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Triviality	By : mehmeh Category: Transformers > G1 > AU/AR Views: 2890 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, and I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Authors: a_scattered_me, tsarist_secret (on LJ)
Rating: MA+
Universe: G1, AU-ish (with many elements from the other continuities, particularly the comics)
Characters: Optimus, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Megatron, Soundwave, Blitzwing, Starscream, Astrotrain, Rumble, Frenzy. Too many Decepticons to bother naming.
Warnings: Violence and swearing.

It was never a good sign when the first thing that greeted your audio receivers after waking up was Megatron's booming voice.
It usually meant that you were fucked. And Soundwave's grace period with whatever deity was up there – Primus, Unicron or even the Earthlings' universal God – had ran out a very long time ago.
The deck's cold surface was mashed up uncomfortably against his unprotected face. He ached and ached and everything hurt. Soundwave was dangerously low on fuel and a quick check confirmed what he already knew; he had been stripped of all weapons. Subspace included.
He needed to get out of there. They knew. He'd been betrayed by a very fragment of his spark.
Whatever sedative they pumped into him had been strong, for Soundwave's fuel systems were calibrated to specially filter out any potentially unsafe substances given to him. He could still feel it contaminating his lines and the lack of energon in his body just made it worse. Sluggish as he felt, he had to get out of there. They knew. He had committed the worst possible treason and they were going to kill him.
The telepathy refused to obey him. It roused within his mind like a dying creature and then sank back down and in his helplessness, he began to panic because he was too weak to utilise it. Feebly, he activated his proximity scanners but he didn't even have the power to be subtle about it. They'd immediately know he was online.
"Well Soundwave, don't be rude," Megatron goaded and his voice grew stonier with each word he spat out. "Everyone's here to greet you, so stop lying there like a pile of scrap and stand up like a mech, you unfaithful little Autobot-fucker."
There was no use in pretending. Soundwave snapped his mask in place and carefully pulled himself to his pedes, thankful that his interface panel had automatically slid shut. He swayed but his fuel pump sped up and the foreign chemicals finally began to dissipate more effectively.
"You're going to die here," Megatron proclaimed darkly, the look on his angular faceplates vicious. "But we can count on you to give us a show before you do, yes?"
The cargo bay of the Nemesis was actually a separate structure just off from the actual ship, connected by a short passageway. Because of its reinforced, double-layered bulkheads, it also served as an impromptu sparring arena every now and then when the Decepticons needed more than just the standard entertainment fare.
Soundwave quickly analysed his situation. He was in the middle of the designated arena and a harsh, white spotlight illuminated him from above, putting him in display. In the shadows, surrounding him from every corner, were all his former subordinates. He saw their optics burning brightly, heavy with bloodlust and satisfaction. It was a fact that they all hated him and it was something that he had long accepted and didn't care to change. Now however, the impatience to simply rend him from limb to limb was practically tangible in the air above them. He didn't even need his telepathy to understand that.
And above them, like a wrathful idol, Megatron watched from the raised platform he had the Constructicons especially erect just for him. Starscream stood by his side like a luxurious, high-priced whore and Laserbeak sat on his shoulder like he'd always belonged there. And further on back, on the railing, was Ratbat.
Soundwave wanted to scream.
He wanted to scream because Laserbeak was a symbiote he had created alongside with Buzzsaw from fragments of his own spark and the betrayal was a horrible, icy feeling that burned worse than any fire. He wanted to scream because there were two empty holes left in the symbiotic bond that once belonged to Laserbeak and Ratbat, leaving no mistake to where their allegiance now lay. He wanted to rage, wanted to kill them for even thinking of doing this to the rest of them.
Furthermore, he couldn't communicate with the rest of his Cassettes in fear of Laserbeak and Ratbat who knew all their secret, long-distance frequencies. But he could feel them still alive in his spark and he hoped that they had enough sense to escape.
"You remember what the rules of a survival arena were, right?" Megatron bellowed down to him.
Of course Soundwave did. The rules were very simple—opponents were thrown at the unlucky mech one by one until finally succumbing to his injuries. No external or inbuilt weapons were allowed and the mechs were barred from transforming. Natural abilities however, were allowed. Sometimes there was a limit of how many opponents the survivor would face. Ten. Twenty. And if he did survive until the end, then usually he was promised a reward. If the arena ringmaster called out 'zero' then the game would no longer be a game of survival. It would be a game of slow, painful termination. 'Zero' meant that there was no limit to the opponents. In this case, there was only one number.
"Zero!"
Soundwave straightened, spinal struts ramrod straight despite the pain he felt. He was not surprised. Unfortunately for him, there was no such thing as a weak Decepticon. All the mechs here could hold their own in a battle and the ones who couldn't had been quickly weeded off early in the war. He expected to die here. But he would make sure to take as many to the Pit with him. Fuck Optimus Prime and the Matrix.
"But let it be known," Megatron continued to shout. "That I'm not an unfair leader—" Starscream sniggered loudly at this but swiftly stopped when Megatron threw a glare at him. "—so I will be the one who will choose your opponents each round. That way, I'll be able to match up the best of my loyal soldiers for you to fight. Because I always gave you the best, did I not, Soundwave?"
Soundwave refused to answer.
"Hmph. Dirge! You're number one!"
Amidst the collective cries of outrage and disappointment, Soundwave privately cursed his fate. No, Megatron chose wisely there. He was going to work Soundwave up, warm him up with the weaker of his fighters before slamming him down with the strongest. But Dirge himself was no weakling. None of the Seekers were. Though much, much lighter than their ground based counterparts, they were still big and naturally aggressive. The lack of weight made them fast, nimble and their heel turbines were deadly.
Dirge appeared, stalking past the others who stepped back to let him through. His bright, yellow optics shone with eagerness even if the expression on his face was as predictably blue as his paintjob. The protruding wings of Dirge's VTOL alt-mode clicked back to safely rest against his plating to ensure that the sensitive appendages would not be targeted during the fight. It showed just serious he was taking this.
"Ready?" Dirge rumbled before the expression he wore was smashed away and replaced with a wicked sneer of excitement.
A containment field shot up from specialised power points embedded into the floor to link up with the ones that lay directly above in the ceiling, effectively trapping the two mechs in a square cage made out of energy.
Only one of them was happy about it.
Whatever the outcome of this particular fight would end up as, Soundwave first had to calculate how to avoid Dirge's skill in fear manipulation and his own lack of energy to block the dangerous frequency. He relaxed his stance, fingers curling slightly and kept his attention solely on the Seeker standing before him. In response, Dirge didn't quite use his special skill just yet and Soundwave knew that he was waiting for that one, special opportunity to force it onto him. After all, Soundwave could have effortlessly blocked it under normal circumstances. Good thing Dirge wasn't privy to that knowledge. Not just yet anyway. He'd soon figure it out.
