Chapter Text
Shockwave began his work the day he woke from recharge to find his internal repair had given him back his vision. It wasn’t that he didn’t have time to waste; quite the opposite, he had nothing but time. It was just as the old adage said: idle servos were Unicron’s playthings.
Keeping busy distracted him from his plight. It helped him focus on something other than the fact that he had been abandoned here, left for dead. And there was important work to be done.
If not for his current project, Shockwave would have no reason to count the passing days. If not for needing to document the process, he would never know how long he’d been here in solitude.
Days passed. Then weeks. Months. He kept track of his progress, kept track of every failure. He recycled prototypes into fuel, dissected them for parts, and he tried again.
The cloning project was his focus for many reasons. Shockwave had no one to argue these reasons with, but he was prepared just in case anyone else ever showed up. Cloning a powerful Predacon warrior would serve to give the Decepticons an edge in battle. It would help them understand Predacons better by observing the creature’s habits and functions, thus preserving potentially lost history.
It gave Shockwave the possibility of company. Despite the solitude being good for his work, Shockwave was concerned how it would affect his mind long term. Scientists were not necessarily social creatures, but the lack of assistants, the lack of other EMF and bodies would no doubt begin to wear down even the sharpest minds after a time.
Success was liberating. Shockwave didn’t get his hopes too high as he observed the tiny life growing within the tank, but he allowed himself to inwardly celebrate that it had survived beyond its initial kindling.
Fuel was as scarce as supplies, but he split what he had between himself and the Predacon. It grew quickly thanks to the strong cybernucleic acid formula that Shockwave had created. The building blocks had been provided, and the energon helped push things along.
It was the size of a turbofox when Shockwave finally woke it from stasis. Within the tank, it stirred for the first time, blinked open amber optics and focused on him. There was a light of sentience there within them; it would have been madness to assume a race as powerful as the Predacons had been nothing more than mindless beasts.
Sharp talons pressed into the glass of the tank, scraping uselessly as the Predacon sought freedom.
“You are already strong.” Shockwave said aloud. He moved closer and pressed his servo to the outside of the tank. The Predacon’s mandibles quivered and it surged against the glass, causing pride to fill Shockwave’s field. “Good. You will need this strength in the days to come.”
The beast grew quickly despite meager rations. Shockwave tried to keep it in stasis as much as possible, seeing as he had but one tank to hold it in. He couldn’t afford for it to be damaged. There simply weren’t enough supplies left in the immediate vicinity to build another.
Shockwave fit it with a stasis collar in preparation for the day he let it out of the tank for the first time. A week after it seemed to have stopped growing, he finally released it.
It was time to see what his creation was made of.
Its first instinct was to attack him, which wasn’t unexpected. The Predacon didn’t see him through the optics of one looking at a parental unit.
Wings dripping with fluid from the tank unfurled behind it and it advanced on shaking legs. Mandibles twitching, optics narrowed, the Predacon let out a deep growl.
“You are prepared to defend yourself. Good. These are logical instincts.” Shockwave said. It circled him as he spoke, and he did his best to keep from putting his back to it. “ I am Shockwave. I am your creator. I am your-”
Before he could finish his sentence, the Predacon lunged at him with a furious squeal. Shockwave automatically activated the stasis collar and the beast collapsed to the floor in front of him, strutless.
“I am your master.” Shockwave said in a calm tone. “You will do as you are told.”
The Predacon growled in response and looked up at him balefully.
“Come here.” Shockwave said, pointing to the floor directly in front of him. He deactivated the stasis collar and watched carefully.
Mandibles flared and the Predacon narrowed its optics at him. It remained where it was, still but for its restlessly twitching tail.
“You will do as you are told.” Shockwave repeated. “Come here. Now.”
Still no movement. The Predacon stared at him with intensity, but continued blatantly ignoring his demand. Shockwave tilted his helm to the side, single red optic fixed on the beast.
“I wish to form a partnership based in respect, so I am giving you the chance to approach me rather than going to you and giving you the impression that I am backing you into a corner.” He informed the Predacon.
Finials twitched and the Predacon mirrored the tilt of his helm. Its wings lowered slightly, then it pushed itself up on its legs and took a hesitant step forward.
