Chapter Text
Soundwave
___________
Soundwave sits on the cliff above the canyon of their newest Energon mine. A few Eradicons mill about below him but most of them are just to guard the mine until the equipment is moved from the main one. Rarely does he get to leave the Nemesis not on an assignment. Although he’s still connected to the ships systems, he’s not on duty. Any planet they have encountered, he’s always preferred the surface, due to being a miner and in the gladiator pits on Cybertron for nearly his whole function.
Even on Cybertron, he snuck up to the surface to watch the aurora’s that seemed to be a constant. Earth has auroras but only in certain solar cycles. Earth has white clouds casted against the blue sky, each of the clouds are some different shape. He’d never had the opportunity to watch Cybertron’s clouds if the planet even had them.
Laserbeak’s chirrs come from above him and he glances up to the symbiont. Most would classify her as a drone. She rarely lets out her personality when around others, more so now than when her siblings were in their frame. He frowns slightly as he thinks about the other symbionts. He missed them deeply but unlike most deactivations, hosts and symbionts share a unique bond. Neither one can truly deactivate. If the symbiont deactivates, a part of their spark is kept within the hosts spark. If the host deactivates the symbiont becomes the new host until both sparks can survive being split. Most don’t understand how host and symbiont can both be the same yet both individual.
Once the war is finished, he hopes to be able to find a mech that he could create a new frame for the others with. If he truly needed to, he could use different additives in his Energon to substitute that material he would get from the spark merge of another. It has the downside of creating brittle frames. His previous donor for the originals was Megatron, but since the introduction of Dark Energon in the other’s frame, he doesn’t wish for that to be introduced into the symbionts.
Currently the only one he would even consider on Earth would be Knock Out and even then he would be hesitant. Unless . . . No he wouldn’t even follow that thread.
Laserbeak chirps as a gust of wind causes her to pitch to the right and almost somersault. He smirks at her angry pulse of the wind. The anger is replaced with joy when she catches a current that sends her up into the clouds. Even though he enjoys flying with her, he’d rather relax on the ground, for now.
Bumblebee
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Bumblebee speeds down the road, he’s still on medical leave from the previous battle but that only meant he couldn’t actively search for trouble. If trouble found him, well, that was a different thing. The clouds lazily drift over roof as he drifts around the turn.
There’s been no activity with the Decepticons since the last battle. It’s too much hope to think that they finally stopped doing what they do. He knows exactly where he wants to race, where no Decepticon will find him because of the high walls. His Spark signature and Energon signature will be dampened. Only his comm frequency would be detectable to the Hanger’s system if he needed a ground bridge.
Entering the canyon mouth, the dust rises up behind his bumper as he speeds through and drifts around the turns. Engine purring and echoing, it sounds like a roaring hive of angry bees and he chuckles internally at that.
After a few hours and the sun drops to make the canyon floor constant shadow, he comes to a stop. The dust surrounds him for a moment until he hears the sounds of other Cybertronians. He transforms slowly, quieting his transformation. If he can hear them, they’d hear him. The only Cybertronians out here would be Decepticons. There’s no doubt about that. Of course, they would only be Eradicons. He could, even injured, fight off them with minor exhaustion. As long as it’s not a complete squadron of them and if they didn’t immediately call for reinforcements.
He slips around the canyon walls until he spots an Eradicon standing outside a tunnel. They were creating a new mine. Looks like they are just now drilling pathways. Only five Eradicons at most. He could take them. Slipping closer to the first guarding Eradicon, he grabs the drone and drops the frame easily enough. Moving on to the second guard who is positioned just inside the opening of the tunnel. The drone makes no noise as it falls.
Just before he enters the tunnel, he hears a screech. Energon running cold as he glances up to see the dark frame of Laserbeak in the sky circling overhelm. Where Laserbeak is, Soundwave is. Scrap.
He runs into the tunnel to hide as the remaining Eradicon’s call to one another about an intruder. Great job finding trouble, Bee. He goes to open his comm for a ground bridge but finds something blocking it.
Great. Now there’s no escaping. There’s no way of him even remotely getting out unscathed with a fight with Soundwave. He sighs, Ratchet really will weld his aft to the berth now.
The only option would be to hide farther into the mine and hope that the Decepticons give up after not finding him. Laserbeak’s cry echoes in the cavern and his spark pulses as if it’s about to jump out of his chestplates.
Moving to the farther wall, he hears Soundwave’s unhurried steps enter the tunnel system. Scrap, scrap, scrap. He is so smelted. With every step he glances at his next step, it wouldn’t do to make a noise, Soundwave would hear him. Pit Soundwave may even already know where he is right now and just be toying with him. He ducks behind a few crates when he hears Laserbeak flying through the tunnel leading to him. He’s heard stories of the other drones Soundwave had. One was a feline and he’s so glad that one isn’t hunting him.
Deeper in the tunnels the darker it gets until he gets to a cavern with glowing blue Energon crystals. Nothing in the cavern allows him to hide and he hears the others approaching. At least they shouldn’t shoot at him because of the Energon crystals. Hopefully.
