~Chapter 11~

Firespark waited by the berth door, gathering up the courage to ask the forbidden question. Everyone seemed to avoid the topic whenever she asked, either out of fear or not being able to sugar-coat it. Right now, she wanted the truth about her sire and the Autobots. Nothing less mattered to her, and she didn't care if it would shatter her sheltered life.

The young femme walked through the opened doors and approached her tirelessly working sire and brother. "Sire, can we talk?"

The TIC turned toward her, "Question: About?"

"About the supposedly different sides of this war, you never informed me about,"

"How did you know!" he raised his voice, shaking her confidence.

"So it is true then, huh,"

Soundwave sighed, for once seeming exhausted, "You want the whole truth," it was a statement, then a question.

"More than anything, sire," Firespark answered, sitting on the berth next to him.

"I told you this would happen," Lazerbeak muttered to his creator, who silenced him with a harsh glare.

The still mech calculated his sentences on how to approach this. He always knew that this would happen. The 'where do sparklings come from' question seemed less uncomfortable compared to this. "Yes, there is a war, and it has been raging on for centuries. Our planet, before it's destruction, was thriving with life and prosperity. There were no rivals and no conflicts during the Golden Age; however, there was corruption behind the high council and the inequality among the masses."

"Lord Megatron wasn't always our leader. He was a feared Gladiator, who vowed to challenge the leadership of Cybertron and would treat everyone as equals. He gained many followers, including me, as his ideas spread rapidly."

"One day, he went to the high council to propose his plans and his image of a new planet with a just society. Another bot, who was like his student, proposed a different plan, that the council, foolishly, agreed to. Lord Megatron cut all ties off with him including the council and created a fraction, that would out-ruled others that disagreed with his view."

"He wanted to be a ruler, but he needed the Matrix of Leadership. He vowed he would find it, wherever it might lie. Warfare consumed him as time went on. Justice can only be served by violence." Soundwave trailed off, finishing his story.

"You don't believe that, do you?" Firespark asked him.

He sighed, "It's the only thing I could believe in at the time. No one would except us in the higher ranks of society."

"Did he find it?" Firespark asked timidly.

"Find what?"

"The thing you said, the Matrix of Leadership. Did Megatron find it?"

"What? Oh, no, someone else has it."

"Who?"

"The Autobot leader and the last of the Primes, Optimus Prime,"

That name rang a bell in her processor. Wasn't that the tall blue and red mech that was so kind and welcoming to her? But, she was on the other side, he was supposed to be her enemy then. It didn't make sense to her.

Soundwave sighed, "It's getting late, you should recharge."

About to protest, the femme opened her mouth but closed it upon noticing her sire's slumped form. He looked so worn out by something. Could it be all the guilt and a numb conscience that was weighing him down?

"As you wish, sire," Firespark whispered and walked with her helm down to her berth. Laying down, she began to ponder over the narrative. One thing didn't sit right on her processor. The Autobots preventing them from having equality while supporting a corrupted system? It didn't make sense to her, after all, their actions toward her were nothing but generosity and kindness.

But sire wouldn't lie to her about the war, would he? No, why on earth would he ever have too.