet.

"We'll be okay." His voice held a sense of desperation that was barely withheld. Overhead the Seekers set fire to everything that dared to move, mechs and femmes cried out in pain and despair, a few in blind rage.

The heat of the battle, the flying shrapnel, the bots who pushed past him or tried to attack him. He growled furiously and the Sparkling whimpered against his chest.

A singular blast, well placed, flung Ratchet high into the air, his peds ripped from the uneven ground. He gripped at nothing and the Sparkling cried tears of Energon. His strangled voice warned Ratchet as the ground loomed back towards them.

The landing jarred him, his arms wrapped protectively around the young being, he prayed it wouldn't get thrown out of his reach; the memories of the others made him chock back his emotions as he hauled himself to his feet.

The Sparkling cried out in fear and scrambled to get behind the Spark plating. In his dazed state Ratchet allowed just that, knowing the bot would be safer there after all.

His optics were barely focusing, but the large figured before him looked a lot like Optimus's brother.

"Megaton." He called out weakly, the Sparkling had grown unnaturally quiet.

He heard the clicks and clacks of gears reshaping and reforming.

"Help me."

He was staring down the barrel of Megaton's fusion cannon, the light at the end grew larger. He jerked in a timed reaction, the bullet ripping through the fragile wires that surrounded his Spark, but the Chamber itself lay dented and misshapen, the bullet remained lodged there as Ratchet fell to the ground.

A femme next to him screamed as she fell down a crevice, the world was falling apart.

Slowly… his optics unfocused and he offlined.

Thought it was a good place to leave it at!~ XD

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