Readying his blasters just in case, Soundwave and Laserbeak appear in the opening. Soundwave stops short of actually entering the cavern. The Eradicons raise their blasters as Laserbeak flies in.
“Surrender” one of the Eradicons shout. In a moment the sound of a blaster charges and within a pulse Soundwave is lunging towards him and the crystal Energon explodes around him.
Darkness surrounds him before he even feels Soundwave’s attack.
Chapter Text
Soundwave
_______
Pain radiates through his frame. A weak pain comes through the bond and he finds Laserbeak a few pedes before him, frame broken into pieces. His spark pulses painfully. He can’t lose Laserbeak too. How will he continue his function in the Decepticons? Laserbeak, all of the symbionts were his optics outside of his frame. It would take at least two of this planet’s years to create a new symbiont on his own.
Unless he went to Knock Out with a contract. He’d have a symbiont within the year. He moves to Laserbeak, a soft whine escapes her frame and he cradles her core to his chestplates. They part under her frame as hers does. Her spark leaves the damaged frame and returns to her siblings around his spark. Her frame grays in his arms and he sets it down. Noise nearby nearly makes him jump as he remembers the yellow Autobot.
Of course he couldn’t mourn her loss alone. Glancing around he frowns as he doesn’t see the Energon crystals around them anymore. Instead, he sees a lush forest and bright blue sky, further inspection of the sky reveals the sky is actually blue Energon crystals glowing. They coat the whole cavern ceiling.
Is this what’s under all of their mines? An underground world.
Could this be because of the abnormal quantities of Cybertronian matter their sensors pick up? Is this how early Cybertron looked? Off in the distances he sees the shimmer of crystals.
The yellow Autobot groans, stealing his attention once more. Blue optics meet his visor and they spend a few pulses staring at one another.
“So . . . are we fighting?” the yellow Autobot buzzes. Right, this one cannot speak in glyphs. The blue optics wander from him and around their surroundings. “What is this place? Are we under the Energon mine?”
He gives a single nod. Frowning slightly at the error that comes up with accessing the recordings archive. If he couldn’t access the recordings he’s made, communication with the yellow bot will be hard. Unless . . . unless he uses his own voice which he only used with the symbionts. They were the only ones who didn’t seem to be entranced by it. Sometimes he used his own voice recordings but those too were in the archive.
Watching the yellow bot, the mech stands and tries to walk around but the moment the other puts any of his weight on his left leg, it crumples under the pressure. He watches the yellow mech fall to the ground with a huff. Turning his gaze to their surroundings, he could leave the Autobot here, scour the ceiling for a way out. But shouldn’t he explore this cavern and see what all is in here? If it benefits the Decepticons, they will want to keep it from the Autobots at all cost.
The Autobot stands again and limps a few pedes before sighing.
“Here I was just getting healed from the last fight,” the mech lets out long sad beeps.
He frowns, that battle was more than a month ago, all of the Decepticons injured are completely healed and cleared for duty. How is this Autobot not fine? What is he doing scouting when he’s not even been cleared for duty? That’s unlike the Autobot medic to allow an injured mech out into the field.
“You have Laserbeak scouting for an escape?” the Autobot asks, his spark pulses painfully at the other’s beeps. He turns his helm left to right slowly in a shake of his helm. The blue optics land on the grey frame lying on the ground. The other’s wings droop. “Oh.”
He starts to walk down the clear path, not that it is actually a path made by anything. The yellow Autobot makes a noise, and he glances back to see the other picking up the pieces of Laserbeak’s frame. He tilts his helm slightly at the action.
“Don’t you need the parts to repair the drone, or build a new one?” the yellow Autobot asks. He frowns under the mask. Of course, the stupid Autobot only thought of her as a drone. Spark pulsing in anger, he continues heading down the path without a glance over his shoulder. “Hey wait up!”
He would like to say their journey was made in silence, instead it’s filled with the occasional groan from the Autobot. At least the whimpering ‘slow down’ has stopped. After a few hours, he glances over his shoulder to see the Autobot barely within view of him. He slows his pace slightly, watching the mech limp after him. Maybe he could go easier on the injured mech. He may need him later if the Autobots find them.
If the Decepticons find them, then he’d just be a bargaining chip in keeping this place for Decepticon use. As they pass the fauna, he feels more and more like they shouldn’t tell their factions about this place. War decimated Cybertron. It’s destroying Earth. What would it do to this place that seems to have been untouched until they arrived here.
Reaching out to one of the plants, his long digits run over a crystal-like leaf. The Autobot steps up beside him to watch as the glow spreads along the leaf’s structure. “That’s so amazing. Wonder if Cybertron ever had anything like it.”
He frowns as he glances to the Autobot without moving his helm. Why wouldn’t the Autobot know if Cybertron had this plant? The Autobot would have been a surface dweller, not a miner or gladiator.
“When I came online, everything was pretty much all gone,” the Autobot says and does turn his helm towards the yellow and black mech. Was this mech that young to have been created after the war started? Could the mech just be swayed with what he was told about Decepticons? Is there a way to sway him towards the Decepticons? If not fully then partially.
