After much consideration, I've decided to rewrite the Unknown Soldier series. We'll be starting with the prequel that I have wanted to do for a very long time. Sideswipe being alive in Age of Extinction (which can be confirmed from looking at a Deck of Cards from the movie) just made me very happy, happy enough to continue on with my headcanon for Sideswipe's story and rewrite it in my own image. Honestly, I've been thinking about this very carefully and looking back on Unknown Soldier, it has made me realise just how much of an idiot I was.

It had been disorganised, completely out of order. I thought it was high-time I tried again, and thus the story, Born to Kill, came to life. I'm honestly happy with the way how it turned out in my head and getting it written down as soon as possible just couldn't stop me from getting it out of my head.

Whether its successful or not it remains to be seen. If you have been following Unknown Soldier, then I think this story is just for you.

Onward to a new beginning!

Chapter 1

Sons of War

Ironhide ducked and weaved to the beat of the explosions around him, debris and smoke raining down. Every astrosecond counted as he took careful aim and fired upon the enemy before him. Hope was resting upon him. He had to hold the line no matter the cost! He swivelled his head, narrowly avoiding a blast to the face as his attacker faced him head on. He roared his challenge and crashed into him, wrapping his arms around the Decepticon's waist and digging his feet into the solid metal ground. He attempted to push as hard as he could with all his strength.

Around him, every Autobot and Decepticon clashed like titans in the pits of hell. Some were engaged in physical combat while others were keeping their distance and firing their long ranged weapons.

His unscarred optic could make out the towering forms of both factions' leaders: Optimus Prime and Megatron, the two of the most powerful Cybertronians to ever exist on the face of Cybertron, engaged in seething physical combat. The entire battlefield seemed to shake beneath their powerful blows, their dance a shimmer as their bodies shook and dented with each punch that was enough to make even the strongest of Cybertronians give pause before engaging them head on.

This battle was to decide everything, and if the Autobots didn't keep their enemy back and away from the Allspark Temple, all hope would be lost.

The Decepticons had invaded Simfur without warning after they had caught wind of the Autobots' plans. Their attack had been precise and tactical, as though they were determined to get to the Allspark before the Autobots could begin their actual plan. The battle had gone on for several long agonising hours and both forces were beginning to tire and losses were increasing by the dozen. And if the Autobots didn't beat off the Decepticons...

A blow to his face caused Ironhide to shoot a glare at his attacker, staring him down with fierce aggression. There was no way that these Decepticons were going to get past him! He was Optimus Prime's strongest warrior and he would make sure that nothing stepped between him and the Temple. He threw his head back and his forehead connected with the 'Con's. As the mech stepped backwards, clutching at his bleeding forehead, Ironhide whipped out his left cannon and pressed its barrel up against his chest. He gave the mental command and the Decepticon's chest exploded from the plasma burst, bits of energon fell upon his scarred face as the 'Con's optics died out and he fell to one side, unable to get back up again.

"Decepticon punk..." he grumbled to himself, shaking his head.

His victory was short lived as five more Decepticons broke away from their side and headed straight towards him and the forces he had at his command. Behind him, Ironhide could sense the panic flowing through his soldiers. They were afraid, young and inexperienced, but he knew that they had the potential to make any warrior proud.

"Keep them back!" he barked over his shoulder to the Autobots. "Whatever happens, we mustn't let them get inside the temple!"

"Yes, sir," they answered back in unison.

Bracing himself, Ironhide's cannons sprung from out of his arms and he fired several warning shots at the Decepticons, followed by shots from the other Autobots, but they just ignored them and kept on coming. Ironhide roared his battle cry and charged straight towards the first Decepticon, only for him to dodge to the left and make haste for one of the Autobots behind him. Before he had a chance to turn and fight back, he found himself slammed to the ground and pinned down by several bodies, his head hitting the floor with a crack. His audio receptors picked up the startled cries from one of the young warriors and he realised to his horror that the lead Decepticon had ended his life.

"Keep him down," a voice snickered from above him. "We can't have the old rust bucket getting back up and interfering. Kill those younglings."

Another scream came from the mechs and Ironhide let off a snarl of defiance, his face plates contorting into anger. "No!"

A hand pulled his head up that forced him to look up into the optics of the leader. "You're pathetic, old timer," the mech mocked him as he held up the body of one of his fallen comrades, bright blue optics now dim with death. "It was such a pity that they were so weak."

He tossed aside the young body like as if he was nothing more than scrap, a disrespectful act towards the dead.

"You piece of fraggin' slag!" Ironhide roared angrily. He struggled underneath the bodies that held him down. "You won't get away with this!" If only he could get his legs underneath his body.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the mech drawled, "says the mech who cannot fight back in his position."

