The Elemental Wars

Chapter 1 - The Dark Core

     A predacon egg shudders in a nest of scrap in the dark. Soon the clacking of metal against metal draws closer to the nest and a soft pair of yellow eyes meet the level of the egg. The pink and white femme gently lays down next to her egg and opens her beak. A warm blast of heat encases the large egg, and it shudders again.
     More sound of clacking metal and soon a pair of larger talons rests on the edge of the nest.
          "How is it?" a strong voice asks quietly, as if not to disturb the peaceful cave.
     The femme looks up affectionately "It's doing perfectly" her beak curves into a smile at her mate "It's going to hatch soon..." she says almost in disbelief. Their first sparkling is about to arrive on this metallic planet.
     The dark grey and silver mech lowers his head so his beak could meet the egg and nudges it. He then raises his head and presses his beak up to mate's neck, closing his optics in content. Then there is suddenly scratching from inside the metal capsule. Both predacons turn their heads toward their egg. The metal starts to dent outward from strong limbs fighting around inside. Finally, a scratch pierces through the metal shell with tiny talons sticking out.
     A small dark blue, grey, and yellow sparkling slowly crawls out and curls up next to her carrier. They look at each other with excitement and say, "Look at her size, she's a femme!"
     When she starts to shake they remember they must warm her up so her core can activate and produce her own heat. They quickly open their beaks and let out a gentle flame from their throats, but the sparkling's chest remains dim.
     Worry starts to spread across them and they increase the flames to small embers lapping out of their beaks. But her chest refuses to light, and they stop when she begins to squeak from the excessive heat. She just hatched and hasn't developed her heat resistant metal coating yet. They look at each other in horror, they've heard of the rare occasions of sparklings dying from their core not igniting and their body growing too cold to survive.
          "W.. what should we do...?" the femme stutters, her wings shifting nervously
     Her mate flicks his tail around thinking, he lifts his head and looks at the entrance of the cave
"Maybe the outside air will help? The firestar is strong today"
     She instantly picks up their sparkling gingerly with her talons and carries her with her bladed wing towards the cave's entrance, desperate for any idea. When the femme is outside she lowers her wing to gently lay her sparkling down on the warm metal land. The creators resume the heating with open beaks but with heavy sparks, knowing the fate of their sparkling.
     They close their beaks and lower their heads to her, she's grown still. "Primus... why...?" the femme screeches as she lifts her pink metal horned head the fire star.
          "Wait..." the mech screeches "Look at her!"

     But the small sparkling lifts her head, her silver beak pointing towards her carrier, and squeaks. They both look down in joy and confusion, because her chest is still dark, but is clearly alive. Such a thing for fire predacons shouldn't even be possible, but in their eyes, the creators consider it a gift from Primus.
     But their moment of relief is short lived when other fire-clan predacons arrive. The carrier instinctively stands over her sparkling, flaring her wings vertically to make herself look larger and more threatening. The others are of the same clan and soon land a good distance away understanding the laws of leaving a carrier and her sparkling alone if she wishes. So, her mate quickly strides up to the other three and dips his head in the traditional greeting of predacons. They respond in the same matter and one asks, "How was the hatching Rockjaw?"

          "It was fine, she looks strong and healthy" he lied partially

     Their faces light up with excited expressions, their clan leader will enjoy knowing they will have a strong addition to the clan. And the bringers of good news is usually rewarded nicely with praise. "Can we see her? You know the laws of having three other predacons of the same clan to examine the sparkling to make sure she is fit enough" they say with a hint of sadness, they're good friends with the dark grey gryphon mech.
     Rockjaw stiffens up, he doesn't want to lie to his clan mates but his instincts prevent from allowing any harm to his mate and sparkling. Hence the point of the horrid law made since the beginnings of clans. "Yes..." he turns his head around "Razortail, you know the law. Let them come..."

     She responds by backing slowlybehind their sparkling and wrapping her long thin tail around her. Her metallic blade wings twitch with unease, she doesn't want to fight her clan mates, but her sparkling comes first. As the three beasts come up slowly they bow their head low when they are a few tail-lengths away. Razortail responds with a slight head dip, femmes with sparklings are to be treated with great respect for they are who contribute more clan members.
     The red and black dragon mech slowly approaches closer and lowers his head to the level of the sparkling. Her carrier stiffens and hot breath streams out of her nostrils. His yellow optics shifting around looking for any deformities on the curled-up sparkling. "A rare color pattern, it's quite pleasant to see. I've never seen one like it."

          "Yes... she is quite unique. Well, you see she is fine. So, you can leave now" Razortail flicks her whip-like tail to let them know she can't tolerate others being so close to her sparkling any longer.
     The mech backs up a little "Yes, she's alive and her body looks fine" and starts to turn around when the little sparkling yawns and stretches awake from her short nap. Little tiny metal wings flap as her front arms stick in front of her, tiny talons splay outward. She opens her blue optics looking up for her carrier, and clicks when she spots her.

     The three clan mates turn their heads in awe at the tiny gryphon sparkling. The young one turns around to see her creator look nervous and try to shield her from view. But the others from behind got a good enough look and all stiffen. "She's... dead...? Her core is dark?!" a green and gold draconid says in shock.

     Anger flares in Razortail's optics "She's fine! You can clearly she's live and well!!" she screeches at them
     The sparkling is frightened of the confrontation and squeals as she hides under her carrier. Rockjaw strides to his mate, twisting around when he gets to them and flares his wings as a threat, "You will not touch her!!"

     The three predacons look towards eachother in sadness. This is why three clan mates are sent, so two can fight off the creators while the other disposes of the faulty sparkling. "Rockjaw, Razortail... you must see reason. She's not complete, who knows how long it will take for her to die from cold?"
          "Fly!!" Rockjaw screeches and launches himself towards the three clan mates. They freeze with shock as their friend violently rips the throat out of the red and black draconid with his sharp beak. Glowing blue energon sprays into the air and in his face. He would rather betray his entire clan and die than let his mate and sparkling be destroyed. Razortail takes the opportunity to make her escape with their sparkling safely secured in her talons. The remaining two attack Rockjaw, leaping on top of him, sinking their teeth into his wings.
     A screech of pain echoes across the valley where their once-peaceful cave resides. The two predacons continue to rip apart their old friend, for he could never serve the clan again with his betrayal. Rockjaw fights beak and talon until he was reduced to nothing but a pile of scrap leaking energon, his skull lays in front of their cave.
     His diversion proved long enough, and the other predacons fly off in search for the defective sparkling. While the femme flies higher and faster, getting further away from their home, tears stream from her optics at her mate's sacrifice. She looks down at the only hope she has left in the entire world and sighs. The little sparkling clings to her carrier's arms, frozen, too scared to even squeal.