He nearly jerks when his host coding supplies him with the statistics of creating symbionts with the Autobot being the spark donor. He knows nothing about the mech other than his designation is Bumblebee and that he’s one of the Primes most trusted soldiers.
“I don’t know about you but I’m getting tired,” the Autobot says. “We should make camp soon.”
He doesn’t respond and continues, smirking slightly at the Autobot’s exasperated groan. They make camp less than a half hour later under some tree canopy. What predators lurk in the outskirts of their perception? The Autobot falls into recharge the moment his frame is stable on the ground and slumps the rest of the way. He stays online, whatever is out there could find them and make a quick meal of the injured mech. Although he doesn’t care for the incessant noise, he wouldn’t want to be down here alone. Especially without his symbionts.
The noises around them remind him of the times he snuck to the surface at the beginning of the conflicts between lower caste and higher. The sounds of mechanimals and the nature unperturbed by the dealings of mechanoids. Taking in a vent, he sighs as he leans up against the tree trunk of a crystal tree. The slight hum vibrates through his frame and he offlines his optics for a pulse to feel it fill him.
He onlines his optics, from what only feels like a moment, his chronometer reads otherwise to the Autobot groaning and tossing and turning. Watching the mech struggle, he hums slightly, just enough to be amplified by the surrounding crystals to calm the mech from the recharge flux.
Watching the mech return to peaceful recharge, he glances around their shelter for any optics or eyes watching them to find none. Strange, even with the mech’s Energon trail, there should be at least a few scavenging mechanimals after them. Could it be that they are the only creatures down here and all of this is just plants?
Optics falling shut once more, he falls into his own recharge flux. One of Megatron and him and the creation of Ravage. Megatron was always curious about the symbionts. How they worked. How much they were sentient. How much they were connected to him. That curiosity soon turned into questioning their skills during the first part of the war. Could they infiltrate buildings and report back. Could they fight or were they merely only for reconnaissance. What happened if they were injured. Could they be deactivated.
He had been hesitant with the last questions. He knew they could be deactivated. Knew the pain it would cause his spark and the lack of information for his processor. When they were deactivated, one by one, they left a hole in his spark and a black spot in his helm. The other symbionts had to compensate. But now that there are none, he feels his sense of reality unravelling. Soon he may not be able to even function the correct way. His senses are dulled, the information about their surroundings is blurry. If the Autobot wanted to strike him down, this would be the opportune moment.
Bumblebee
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He onlines to the sound of birds singing and the leaves rustling in the wind. Why would he fall into recharge outside not in alt-mode. Onlining his optics, he sees the soft blue glow of the Energon crystal ceiling and the crystal leaves of the canopy of their shelter. He half expects to be alone where he recharges but he sees Soundwave propped up against a crystal tree. Did the mech stay online watching over them? He can’t tell if Soundwave is in recharge or online and he really doesn’t want to get blasted by appearing threatening.
“Soundwave,” he beeps, nothing happens, and he shifts to sit up. No movement from Soundwave comes. He stares at the stoic mech. When will he ever get this opportunity to study the mech again? He shifts closer and closer until he doesn’t want to risk making the other online.
Soundwave’s frame is thin, and he can hardly believe the stories of the mech being a gladiator are true. How could this mech before him go up against Megatron and not deactivate. Even Optimus has difficulty fighting the tyrant some days.
It’s strange not seeing Laserbeak’s frame on the other’s chestplates. The way Soundwave reacted to him calling the other a drone, maybe there’s more to them than drones. Could they have been their own sparks?
While the other is in recharge, Soundwave doesn’t look so scary. He actually looks normal. Inching closer, he gets close enough to barely touch the other’s frame. Unlike Ratchet and Optimus’ warm frame when he was young and scared, Soundwave’s is cold as if the mech produces no heat. Surely every bot produces heat. Moving away, he frowns slightly to himself thinking about Optimus and Ratchet. He was created after the war, his spark creators left him. He was eventually found by a medic, who he later found out was Ratchet. He’d watch Ratchet with interest and learned about the medic’s hidden relationship to the Prime. He’d always wanted that kind of family, always wanted someone to love him. No one in the Autobots he’d consider getting close to. Bulkhead and Wheeljack seemed close and Arcee is more like an aunt or sister to him. Smokescreen is only a friend.
He never thought of looking at the Decepticons that way but sitting here in the silence with Soundwave, who is not trying to attack him, he could picture it. Really, he’s never seen Soundwave deactivate a mech. Soundwave only incapacitated and left their fights.
Wincing as he moves his leg and pain races up his sensors, he whimpers slightly. Why wouldn’t Soundwave leave him to deactivate? Why would the other go at a slower pace to keep him around? Is he a hostage? Should he try and run? Where would he run to? Could he get far enough away? How powerful is Soundwave without his minions?