Red, bright flashing red, the symbol for warning and pain, and that was the colour of the low-energy windows blaring in front of the telepath's optics. He had to get energy fast or else he would not survive past the second opponent. And the solution to that stood in front of him…Soundwave just had to get close enough to take it.
Like most Decepticons, Dirge acted rashly. He lunged at the other mech, swift on his thrusters and quick to use his anti-gravs. Soundwave barely avoided the kick, falling back as a surge of heat from the activated jet turbines brushed past him. The navy-blue plated mech crouched low and swept his leg out. The retaliation kick caught Dirge's shins and knocked him sideways, leaving Soundwave the opportunity to burst forward, his own arm reared back, tense, and ready to deliver a hard punch straight into Dirge's faceplates.
Dirge unleashed a low, vibrating frequency that immediately stimulated the self-preservation components of Soundwave's processor. Having never experienced Dirge's special ability, Soundwave was unprepared for the fear that swelled inside him. It made him falter before he could throw a mental block to counter the harmful frequency and he missed his mark. The telepath's vents loudly hitched and he collapsed onto his knees, breathing hard, visor unnaturally bright.
For the first time ever, Soundwave saw Dirge grin happily.
But he made himself stay still, trembling on his knees like one of those defenceless humans. He could hear the jeers from the others, though many were telling Dirge not to kill Soundwave. It wouldn't be fun if he perished so soon. As Dirge kept emitting the frequency of fear, Soundwave forced himself to look up at his former leader. Of course, Megatron knew what Soundwave was up to.
"Can't believe you got no blocks…" Dirge was saying. "Low on energy? Didn't think you'd go down so soon."
"You dense glitch! He's waiting for you to come closer!" someone yelled from the gathered ensemble.
Soundwave had mustered just enough will to create an elementary block. It gave him a limited window of opportunity, but it was sufficient to take Dirge by surprise. Soundwave concentrated, steeled his resolve, and pushed it hard against the fear that was churning inside his tanks like poison. He would have been doomed had he been any other mech but Shockwave had taught him well. The telepath's helm shot up and his mask retracted. This time he was the one grinning nastily, his sharp and pointed denta in full view to his opponent.
I am going to frag you up, the grin promised, I am going to chew on your worthless chassis and spit you out like scrap.
It was at that point that Dirge remembered that despite the perpetual blank demeanour, Soundwave was just as cracked in the processor as the rest of them. And because of that belated thought, Dirge made the mistake of hesitating.
"Soundwave: superior," Soundwave growled out. "Dirge: inferior!"
Yes, Dirge was faster because of his lighter weight but it proved to be hindrance at that very moment when Soundwave literally pounced on him. Dirge toppled backwards with a loud grunt. Soundwave's heavier bulk kept him pinned down and he finally aimed a well-placed punch against the pointed helm. He aimed a second one in quick succession, smashing the golden canopy of Dirge's chest so he could bang his fist over the plating right above the Seeker's spark to throw him into a temporary stun.
Soundwave was ready to take the energy he needed. And Dirge was going to provide it for him, willing or unwilling.
There was a deafening, furious roar from the crowd when a spray of mechblood splattered all over the place as Soundwave grabbed the main energy cable that lined the Seeker's thick neck strut and literally ripped the top end out. He buried his face into Dirge's neck, and latched his denta around the profusely leaking cable, forcefully sucking out the hot, rich liquid that poured into his mouth and down his throat tubing. The warning windows that had plagued him from the beginning of the fight steadily – finally! – faded away.
The brief moment of reprieve he'd been given was broken when Dirge managed to shriek, wildly pulsing out different frequencies of fear before forcing Soundwave off from him with an almighty shove. But the amount Soundwave took was enough to rejuvenate him, at least to bring his telepathy back online.
Megatron was seated in his chair with Starscream standing by his side. The warlord's optics were filled with malice and bloodlust but he made no inclination if he was even going to go through the trouble of fighting Soundwave himself. He leaned towards the Seeker. "If he gets enough energon to utilize his telepathy close to the normal levels then we will have to dispose of him no matter what. He is not getting out of the base alive." Megatron grabbed the closest part of Starscream's wing, twisting it painfully. "Understand?"
With a grimace, Starscream curtly nodded before Megatron released him. "Of course, sir. He will be hunted down."
Suddenly the air began to buzz with an electric charge, and Starscream braced himself as the ensuing warp hole forced a gush of hot air against his body. Skywarp appeared and he nodded once, his facial plates grim.
"We've looked everywhere and we can't find them," Skywarp said. "The Constructicons are mapping out a grid of the base from the last time they did to see if there are any changes. They're hard to find, sir. Though we have reason to suspect that the symbiotes may be on a lower deck close by."
"Of course they're close by, you idiot," Starscream snapped, crossing his arms over his cockpit. "Keep looking. Find them."
"Sir –" It was obvious how much Skywarp loathed calling Starscream 'sir' just by the disrespectful twist of his mouth. "– I'm not sure how much damage they could actually do from this far inside the ship," the purple and black mech said helplessly, his wings perked up in irritation. "I mean the little one has his sonics but I don't know how much use they'd –"
"Just fucking find them!" Megatron shouted and the suddenness forced Laserbeak off from his shoulder. "Bring them to me now so I can rip them to shreds before Soundwave's optics!"
"Yessir," Skywarp quickly rattled off, bowing hastily before he disappeared with a loud snap!
"Laserbeak! Ratbat! Don't just sit there like you've gained my favour already," Megatron continued to snarl and he cast a dark look at the both of them. "Help him find them!"
The two symbiotes had no choice but to obey. They soared over the large expanse of the makeshift arena below and Soundwave's dark visor tracked their path with accurate precision. Whether they flew directly over his helm because the exit was in a straight line behind him or whether to mock him was unknown. But one thing was clear to Ratbat and Laserbeak – their former Master was capable of holding one hell of a grudge and he would not hesitate on seeking his revenge should he survive after this.
Either way, Soundwave had defeated his first opponent and he stood with his gaze now settled defiantly upon Megatron while in the background, a bleeding Dirge was carted off by his trinemates.
"Wildrider!" Megatron announced. "Your turn!"
The summoned mech crowed with excitement, bouncing on his pedes like a loon acting as if he had already won the fight. But despite the projected overconfidence and arrogance, he was a dangerous enemy to have. No one wanted to fight a Stunticon… unless they wanted to deal with insanely strong force fields, insane speed and the plain insanity that came packaged with them.
All the basic preliminaries of a fight were bypassed completely – Wildrider just charged. He was fast and he was zigzagging all over the place with such randomness that Soundwave's tracking software was going mental with the path estimations. In fact, the only thing Soundwave could safely predict was Wildrider's unpredictability.
The Decepticons cheered when Wildrider shouldered Soundwave in the chestplates and then caught him by the arm, spinning him around in a circle to gain momentum as if he was introducing the telepath to an extreme dance only he knew the steps to. Soundwave found himself thrown into the air in a wide arc and he crashed back down hard, sparks rising as he skidded across the uneven plating of the deck.
It hurt.
