Transformers: Halloween Special!

OCTOBER 30, 1987

...

"We're going to Cybertron! We're going to Cybertron!" Stars and Megs were screaming as they tore around base crazily. Their parents had left them alone for a minute and they had gotten into the Halloween candy, turning them into loud miniature bombs of pure energy (and not in a good way!). They were also excited about going to Cybertron. The only time they'd been there before was over a year ago on Megatron's business trip, when Starscream had first gotten pregnant with Sapphire. The twins had enjoyed the trip immensely, even though neither of their parents truly had.

Meanwhile, everyone else was trying to simultaneously take care of the sparklings and pack for Halloween on Cybertron.

Even though they were only going to be there overnight, Starscream was cramming an extra suitcase full of Sapphire's sparkling supplies, and another with his own junk. Megatron always traveled lightly, so he was done quickly and thus was saddled with Sapphire, who was NOT in a good mood. All the commotion had gotten to her, and Megatron was trying to calm her down. Thundercracker, Skywarp and Gemstone were also packing, with Stardust hovering nearby.

"OW!" Skywarp hollered as he leaned down to pick up something that had fallen on the floor. The purple Seeker groaned and rubbed his back. "Slaggit..."

"Bend at your knees, 'Warp, not your waist," Starscream told him without looking; he'd made the same mistake countless times when trying to bend over while pregnant.

"TC, will you give me a backrub?" Skywarp whined.

"Fine..." Thundercracker grumbled, and motioned for Skywarp to turn around. Gemstone looked up and smiled slightly, then continued packing her suitcase. She had been pregnant once too.

"So, where are we going, exactly?" she asked.

"We're going to Tarn," said Megatron. "The biggest Decepticon-controlled city on Cybertron, and the city where I was born as well."

"I thought you lived in Kaon, like me." Gemstone looked confused.

"For most of my life before Earth, yes," Megatron replied. "But I was born in Tarn. My father was a miner there. When I was kindergarten age, he died in a street fight. My mother couldn't manage to find work in Tarn, no surprise in that economy, and she moved to Kaon, mostly because the real estate was cheaper, but also because there might be more chance of her getting a job there. She became a cleaning 'bot, but at night she worked in a manufacturing plant, the very same plant that spawned the epidemic that killed her. Orphaned, I became a miner in Kaon. But you see, what not many people know is that my uprising was basically based on class warfare and the lack of social mobility on Cybertron. Nobody is entitled to anything; you know I believe that everything you have, you should work for. But I thought everyone deserved the same opportunities. I spent my entire life on the bottom rung of the ladder. If my parents had been given more choices, they might still be alive today. Sapphire could have met her namesake."

"I should've been a cleaning 'bot like your mother," said Gemstone. "But when my mother abandoned me, I hung around the clubs so I could hoard energon on Free Energon Night, so I didn't have to eat out of garbage cans anymore. There weren't really any homeless shelters, you know. But I looked older than I was, and people mistook me for a prostitute. So...I guess it was just a self-fulfilling prophecy."

"You were sixteen, Gemstone," Thundercracker said, choosing not to reveal what exactly had happened around the time she'd reached her sixteenth birthday. "I know you took what you thought was your only option."

Gemstone shrugged. "I know it's not worth obsessing over."

"But we've strayed past the point," said Starscream, smiling, although he looked tired. "We're going to Tarn now, not to relive bad memories, but to make new happy ones. Besides, Tarn borders Vos, y'know."

"Vos is the richest Decepticon-controlled city," Thundercracker added. "Seekers, and most other fliers, were always privileged, Autobot fliers more so of course, though there are very few Autobot fliers. But just like any other city, Vos has its slums. Some of the Seekers living there moved to Tarn, which was generally a cheaper place to live."

"Cybertron's 'Golden Age' wasn't very golden for a lot of us, was it?" Megatron laughed. "Of course, I never really thought it would get this far. Now nobody gets to have Cybertron, which isn't really what I intended."

"Someday, we'll enter a new Golden Age," said Gemstone. "It will be a real Golden Age, this time."

