A/N: Transformers AU, fantasy, all frames based on G1 designs. Thanks to Deathmustang for prompting the idea.

Warnings: Mild angst

"They're gettin' worse." A red gryphon mech sighed brokenly. "They've only been hatched a few orns, and they have yet to eat more than a mouthful."

The gryphon femme beside him stepped closer, her frame pressing close against his. "I know," she whispered, her beak trembling "Our troublemakers are gone, and soon so will their hatchlings."

At their talons the gryphlets struggled weakly, keening their loneliness and hunger softly. Their once audio piercing screeches were now little more than terrible, breathless cries of the softest keening. They were fragile, picking them up was dangerous, and not picking them up was more so. On the ground the pale green, fluff covered hatchlings were helpless.

Suddenly, their soft wailing silenced. Terrified that the pair had expired the older gryphons stared to the small forms – only, the little ones were staring, behind the pair in trembling intensity. Something on the ground had caught their attention when nothing else ever had before.

"Somethin's here." the gryphon mech rumbled, talons raking the earth, he spun wings flared and readied to strike – only to gasp frozen at what he saw.

"Ironhide?" Sideswipe gasped, blind to the hatchlings at the older red gryphon's talons, he threw himself at the mech he called guardian. Instantly Sideswipe had curled his head up under Ironhide's beak, nuzzling his crested helm into his guardian's chestplates like a youngling.

"'Mia?" Sunstreaker asked, optics huge, "Why aren't you with the clan? Were you banished because of us?" Despair at getting the couple banished from their actions filled Sunstreaker's spark and froze him as he stared at the grief filling his femme guardian's face.

"Yer alive!" Ironhide gapped, "But – we saw – the Maw of Primus."

"Don't hurt yourself old bird." Sideswipe giggled, "We held our breaths and dove through. It would have worked perfectly."

"Would have?" 'Mia demanded.

"Hunters. We were captured until –" Sunstreaker looked around them, realizing that the harpies and siren were still hiding, then smiled, "We're courting a mate." He smiled shyly up at his femme guardian.

"And that one femme saved ya somehow?" Ironhide asked flatly, his spark torn between the grown twins before him and the ailing new spark twins behind.

Sunstreaker nodded then sobered, "What's wrong?"

"Them," Ironhide pointed to the silent pair of tiny gryphlets barely large enough to fit into a cupped taloned hand. "They're dyin'."

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe looked from guardians to the younglings and pivoted, unquestioningly, they spun to the forest, "Ratchet!"

Ironhide stilled, his grown twins had never called for another, never asked for help or offered it willingly. They were impetuous, stubborn, violent glitches with no clue. Yet, somehow they were different now. He just couldn't peg a talon on it.

"That is a northern gryphon." A mech voice hollered from the trees.

"He's our guardian, Ironhide! We told you about him!" Sideswipe yelled back. "Hurry, they're dying!"

"Slaggit." The word was clear, but muffled slightly. The six gryphons waited in breathless silence until a lone red and white figure darted from the trees, landing squarely behind Sunstreaker who stood farthest from Ironhide. "What happened to them?"

'Mia cycled her optics. Off-lined them then rebooted them and repeated it twice. "You both are courting a harpy. A mech harpy?" She looked worriedly at Ironhide.

"Mech-carrier, actually." Ratchet replied absently as he looked the little hatchlings over from his hiding spot behind Sunstreaker. "How long have they been hatched?"

"Two weeks." Mia huffed, "At first they were fine, we thought. Then within days of hatching they started to scream. They stopped eating, when they got hungry enough they would take a few mouthfuls. Its been enough to keep them going, but –" She stopped, shaking her helm helplessly.

"Flyin' with these two have been exhaustin'. Can ya do anythin' fer them harpy – aside from eatin' them?" Hide asked warily, almost hoping the smaller flier would just eat the little ones and save them from their agony.

Ratchet smirked, "I had to ask Sunstreaker and Sideswipe the same thing a while back. No, I don't 'eat other winged ones'." He looked warily from over Sunstreaker's helm, "May I approach them?"

"Can't hurt at this stage." 'Mia sighed, sitting wearily on her haunches. "They're lives are tragedies already."

"What do you mean?" Ratchet asked as he edged around Sunstreaker, keeping the yellow gryphon between him and the exhausted looking dull red and light blue gryphons.

"We had been thinking of leaving the clan ever since we had gotten back ta the clan in time ta see the tail end of our younglin's bein' stupid. A'fore we could stop the idiots the entire clan had taken wing ta chase them. We tried ta follow, only when we got there, they had dove through Primus' Maw. We knew it had ta be the end.

