Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. This is the only time I shall be stating this obvious fact for this story. Enjoy.

Hello again everyone! I realize that this is a very late update and I am sorry for that. :( Silly me, those two weeks of not updating threw off my groove. *turns to past two weeks* "You threw off my groove!" (lol)

Anyway, this is the beginning of book number two. :)

Prologue

Firefly bits back a giggle as she cuddles her young son. He is so beautiful and perfect. She smiles down at the squirming sparkling in her arms. Prowl had been so sure she was going to have a femmeling, he will be surprised, but still ecstatic when he hears the news. She can't wait to take the long awaited trip to the Iacon base where her beloved sparkmate is stationed as active Head Tactician to Optimus Prime. She is proud of her bond-mate and his accomplishments, his willingness to sacrifice everything to ensure the freedom of Cybertron.

"I can't give you a designation without Prowl here to help me," she whispers to the new-spark. He stares up at her with large round optics, gurgling happily and smiling at her brightly.

Firefly sighs in contentment as she slowly climbs the large metal stairs to her one tiny room apartment. Though she may be just getting by, she definitely is not poor. No, she has seen the poor of Praxus in the slums of the city, and she considers herself very well off in comparison.

"Do you want to go visit your daddy, Prowl?" Firefly asks the little yellow sparkling as she reaches her door. The mechling laughs out loud and reaches for his Carrier's faceplates as she punches in the code to unlock the apartment.

As she enters into her living quarters she instantly feels something isn't right. Something is wrong. Her optics narrow at the darkness of the room and she scans every corner with suspicion. She sees no one, but as a precaution she extends her energy readers. A small flare of a signature brushes her own and her spark jumps. Someone is here!

Firefly clutches her son protectively to her chassis hiding him from the room and its perpetrator. She will protect him with her spark. Venting deeply to gain courage she commands the lights to activate and at the same instant she initiates her small, lone subspace cannon. Prowl had made her get it installed when his duties to the Prime had grown, thus keeping him in Iacon for orns (1 orn= approx. 1 week) at a time. She is now thankful that she had given in to his constant worrying as she scans the room once more and sees no one or nothing out of place. Had she just imagined it? She lowers her arm but her cannon remains powered as she steps further into her apartment. Apparently her paranoia of being jumped in dark places got the best of her again.

"Firefly," an amused voice says directly behind her.

The small doorwinged femme yelps and leaps over the love seat sitting in the middle of the room, at the same time she spins, aiming her cannon at whoever is behind her.

"Wait, no! Easy," the mech urges with his legs braced apart, both servos held up in a sign of nonviolence in an attempt to calm her down, "femme, easy."

"Barricade?" Firefly asks in recognition.

"Well, I'm glad you haven't forgotten me," the Decepticon says with a smile, sounding truly relieved.

The femme doesn't return it; instead she stares hard at the mech in disbelief. The last time she had seen him he had told her that he loved her and wanted her to be his sparkmate, but she had declined gently. Barricade had instantly guessed that the reason for her answer was because of his older brother and had left in a rage. It was true, she had loved Prowl for quite some time at that point, but was far too scared to tell the emotionless mech her feelings. Barricade left and joined the Decepticons, the opposite side that his brother was thinking of joining, out of spite and deliberately broke their sibling bond nearly offlining Prowl. She would never, ever forgive him for that.

Barricade's distractingly red optics flit down toward the bundle in her arms, just noticing the sparkling. His small smile fades slowly and his gaze narrows, morphing into a scowl. Firefly tightens her grip possessively around her sparkling and sends the mech a threatening glare as the Con's faceplates twist with malice.

Firefly finds herself suddenly wondering how Barricade and Prowl, such different mechs, could be sparked from the same creators. How could she have thought for one nano-klik(1 earth second) that she had feelings for this awful mech in front of her? Her thoughts are cut short by the dark colored mech's words.

"Is he…?" Barricade's irritated question trails off as he glares down at the sparkling in her arms as if the young mechlet were an abomination. Her creation stares back with wide, innocent optics.