The faux glass of Soundwave's tapedeck was fractured but thankfully it was still in one piece and he knew it could take at least one more solid hit before fully shattering. At least he hoped it could. In a way, he was glad that his lasercore was located deeper in his internals.
Wildrider cawed with victory and the grin on his face was as savage as anything.
"C'mere!"
Just as a balled-up fist was going to smash into his face, Soundwave rolled to the side and ignored the needles that jabbed continuously up his circuits, shooting agony up his torso. The floor vibrated and clanged loudly when the Stunticon's fist impacted into it and Wildrider grunted, aggravated at his miss.
"Why won't you just stand still and let me hit you!"
Wildrider always did like to scream rhetorical nonsense at his opponents.
Soundwave made a grab for him but it was futile; he was instantly repelled by Wildrider's special force field, as if they were two magnets of the same polarity. An unpleasant buzz tingled up Soundwave's fingers and he scowled deeply, displeased with the fact that he'd have to rely exclusively on his mind powers to defeat the mech. His energy was limited as it was.
Soundwave could hear the others shouting for his demise.
"What's taking ya so long?"
"Bash him until he's scrap!"
"Tear the traitor's spark out!"
"No, tear his head off and send it to Prime!"
"Fuck him until he squeals!"
"Shut up!" Wildrider yelled back at them and he snapped his helm to snarl at the mass of shapes and sea of red optics. "Losin' concentration here!"
At least that gave Soundwave just enough time to stand up before Wildrider focused his attention back onto him. Wildrider attacked and Soundwave found himself purely on the defensive. All he could do was to avoid the attacks and he furiously cycled through the different settings of his optical feed that would help him find a weak point in that thrice-damned force field.
The others continued to jeer. "Kill the Autobot-fucker!"
He didn't want to use his telepathy, damn it. He wanted to save it for the stronger opponents.
And as Wildrider punched him hard in the face and dented his facemask, Soundwave belatedly recalled something very important about the Stunticons' force fields. It was a little fact that appeared in his vast memory banks and it sat there on the surface, in blind ridicule towards him for even daring to forget it.
"Hey! Finally decided to stop running away?" he barked out, laughing manically when Soundwave abruptly stopped in the middle of the designated arena.
"Come," Soundwave merely said. "Lose."
Wildrider's optics brightened and his mouth twisted in furious confusion. The insane laughter abruptly stopped, cut off as if someone had pulled out the power cord. And here, his reaction was truly predictable. His engine roared powerfully as he charged forward, veering to the left, and then jumping to the right. Such random, jerky movements were designed to inspire fear and inexperienced mechs would have panicked but Soundwave continued to just stand there, waiting. Quietly analysing.
On one pede Wildrider spun, ready to deliver a high kick straight into Soundwave. He did not expect Soundwave to catch his leg in mid-air. Wildrider snarled, bracing himself for Soundwave to toss him aside but there was a creak of metal when Soundwave tightened his grip on the shin plating and just stared at the Stunticon, as if expecting the other mech to make the first move. Wildrider jumped on one pede, trying to pull himself away but the telepath held fast.
"Soundwave: superior," Soundwave informed him. "Wildrider: inferior."
The armour lining Soundwave's legs on both sides flipped up, exposing a series of small speaker pods. His hand was already going numb from Wildrider's force field and he really couldn't hold on for long.
"Heh…" Wildrider nervously glanced down. "Whatcha gonna do? Play bad music?"
"Affirmative," Soundwave blandly answered.
The alleged 'bad music' turned out to be a burst of noise in ultra-high frequency. It shot through the force field as a soundless scream, and its precise wavelength resonate against the shield. It played the exact opposite pitch that Wildrider's emitter was putting out, in a constant repel and clash motion that agitated the deflective layer and forced the tightly-knit particles that kept its controlled shape to vibrate angrily. The more the emitter struggled to correct the shield's form, the more output it produced to the point where it overheated and began to malfunction.
"You fuckin—!"
Wildrider's scream of rage was cut off when Soundwave tore his neck cables out.

"Slag, slag, slag…fucking slag!"
Frenzy utilised a complicated series of body contortions involving a lot of bending and various states of half transformations just to get through the pipe he had wedged himself into. When his pede accidently banged against the interior of the pipe, the sound rang through the metal shaft like a condemning bell chiming his impending doom. The small Cassetticon cringed and clenched his fists, holding himself still as he lay there; body half hanging out of the rust-eaten mouth of that pipe. When there was no angry shouting or the thumping of big, heavy mechs rushing his way, Frenzy allowed himself a small sigh of relief.
His spark was a mess. It wasn't that Laserbeak and Ratbat were connected to him like sparkmates, or even as siblings but it was the sense of general loss and emptiness of losing something intimately familiar. The fact that it was betrayal just made things worse. Not to mention that he couldn't communicate with his twin over their own special bond…and that meant one thing. Rumble was in stasis and held prisoner.
Frenzy gritted his denta. He didn't know what to do but he knew one thing for certain – he had to save his Boss, save his brother and get the fuck out of there. He didn't want to die…not without Rumble anyway.
The small mech crept close to the wall, practically tip-toeing with his anti-gravs activated. He could hear activity in the distance.
It was Skywarp.
"Have you searched throughout the basement levels yet?" the teleporter's deep voice rang out.
There were a couple of lazy mumbles that replied to him - the mechs in question showing clear disinterest. A sharp noise sounded, along with a yelp. Skywarp must have been getting fed up.
"Search again you fucking idiots!" he yelled, and there were a couple of hasty noises of pedes clunking around before a small pop signalled that Skywarp had warped away again, probably to check on another group.
"This is fucking ridiculous," another even deeper voice said, remarkably close.
Frenzy's spark pulsed frantically, his visor bright as he stilled himself, willing even his vents to quiet. He was caught. There was no way they'd miss him with infrared. Frenzy knew his body was hot. They would see him like a fire in the dark.
"Stupidly moronic," another mech replied, his gruff voice echoing off of the walls.
"This is going to turn into one giant mess, and I don't want a single part of it," Blitzwing replied, his voice curt as his heavy footsteps took him closer to the hallway Frenzy was in.
The pair of them laughed. "What am I talking about, of course I want to fuck with Megatron's plans."
'Please let them pass,' Frenzy thought desperately to himself, pressing close to the wall in the dark hallway.
"Hey, what's that?" Astrotrain suddenly said, and the pair of mechs halted.
Frenzy's spark sank and he looked around desperately, but there were no doors, no rooms to hide in, and the pipe he had just emerged from was now pointless to enter again. But despite everything, an irrational urge of hatred for Soundwave suddenly built up, threatening to boil over. This was Soundwave's fault. It was all his fucking fault!
"Is that…?" Blitzwing trailed off.
Both of them stopped at the end of the hallway, blocking the light from the main passageway. A gun hummed to life, and Frenzy sat down on the floor, letting a hoarse laugh leave his vocalizer. The two Triplechangers approached, their alternative mode headlights lighting the hallway brilliantly.