It seemed to understand what he was saying, though it could have simply been reacting to the tone of his voice. Shockwave continued to observe as the Predacon made its way towards him and sat just out of reach.
Shockwave raised his hand again and pointed at the floor directly at his pedes. The Predacon snorted and tossed its helm.
“Very well. Then we will compromise.” Shockwave said, closing the distance. The Predacon chose not to attack again, though it rumbled out a quiet threat.
He stretched his hand out towards it and it growled a little more loudly. He attempted to place his servo on the Predacon’s head. With a squealing hiss, it lashed out, snapping its jaws closed just short of Shockwave’s hand as he hastily drew it back.
“Hm.” Shockwave mused. “You will do well not to bite the hand that feeds you.” He said.
Reaching into his subspace, Shockwave brought out an energon goodie. Most living beings, no matter how sapient they were, responded well to food.
“Sit.” He demanded.
The Predacon continued to stand and stare at him. Its threat display had yet to diminish. Its optics shifted slightly to look at the goodies that Shockwave had in his hand.
“Down.” Shockwave said, and he activated the collar. The Predacon dropped to the floor again with a light of frustration in its optics. “Good.”
Leaning down, Shockwave placed a treat on the floor directly in front of the Predacon’s mandibles. He released the hold of the collar, and as the Predacon scrambled to its pedes again, he very quickly said, “up.”
Another treat was offered along with the first, but the Predacon didn’t immediately take them. It looked at the treats, then up at Shockwave, its optics narrowing suspiciously.
When Shockwave made no move to take the treats and remained stationary as the Predacon reached forward for them, they were quickly devoured.
“Good.” Shockwave repeated with a nod. “Down.” When the Predacon didn’t respond immediately, he activated the collar again.
This time, there was no frustration in the Predacon’s optics. Instead, there was a light of understanding.
Shockwave gave the Predacon another reward and once again deactivated the collar. The Predacon looked up at him expectantly and Shockwave nodded in approval. “Up.” He said, and the Predacon rose and snatched the treat off the floor.
Shockwave held out another and waited to see what the Predacon would do. After a brief hesitation, it eased forward and reached for the treat. It didn’t break optic contact with Shockwave as it took the energon goodie in its mouth and tugged it sharply away.
“Very good.” Shockwave praised with another nod and a pleased pulse of his field.
It wasn’t so much that Shockwave tamed the Predacon. It was more that they came to an understanding. The Predacon seemed to know that it needed Shockwave to survive. He was the beast’s food source at the very least.
The lab was running low on supplies. Since Shockwave had been unable to contact any other Cybertronians, he suspected he might be the last one remaining on Cybertron, or at the very least the last one in this area. That meant if he wanted something, he needed to go out and get it for himself.
Taking the Predacon out into the ruins above his lab was less for his protection and more to gauge whether or not the beast would obey him outside the confines of their living space. Also, Shockwave was eager to determine whether or not the Predacon had the instinct to use those mighty wings of theirs.
It didn’t take off into the sky immediately when they came out of the lab, but it did stop short and stare upward. Its finials flicked, its optics burned bright, and its tail twitched.
“You will remain close to me. Within my line of sight.” Shockwave told it.
It didn’t take its gaze from the sky above, but it tilted its helm the way it often did when it appeared to be listening to him.
It was a scraplet that got it to stop staring. Shockwave straightened up after reaching to shift some rubble on the ground so he could retrieve what appeared to be a power source from one of the gaming booths that had once been in service in the now defunct amusement park his lab sat below. The Predacon was no longer gazing upward, it was now staring in rapt fascination at the ground. It had its helm lowered onto its front limbs, its tail swishing sharply from side to side and its wings tucked tight against its frame.
It pounced forward, mandibles spread wide and jaw snapping. Shockwave watched as the scraplet it had failed to catch began to flee, watched it give chase.
When the scraplet managed to move out of line of sight, the Predacon skid to a halt. The agitated twitching of its tail didn’t cease, but it didn’t move around the corner to continue its chase.
Shockwave was impressed. Even out in the open, even without the promise of food, the Predacon was obeying him.