The black and scarlet femme loses patience for the mech, "What do you want Barricade?" she snaps with her blue optics narrowing, ignoring his question. Yes, she knows what he's asking. He is trying to inquire if the sparkling is Prowl's. Such a simple question! She's sparkbonded to the mech, for Primus' sake! Of course he is Prowl's!

"The Decepticons are mobilizing."

Firefly's gaze sharpens, "So?"

"They're coming here." All the air leaves her chassis and Barricade's words barely register as she stares uncomprehendingly at him. "The orders are no survivors, when they're done razing this place there's going to be nothing left." Barricade's red optics shine with worry for her as he tries to feign indifference as a Decepticon should. No doubt his worry is only for her, Firefly thinks as she tightens her grip on her son once more.

A rising panic begins to grip the femme's spark. The Decepticons are going to attack Prauxs? Why? There are Autobot troops stationed here who will fight them off! There is no way that Megatron would risk loosing so many of his mechs in an attack against such a well fortified city!

Big doe tears form in her sparkling's optics as he senses his Carrier's fear through their new carrier-creation bond. He clings to her chest armor, his little frame quivering with fright.

"No, Firefly, I know what you're thinking, Megatron and Galvatron have combined their forces. No one is getting out of here online," Barricade says harshly with his vocals raising in pitch as he sees that he isn't getting through to her. Firefly shakes her helm forcefully even as his optics turn desperate, "Please leave!" Barricade practically begs her with his vocals grating in annoyance for her difficulty and his own growing fear for her safty. "Don't you want your son to live?" How unfair of him to bring her sparkling into this! "To meet his father?" Of course she did! Firefly doesn't realize that she has voiced her last thought until Barricade growls forcefuly in a commanding tone as he shoves her toward the door, "Then take him and leave now!"

"But what about all the other bots," Firefly asks desperately, gesturing wildly with her free servo to indicate the whole city, "What about them?!" He doesn't answer and continues to propel her toward the apartment door. "I have warn them! Barricade!" she yells his designation angrily, jerking herself out of his hard grip, "did you not come to warn them too?" Barricade's ruby optics steel as he looks at her and Firefly lowers her gaze sadly in realization. He didn't care about anyone else but her. "I always thought there was a good mech hiding somewhere in your spark," the femme whispers with her chin plating quivering with unspoken emotion, "and that deep down you regret what you did, but now I see that I was wrong. It looks like you chose the right faction, Barricade." His designation feels bitter on her glossa and she whirls to exit the apartment.

She must warn the Autobot troops stationed in Praxus.

"Firefly," the sound of the Con calling her stops her movements. Her back struts stiffen and she waits for what he has to say. His next words tear at her spark, "When I return…I'll have my orders."

The femme quickly leaves her living quarters and closed the door solidly. The bang makes her sparkling jump and a small cry leaves his vocals. She gently holds her son against her spark to calm the him down as she formulates her course of action. She must act quickly to warn the troops of the impending danger. Firefly gently places the little yellow mechling in her carrying chamber within her chest plating, he will be safe here. The plating on femmes' chests is always stronger than any other part of their frame for the sole purpose of protecting sparklings in their carrying chamber. Also being next to the Carrier's spark always helps little ones to remain calm in a crisis.

The red and black femme vents deeply, forcing composure through her systems so she doesn't upset her creation snuggling against her spark. She jogs easily down the stairs toward the street and meets her neighbor, Buckshot, at the bottom of the stairs. She personally knows the young mech's family unit. Her spark hurts as his mouthplates open happily to greet her, but she doesn't give him the opportunity.

"Buckshot," Firefly says urgently, "take your family to the base immediately, the Decepticons are coming to the city! Please warn everyone you can along the way! I must go warn the troops!" She sprints away from the frightened mech leaving him there in his stupor and hopes that he will do as she told him to. As she races through the streets toward the military base of Praxus she yells a warning to everyone she passes. Praxus will not fall today! Not if she has anything to say about it!