Soundwave shifts causing him to jump and watch the silent mech. Did he suffer and injury like him? Or did Soundwave never speak? Did he even have a face underneath the visor? Is he actually a mech? Or is he the drone and the others were the real Cybertronians? He grits his denta as Soundwave motions for him to stand and they continue on their way to who knows where. Soundwave didn’t seem to know about this place. Maybe they’re going to be lost for eternity.
Chapter Text
Soundwave
_________
He onlines when the other moves closer to him, his field goes farther than a normal mech’s field. So, when the Autobot reaches a few pedes from his frame, he is aware of the other approaching hesitantly. He allows the other to touch his frame, there’s no malice in the other’s action and he gets to observe the scout. For all the scout knew, he is online and watching every move. Blue optics turn darker in sadness as if the scout is thinking back on something. Eventually the scout moves away, pained noises barely audible reach his sensitive audios.
The Autobot won’t last much longer without fuel and medical attention. Surely if they continue the inclined path, they will reach a cave entrance and reach the surface. Although he shed his exoskeletal armor when they left Cybertron, his frame is not weak. His data-cables are strong enough to drill through rock and lift nearly any debris away. Are their factions looking for them? Are they missed? He glances behind his shoulder to see the scout struggling to keep up and he stops to allow the other to walk up beside him. Blue optics glance to his visor.
Before he realizes it, he’s holding out his arm for the scout to take. The yellow Autobot glances down before threading himself into his hold and he tries to take most of the smaller mech’s weight off the injured leg. Their journey is considerably slowed, and he watches the small crystal-like birds hop from branch to branch. Did they have to leave here? If they found shelter and fuel, would they need to return to the war? The Decepticons would surely lose eventually. Without him keeping everything on track, they would become disorganized and fall apart, allowing the Autobots the advantage.
Cybertronians would go back to the caste system, but he and Bumblebee would have this paradise to themselves. Free from hiding from the humans, free from government. Free to be themselves. Bumblebee is similar to Knock Out in aspects of speed and agility. Bumblebee’s personality seems to be more tolerable than the medic’s. Surely, he could convince the other to share sparks and coding for him to recreate his symbionts. Within this paradise, he will not have to lose them again. They could be a family. A family that he dreamed of with Megatron but never got.
“Your little minions aren’t drones, are they?” Bumblebee’s beeps nearly make him jolt from the silence of their journey. He glances to the scout out of the corner of his optics before shaking his helm slowly. “They’re more than minions too, aren’t they?”
A nod comes and their journey returns to their comfortable silence.
“We should have a ceremony for Laserbeak, you know to remember her by,” Bumblebee says, he frowns and turns his helm to the mech. He shakes his helm before pressing his servo to his chestplates. “Oh, sorry. You don’t do that for them?”
He shakes his helm once more and taps his digits to his chestplates, right over his spark. Bumblebee makes an undiscernible noise making him tilt his helm. He frowns as the blue optics turn up to him in confusion. Without the recordings, communication is hard.
“Need parts, build a new one, online new Laserbeak,” he plays the recordings of Bumblebee’s beeps from their interactions so far in the cavern. Bumblebee gasps and glances to his chest where his servo is still.
“Wait . . . you mean you can create Laserbeak again?” Bumblebee glances up to his visor. He nods once and starts walking, forcing Bumblebee to stumble and resume their journey. “That means you could create the others again too. What’s keeping you from having your own army? Surely, you’ve had time to do that. Unless you don’t have the parts needed.”
“I don’t have the parts needed,” he plays. Bumblebee lets out a sad noise before glancing back up at him.
“What parts do you need, I’m sure we could find them,” Bumblebee beeps happily. He taps the yellow mech’s chestplates and the Autobot glances down. “You need my spark?”
Bumblebee rips himself away and stumbles to the ground. He looks down at the mech who tries to scurry away from him.
“You can’t take my spark, I need it,” Bumblebee’s beeps become incoherent.
“Don’t take spark, create by you. We create Laserbeak again.” He pieces each together and watches as the blue optics widen with each replayed beep.
“Wait, you want to spark merge?” Bumblebee nearly doubles his effort with getting away from him. He sighs and hangs his helm slightly. A shake of the helm follows soon after.
“I need spark of others to create Laserbeak again,” he says, there goes his chance of having a paradise here. Bumblebee isn’t interested in him at all. Just like every other mech besides Megatron and Shockwave, Bumblebee is afraid of him.
He turns and starts walking up the hill. Bumblebee scrambles behind him to follow. He glances to the other before reaching out to steady the Autobot. He expects Bumblebee to shy away from him, but the other’s servo slides into his.
Their path does, in fact, lead to a cave which leads to the outside. The only problem as they stare at the outside is that the hole to their freedom is only a pede in diameter. Laserbeak would have been able to fit through there and boost his comm to the Nemesis. He lets Bumblebee rest on the floor as he turns to drill through the edges with his data-cables.
Within hours, the hole is big enough for Bumblebee to fit through and they escape to the surface. Both glance back to the cave before meeting each other’s optics.
“You know, if we tell the others, they’ll only race to destroy the world beneath the surface,” Bumblebee says. He nods. “I won’t tell the Autobots. Are you going to tell the Decepticons?”