He scanned the area for any workable supplies. Power sources, precious metals, scrap that could be repurposed, any of it would be convenient. The old amusement park his lab resided beneath was still riddled with useful things he hadn’t yet looted.
The Predacon let out a low, warbling sound that may have been warning or threat. Shockwave looked over at it, his finials laid back. It was still staring in the direction the scraplet had fled, but it was now standing rather than sitting.
The plates along its back were flared and quivered with agitation. Its wings flared out behind it as if it attempted to make itself look larger. Perhaps the scraplet had summoned a swarm? Perhaps there was an Insecticon nearby.
“The odds of something picking a fight with you are low.” Shockwave said. His words did nothing to make the Predacon lower its guard.
With a roll of his shoulders, Shockwave went back to work. He gathered a few rods of highly conductive metal that he could use for several different tasks around the lab. He found a couple not yet depleted power sources in a carnival game booth that had been crushed. He pried off a few metal plates from the side of a ticket booth that seemed relatively free from dents.
Once again, the Predacon let out a sound of warning. It hissed and arched its back, its tail flicked from side to side sharply.
“If all you’re going to do is make noise at the darkness, you could at least-” Shockwave began in mild irritation. His words cut short when the ground shook beneath his pedes, nearly knocking him off balance.
It appeared that perhaps there was indeed something keen on picking a fight with the Predacon.
Shrieking as it backed up a little to put itself between the as of yet unseen threat and Shockwave, the Predacon was answered by a much louder, more powerful shrill, metallic scream.
Whatever made the sound was larger than the Predacon itself. It was also moving towards them swiftly, if the distant rubble being displaced was any indication.
Shockwave had encountered something of this size in the past. He had never seen it, but while scavenging for supplies, he had heard something moving around and felt the ground shake. He’d made himself scarce after that, lay low as to not attract unwanted attention. His assumption was that it was a large Insecticon, very large.
What rose up out of the wreckage of the amusement park was not an Insecticon, at least not any that he was familiar with. It looked to be a massive worm with a gaping maw for a face, a great many tentacles extending from the thick length of its frame. Two sets of glowing, sickly yellow optics adorned the sides of what served as its helm, and more optics seemed to ring the bladed intake that opened to emit another piercing howl.
It towered over them both, but the Predacon seemed hardly intimidated. In fact, the appearance of the beast seemed to make it more determined to put itself firmly between it and Shockwave.
This seemed to be the perfect opportunity to put his Predacon to the test.
The Predacon howled right back at the worm, armour flared to make it look bigger. It took in a deep breath, then what looked like a molten ball, glowing so hot that the light was visible through the Predacon’s plating, rolled up out of its throat and erupted from its open mouth as a geyser of flames as it exhaled.
The flames engulfed the behemoth, but seconds later a barrage of cables erupted from the heat and smoke and drove towards the Predacon with fury.
Turning, the Predacon swept a few of the cables away with its tail. Another became trapped beneath one of its wickedly clawed pedes. Two more were seized in powerful jaws and shaken vigorously. The worm was screaming, thrashing.
It wrapped several cables around the Predacon, and then it threw itself to the ground and began to roll in an attempt to extinguish the flames. As a result, the Predacon was dragged from the ground and wound up dangling in the air above the creature.
Shockwave dove out of the way when one of those cables came crawling across the ground towards him. He rolled to his knees and took aim with his fusion cannon. As the serrated claws at the end of the cable drove toward his helm, he opened fire.
The worm screamed, but whether it was due to the successful shot he had taken or whatever the Predacon was managing to do while still suspended above the creature, Shockwave wasn’t certain. The ground was shaking from its weight as it continued to thrash.
It gripped the Predacon tightly in one cable and slammed it onto the ground before seizing it by the tail and dragging it , smashing it into the side of a nearby building that hadn’t been completely flattened yet.
The Predacon was howling in fury. According to the remote sensors that Shockwave had installed to monitor its vitals, it wasn’t badly hurt. Its spark rate was elevated and its battle systems were all online. With all of its efforts, all the worm was doing was making the Predacon very angry.
All four feet shredding the cables that were clutching it, the Predacon tore its way free from the worm’s grip. As it dropped, it twisted in the air, spread its massive wings and managed to glide its way back to the ground. From there, it began launching a volley of fireballs.