Her sprint leaves her gasping for air as she nears the base. Relief floods her as she makes a beeline for the entrance.

"Femme, halt!" someone calls out just as she reaches the base's large east doors, she turns her petite helm to see five guards, and one has his rifle trained on her. "What is your business here?" the guard asks suspiciously as he and the other four approach the winded fembot.

"Please I must speak with your Commander," Firefly begs, "the Decepticons are coming!"

"That is incorrect, my dear," a gravelly voice sounds from the dark shadows of the base and Megatron emerges from them with an evil leer on his serrated mouth plating, "the Decepticons are here."

The guard's optics enlarge and he begins yelling orders to his comrades, "Subspace weapons!" the sound of the Autobots' sub-spacing weapons fills Firefly's audios, "partners!" the five guards split off into three teams with the leader being alone. "Femme, with me!" he yells to Firefly, she quickly joins him as they circle Megatron like cyber-wolves. The Decepticon leader smirks as he stands tall and unafraid in the middle of his enemies. Uneasiness pricks at Firefly as she stares at the Con's huge bulk. Why is he alone?

"Sigil," one of the younger guards calls to their leader, "why is the alarm not sounding?" The older 'bot looks curiously up toward the mounted security cameras on the base's walls.

"Soundwave took care of the cameras on this side of the base and don't bother with your comm links," Megatron answers the guard casually with a smirk marking his pleasure, "we will be in and out of your base before anyone sounds the alarm and then the city you safeguard will be eradicated with no mercy." He chuckles with an insane tint to his vocals as he clenches his large, clawed servos and glares at the guards to await their next move.

Their weapons hold steady on the warlord, but a look of trapped prey is entering their optics. They glance sparingly at Sigil, knowing that there will be no silent commands from their experienced leader's comm links. They are on their own, only able to try and stall the large Con until someone else spots them notices that something is amiss. Two of the guards exchange glances.

"Button, Crash, no!" Sigil yells to his comrades just before both of the younger Autobots lunge at the warlord. Megatron shoots both bots with his mounted cannon, felling them instantly with large gaping holes in their frames. Roars of outrage fly from the two's brothers-in-arms and a cry of shock escapes Firefly as squeezes her optics shut against the sight of the two youngsters sprawled on the ground with energon flowing freely from their wounds, the pair's optics dim slowly.

Firefly feels her sparkling shaking in her carrying chamber. She longs to get him out, to reassure him everything will be fine, and to cuddle him lovingly. She can't close her optics! She will get herself offlined like that! Her optics snap open as she hears the screams of the other guards. Her vision clears just in time to see an offlined Sigil sliding off of the warlord's huge sword with his gaze wide and expressionless. The deafening sound of metal sliding on metal sends a shudder through the femme's mainframe. The Decepticon's optics turn toward her and grin splits his features.

What can she do? Firefly's spark thwacks at her chassis madly and her vents are ragged with fear. She is not a warrior! She cannot fight Megatron! Then it dawns on her, Megatron had said Soundwave took care of the cameras on this side of the base. That means the others may still be functional!

"What are you going to do, femme?" Megatron asks gleefully, clearly thrilled with the situation he has currently found himself in. Firefly spins quickly on her heel struts and sprints away as fast as she can with her spark pounding in her audios. She hears Megatron cackle something about 'sporting femme' and she can her his thundering pedesteps take in after her. She feels her son shudder with fear. The poor sparkling, just born two cycles (days) ago and he has already known evil. The fembot rounds the base's south east corner at a mad dash with the warmonger close behind.

Megatron temporarily forgets himself in his need to catch the femme. No one bests him! He too, rounds the corner and the base's alarm blares through the city almost instantaneously. The warlord's optics widen and he skids to a stop with a curse spewing from his vocalizer! She tricked him! He clenches his large servos and bellows his indignation to Cybertron's sister moons. His vocal processor emits a vicious growl as he glares at the femme. This one he will offline slowly!