He shakes his helm before a ground bridge opens making the yellow mech jump. He motions for the Autobot to go through. Bumblebee makes a worried sound before hesitantly limping to the ground bridge. A moment after Bumblebee disappears does he open a ground bridge to the Nemesis. Stepping out into his berthroom, he frowns under his visor. His optics fall on the worktable in the corner of his room. A decoy Laserbeak sits unfinished on the table. Although it cannot hold Laserbeak’s spark it does attach to his frame and will give the appearance that everything is fine. At least until he can find a suitable donor.
Finishing the drone, he attaches it to his chestplates before working on his recording’s archive. Hours pass by before he’s called to the bridge, his repair nearly done. By the time he gets to the bridge, he has access to the archive enough to communicate.
“Soundwave,” Megatron says, he inclines his helm in acknowledgement. “I trust your day off was relaxing?”
He frowns as he looks at his chronometer. It has only been 24 earth hours since he left the Nemesis on his day off. Within the cavern under the surface felt like days. “Affirmative.”
“Has Laserbeak found any prospective mines in scans yet?” Megatron asks, optics falling on the drone attached to his chestplates.
“Negative,” he says and shows a map on his visor of the current perimeter search and the next step on searching.
“Keep me updated,” Megatron says before dismissing him. He nods once before leaving the bridge and creating a ground bridge to the surface. He needed more parts for the drone to make it seem like Laserbeak. As much as human technology is inferior, they have few things he can work with.
Bumblebee
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He frowns as Ratchet fusses over his injured leg. Of course, he had to come up with something to explain the injury. He could not very well say he was trapped in an underground cavern full of Energon with Soundwave. Unfortunately, that meant his excuse had to be something that made him look incompetent. Like tripping over a small boulder and falling down a shallow canyon crevice.
Ratchet’s grumbles are nothing compared to what’s awaiting him outside. Optimus certainly won’t give him too much of a lecture, but the Prime’s unamused, you could do better glare. Once he’s all fixed up and given a very stern lecture on not overdoing it and absolutely no racing, does Ratchet let him leave.
Stepping out of the medical corner, he frowns when Optimus isn’t waiting for him. The whole base is empty. Sighing and walking to the door, his processor drifts to wonder what Soundwave is doing. Surely the other isn’t bored out of his processor on the Nemesis. Soundwave being Megatron’s third in command surely has a lot of duties that need done.
Ratchet said no racing, he didn’t say anything about no driving and what better cure from boredom is there than watching the humans mill about. Driving into the city, he parks across from the mall to watch the humans walk around. Not even a few minutes into his observations does his radar show a Decepticon signal just appear out of thin air.
Great, he can’t afford to get in a fight with a Decepticon. Maybe if he stays still and parked the other won’t notice him. He watches the signal on his radar move slowly as if the Decepticon is stalking someone. He nearly jumps on his wheels when he sees Laserbeak fly over the top of the buildings and to an electronic store.
He frowns as a pain in his spark comes. Why did he feel anything knowing Soundwave recreated Laserbeak. The mech has his own life, probably even a bondmate. Or someone he trusted to create with. His frown deepens when Laserbeak falls out of the air and crashes on the ground. Pulling into that parking lot, he drives up beside the other and picks it up into his altmode. If Laserbeak is here, then that means Soundwave is somewhere around. Could he see if their truce was only a one-time thing or something that could be more?
Driving around to the back of the mall, he finds Soundwave kneeling behind the back of the electronics store. Upon his approach, Soundwave turns, data-cables immediately lashing out towards him. He transforms and holds out Laserbeak.
“Not here to fight,” he beeps, and the data-cables stop inches from his frame before diving to Laserbeak and taking it from his servos. “I see you recreated Laserbeak.”
“Negative, decoy drone, unfinished,” Soundwave says in recordings and turns back to his task. His spark pulses hopefully, why was he glad Soundwave didn’t find another mech to create with?
“I should be going,” he says and turns to transform and return to the base. A glance back shows him Soundwave tensing up and his comm lights up with Optimus calling them to a battle. Soundwave stands and a ground bridge appears, the other’s blank visor turns to him before turning to the ground bridge. “I don’t know where that is going.”
A map appears on the blank visor to show the coordinates Optimus sent out for the battle. He transforms and drives through the ground bridge and sighs in relief when it’s hidden from view of the battlefield. He can hear the fighting on the other side of trees and Soundwave flies through the bridge moments after him.
Arriving on the Autobot side, he watches as Megatron and Optimus fight around the piles of gravel. Arcee and Starscream fight farther into the quarry, and he spots Bulkhead and Breakdown off to the side. He spots Ratchet fighting some Vehicons. The medic’s blue optics meet his. His comm comes to life.
:You had better take it easy, continued injury to the same spot will weaken your frame,: Ratchet says and he rolls his optics. The roar of an engine comes and he narrowly dodges Knock Out speeding towards him. Wincing as he lands a bit too hard on his leg. “Bumblebee!”