The worm thrashed its helm back and forth and screeched loudly. Its cables retracted, but it wasn’t done fighting yet. It drove its gaping maw down in an attempt to swallow the Predacon, but the beast darted out of the way.
It was knocked off balance by the tremors caused by the worm’s impact and went into a graceless roll, but the second it came to a stop it was on its feet again and racing back into the fray. It leapt onto the worm’s helm and went for its many optics.
Shockwave brought his cannon up but didn’t fire. He would wait… if his Predacon didn’t need help, he wasn’t going to offer it.
With a hard flick of the upper half of its body, the worm once again sent the Predacon flying. This time, after crashing through several half demolished buildings, the Predacon didn’t immediately rise.
Half blinded and bleeding heavily from its shredded cables, the worm continued to make its misery known very loudly. It began slamming its heavy frame down on the ground in an attempt to crush the enemies it could no longer clearly see.
Shockwave looked from the worm to the rubble where the Predacon lay. He got to his pedes and moved towards its prone form, keeping his optic on the worm just in case it went back on the offensive.
Just before he reached the Predacon, it burst its way out of the rubble with a roar of challenge, wings spread and helm thrown back. The worm turned itself towards them, its answering shriek taking on a choked note.
Tilting its bladed maw towards the sky, it belched forth a glittering stream that seemed to seethe and shift. A cacophony of chitters, squeaks and trills filled the air as the stream spiralled upward, then arked overhead and moved straight towards Shockwave and the Predacon. It took Shockwave a few seconds to recognize what the sounds belonged to.
Scraplets. The worm had been infested with them.
The Predacon hissed furiously, its mandibles quivered. It extended its wings to either side, used one of them to shield Shockwave, then unleashed a gout of flames that were so hot they were almost white.
The flames met the oncoming horde. There was the pinging sound of heated metal coupled with the screech and pop of scraplets succumbing to the heat. The hiss of fluids evaporating rapidly combined with a scent that was a grave offense to the olfactory sensors.
Shockwave wasn’t certain how long the Predacon would be able to keep this up. It was young, it had been fighting a much larger enemy, and its fuel levels were beginning to drop. He had to get them both out of here in one piece, get them back to the relative safety of the lab.
He reached up and seized one of the larger spikes on the Predacon’s back, then hauled himself astride it. It automatically angled its wings to continue shielding him from the view of the scraplets.
“It would be in our best interest to retreat.” Shockwave told it, speaking loudly to be heard above the roaring of the flames and the death screeches of the scraplets.
A growl rippled up from the Predacon, it reverberated through Shockwave’s frame. Its claws scraped against the ground it stood upon and its optics narrowed. The flames didn’t let up.
“I understand your desire to destroy the enemy, and it is an admirable trait. However, should we remain here, we will both be consumed. Return to the lab, as quickly as you can manage.” Shockwave instructed firmly.
The Predacon stomped one of its pedes and growled again. But it prepared another ball of flame and spat it at the straggling but plentiful scraplets as it began to backpedal away from the pile of molten slag it had created.
The scraplets swarmed about aimlessly, their ability to sense heat signatures temporarily interrupted by the force of the flames. The Predacon snarled in their direction before turning and beginning to run.
Shockwave hung on tightly, aimed his fusion cannon behind him and fired a few times. More of the scraplets scattered. As he watched, they fell back, regrouped and then dove back into the still open intake of the worm. Once the last of them was back within it, the worm rose and dove straight through the softened metal where the remains of the scraplets were scattered.
The ground began to ripple and Shockwave realized the worm was chasing them. It could feel the vibrations of the Predacon’s footsteps.
“We need to be airborne.” Shockwave said with a greater hint of urgency in his voice. “Are you able to-”
Before he could finish the question, the ground beneath them erupted and they were tossed into the air. Shockwave felt the hot, stinking breath wafting from the intake of the worm as it reared up under them, heard the whirr of the saw blades and felt oral lubricant spatter his frame.
He clawed at the Predacon’s back, trying to keep his grip on it as it tumbled through the air with a shriek of surprise and alarm. Several of the spines along the Predacon’s back broke through his heavy plates and pierced lines and protoflesh beneath, but they helped keep him from falling into the worm’s eager jaws so Shockwave could hardly complain.