He steps toward her menacingly but is stopped by a horde of shots hitting his chest armor. Ducking around the corner of the base he sees a squad of Praxus' guardforce charging at him! Slag that femme!

As Firefly offers the large mech a victorious smile before she sprints away, Megatron angrily snarls into his comm lines, : Seekers and all aerial mechs mobilize... No one gets out! :

: Acknowledged, : Megatron's Second in Command, Nighthawk, responds immediately, : ETA in two kliks (1 klik=1.2 earth min.). :

Firefly runs back towards the city streets. She did it, she warned Praxus! Now she has to get out of the city herself! She must get her son to safety! The sound of seeker engines makes her throat pipes choke with dread. The deafening rumble rips through the sky and the seekers and aerial Decepticons unleash Pit on the unsuspecting city of Praxus. Firefly runs blindly through the bombarded city, ducking stray missiles and flying debris. Her spark hammers in her chassis as she disappears down another alley, the accumulating wounds on her frame beginning to slow her.

She gasps as a Decepticon appears at the end of the long alley with a feral snarl on his lip plates and lunges at her. His servos grab at her waist and his evil leer brands permanently into her processor as she jerks free and tries to run. He reaches for her chest plates... her carrying chamber... her sparkling. Instinctively the femme raises her small plasma cannon and blasts the mech's helm off his shoulders at point blank range. Firefly feels indescribable astonishment and shame at her actions and she tries her best not to look at the deactivated frame of the Con as she sprints past him.

Now is not the time for sentiments, she must do these awful things to keep her son safe.

A purple and black femme sprints up the street toward her. The red in her optics and the hellish purple insignia on the black highlights on her shoulder tells Firefly that she is a Decepticon. The Con femme looks from the deactivated mech to Firefly then back again. A look of slight disbelief registers before the Con shakes it off and swings a battle ax at her with deactivation in her glittering optics. Firefly dodges easily to both femmes' surprise and shoots her opponent three times, aiming for the sensitive axels in the taller femme's legs and arms. One blast hits its intended target on the Con's leg and the purple and black femme crumples to the ground with a grunt of pain.

Firefly takes the small window of escape and sprints away from the Decepticon utterly amazed that she was actually such an accurate shot to hit a leg piston. Now all she has to do is stay hidden and slip out of the city.

"No!" a familiar cry comes from down the street, "Leave me alone!"

Firefly freezes in fear. Twinkle... the small fembot that befriended her when she first came to Praxus. No, not Twinkle! Without hesitation, the Firefly doubles back and heads for the sound of her friend's vocals, searching frantically for her pink and purple companion. She comes upon a large black mech that has Twinkle trapped between his large servo and a partially destroyed wall. The black and red, doorwinged femme leaps onto the offending mech with a savage snarl and with all the strength in her arms she rips at the unprotected wires on the back of his neck, tearing them out with her long, slender digits. The mech falls to the ground severely wounded, but not offlined. Firefly isn't sure if the pressure in her chassis is guilt or relief at this fact, for he is clearly suffering! No time for this now! The femme turns to her shaken friend and helps her to her pedes.

"Twinkle," she gasps, seizing the dazed femme by her shoulders, "get up and run!" she has to yell into Twinkle's faceplates to be heard over the explosions rocking her home. Twinkle stumbles a few steps ahead of Firefly before stopping dead in her tracks. She stares fearfully down the street and a small croak of fear seeps from her parted mouthplates. Firefly's energon runs cold in her systems as she sees what Twinkle does. A humongous mech barrels toward them, optics full of revenge and hate, serrated denta bared! Megatron! And his optics are settled on her! "Get out of here! Run!" Firefly screams at Twinkle!

Both femme's whirl away from the frightening sight! A large flame blossoms on Firefly's chest plates with a resonating boom sealing her fate! Sparks and energon shower around her as she falls into a heap on the ground. Everything goes mute as she crumbles. It doesn't hurt near as bad as she thought it would... getting shot... groggily she checks her sparkling and almost sobs in relief when she feels him squirm in her carrying chamber.