He glances up just in time to see Soundwave diving for him as Knock Out turns. The sound of a fusion cannon comes, and a ground bridge opens up between him and Megatron and Optimus. He dives through it, evading Knock Out and the blast.
Somersaulting on the ground, the fusion cannon’s blast crumbles the cliff behind him. Glancing around it’s the same canyon he raced in when he found the Energon mine and they fell into the cavern. Did Soundwave open a bridge to save him? Or was the bridge to save Knock Out. Knock Out would have been in his place when the Decepticon caught him. Knock Out’s probably Soundwave’s bonded. He sighs sadly when he sits on the ground, back against the cliff. He wouldn’t make it back in time to finish the battle, might as well just wait it out here and return to the base. There’s no way the other Autobots would know where the ground bridge took him.
Chapter Text
Soundwave
__________
He frowns as he watches from the air as the two factions fight. He intercepted Ratchet’s comm to Bumblebee. He knows the Autobot is injured but it was so grave that another injury could weaken the other completely. Everything he’s feeling towards that stupid yellow Autobot goes against his beliefs. If the Autobots win, caste systems will be reenacted. Maybe not Sentinel’s, but a caste system none the less. Megatron’s dream was an equal Cybertron but even that has now been skewed with prolong war.
If he has any chance to achieve the life he truly wanted, it was promising with Bumblebee. Any other mech, Decepticon or Autobot fears him and thinks that he would stab them in the back. Perhaps Bumblebee thinks that as well, but he doesn’t let it show. It makes no sense that he would save the Autobot, at least Knock Out was there to be his excuse. They couldn’t have a stray fusion blast take out their only Earthside medic.
The battle winds down with Megatron calling for the retreat. He’s the last to go through the ground bridge and he walks onto the bridge of the ship to Megatron yelling at Starscream for giving the wrong coordinates and allowing the Autobots to find them.
He walks out of the room towards his berthroom. He needed to finish the drone before any kind of use for Laserbeak arises. Hopefully the parts he acquired from the human shop will work with Cybertronian wiring.
Late into the night of the planet his comm beeps with an unknown frequency. Against better judgement he answers it and allows the other mech to speak first.
:Soundwave?: an unknown voice comes over the line. He frowns at the voice, it is not anyone he knows but it seems to originate on this planet. :Soundwave? Is this you? Your comm frequency was on the base computer but marked really old. Anyway, I want to thank you for the ground bridge, even if it was just to save Knock Out. I hope we can still be friends and not let the factions or your bonded get between us.:
He frowns at the other’s glyphs. This is Bumblebee. Bumblebee found his comm from the Autobot database. Bumblebee wanted to thank him for saving him. Bumblebee thought he was bonded to Knock Out. He snorts, forgetting that it’s an active call and not a message.
:Soundwave?: Bumblebee asks and he tenses in his chair.
:Affirmative,: he says as he finishes installing the parts in the drone.
:Oh good, I wasn’t just rambling off to some random Decepticon,: Bumblebee sighs over the comm. :Anyway, thank you for saving me. Hope we can be friends.:
:Wait,: he says, wincing when he uses one of his own voice recordings. Not that Bumblebee would know it’s his voice, but they always come quicker than the other recordings. :Knock Out not bonded.:
There’s a silence over the comm and if not for the light on his visor, he would think that Bumblebee hung up on him. :Oh. I have to go. Talk to you later?:
Before he can reply, Bumblebee cuts the connection. He stares at the wall of his berthroom. Did Bumblebee have a mech he was interested in? Should he be worried his growing fondness of the Autobot will summon the wrath of another Autobot? Why is he even thinking about the Autobot? He should have no thoughts towards the mech of the opposite faction. Well thoughts other than beating the other’s frame into deactivation but even as a gladiator he never wished death for his opponent like the arena’s turned towards.
Bumblebee
__________
He blushes as he disconnects the connection. Why is he calling up one of the deadliest Decepticons there is? A pulse of giddiness hope fills his spark, maybe, just maybe he could have what Optimus and Ratchet have. Glancing up from the couch in the main room of the base, he sees Optimus walk to the medical corner and rest a servo on Ratchet’s shoulder. Blue optics glance up to the Prime before the medic starts to say something. Optimus leans down and Ratchet nods at whatever the Prime must have said.
He smiles a little as Ratchet follows Optimus down the hallway. Could Soundwave love him like they obvious love each other? What would happen during the war? They would have to fight one another. Would Soundwave start targeting him to ensure that he’s not damaged too much? It would be out of place if he went after Soundwave.
Coordinates pop up on his HUD tagged with Soundwave’s frequency. Glancing around the base, no one else is in the main room and they wouldn’t miss him during the recharge cycle. He leaves the base to drive to the coordinates to find a ground bridge waiting for him instead of Soundwave. Walking through it, he comes out to the shoreline. Soundwave sits on the ledge, helm turning towards him as he approaches.
“Soundwave,” he says stepping up beside the Decepticon and sitting down beside him. That blank visor meets his optics. Did Soundwave even have a face under it? Did he care?