"Yep," Blitzwing affirmed.
The two mechs stopped some distance away.
"What the fuck are ya lookin' at?" Frenzy snapped, glaring up at the two mechs cruelly. "Just fuckin' kill me."
Blitzwing and Astrotrain laughed at the frank outburst. Blitzwing came closer, his weapons powering down. He stooped over and seized Frenzy in his large hand, holding him like a doll.
"We've been looking for you," he said, squeezing the symbiote tightly.
"No fuckin' way smarts," Frenzy snapped back, grunting uncomfortably with the pain that assaulted his systems. "Ya two lumbering idiots never were the smartest mechs around."
"Listen," Blitzwing snapped, shaking the symbiote roughly. "An enemy of Megatron is a friend of ours. Hold still, and shut the fuck up and you may make it through this."
Just about as Frenzy was about to question just what the hell was going on, Frenzy found himself quickly being pushed towards a massive chestplate, where a panel slid back, and the Triplechanger stowed the small mech into his chestplates.
The door shut, and Frenzy shouted, banging on the metal for a few moments before he stopped. The small mech looked around desperately until he realized that Blitzwing had put him in his sparkling chamber. It was a hollow compartment that nearly all mechs and femmes retained close to their fuelling system and it was geared to carry young sparklings around. The fit was tight and cramped, but the Triplechanger was a massive mech as it was and as he looked over, Frenzy noticed a small nib towards the back – a dead giveaway. Frenzy quickly rushed over to prod at the small piece, rubbing on it to stimulate it to produce energon. After a few quick strokes a small drop of energon appeared at the end, and with vigorous rubbing more began to leak out. Frenzy eagerly lapped it up, feeling the potent energon give his body a powerful charge.
"Easy with that," he heard Blitzwing growl.
With his subspace still activated, Frenzy pulled out a small container, which cramped his small space even more, and rubbed at the nib eagerly, sucking, and lapping around the tip until it was freely dripping the nanite rich energon used to nurture sparklings into the small cube. When it was almost full, Frenzy sealed the cube and shoved it back into his subspace. The only way Blitzwing would have allowed Frenzy inside of such an intimate place was if he was actually telling the truth. Not only that, but the small symbiote had the opportunity to severely harm the Triplechanger in here.
Frenzy panted, but at least now he would have energon. Not only that, with Blitzwing's immense bulk and heat, he would be almost impossible to spot.
"Fuckin' brute aren't ya," Frenzy said to himself, but he knew that the Triplechanger would hear him anyway. The carrying chamber was comfortable, its heat regulated to match what the occupant needed. "Where are ya takin' me? I gotta get to Soundwave. Hey!" he snapped, banging his fist against the inner chamber. "I gotta go find him! What's going on?" Frenzy could only feel what was coming from Soundwave's part of the bond, and the emotions were so strong they were hard to pick apart.
"Your slut of a master has been off fucking Autobots," Blitzwing intoned, smacking his fist against his own chestplate to get the little symbiote to settle down. "He's in the ring right now fighting. If you want to survive you should flee the ship as soon as you can."
"No," Frenzy said sharply, his tiny claws digging into the reinforced plating inside Blitzwing. "Take me to the arena. Or near it. Please," the little mech said desperately.
Blitzwing turned to exchange a glance with Astrotrain, who was still striding alongside him with an amused expression on his face.
"What the hell," Astrotrain said, shrugging once. "Wouldn't it be hilarious if we actually managed to accomplish something?"
The large mechs seemed to both find this particularly funny and they broke into throaty chortles, ignoring the dulled voice from inside Blitzwing's carrying chamber.
"Alright you little shit," Blitzwing said, suddenly changing direction.
The force of it caused Frenzy to be squashed against the inner chamber wall, and he cursed, rubbing his helm.
"You stu—" Frenzy started, but he was cut off when Blitzwing savagely smacked the outer chamber's lid, and the symbiote knew very well to silence himself.
In the distance, he could barely hear a voice, but it was very recognizable.
"Did you find anything?" Starscream asked, his pedes taking him closer to the pair of Triplechangers.
Frenzy stilled completely. Moment of truth.
"Nah," Astrotrain answered for the pair. "We've been lookin' everywhere but you know those little shits are hard to find. Have you checked to see if Motormaster isn't keeping one in his valve? I'm sure it's one of the roomiest places on base."
The Triplechangers broke into renewed chortles and Frenzy could feel the impatience radiating off of Starscream, even though he couldn't see him.
"Just find him!" Starscream snapped, and his tone held a note of urgency.
"Aw Screamer, what can one little symbiote do?" Blitzwing spoke up.
"More than you think," Starscream replied coldly
Frenzy was suddenly jerked to the side as Starscream roughly shouldered past Blitzwing. The resounding clang of Frenzy smacking into the side of Blitzwing's carrying chamber rang out and Starscream stopped dead, turning around to look at the pair.
"You—" Starscream started.
"You pushed me into Astrotrain," Blitzwing interjected coolly.
Starscream opened his mouth to speak, but the large mechs had already started to walk away. Blitzwing turned his helm slightly to give Starscream a mysterious smile over his shoulder before falling in step behind Astrotrain.
In short succession they arrived near the cargo bay - the screams and jeers were easy to hear. Out in the hallway though, there was nobody. Everybody must've been inside waiting to tear after Soundwave. After looking around, Blitzwing opened his chassis again and grabbed Frenzy in his hand, lifting his fist up and raising the tiny mech to the ceiling, where he easily pushed up a vent and deposited the symbiote like nothing had ever happened. Then without any more preamble, the large pair of mechs continued on down the hallway, nudging each other and joking like they always did.
A few scant moments later, the shadows shifted to reveal Ravage's dark, sleek form. The four-legged symbiote bundled up the corridor to follow the air shaft's path and he melded in again with the darkness as if he was never there.

Soundwave was proving to be quite an unpleasant surprise to many of his former subordinates, especially the lower-ranked ones, because many had not actually seen himfight before. It was a curious enigma, considering their constant battles with the Autobots in a war that seemed never-ending, but Soundwave had always seemed the sort to prefer orchestrating events from the side lines, preferring his technological mods and symbiotes. But he turned out to be skilled in unarmed combat and he dealt his blows with the underhanded, viciousness of a warrior who had no honour.
Brawl was slow but powerful, and his mind was a stronghold. But he wasn't immune to Soundwave's telepathic hits. Though he could withstand the individual jolts themselves, Soundwave kept throwing them in quick succession and the cumulative damage would leave the Combaticon reeling – giving Soundwave a big enough window to lash out. But Brawl refused to fall and it was obvious that Soundwave was trying to use his own speed against Brawl's much larger frame.
"You haven't found the little twerps, have you?" Megatron spat out the moment Starscream landed onto the raised platform he was watching the proceedings from.
"No, not yet my Lord, but I assure you that it won't be long now. They'll be boxed in and plucked out like the parasites they are," Starscream quickly assured, wisely keeping a fair distance from his leader for the time being.