"When we found their eggs, they had been abandoned. Their carrier had laid their eggs and left them to die. I keep wondering if I should have left them." Mia sat up, her frame shifting from gryphon to common form, leaning back on her hands in the brilliant sunlight. "We had decided to keep them, replace the first pair of hellions we had raised." the blue femme curled up against Ironhide's side, "Their carrier was Greenlight. When the clan found out she had drugged our mechlings ta get herself sparked they cast her out. She hadn't even laid her eggs then."

Ironhide nodded somberly, "She left her eggs ta die on the Barren Hills and ate black tarwood. Found her cold and gray curled round 'em. What a waste."

Ratchet listened as he looked the little gryphlets over, his spark falling for the tiny younglings who would one day rival their creators for size. "Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, fetch the others then you get to start cuddling your younglings. They need to know their creators are alive."

"You're not mad?" Sunstreaker asked hesitantly, remembering vividly Ratchet's broken expression when he had asked about little gryphons they might have sired.

Ratchet sighed watching out of the corner of his optic as Soundwave and their combined younglings slipped silently from the forest. "I'm plently angry, but the only one I can be angry with has taken herself out of the picture." He flared his feathers in frustration, "If Greenlight were here I'd strip her to bare parts, but she's not, and the littles need you more."

Sideswipe looked over his shoulder, beak gaping slightly in a contented grin to see Ratchet's younglings safely tucked away with Soundwave's. He turned to Ratchet, nuzzled his lovely harpy adoringly and moved to lay beside the little gryphon that had Greenlight's coloring and his his red striped along the backs of the downy, near naked wings.

A shrieking cry startled Sideswipe into the air, the noise deafening in its intensity from the tiny, delicate figure. "What the slag?" He asked, looking to Ratchet who was on sitting on the ground cackling so hard he couldn't stand.

"Your spark signature, your brother's coloring." Ratchet gasped out as he chortled, "Your youngling is yellow!"

"The red one better not have inherited your processors, bit-brain." Sunstreaker sneered before nuzzling Ratchet swiftly and curling gingerly around the tiny green and red gryphlet.

Ratchet smiled at his lovers, suddenly unconcerned that they had younglings of their own. He supposed it made up for him having First Aid. He sighed finally and looked to the skies how were they supposed to raise two tiny gryphlets, three siren-hybrids and five half-sibling harpies on the road?

"Wha's that siren doin' with harpy littles?" Ironhide demanded as his wings mantled dangerously.

"He's part of my harem." Ratchet replied with a half-lie, knowing the twins would not contradict him and Soundwave was likely listening in, "Along with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe."

"Along!" Mia gasped, "Our idiots, those two over there grinning like morons, are part of a harpy's harem along with a siren?" She cycled her optics and stared at her mate abashed.

"Ah don't even know what ta say ta that." Hide admitted slowly.

"Just say you won't eat my younglings or Soundwave's and we'll be fine." Ratchet replied flatly as he stared at the older gryphons.

"We don't eat other winged ones." Mia snapped, and blinked as Ratchet cackled.

"You definitely raised Sunstreaker and Sides, they sounded just like you."

Hide and Mia smiled fondly at one another before looking to their grown younglings with a contented sigh. "Wait a tic, ya said the siren was a he?" Hide finally let Ratchet's words catch up with his processors and caught the disparity.

Ratchet huffed a faint chuckle and summoned his ever growing family over beside him, admiring their many hues flashing in the late afternoon sun. The thought of having a harem was so seductive he wanted it to be real. But, his faith was still shaken in Soundwave's intentions. He knew he could, and would, kill Soundwave, keep the siren's younglings and never flinch if he tried anything ever again.

As he watched his family approach Soundwave nodded slowly in understanding, lone optic shining with grim acceptance. Ratchet huffed and turned towards Aid, having his mechling grind ores and herbs together in his little mortar and pestle as Ratchet mixed a restorative that would strengthen the little gryphlets.

While his hands were busy Ratchet told of his misadventures since taking Aid from Tracks' harem with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe interrupting at every turn. Soundwave remained mostly silent, speaking when needed. Around the very strange family the many younglings played and bantered.

Mia blinked stupefied as she let the deluge of information sink in. "The hunters are down here as well? When we left Arcee's nesting grounds more fighting wings were taking to the skies to defend our territory. That old buzzard has something up her feathers. She keeps disappearing for days at a time, then returning as if she had never been gone but smelling of strange trees.

"Will they live, harpy?" She finally looked at Ratchet with solemn optics.

"For now," Ratchet nodded, "Are you two strong enough to hunt? Sunstreaker and Sideswipe need the extra nutrients in a big animal, as will the gryphlets. You both are getting too thin as well."