For a few dizzying seconds, he and the Predacon were spinning through the air. The sickening kaleidoscope of sky and ground and seemingly endless rows of teeth beneath them made him glad he no longer possessed the ability to purge.
Then he was upright and those wings were fanned out on either side of him. Shockwave tightened his grip to the point it it left dents in the Predacon’s armour, and they were darting through the air and away from the worm.
The fight hadn’t had a clear winner. Shockwave was pleased nonetheless. The Predacon hadn’t backed down, even when he’d told it too. Reckless, fearless, but fierce.
When they’d gotten back to the lab, both of them with their vents heaving and cooling fans blasting, Shockwave had waited to descend from the Predacon’s back. He didn’t trust his legs not to buckle beneath him, and he didn’t trust his beast not to turn on him should the battle lust still be coursing through its lines.
But he was bleeding, and so was the Predacon. He needed to see to their wounds and get the Predacon some fuel before its levels became too low.
So Shockwave attempted to slide himself carefully down off of the Predacon’s back, finding that his thigh was impaled by one of the spikes there. He assessed, then extricated himself as carefully as possible so he didn’t sever anything important.
It hurt. The second his pedes touched the floor, Shockwave scrabbled with his servo at the Predacon’s side to keep himself upright as his injured leg creaked in protest.
The Predacon swung its helm around with a low croon, and since it was much easier to grip onto one of the horns atop it, Shockwave used it for support instead.
Legs trembling with the effort of holding his bulky frame up, Shockwave quickly began an internal diagnostic. He didn’t think the damage was severe. It didn’t even hurt that much. He figured his reaction was more emotional than physical, and that made his plates ruffle in annoyance.
Brilliant amber optics peered up at him. Heated air vented against his frame and the Predacon rumbled. Its EMF rippled against Shockwave’s in clear concern. After a moment of hesitation, Shockwave released the horn he was gripping and gently placed his servo atop the Predacon’s helm. He stroked the plating there and the resulting purr that issued forth made him repeat the gesture a few more times.
“You performed admirably.” Shockwave said, and this time there was pleasure and pride in the field pressed into his own. “My only critique is a result of your reluctance to follow my orders.”
A chuff and a nibble of the armour of his uninjured leg. Shockwave pat the Predacon in reply.
The wounds that the Predacon had sustained were fairly mild. Shockwave saw to them immediately, made sure the beast was comfortable. The task might have been easier if the Predacon wasn’t so insistent on ‘grooming’ him in return.
“That is not at all necessary.” Shockwave said in mild irritation as he shoved the Predacon’s helm away from a scrape along his cannon arm that the beast was licking. “My internal repair can take care of it.”
With a muffled warble of frustration, the Predacon nudged him firmly with its helm and made him rock back a step.
“I do not require such attention.” Shockwave wasn’t sure explaining it was going to work, but he was inclined to try. The Predacon was obviously much more intelligent than he first realized. “It’s merely surface damage. Nothing lasting.”
The Predacon snuffled at his frame, a growl rose up from it. It nipped at him with its mandibles and Shockwave ex-vented in defeat.
“Is this affection?” He asked as he raised his servo to stroke its helm. It was illogical of course. He was this Predacon’s creator, in a manner of speaking, but that didn’t mean it had to show him affection. It was an experiment, not a pet.
It tilted its helm into his touch and the sound that bubbled up from its chest could only be described as a purr. Shockwave continued stroking it in fascination.
It was a thinking, feeling thing. Affection shouldn’t have been so unusual. Perhaps it was his surprise that made it seem so.
“Do not grow used to this.” Shockwave said, hoping his tone conveyed how serious he was. “You did a good job today. This can be your reward if that is what you wish.”
The Predacon butt its helm against him again, pressed against his frame hard enough to unbalance him again. Shockwave grunted, shook his helm in disbelief.
“That’s enough.” He said, but with a hint of fondness in his voice. He shouldn’t allow himself to get attached. The Predacon hadn’t exactly won the fight, as he had previously observed, so there was a chance it could lose the next one. He would have to start over… forming attachments with what was a potentially expendable experiment was illogical.