He kneeled before the elder mech, tilting his head upwards to face him. From there, Ironhide could see every detail in the mech's face. Like every Decepticon, his optics shone blood red and his lips had pulled back into a heartless smirk, his entire features were angled and sharp with protruding spikes sticking out of his helmet and arms. His entire body was covered in many battle scars, obviously making Ironhide think he was an experienced warrior like him or had once been a gladiator many centuries ago. Sharp wings with the Decepticon symbol in the middle tilted upwards, no doubt a Seeker class.

"Unlike you, old timer, I hold all the cards."

He snapped his other hand and another Decepticon stepped into view, holding the last living Autobot of Ironhide's squad, a young femme: Firestar. Her optics streamed with tears as the Decepticon held her in an arm lock with his blaster pointing at her cranium. This was to be her second battle and she was beyond terrified, scared out of her wits.

"One last Autobot remains," the mech said as he stood up and walked up beside the femme, placing a claw underneath her chin and turned her head to look him dead in the optics. "If you want this femme to live, I suggest that you tell me where those protoforms are. If not, well, I suppose you can imagine the horrors we'll do to her."

The other Decepticons laughed with the intention to mock the old mech.

Firestar locked optics with him, her body trembling unlike anything he had seen before. He could sense her fear, sense her willingness to escape from this horrible war. The tears in her bright, youthful optics showed him everything. "Ironhide... don't tell them..." she told him over the com-link. "Don't tell them anything!"

"But..." he tried to say, but she cut him off.

"No! I know the sacrifices war has to make, those protoforms are far too important for us to lose! I'd rather die than let those Decepti-creeps take away our only chance of winning this war. I..."

Ironhide turned his head away, a wave of sadness washing over his processor. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of a few... he thought bitterly. Sentinel Prime's own words echoed through him and he knew that he couldn't let such things get in the way of winning this war. Firestar had known that all along.

"Forgive me..." he whispered to her.

She smiled in response. "I know..."

"Well?" the Decepticon demanded as his subordinate shoving his barrel closer to her face.

"Go to the Pit!" Ironhide snapped back.

I'm sorry...

The leader's face twisted into a furious scowl before his hand shifted into a knife that he gripped tightly between his fingers. He tilted Firestar's head upwards and sliced her throat, energon gushed from the wound and his subordinate dropped her onto the ground. Firestar began to spasm and choke as each precious second passed; Ironhide had to force himself to look away in grief and tears leaked from the corners of his optics. Eventually, the choking ceased and Firestar no longer moved, her optics were wide open to the slow, painful death she had been subjected to.

"We'll have to resort to other methods," the mech sneered, stepping over the body of the broken femme. He stood over Ironhide, glaring at him intensively. "Tell me where the protoforms are or you'll meet the same fate as her!" He gestured to Firestar's body to prove his point.

Ironhide smirked. "Sorry, I'm not at liability to say, aft-head."

A punch slammed into his face and he grunted in pain as energon trickled down his nose.

"Tell me where the protoforms are!"

Ironhide remained silent.

Another punch, this time a piece of his left cheek broke off.

"WHERE ARE THEY?!"

His servos balled into fists as his glossa remained tightly locked in his mouth. He would never endanger what could be the last hope for his fellow Autobots. He had lost his entire squad just to protect it and he would rather die than tell them anything. If there was anything he regretted, it was not being able to shoot Megatron himself.

He snorted at the thought, it showed what he knew.

The Decepticon pulled back a fist for another blow when his head suddenly exploded into plasma and he crumpled to the ground, smoking and melting. Ironhide's good optic widened in surprise and he heard the surprised gasps from his captors. Plasma bullets pierced through their chests and their foreheads and they too fell in broken heaps.

Ironhide immediately rolled to one side, his cannons primed and ready as he half expected an attack, but his thoughts had been proven wrong when three large vehicles embedded with Autobot symbols on their bonnets transformed and landed right before him.

A blue and white mech that was a splitting image of Optimus Prime (minus the antenna) stepped forward and helped him to his feet.

"Took you long enough, Magnus," Ironhide grumbled.

"I'm sorry," Ultra Magnus apologised as he looked down upon the bodies of the young warriors. "I wish we could've got here sooner..."

"Grieving will have to wait," Ironhide huffed impatiently, attempting to hide his own grief. "They were warriors until the end. We have to get inside the Temple, I think some Decepticons broke past while those frag-heads had me."

Ultra Magnus' optics squinted with determination and he motioned to the two Autobots beside him. "Springer, Roadbuster, cover us while we get inside the Temple!" he ordered. "Those protoforms are in danger."

The two mechs saluted and began firing as Ironhide and Ultra Magnus sprang for the Temple as fast as their legs would allow them. Despite the raging explosions that rained down upon them and the seething heat from the flames licking at their protective armour, nothing would stop them from getting to the protoforms.