"For sure," said Skywarp. "And all our babies will be happy, too."

"Come on," said Megatron. "We'd better get going. Hopefully the trip will tire the sparklings out, because I don't really want to have to break out the tranquilizer darts."

Skywarp looked horrified, but Starscream laughed. "Don't worry, he's just joking...I think."

Starscream let Megs and Sapphire ride in his cockpit as usual, and Megatron and Stars flew alongside him. Skywarp was seven months pregnant and therefore much too far into his pregnancy to fly, so he just teleported to the space bridge while Gemstone and Thundercracker took Stardust and some sparkling supplies.

"I arranged for a taxi to meet us at Customs," said Megatron as he flew along. "Good thing it's not a long flight to the space bridge, eh?"

Just as Megatron predicted, the sparklings were tired by the time they reached Cybertron. They took two taxis, since they couldn't all fit into just one. Megatron gave his cabbie close directions (he was riding with Starscream and their three sparklings) while the other taxi, which contained Thundercracker, Gemstone, Skywarp and Stardust, followed.

They finally pulled up in front of a hotel, where they got out. Megatron used his credit card to pay the cabbies. When the two hovercrafts had left, Megatron stood up and just looked around, his facial expression unreadable.

"What are you thinking about?" Starscream finally asked.

"It's just...from what I remember...all these buildings seem so much smaller to me now," Megatron said thoughtfully, waving his hand in the general direction of the city. There were office buildings that reached higher even than the clouds; the twins' heads were leaned back as far as they would go as they tried to see the tops. There were flashing neon signs everywhere, advertising everything from busy nightclubs to fancy restaurants. "Heart of Tarn", "That Little Energon Café", "The Black Android", etc. Megatron looked around, reminiscing.

 Although he didn't remember much of Tarn, some small memories remained etched in Megatron's mind--his mother holding him tight and showing him the strong, handsome mech that was his father; going to a nice restaurant for his birthday; attending his very first day at preschool; how upset he had been when he had to move, and how he hadn't understood back then why his daddy wasn't coming. Only now did Megatron realize how devastating that might have seemed to his widowed mother. Most likely, she hadn't wanted to leave either. But she'd often say that her life would be meaningless without Megatron, and she had taught him that money wasn't everything, that life was full of opportunity, that you didn't have to take what you'd been given.

Megatron was jolted out of his thoughts by Starscream gently grasping his hand.

"Come on, big guy," he said softly. "Let's put the sparklings to bed and see what's in the hotel bar. Skywarp, I know you can't drink, but I'm sure we can find you something. Remember, I can't drink either."

"All right," said Megatron. Megs waved his arms, wanting to be picked up, and Megatron hoisted him up. Stars descended into Starscream's arms and cuddled close to his mommy's spark, seeking the connection.

"I'll hold Sapphire," Gemstone offered.

"Thank you," said Starscream, handing the femme over to Gemstone. Skywarp held Stardust, and they all walked into the hotel. Starscream and Skywarp went up to the hotel room to put the sparklings to bed while Megatron, Gemstone and Thundercracker waited downstairs for them in the hotel bar. 

"Good night, babies," said Starscream softly, laying each of them down and kissing all three helmets. Starscream knew how Megatron's mother felt. Life would be meaningless without Stars, Megs and Sapphire. True, he would still have his bondmate-to-be and his Trinemates, and they were important. But losing the sparklings would cause a void in his spark that could never, ever be filled.

Skywarp tearfully kissed Stardust, stroking her big blue-and-white striped bow and adjusting her pink knitted "I Love Grandma" bib. If there was one thing Stardust's grandma liked to do, it was knit. Then the two of them went downstairs to the bar.

Starscream was nursing and Skywarp was pregnant, so neither of them could have alcoholic drinks. But they were more than welcome to have healthy high-grade, which Transformers drank before long missions. It was sort of the equivalent of platinum gasoline for cars. It gave them great mileage and energy, and it was filled with important nutrients. In fact, it was recommended for pregnant 'bots. The only problem for Starscream was that when Sapphire drank it, all of it would leave his system at an alarming speed, giving him a possible crash later on. It was a stimulant, unlike the regular kind of high-grade, which was a depressant and not very healthy.