“Bumblebee jealous?” Soundwave says, he nearly trembles at his name being spoken in a voice he doesn’t remember from anyone. It sounded like the same mech who said to wait on the comm. “Soundwave previous co-creator of symbionts is unavailable. Bumblebee desirable, if agreeable.”
“What, really? Wait, who was the other mech though? Will he want you back?”
“Cannot have Soundwave back,” Soundwave says glancing away. “Corrupted spark, undesired.”
“Who was the mech?” he asks, Soundwave tenses beside him and he wonders if he overstepped Soundwave’s boundary.
“Irrelevant,” Soundwave says causing him to frown. The blank visor turns to him, and the other’s helm dips slightly. He nearly gasps when he hears Soundwave’s sigh. “Megatron previous co-creator. Spark corrupted with Dark Energon, undesired to introduce substance to smaller symbionts.”
“Oh,” he says glancing out over the ocean. His shoulders drop. He couldn’t compare to Megatron, could he? A hiss nearly makes him launch off the cliff edge and he glances over when he sees Soundwave reaching up to his visor. His spark pulses wildly, Soundwave’s optics are offline when the visor is completely removed. The dark grey faceplates underneath the visor bear only minor scars. He gasps when blue optics online to meet his. His optics fall to Soundwave’s intake, his servos go to his own which is covered with his own mask. Due to his injury back on Cybertron, when he lost his voice, he also lost most of his lower intake and chin. His wings fall slightly at the thought of Soundwave not liking how he looks.
“Bumblebee,” his optics widen when he hears Soundwave’s voice. It had to be his own voice. It also matches the other one he didn’t know. Thin digits reach up to his helm, cupping it gently. He holds his vents as Soundwave’s digits explore his helm. A digit runs along the mask hiding his lower face. He disengages the locks and Soundwave gently removes it. Optics glance away from Soundwave’s as the mask is removed. Out of the corner of his optics, he watches Soundwave look over his faceplates.
Soft touches touch his damaged protoform, those digits slide down his neck before running over his collar strut and down his chestplates. They pause along his headlights. He reaches up to touch Soundwave’s collar strut, then down the biolights. A slight shiver runs through Soundwave under his touch.
He shivers when something runs over his side and glances down to see one of the data-cables wrapping around his waist. Hesitation fills him when he sees the feelers come out of the data-cable to run along his frame, small zaps of electricity follow the feelers and makes him moan.
Tensing when one of the data-cables brushes the back of his helm, shivering when the feelers run along the area he used the cortical psychic patch on Megatron. The feelers find a way under his armor to the wires protected there. Slowly he feels another’s presence in his processor, fear slowly rises as it becomes more prominent.
Blue appears in his view, and he stares at the other’s chestplates as they fold open. The blue spark pulses slowly before him, he briefly sees smaller sparks attached to the larger spark and he tips his helm slightly to get a better look. Five small sparks crowd together in the back corner of Soundwave’s spark chamber. Each of them a different hue of blue. Those were the symbionts. He tenses when Soundwave comes to the access to his spark chamber in his helm, a digit taps on his chestplates.
Chestplates part and his blue spark light joins Soundwave’s. He hears Soundwave’s voice call his spark beautiful in his helm and he responds in same to Soundwave’s. Soundwave leans in closer, bringing their chestplates closer. Soon their armor touches and their sparks brush against one another. He feels the other’s calmness against his excitement and slight fear.
He should not be doing this with a Decepticon, let alone this Decepticon. Digits cup his helm and pulls his face down to Soundwave’s neck. Digits run along his wing joint, massaging it until he relaxes.
~I will never hurt co-creator,~ Soundwave pulses over their barely joined sparks. His thoughts turn to Megatron. Which would Soundwave choose between them. ~Bumblebee.~
He shudders at the other’s purr as their sparks grow closer together. When they start meshing is he aware of the five other presences within the chamber. Each of them is eager but hesitant and hide behind Soundwave’s consciousness.
~Hello,~ he pulses to the symbionts. They trill, making the connection quiver and he chuckles at the warm feeling.
~Ready?~ Soundwave pulses, he nods against the other’s neck and Soundwave pulls them together, merging their sparks completely. Optics offlining, he takes in a deep vent and relaxes against Soundwave, feeling the other all around him. He pulses happiness when the symbionts come closer to inspect his spark.
He feels more than hears when Soundwave asks the symbionts which one wants to be enframed. He’s surprised Laserbeak isn’t the first one. He feels Ravage come up. Soundwave asks Ravage which gender he would like, and he is surprised to find that their sparks hold no gender, unlike his and Soundwave’s.
All too soon is Soundwave pulling away and their sparks are separating. He frowns slightly at the lack of bond when their sparks are completely separated. Surely, they would have a bond with how long they merged.
“Host mechs are unable to bond,” Soundwave says, and he glances up to the mech. A frown mars the other’s face. “Only the bonds to symbionts.”
“Well, that’s stupid,” he beeps sadly, Soundwave snorts before laughing. He smiles at Soundwave’s laugh. He could get used to that. “So how long does it take for the symbiont frame to build?”