Ironhide's spark raced with dread as they pushed past the collapsing debris and the raining ashes. His legs ached and his back burned from having been held down by the Decepticons for so long. But he pushed aside his doubts and fears. With Ultra Magnus by his side, nothing would stop them from getting to those precious protoforms!

The corridor opened up to a massive room unlike anything Ironhide had seen before. Never had he managed to set a foot inside the Allspark Temple, a place of beauty and wonder, until now. Ancient Cybertronian glyphs were carved in the pillars that supported the high roof, and statues of the Dynasty of Primes stood facing each other while at the end of the room was the Allspark itself, beautiful and shimmering with raw energy, with the leader of the Dynasty known as Prima stood as a guard in front of it with his ancient sword in his hand held high above his head. Just like the carvings on the pillars, the Allspark too was engraved with glyphs from the ancient language of the Primes.

"There!"

Ironhide stopped dead in his tracks just as three Decepticons, two mechs and one femme, were beginning to load up the specially built protoforms onto a trailer on the back of a fourth Decepticon in vehicle form. They were just loading up the second when the voice of Ultra Magnus cut through their work and they turned, snarling angrily.

The smallest mech reacted by raising his arm to engage the enemy, but he was too slow. Ultra Magnus' hands converted into his blasters so fast that Ironhide didn't get a chance to fire his own cannons. The mech fell dead on the ground and the other three stood stock still in their tracks.

Ultra Magnus raised his right blaster and pointed it at one of them.

"Who's next?" he demanded coldly.

The three remaining Decepticons paused as though they were considering what they should do next, but they hesitated too long as Ironhide quickly brought down another with just the flick of his cannons. That just left the Decepticon in his vehicle for who hadn't budged and inch from his position and the lone Decepticon femme, who too hadn't moved from her stance. She was in preparation for a fight, her blaster pointing straight at them.

"Last chance to step away from the protoforms, femme," Ironhide warned threateningly, his cannons humming with his words.

The femme still didn't budge as her furious red optics stayed locked on them.

Ironhide took one step forward to prove his point, but the femme then pointed her weapon at the protoform still lying on the ground.

"Don't even think about it!" she warned.

He stopped dead in his tracks, his throat growling deeply as frustration gnawed at the pit of his gut. Any sudden moves and the femme would undoubtedly harm them without a hesitation if they so much as got in her way.

"Ultra Magnus, sir, what's going on?" Springer's voice cut through the open com-link. "The Decepticons have stopped pouring into the temple."

"We've run into some complications, Springer," Ultra Magnus reported. "Some 'Cons have broken through and are taking the protoforms away. Can you use your initiative?"

There was silence for a moment before Springer finally got back to him. "Yeah, I can, but you're going to have to keep them busy long enough to make the spring." He paused for a moment. "Uh, no pun intended."

"We can do it," Ironhide snapped, "just do what you have to!"

That shut Springer up as he disconnected the communications and Ironhide's focus returned to the situation at hand. The femme was slowly moving towards the protoform and placing it upon the back of the vehicle, she still kept her blaster pointed at its head and it angered the elder warrior deeply. How dare they meddle with something as precious as life!

"Any solar cycle now, Springer," Ultra Magnus groaned.

"Almost there!" came the abrupt reply.

"What does Megatron plan to do with the protoforms?" Ironhide called, causing the femme to halt in her tracks. "Does he intend to use them for his own personal gain?"

The femme smirked darkly. "Silly mech," she giggled maliciously. "You, above anyone else, should know what he plans to do with them. Then again, you too planned to do the same thing as well. Am I correct?"

Ironhide growled as he aimed his cannons at her, but she shook her finger at him as she reminded him that she had the blaster still pointed at the protoform's head. If she so much as destroyed the head, then there would be nothing left for the Autobots to hope. He couldn't bear to let such things fall upon his head and shoulders. Blast this femme, he thought angrily, his toes digging into the floor.

"I thought so," the femme purred. "Even the mighty Optimus Prime wouldn't turn down such an opportunity to create such valuable weapons. They'll be in safe hands once we get them back to Kaon."

She tapped the back of the vehicle with a fist.

"Let's go, Breakdown."

The Decepticon vehicle identified as Breakdown began to start his engine and edge forward to leave the temple when Springer and Roadbuster burst through the roof with a powerful burst of plasma that shattered the glass top. Bits of glittering glass rained down upon the spectators as Springer whipped out his sword from behind his back and slashed downward, removing the trailer from the back of Breakdown.

Breakdown howled in surprise and he quickly transformed to engage the newcomers, only for Ironhide to tackle him to the ground close beside the gigantic cube that overlooked them all. Ironhide struggled to hold down the physically imposing Decepticon and threw a punch into his face, breaking his right optic and he roared in pain. He rose up his fists in an attempt to block the flurry of punches coming into his face.