Megatron and Thundercracker liked to get rip-roaring drunk, and so did Gemstone. Starscream and Skywarp achieved a sort of sugar high, and Starscream soon started making out with Megatron on one of the barstools. Starscream enjoyed Megatron's hard slaps on the aft. No one really cared about PDA, because there were plenty of couples doing the exact same thing, exploring the various bases in the dark. Gemstone and Thundercracker got a little affectionate as well, later on.

Skywarp was too happy and hyped up to be sad about not having a mate. It was hard for him to dance in his condition, but he sat on a barstool and listened happily to the screaming guitar. Also, he liked when bar patrons asked to rub his belly. Starscream hadn't liked that at all; he had only allowed his Trinemates and Megatron to do it. After all, his body was private property, pregnant or not! But Skywarp loved people lining up to feel his sparkling kick. They would ask how far along he was, and whether it was a mech or femme, and whether it was his first sparkling, and he would gladly tell them all about it. After all, when Starscream was pregnant he'd been so jealous! And now he finally got to experience it all for himself! Thank Primus!

After a night full of fun, drinks, dancing and making out, everyone had to get their afts upstairs, drunk or otherwise. It wouldn't be fun to have a hangover in the morning, but they weren't going trick-or-treating until nightfall.

...

"Stars, would you please hold still for a minute?" said Starscream, trying to be patient. Right now, he was draping the younger twin's wings in black tissue paper, putting on his bat ears, and giving him the plastic vampire teeth to put in his mouth. Stars was a vampire bat. Skywarp was dressing Stardust in her costume, which was a beautiful fairy princess. She had a glittery "magic wand" with a star at the end, a tiara, a princess dress (white and dark blue to match her color scheme), pink ballet slippers, and some plastic fairy wings. She would be flying with her Seeker wings, of course, but it would look like she was flying with the fairy wings! Megs was dressed as a cowboy sheriff. The costume consisted of a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and an outfit made almost completely of pleather. And he got to use his toy gun!

Starscream's mother had very generously knitted a costume for Sapphire's first Halloween. She was a blueberry ice cream cone. She had a knit costume that looked like an ice cream cone, with holes for her face and arms. The ice cream was the part where her head went, and her body went in the waffle cone part. She looked adorable when Starscream finally got her into it. Starscream made sure to take pictures of all four sparklings.

The adults got into their costumes too. Gemstone had taken an idea from human historical pop culture; she was a flapper girl. She had a pink feather boa, with a pink flapper dress and one feather stuck in a headband. She even had a fake cigarette. She didn't need to wear heels, as the bottoms of her feet were already shaped like high heels. Megatron was a pirate; the Seeker Trine (as usual) had decided to do a group costume. This time they did Monsters. Thundercracker was Zombie, Starscream was Vampire, and Skywarp was "Mummy-to-be". It was so great to have a costume that accommodated his pregnant body! Last year, in 1986, they'd gone as the Three Musketeers. Starscream hadn't been very far into his pregnancy with Sapphire, so he'd been able to wear any costume. And luckily, he'd only been getting sick during the mornings, so trick-or-treating hadn't been out of the question.

The group set out onto the streets of a Tarnian suburb (where it was safer, and there were more houses as opposed to buildings). They soon reached the first house, and they weren't surprised to see an elderly Seeker femme open the door. Just as Thundercracker had stated, many poorer Seekers lived in Tarn. The femme was friendly, and poured lots of candy into the sparklings' trick-or-treat bags. Sapphire was far too young to eat candy, but Stars, Megs, and Stardust got their share.

"What an adorable sparkling!" the Seeker cried, holding her arms out to Sapphire, who was sleeping. "Can I hold her?"

"Sure," said Starscream, carefully handing his little femme over.

"Oh, she's beautiful," the Seeker cooed. "How old is she?"