"Two contestants, Starscream. This includes Brawl," Megatron warned, intently watching the match below and not sparing his second in command a glance. "If you haven't found them by then, then you'll be the third contestant. Understood?"
Starscream scowled and glared mutinously at the back of Megatron's helm. But he couldn't stop himself from looking down at the two mechs fighting and his optics gravitated on Soundwave in particular. The telepath was carefully circling around a loudly roaring Brawl like a serpent planning out its next strike. He was filthy; his frame badly scraped up, dented and his shattered chestplates were painted in a multicolour display of various liquids; from the pale ochre of hydraulic fluid, the washed out hues of coolant to the darkened splatters of mechblood. The shape of Brawl's large fingers…and others… ran all along his plating from where he had been grabbed, up from his arms and down to his interface panel from where there had been an attempt to wrench it off.
And now the traitor held his arms up at his waist, poised and tense, blood-stained hands spread out, ready to attack. Soundwave must have had his fingers modified because they were longer than was practically necessary, with his claws extended into sharp, lethal points….though some of the fingertips had already been broken off. Starscream knew exactly what Soundwave was capable of and he didn't want to imagine the thought of those wicked claws tearing through his wings.
"Yes, my Lord," the Seeker conceded after a surly pause.
"I want the other runt brought over," Megatron ordered. "I think Soundwave needs a little more…inspiration."
"Oh…" Starscream's mouth twisted briefly into a poisonous smile. "But of course."
He pivoted on his thruster heel, ready to fly off the platform but when the crowd abruptly fell strangely silent, Starscream turned back to see what had happened. Brawl was bellowing like a predator on its last legs, falling down to his knees with his own hands desperately clutching at his helm.
"Get out of my fucking head!" he screamed, and the red in his visor burned so bright that it began to appear pink. "You're dead! Stop staring at me like that! I terminated you! I watched you die!"
Starscream let out a hiss. "He's gotten into his processor and using Brawl's memory cells against him."
Megatron slammed his hands on the arms of his throne and leaned forward, angrily trying to assess the situation. "What. Is that even possible?"
The mechs crowded around the arena shifted, agitated and restless and Soundwave slowly took a step forward. He was facing Brawl, his body stiff and his servos trembling from the amount of concentration he was pouring into his mind manipulation.
"You didn't know what treasure—" Starscream spat out the word disgustedly as he gestured at the arena, "—you had under you?" He placed his hands on his hips and sniggered. "I am amazed! If you had utilised Soundwave like you were meant to, oh fine and observant leader, then perhaps you would have been more successful in your campaigns."
But Megatron wasn't amused at Starscream ridiculing him and he made it apparent by aiming his fusion cannon at the Seeker. "Since you have time to criticise," he purred out dangerously, "how about I send you down there after Brawl, hmm? See if you can utilise your criticism against him."
"My liege," Starscream gritted out, optics nervously flitting down at the arena. "I suggest you pull out Brawl before Soundwave fuels himself on his energon and allow me to fetch the runt."
"Then get to it," Megatron sniped before he shouted down at his subjects. "Onslaught! You're next! And don't forget to retrieve your useless teammate."
The crowd thundered their discontent but Megatron had called off the match just in time, indirectly saving Hook the effort of reattaching Brawl's neck cables. Soundwave at this point snarled out a noise of static and frustration at being deprived his kill; he had exhausted a large amount of energy to actually trapping Brawl in his own personal hell of memories and it was all for naught.
Soundwave shouted up at the pedestal. "My quick expiration: your entertainment cut short!"
"Trying to prolong the inevitable?" Megatron drawled as he threw a cold glance down at Soundwave. He leaned back in his large throne, looking quite unconcerned. "Well, it's not as if you'll last long, you treacherous little whore."
Hastily, Soundwave diverted his attention away from Megatron, and he observed his latest opponent step past the containment field and into the arena. Onslaught returned his gaze calmly and tilted his helm to the side.
"I really have no interest in fighting you," Onslaught stated quietly, "but I'll terminate you if I must."
"You have no obligation towards Megatron," Soundwave replied.
"It's not him I'm obligated towards."
Soundwave understood. The Combaticons were renegades, suspended in stasis form without bodies for so long and their liberator had been Starscream, not Megatron.
Nonetheless, the crowd was becoming impatient and Onslaught didn't dispense any more pleasantries than he needed to. He swung his arm around, his massive hand balling into a fist and aiming for Soundwave's faceplates. The telepath nimbly avoided the would-be punch but he didn't expect the Combaticon leader to use himself as a pivot and rotate around, thus bringing his other fist up with the added momentum. Soundwave stumbled back from the heavy hit where it had caught him in the abdomen and he doubled over from the pain of his internals jostling out of place.
When Onslaught came for him again, Soundwave barely had time to dodge. But Onslaught doggedly persisted; using a methodical, steady pace to time his hits. He wasn't fast or unpredictable as Wildrider but he wasn't as slow as Brawl. And given how exhausted Soundwave was, Onslaught wasn't giving the telepath any time to concentrate on unleashing any mental attacks.
"Soundwave!" Megatron called.
He instinctively looked up when he heard his name. On the pedestal, Megatron was grinning malevolently and next to him, Starscream was holding Rumble up on display for Soundwave to see. The Cassetticon was gagged with a metal plate cruelly bolted onto the sides of his helm and his arms were stasis cuffed together, keeping him effectively immobile. Rumble's vulnerability swelled in Soundwave's spark at their close proximity and the two missing symbiotes who betrayed them only seemed to amplify that presence even further.
"Call in the rest of your pests," Megatron demanded.
Starscream jammed one null-ray into the side of Rumble's helm. "I trust you know what I'm implying here," he added with a sneer.
Although he couldn't speak, the plea in the small mech's dim visor was clear.
Help me.
Soundwave cared deeply for his symbiotes. They were in essence, a part of him. He considered them his;his servants, his soldiers, sometimes lovers, and sometimes companions. He looked after them and in return, they served him in every aspect. The sight of one of his twins threatened by that arrogant prostitute of a Seeker was enough to fuel his tired body with unadulterated anger.
"Release Rumble," Soundwave said instead.
"Contact your pests," Megatron silkily reiterated. "I might even let them live."
It was a lie and they both knew it. Soundwave could see it in the way Megatron was smirking.
"Communication between symbiotes: blocked. Unable to connect," Soundwave replied. Then he paused for effect and added, "Megatron."
The deliberate lack of honorific had Megatron's smirk twist with displeasure for it was the first time Soundwave had ever called him by just his name. "Have it your way then," Megatron rasped out and he took a step back into the shadows, towards his throne. "I'll keep all of you alive long enough to watch each other die."
He wanted to wreak havoc upon everyone around him.

The quickening of Optimus' spark pulse hadn't been much of a concern for Ratchet at first. He'd merely looked the sedated Autobot over and slowed his energon drip slightly. If he was finding enough energy to get excited, it was too much energon and he didn't need it, simple as that.