The Allspark glowed intensively, but no one seemed to pay any heed to it.

The femme gave a yelp as Ultra Magnus charged forward and thrust his own sword forward and imbedded it deep in her spark chamber. He twisted it cruelly and her look of surprise changed to fear and then her optics dimmed into darkness. He lifted a foot and kicked her body, removing her from the sword and energon dripped down the blade like water trickling down a warming icicle, warm and wet.

Ironhide growled as Breakdown twisted his body until he used both his hands to pin him down and he laughed at the helplessness of his opponent, his broken optic dripping with his lifeblood. "Pathetic as always, old timer," he sneered as he glanced up and pointed the rocket on his shoulder at Ironhide's head. "Too bad you'll never get to see the end of the day."

Ironhide once more slammed his forehead into Breakdown's, who winced but did not let go.

"Defiant until the end..." Breakdown snorted as the missile charged up. "I'll be sure to tell Chromia you said your farewells before I come for her next..."

"YOU FRAGGIN' GLITCH!" Ironhide roared as he struggled in his grasp.

Breakdown laughed unlike anything Ironhide had heard before, but then... his laughter was cut short as a huge burst of pure blue energy travelled through the cube's entire exterior and a bolt shot its way out and slammed into the body of Ironhide, throwing Breakdown off of him.

Ironhide gasped in surprise as the entire form of energy surged through his chassis almost like an unbearable overload, painful and unpleasant. It was a feeling unlike anything he had felt before. His processor immediately shut down, his body began to have a seizure out of his control and he heard the concerned cries of his fellow Autobots. Eventually his optics and audio receptors rebooted themselves just as the same energy current snaked out of his fingers and zigzagged through the floor towards the two protoforms.

"NO!" Breakdown cried as realisation dawned upon him.

Then it too came to Ironhide on what was happening as the two protoforms became empowered by the life-giving energy from both himself and the Allspark. Then, Ironhide watched in amazement as the optics of the protoforms fluttered online and they locked upon his own, pale Autobot blue unlike anything he had seen.

One was a metallic gold with a lot more mass in his upper body than his brother and had a pair of ear fins shaped like the crystal flowers from the Helix Gardens in Praxus, fluttering and twitching in curiosity. The second was thinner and bizarrely silver, his face was unusually shaped compared to his brother, reminding Ironhide of himself if it weren't for the sharply looking aerodynamic head.

In that split second, he fell in love with them.

They looked so innocent and pure, untouched by the stain of war. Ironhide made sure to remember that image for as long as he lived. Had he helped to create life in these two beings that looked upon him? What were they thinking?

But it was in that split second that the love was short-lived.

The two protoforms leapt to their feet and whirled upon Breakdown, who quickly began to back away in horror. The silver one came forward so fast that he was a blur of silver as sharp blades appeared from his forearms. His golden brother followed him in perfect synch, twisting and turning like two dancers flowing with the beauty of the sun and the moon.

Breakdown attempted to take a swing at one of them, but the golden mech got to him first as he rolled forward and swept his foot underneath the Decepticon, causing him to topple over and he threw a massive punch into his broken face, denting it even further. Breakdown howled, clutching at his injury just as the silver mech came up from behind him and thrust his left blade through his back, punching it straight through his gut.

Everyone watched in horror and awe as Breakdown screamed in agony, but the two newborn mechs hardly paid any heed to his cries, although Ironhide swore he saw bloodlust in their optics. The silver mech turned his blade to one side and pulled it out swiftly, leaving a gaping hole and energon staining his silver frame. The golden mech then grabbed Breakdown's head, holding him steady before he could fall and threw his fist straight into the spark chamber, grabbed it and then ripped it straight out. He let go and the hulking shell that was once Breakdown crumbled into a broken heap.

The silver mech sheathed his blades just as his golden brother squeezed the spark until it burst in a shower of sparks and energon, a cruel smirk curling up on his lips.

Ironhide's optics welled up with tears as four words passed through his lips: "What have we done?"

And there you have it folks, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker have awakened and they are here for blood! Mwahahaha. I am so evil, but that is what you get when you're thrust into a world of war with no end. *grins insanely* Sorry for the violence, but I felt I needed a character establishing moment to show that these guys are NOT fooling around, even though they just came online. There's an explanation as to why they have already learned how to fight when they just awakened.

I'm a cruel person, but all of it is justified. War is not kind and sometimes we've got to take even the most unthinkable steps to make it towards victory.

So tell me, what did you think? Was this good enough? Did you like the start? I think I'm actually quite proud of it, but I guess I wish I could've done better. Then again, don't we all?

See you all in the next chapter!