"Its not as if we had a choice, harpy!" Hide snapped and glowered as he puffed his feathers to make him seem bigger.

"We have food!" Streetwise pipped up, "We were fishing in the river earlier. Everything's still in last night's bole. We can get it then no one would have to hunt!"

Ratchet smiled and gripped Streetwise's white shoulder proudly, "You catch is a wonderful contribution, but how many Sunstreaker's would it feed?"

He drooped, withe wings with black primaries sunk to the ground. "Two?"

Ratchet grinned, "Go get your catch. It looks like the gryphons are all too tired to hunt -"

"Don't even think about it." Sunstreaker snarled as he rose to his lethally taloned feet, "You will not go hunting while carrying our sparklet."

"Wait a tic," Hide interrupted, "Ya said ya was courtin' the harpy, so how'd he get ta carry ya'll's sparklet?"

"Our intentions were lost in translation." Sideswipe rumbled unhappily as he glowered at Ratchet.

"An' ya said they was yer harem." Hide continued as he glowered at the harpy.

"I've agreed, its just not official yet." Ratchet admitted lowly.

"And the siren?" Mia demanded.

"He's -"

"Serving penance: My actions, unconscionable. My probation, long."

::He sang Ratchet into a tryst. If it happens again the harpy's fury will be the least of his concerns.:: Ravage glowered at her carrier with a dangerous purr. ::We love Ratchet, he has been our creator when no one else has been. If Carrier hurts him, he will not live to regret his mistake.::

"Ravage!" Ratchet snapped, "You don't threaten your carrier, ever."

"Her words, truth. And mirror your own." Soundwave looked to Ratchet with silent regret and adoration.

"Mia, come on, my processors just can't handle this. We're better off huntin'" Hide rose to his paws and stretched his wings. Beside him Mia changed back to her gryphon form before alighting to fly after her mate. Together they winged into the early evening gloom and the promise of food.

Ratchet remained standing as the gryphon pair flew off. Trepidation filled his spark as he looked down the road they would need to follow. If they walked as mechs, they would be to his parents' nest in three weeks. If they flew - they would be there three days time. He wanted to feel safe, knowing he was going to his childhood home. He wanted to feel loved, sitting here with his three, three! prospective mates. Yet, Ratchet only felt doubt.

He knew he cared for the twins, knew they cared for him, but was it real? When he was nearly running into himself from rapid mood swings would they still feel the same?

"Knock it out." Sunstreaker growled suddenly pulling Ratchet from his thoughts. He spun his helm looking to see which youngling was getting into trouble only to find the whole flock of younglings seated on the grass under a tree feasting on the catch.

"What?" Ratchet finally turned to Sunstreaker when he had counted all the younglings twice.

"You're winding yourself up over something." Sideswipe replied with a lopsided grin. "We'll get by. Hide and Mia are good hunters."

"It's not that," Ratchet sighed and finally sat between his lovers and realizing they had settled themselves so Ratchet could relax against them snuggled between their protective talons guarding the sleeping gryphlets.

"Is it them?" Sunstreaker asked worriedly of the exhausted hatchlings.

"No," Ratchet sighed. "I'm being selfish." he pulled his legs to his chest and huffed weakly. "I don't want to visit my parents."

"One thing at a time." Sunstreaker repeated his words from the shoreline only two days ago. "You need to make a decision before we get there."

Ratchet nodded, he no longer had the luxury of waiting until his youngling was full term to take his mates. The newest younglings made that abundantly clear. He could not ask for protection for his younglings without offering the same for the gryphons' desperately weakened hatchlings. A thought flitted through Ratchet's processors and finally sealed his decision.

"If I have a harem I might just stop having these blasted mood swings." Ratchet spoke his thought out loud and huffed as gloom slowly faded into darkness. "When the hatchlings are more stable, and you are able to leave them for a couple of hours we will make it official -"

"No." Sunstreaker laid his talons over Ratchet's thigh. "We will have our proper mating flight, when you are ready."

"But, this is important. Mating flights for gryphons are like heat flights for harpies. Once you start we can't go back. Our instincts are to mate - or kill." Sideswipe met Ratchet's optics and the healer could only gulp nervously and nod. They would fly and there could be no interruptions.

"Tomorrow we have to take a different branch of the forest path. It takes us through Roc territories. I know their wing leader. He will give us sanctuary until our mating flight." Ratchet sighed. He had sworn to never take up the massive Roc's generous offer from before Aid was even a thought on his first rounds as a healer apprentice. Now, he had no choice.

... to be continued.