"How is he doing?" a voice said.
Ratchet looked up from where he was seated in his chair next to the large, prone form. The medic had an arc welder in one hand and bits of tubing in the other. Most of the extensive internal repairs on Prime been finished already and there were just a few commonly replaced hoses that needed a change and some fine tuning. Then would come the long and tedious job of remaking Prime's plating.
Ratchet wiped at his face and set the items he was holding back down onto a small tray. "His repairs are going extremely well. He is built from high quality stuff so less was damaged than I thought…after I do some general maintenance and a systems flush, he should be ready to go. He'll probably even feel a bit better than before because I've removed some scar tissue that had been building on his protoform in several places."
Prowl winced at 'systems flush' but he did little else to give away any emotion. "Excellent. Do you have a general time frame?"
Ratchet shrugged, his irritation barely hidden. "Whenever I get him done. I don't know. A day, two days, three days if something comes up."
Prowl turned curtly on his heel and left, the medbay doors sliding shut behind him.
The CMO sighed before he drew out a pair of forceps and crimped a live energon line located in Prime's arm. "I get no respect around here. I'm the only general surgeon the Autobots have and no one gives a shit. I deserve some more—" a harsh grating sound was heard, and Ratchet twisted his hand around as a sudden gushing wound developed from an energon line, "—goddamn respect," he finally finished. The fluid from the wound slowly dripped to a stop, as if Ratchet was in no hurry of mending it. Instead he cut the tube out and fitted another in its place.
Warm arms enveloped him from behind, and Ratchet barely resisted the urge to flinch. A hot body pressed up against his, humming with heat, and Ratchet didn't even need to look to see who it was.
Especially because one arm was distinctly handless.
The stub rubbed against his chassis while the other hand caressed his chestplate. Ratchet's optics narrowed and his mood instantly went sour. Charred metal and burnt rubber wafted up into his olfactory sensor, but the medic refused to turn and look at the mask that was nuzzling the side of his head.
"Um, baby?" Wheeljack said, and he didn't even have the tact to sound sheepish anymore. "I was wonderin' if you could reattach my hand soon. I'm pretty busy and I really need your help."
Ratchet turned his head and his optics were like beams of penetrating ice. He even growled.
"At your leisure of course," the chief science officer hastily added.
Ratchet said nothing in reply for several long moments, fiddling with the wiring in Optimus' arm. "So what's the story this time?" he asked.
Wheeljack held up the stump of his arm, and it was clear that his hand had been cut clean off. "Got too close to a high powered laser. It wasn't my fault though! Skyfire thought that I'd said it was okay to turn it on."
"Primus, you're an idiot," Ratchet snapped, jerking his elbow up to catch Wheeljack sharply in his side. The mech made a pained noise and backed away, his audial finials flashing a sad, blue colour.
"Take a seat," Ratchet said, motioning widely over his shoulder with one of his red hands covered in mechblood.
But Wheeljack didn't, and instead he moved closer, slinging his arms around Ratchet's neck. He slid his facemask back and kissed his lover's helm, staring at the prone form of Optimus Prime lying out in front of them. "So what all happened to him? I've only heard rumours," Wheeljack said.
The CMO grunted and shrugged his shoulder. "It's classified for the moment. All I can say is that it's a thrilling story."
Wheeljack made a noise and drew his hand over the seams of Ratchet's chest, knowing where they split to reveal his spark underneath. "Yeah. There's a lot of mechs wondering what the hell is going on. But they seem pretty calm, despite that. Prowl's a good leader. He really knows what he's doing." The engineer's hand reached lowered, and his systems started running just a little harder.
"Stop it," Ratchet said half-heartedly. "I'm working."
"I know… I love watching you work. It makes me hot," Wheeljack muttered in reply, and Ratchet turned his head so they could kiss.
Suddenly the monitors next to Prime's head started blaring, and both Wheeljack and Ratchet jerked away in surprise. Ratchet set down the tools he was holding and stood up, bringing up a holo-display. Prime's spark pulse had quickened even more and his energy levels were rapidly being depleted at the same time.
Ratchet gaped at the stats with his mouth open. "M-Machine must be faulty," he stuttered.
"Ridiculous," Wheeljack said, peering at the data himself. "I just did maintenance on these machines a few days ago. They're in top shape!"
Ratchet scrambled around, at a loss of what to do. There were clamps that could give a jolt of energy to a spark when they were in danger of dying out, but there was nothing Ratchet could do for a spark that was spiralling out of control. You couldn't sedate a spark.
The only option was to put Optimus in stasis, but that was a generally dangerous practice that was often used as a last resort for severe wounds. Putting a mech in stasis meant powering down everything and the spark dimmed as well, only surviving off of a small amount of energy that all Cybertronians had the ability to create themselves, usually by outside means unless they were equipped with a high efficiency charge pack. Few were. Solar energy, heat energy, hydrogen, and several other things were ways of the getting the self-sustaining energy. It was dangerous, and a lot of mechs died if left too long in stasis.
Ratchet's hands felt all over Prime's spark and around the Matrix, checking to make sure there weren't any holes or cracks, or any wires or springs that were unnecessarily irritating the spark.
"What are you going to do!" Wheeljack questioned, his voice rising just above the sound of the blaring alerts.
Ratchet's hands were shaking and his blue optics were quickly darting around the room, looking for something to give him ideas. "I… I've got to bring him up from sedation. Something to counteract the drugs I've been giving him," Ratchet said.
He flew across the room and pulled open a drawer, nearly sending it off of its tracks. He fervently searched through the drawer, bending over to reach way in the back to pull out a tiny vial. Ratchet tipped it upside down and pressed a needle in through the top, drawing in the clear fluid with the stopper until it was full.
The CMO walked back over to Prime with an unreadable expression on his face and pressed the needle into one of the prominent tubes on Prime's neck, slowly pushing the stopper down until all of it had been injected directly into Optimus' systems. Several tense minutes passed, and Ratchet had to turn his audios down because the screeching of the machines was hurting his head.
Prime suddenly jerked up in his restraints, giving a soundless cry as his mouth worked open, his blue optics unseeing, and he screamed "Soundwave!" in such a thunderous voice that it shook Ratchet to his core.
"Not so classified anymore," Wheeljack said wryly.

It burned from the inside out like the fiery firestorms of the pit.
Soundwave could feel it, that horrible foreign presence in his spark infusing him with ancient power. But it didn't invigorate him, oh no the Matrix never gifted anyone without a price in return. It pulsed through the bond it had forced upon him and spread through his lines and circuits, searing pathways into his body. This was the new increase in capacity he had felt previously; the ability to call upon the Matrix's strength via the link he shared with his bondmate.
He began to tremble, unable to stop himself.
With a black fury that didn't originate from him, Soundwave kicked Onslaught, and Onslaught practically flew backwards. The Combaticon yelped out in pain and surprise when he hit the containment barrier and he remained suspended briefly in the air as his body convulsed against the barrier's electrical field. He then collapsed into a crumbled, groaning heap.