Twinkle turns around to see if Firefly is behind her and her spark nearly shatters when she sees the delicate fembot lying in a heap with a growing puddle of wet energon around her. The world in all its pointless chaos fades away and all the young, horrified femme can hear is her own spark pulsating in her audios.

"No!" a shuddering whisper escapes her before everything comes crashing back into a harsh reality, "Firefly!" Twinkle's anguished scream pierces clearly through all the noise of the carnage.

Don't…you dare…come back! Firefly grunts harshly over their strong friendship bond forged over the course of many vorns (1 vorn = 83 earth yrs). Run!

From the corner of the mortally wounded femme's vision she sees Twinkle spin rapidly on her heel and sprint away. Firefly vents in relief but she also feels immense failure touch her as she stares upward into the sky above. She failed to keep her son safe. Tears threaten to spill out of her optics as she feels him quaking in her carrying chamber. She tries to comfort him, but she is fading quickly and has very little time with him. Defeat stabs at her as she realizes she will never see him grow up, scratch his paint, make friends, get into fights as all mechlings do, follow in his father's pede steps,…fall in love. She is robed of her motherhood and now her sparkling will have to go on without her.

Will he even make it through this senseless battle? If he does, will he ever find his Creator?

Prowl, Firefly's chassis tightens with grief. Prowl will blame himself for this, for not being here to protect her. He will put on a strong front and pretend not to be in pain but it will tear him apart slowly. She can only hope he will be able to heal in time.

Firefly's awareness sharpens as she sees the tall purple and black femme that she was fighting earlier approaching her. The Decepticon fembot's cannons are smoking... she must be the one that shot her.

Firefly struggles to intake as her pulse begins to diminish and she uses the last remaining bit of energy in her frame to cloak her son's spark signal from the world. In her last offlining vents she sees a look of pure horror cross the tall Decepticon femme's faceplates before the world fades away, her last thoughts on Prowl.

The sparkling sniffles. He feels his Carrier's fear. Something is wrong! He hears loud, angry yelling followed by a piercing scream! He wishes everything that is scaring his creator would just go away! He feels tired and scared. He wishes he could get out of his mother's carrying chamber, because it is kind of small, but a loud burst sounds from nearby and sends his Carrier tumbling. He whimpers. No, he will just stay in here.

His mother's venting is haggard and it is no longer comforting next to her spark. The little mechling is scared. He wants to cry but something tells him that crying will not help, so he stays silent. He hears his femme creator cry out in pain as something slams into her chest. She falls.

The sparkling whimpers wishing she would get them out of this awful place. But this time his Carrier doesn't get up. Her spark pulses brightly beside him, silently sending comfort and love to the sparkling to blot out his terror. He smiles and cuddles closer to her spark. Everything will be ok.

His mother's spark pulses one last time before its signature fades out. The sparkling suddenly feels completely alone and abandoned. What happened?! He clicks questioningly and somewhat fearfully as he searches for his Carrier's presence. She is not here! She left him! No. She loves him because she told him so. She will come back and get him, he decides. He must wait for her.

He curls up in the carrying chamber and presses his tiny servos over his audio antennas to blot out the frightening noises until his carrier returns. Screaming, yelling, booms, groans, and crying resonate around him. A sharp pain jolts his chest and he whimpers against it. His legs draw closer to his main frame, snuggly pressed against his torso, trying to get rid of the misery and fear around him, but the pain in his chest only sharpens and silent tears begin rolling down his cheeksplates.

He wishes his Carrier would hurry up and come back to get him.

A quick congrats to Malware(guest) who figured out what sort of depressing turn this story was going to take. You have incredible (but pessimistic) foresight.

I hope you all enjoy it... I was up until 3:00 a.m. silly me... And if you know who Firefly and Prowl's little sparkling is... please don't kill me. :(