“Depends on Energon quality and if there are any more donations of energy,” Soundwave says. “Previous creation required half a vorn.”
“Oh wow,” he says.
“Megatron only donated initial energy,” Soundwave says and picks up the discarded drone, reattaching it to his chestplates.
“I would not mind donating more,” he beeps quietly unsure whether he wants Soundwave to hear that or not. He watches as Soundwave picks up the visor, he will miss seeing those blue optics. Surely, he could convince Soundwave that this isn’t a one-time thing. Without a bond linking two sparks together, how would Soundwave know how he feels about him?
“That was my hope, as well,” Soundwave says before putting the visor on and he sees his reflection in the Cybertronian glass.
Time on the base seems to move so slowly as he waits for the coordinate ping for the ground bridge. The humans seem to notice something different with him before the other Autobots. Only when he’s headed out does Optimus come up to him and ask if he’s alright.
“Why wouldn’t I be, I’m just going out racing,” he beeps and continues his way. He sighs when Optimus doesn’t follow him.
Soundwave
__________
He wrings his servos as he stands beside the ground bridge. Their secret meetings have gone unnoticed by the Decepticons thus far but what of Bumblebee’s fellow Autobots. The young scout seemed a central point in the team whereas he was a loner and more of a dangerous shadow on the Nemesis most tried to avoid.
~Things will be fine,~ Ravage purrs beside him. He lets out a sigh before looking at the young symbiont. Ravage emerged just a few days ago, as with all symbionts fully formed and ready for the outside world. He frowns when he realizes Bumblebee will never be able to understand their co-created symbionts. Megatron never did. Also, Megatron never tried to learn. ~Bumblebee is not Megatron. He will not see us as weapons.~
The ground bridge flares with a mech within the transport vortex and moments later, Bumblebee walks out. Blue optics widen as they fall onto Ravage sitting beside his pedes. Ravage moves to stand; the yellow frame flinches and Bumblebee takes a step back.
“Sire?” Ravage chirrs at Bumblebee whose blue optics cycle for a moment before the other falls down to a knee, arms open for Ravage. “I love you” Ravage chirrups and leaps at Bumblebee. He smiles as Bumblebee stands hugging Ravage.
“I wasn’t expecting to understand them,” Bumblebee says allowing Ravage to rub his helm all over the yellow one. He jolts a little. Bumblebee could understand them. Did Megatron and just disregarded them? “How do the symbionts come out?”
“Chestplates,” Soundwave says, a hint of distortion to his voice due to the visor.
“Like a xenomorph,” Bumblebee beeps and he looks up the reference. He snorts before chuckling.
“Less fluids,” he says stepping up to the other, fields mingle, and mesh and he quietly sighs as Bumblebee’s field surrounds his. It’s a good thing hosts cannot bond, he would have been bonded to Megatron and would have never met Bumblebee, yet he can’t help but want to be bonded to Bumblebee. He knows the Autobot thinks he’ll leave him, but wouldn’t Bumblebee rather be with another Autobot. What keeps the Autobot scout with him? A bond is unbreakable, or so he hears.
“How long will it be before all the symbionts are reframed?” Bumblebee asks. He stares at the Autobot. Will Bumblebee stay with him for all the symbionts? Could he hope that?
“At rate of Ravage’s creation, within two years,” he says, it may be a few months less than that, but Bumblebee didn’t specify exact time. Bumblebee sets Ravage on the ground before stepping up to him and nuzzling his jaw. Servos coming to rest on the yellow shoulders of the Autobot, does Bumblebee actually care for him? He pulls the Laserbeak drone off his chestplates before dragging Bumblebee away from Ravage who sunbathes.
Once their spark merge, Laserbeak chooses to be the next enframed, much to Rumble and Frenzy’s dismay. “Who named them?”
Curiosity fills Bumblebee’s spark after Laserbeak’s is fed enough energy to be strong enough to move into the forge. “A combination of me and them.”
He frowns slightly at the thought in the other’s spark that Megatron named them, and jealousy underlines their connection.
“Why only four symbionts?” Bumblebee asks. Before he can respond Rumble and Frenzy jump in the conversation.
“There’s five of us,” Rumble says.
“Ratbat ain’t a strong spark and Soundwave barely keeps him going,” Frenzy says. He winces at the weakness brought to light. Bumblebee makes a sad beep, hugging him closer and deepening their sparks. He can’t help but bask in the other’s warmth. He’s never felt this warmth before.
He smiles a little as Bumblebee leans back a bit and nuzzles his jaw. They separate moments later, he smiles at the other as their chestplates close. He swears he can still feel the linger of Bumblebee’s spark within his.
“Will you . . . are you going to return for every symbiont?” he asks, glancing to Bumblebee who looks over to him with bright optics.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Bumblebee asks reaching out to cup his helm. Thumbs trailing along the sides of his helm, Bumblebee rests his forehelm against his. “Even though we can’t bond, I’d like us to be that. If you want that too.”
He nods and wraps his arms around Bumblebee.