"Six months, just about," said Starscream. "She's getting to be such a big girl."

Sapphire yawned, then fell back asleep. Her new friend kissed her head, then handed her back.

"You must love ice cream!" Starscream laughed.

"What a lovely fairy princess!" the Seeker continued. "And wow, I better not commit any crimes in front of this sheriff! And, oh my, I hope the scary vampire bat doesn't get me!"

"RAWR!" said Stars, baring his vampire teeth. The femme pretended to be scared.

"Guess what I am!" said Skywarp gleefully. "Mummy-to-be!"

"How sweet," said the Seeker. "How far along are you?"

"About seven months," Skywarp said happily. "In December, I'll have my own adorable little sparkling! Of course, the fairy princess is my older daughter."

"I see," said the Seeker, holding out her hand carefully. "May I?"

"Sure!" Skywarp laughed (almost giggled). Yet another stranger wanted to interact with his sparkling!

Once they were done with that house, they walked along, admiring the scary decorations and ringing the doorbell of every house. Their bags of candy soon got very full, so their parents had to eventually carry them. Starscream held Stars', Megatron held Megs', and Thundercracker held Stardust's (he didn't want Skywarp to carry anything heavy).

"This sure is bigger than an Earth city," Stars said in amazement, eyes wide.

"Weren't you a miner here, Daddy?" Megs asked.

"No, your Grandpa was a miner here," Megatron clarified. "I doubt that mine's still around, though. Anyway, I was a miner in Kaon. That's where I lived after your Grandma and I moved. But I lived here when I was your age."

"Wow," said Stars. "What about you, Mommy?"

"I lived in Vos," Starscream explained. "It's the city right next to this one. I went to Seeker School with your uncles, and I studied Chemistry and Biology for many years at the University of Vos. I got my M.S. in Chemistry there, and I got a B.A. in Biology. Later, I went on to study at the Cybertron War Academy in Iacon--back then it was known as the University of Cybertron--and I got my M.S. in Biology. That's also where I met Skyfire, who got a Ph.D. in Biology and an M.S. in geology. That's why we went to Earth. After that I made science my career back home at the University of Vos, and Skyfire, by then my coworker, went there with me."

"Daddy showed us a picture of you as a scientist," said Stars. "You had glasses, blue eyes, and a lab coat."

"Starscream was always really geeky," said Thundercracker, smiling. "Even when we were sparklings, he loved looking at science books."

"So I got the brains and the looks," Starscream said proudly.

"And you're mine...all mine," Megatron whispered so only Starscream could hear it. Starscream let out what could only be described as a giggle, and he kissed Megatron's cheek.

They kept walking throughout the night, Starscream holding Sapphire, Stardust and Stars flying, Megatron holding Megs' hand as they toured the neighborhood. Sometimes the sparklings would dart into yards, hiding amongst the tombstones. They liked to hide behind decorations and jump up, screaming "BOO!"

At the end of the night, the sparklings got tired. The two Seekerlings got too tired to fly, and Megs kept saying that his feet hurt. Starscream had his arms full of Sapphire, so Megatron held Megs, Thundercracker held Stars, and Gemstone held Stardust. Skywarp walked along with them, rubbing his belly with a glazed look in his eyes.

All four sparklings slept on the way home, although Sapphire spent half the time vomiting on Starscream and filling diapies. Usually she was more relaxed in her sleep, so she usually needed to be changed when she woke up, and then promptly fed. Then she would spit up. But other than that (after all, those were normal sparkling things!) she was well-behaved.

THE NEXT MORNING...

Stars, Megs and Stardust were digging into their candy. Usually they would never be allowed to eat this much, but this was Halloween, for crying out loud! It was okay to indulge every once in a while, especially on holidays that involved consuming unhealthy food in massive quantities (which is basically all holidays).

The sparklings ended up getting tummyaches, and Stardust barfed a little. But the point was, they had enjoyed themselves, and, more importantly, they had been able to learn about and even see a glimpse of their past.

-the end-