Was this what fuelled Optimus Prime each and every cycle of his existence as the Matrix-bearer? The Matrix was not kind, and it was far from benevolent. Soundwave lurched violently, helm jerking to the side and he dimly wondered how Prime managed to deal with the cacophony of all the dead Primes, bitter with their untimely demise and disjointed with too much knowledge from too many minds and lifecycles of mechs all twisted together in the Matrix's primeval subconscious. It was maddening.
"That's more like it…" Megatron muttered to himself. "I enjoy it when they fight all that harder just before their termination."
Starscream pursed his small mouth and he frowned. "He's changed."
However Megatron was too busy gloating to notice anything else. But the crowd sensed the difference in Soundwave's posture, close enough to sense the telepath's energy field rolling like turbulent waves of a rising ocean. Onslaught had recovered fast enough to bulldoze Soundwave to the side. Both mechs fell with a loud clank and they wrestled fiercely until Onslaught managed to pin Soundwave to the floor with his much heavier bulk.
"It's a pity you know," Onslaught began conversationally. "Having a competent warrior like yourself offline like this." He grunted as Soundwave struggled beneath him but Onslaught was more than strong enough to keep a firm grip on the telepath's arm. "I'm curious though. Why?"
"Megatron has lost sight of our cause," Soundwave hissed into the dirty surface of the deck.
"Yes we know that. But that's not my question."
Soundwave didn't warrant him with a proper explanation so Onslaught tightened his hold on the back of the other mech's helm and smashed his faceplates onto the deck with a sickening crunch of metal. Again Soundwave made no sound and Onslaught repeated his action. Soundwave's vents were stuttering and with each coarse heave, Soundwave's distorted laughter accompanied it.
Onslaught paused and cocked his head to one side, his own expression unreadable behind his mask and visor. "Finally cracked?"
When he received no further answer, Onslaught opted to injure Soundwave's arm instead. He rotated the limb past what Soundwave's shoulder joint could take and gave it a brutal, quick twist. Soundwave's resounding shriek had a thin, ugly quality to it and it had the Decepticons wince from the very sound of it.
"I ask again – why Prime," Onslaught insisted.
A wall of hot air surrounded them, expelled from their labouring systems and Soundwave's body was overexerting itself especially, given the abysmal condition he was in. He could have forced Onslaught off from him with his mind power but one half of his cpu was reacting negatively against the Matrix's unwanted presence. He could feel Optimus Prime somewhere in the edge of his spark, and the Autobot was equally as lost and antagonistic as he was. True bondmates would have reached out to each other, supported each other with everything in their disposal. But not with their case; Prime was too bitter, Soundwave was too proud and the Matrix between them was like a pair of shackles made out of acid.
"Prime: such a better fuck than Megatron," Soundwave wheezed and there was no mistaking the smugness in his monotone or the derisive light in one amber optic that stared up at Onslaught from behind his broken visor.
It was then that Soundwave managed to break free by using a combination of physical and mental attacks. Onslaught recoiled, forced to release his hold and Soundwave used the moment to roll onto his back and crush the flat of his pede against the Combaticon's abdomen to propel him back. Somehow though, Soundwave's statement had travelled straight up to Megatron's audios and it even had Starscream's mouth twitch, as if the Seeker was undecided whether he should be repulsed or amused.
Megatron was livid and with a snarl, he ripped Rumble from Starscream's hands. The symbiote was terrified, his visor flickering from fear and he dangled like a marionette by his winglets from the warlord's massive fist. The other hand hooked into the armour seams lining the smaller mech's chestplates, claws wrenching the barely discernable gaps wider, misshaping the metal until Megatron literally tore one third of Rumble's chestplate away from his chassis. Gagged and bound as he was, Rumble was unable to make any noise but the agony was clearly written on his face.
"Was he worth going against me?" Megatron roared and he was so, so angry. Nothing else could be heard save for his voice bearing down onto all of them. "Tell me, you wretched slut!" He then flung the jagged piece of Rumble's chestplate straight down at the arena where it bounded off the electrical barrier, its mass too light to pass through it. "I'll make sure you die in agony for even daring to betray me and your fucking little pests will suffer along with you!"
The ripped wires in Soundwave's dislocated shoulder sparked and fluids streamed down the loosely-hanging limb. But it was nothing compared to the sparks that emanated from Rumble's exposed torso and the inner components that glistened wetly from the leaking mechblood and coolant. The Cassetticon was thrown uncaringly onto the deck of the pedestal and he could do nothing but lay there waiting for his inevitable death as Megatron raised his fusion cannon. But after a moment of contemplation, Megatron allowed his arm to drop.
"Starscream!" he barked. "Use your null ray. Aim for the spark."
The Seeker barely flinched from the harshness of his leader's voice and obeyed instantly, since he held no love for the symbiote lying pathetically before their pedes. He fired a shot and watched maliciously as Rumble's body seized in a stiff arc before he lost consciousness. At such close range, not only would his null ray deactivate Rumble's electrical systems but without the protective chest armour, the blast was powerful enough to cleave a charred, blackened hole through the protoform that lay above his spark.
"He's still alive…for now," Starscream cackled, tipping his helm at the arena to address Soundwave. The winged mech delicately prodded the gravely injured mech with the tip of his pede, as if he had found something unsavoury on the ground that was blocking his way. "But the poor thing must be in so much pain," he continued mockingly. "And who knows how long it'll take for him to expire. Maybe if you die quickly enough, I'll be kind enough to put him down for you." Starscream's attractive mouth curled with a cold smile. "For old time's sake of course."
Soundwave didn't think. He couldn't, not with Rumble teetering on the edge of death. Not with his other remaining symbiotes hiding somewhere in the ship, no doubt shattered themselves. He didn't hesitate when he reached deep inside his core and grabbed the wavering tendrils of the Matrix that permeated his spark. Without mercy, he pulled them up to the surface of his cortex, threw open his bond with Optimus Prime and when the Matrix sensed his desperate need to accept its deal for power, it willingly pushed itself forward until he began to scream. His vocaliser shorted out and yet he still screamed. It was like he was being empowered and burdened simultaneously.
The sonic scream Soundwave was releasing reverberated around the cargo bay, its impressive wavelengths vibrating against every corner. It shorted out the mechanism controlling the force field and left the barrier sputtering infectively before vanishing completely. While it freed him, it also left him defenceless against all the Decepticons who wanted a piece of him. But Soundwave would not relent and he continued to scream; every audio emitter in his body pounding the air with the power he did not have and yet somehow managed to pour into courtesy of the Matrix.
The light fixtures burst into million, glittering pieces above them, leaving the enormity of the cargo bay plunging into darkness and as it turned out, no one could near Soundwave in the state he was. It was like Frenzy utilising his sonic weapons and perhaps because of his small stature, the symbiote could be defeated if one was patient and tactical enough to do so…but this was an unfathomable increase that none of them could neutralise.
Megatron was yelling but all Starscream could see were his lips drawn tightly over the large fangs and his mouth moving soundlessly. He himself was forced to cut out all input from his audio receivers lest the scream literally tore itself through his processor. His wings quivered unpleasantly as they reacted to the sound vibrations and he gestured animatedly at Megatron before deciding enough was enough. Soundwave had to be stopped so Starscream pointed his null ray at the telepath, determined to make that infernal racket stop. Next to him, Megatron was doing the same.
At first Starscream thought that the shaking underneath his thrusters was a result of the Soundwave's still on-going sonic attack. When the emergency light strips kicked in, Starscream gawked stupidly as a raging torrent of water surged into the cargo bay. He staggered forward, staring wildly at the entrance where the river of saltwater was flooding in from. While blast doors had automatically activated to stem the flow, it was obvious that the runaway Cassettes – likely Frenzy – must have tampered with the primary underwater airlock.
Amongst the chaos, Buzzsaw swooped in with his Master's signature concussion blaster held in his sharp talons. How he had retrieved it was a mystery upon itself but it was in Soundwave's waiting arms that he deposited the weapon. Soundwave flipped the rarely-used switch that set it to rapid charge and immediately aimed at Onslaught. The resulting blast was less powerful than usual, but it was enough to put the mech out of commission.
Soundwave managed a weak, triumphant grin underneath his badly dented mask – he was back in business.
Many mechs had activated their anti-gravs, eager to get out of the rush of the water and not caring about anyone else but themselves. In the meantime, Starscream was already up in the air, screeching at the Constructicons to fix the leak. The sonic scream had left a residual ringing in their audios which made all noise around them indistinguishable. It wasn't as if their optics weren't capable of differentiating objects in the din and murkiness of their surroundings but with so many large mechs rushing around trying to get out of the organic water, the situation had degenerated to bedlam.
"Plug that fragging thing up before we lose the base!"
Soundwave's time was limited and he was momentarily forgotten by all but his former leader – his former Master. Megatron was determined not to let him escape and with those hellish optics murderously fixed onto his own former third-in-command, Rumble was still sprawled out on the pedestal forgotten. Soundwave tightened his grip on his weapon when he caught a glimpse of Frenzy and Ravage slinking in from one of the panels embedded in the walls and the very sight of it renewed his fortitude to survive. He owed it to the symbiote that was currently dying, all because of his mistakes.
Even though Laserbeak had cut off all ties to Soundwave, he could still sense him. Soundwave snarled, spite twisting his spark. Laserbeak was circling around above him but Soundwave knew his former symbiote too well. He knew when Laserbeak was preparing to attack him, the exact moment and he only feigned his own counter attack because he saw Buzzsaw dive in from the corner of his optic. Laserbeak screeched when his symbiotic twin tore into his wing and he dropped like a stone into the water.
But Soundwave never felt what it was like to have the destructive nature of Megatron's fusion cannon aimed directly at him but there was always a first time. He skimmed over the water level, his damaged limbs burning with fatigue, and too much power fed by the Matrix and Megatron was relentless, firing blast after blast at him. A couple had even scoured past his plating, leaving blackened lines on his once pristine paintwork but he couldn't afford to pay them any heed.
Somewhere in the background, the klaxon started to blare the moment the blast doors slammed down at the entrance. Someone had activated the cargo bay airlock.
"Why is that opening? Stop it!"
"It won't!"
"Use the override you imbecile!"
"It's not working!"
"You fools! Don't let him—!"
Ravage's jaws clamped down around Megatron's wrist, distracting him for the few precious moments Soundwave needed to catapult off a support column and propel himself into the air. His pedes landed with an echoing clang onto the pedestal, just in time to hear Ravage's pained whimper when Megatron crushed him head first onto the seat of his throne. Then Megatron slowly straightened to his full, imposing height and the expression on his face morphed into hateful disbelief when he recognised the Matrix's unique energy signature mixed in with Soundwave's.
"Die," Megatron said simply.
Perhaps Megatron was too horrified by what he had discovered to articulate any other insult and at that precise second, he didn't need to express the sheer loathing he felt for Soundwave – the burning red in his optics portrayed that well enough. In the end, neither of them fired the first shot…Frenzy did. The symbiote's single, blasphemous blast hit Megatron's thick armour and at the same time, Soundwave fired his own dual but equally as blasphemous shots; one using his concussion rifle and the other using his mental abilities. Overwhelmed by the three simultaneous shots, Megatron stumbled backwards and though it seemed as if time had slowed around them, it truly hadn't. The water level had risen so rapidly that the pedestal shook from the very force of it and it caused him to lose balance. He fell in with an almighty splash.
"Hurry!" Frenzy hissed, making frantic movements as he stood guard by his brother's comatose body. "Let's get the fuck out of here!"
Soundwave didn't wait to see whether Megatron was going to rise up from the water like a bad nightmare and frankly he didn't want to find out. He scooped up Rumble from the floor with his good arm – somehow managing to balance both symbiote and blaster together – and pressed him against his chest. It alarmed him just how weak Rumble's spark pulsed against his own broken chestplates.
By the time the water reached the ceiling, Soundwave and his symbiotes had already swum out of the Nemesis's flooded cargo bay. Blitzwing lazily watched Buzzsaw shoot past him and the avian symbiote left a heated wash of water and a fountain of bubbles in the wake of his thrusters. The massive Triplechanger was practically basking underwater, floating quite happily outside the ship's hull just where the maw of the airlock gaped open.
"Yo Astroboy," he comm'ed to his fellow Triplechanger and smirked when an unsuspecting fish swam close to his face, lured in by the glow of his optics. He jerked his helm forward just to watch it dart away.
"Slag it, don't call me that!" A pause. "There, line encrypted. Did they manage to escape?"
"Yah they did. First time I ever saw ole' Sounders swim that fast." Blitzwing glanced around him and balked when he thought he saw the gaudy colours of a Constructicon or two swimming towards him. Not wanting to be roped into any repair work, Blitzwing fired up his own thrusters to low power and turned the opposite way. "You disabled the exterior cameras right?" he asked over the line. "Dun want dear leader or his screechy mistress finding out that it was me who manually activated the cargo bay's airlock."
Astrotrain purred. "Why? You always look so sexy fighting in a ring…"
"Cut it out and see if the washracks are empty. Salt's already making my circuits itch."
"No can do. Megatron's screamin' the place down. You better get your aft in here quick before he notices you're missing."
Blitzwing visibly slumped. He couldn't very well turn back to the Constructicons now and beg them for work without making them suspicious with his out-of-character offer of generosity. Anything was better than being around a psychopathically furious Megatron.
"Fuck."
"Haha I'm having so much fun," Astrotrain chortled, completely oblivious to Blitzwing's predicament. "Megs just punched 'Screamer in the face. Classic stuff, I tell ya."
- 6
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