Decepticon and Autobot Central

Soundwave kept a close optic on the medic. If the communications officer had to, he would carry the mech to his berth so that he could get some comfortable rest instead of him resting on the floor. The mech motioned for Ratchet to walk in the newly opened room as he silently commanded the lights to turn on.  Megatron had tried to keep the medbay the same as Knockout had organized it. There would have probably been the occasional instrument out of place, but most was still where it belonged.  Knockout whimpered as Breakdown’s voice washed over him. The red racer’s body instantly relaxed and his crimson optics flashed on with incredible speed. “B-Breakdown?” His frame started shaking at the thought that Breakdown might have been captured as well. “How did you get here? You have to escape! There is a twisted version of Optimus Prime and he will destroy everything you...” his optics finally took in his surroundings and he gasped. “Wait... the Nemesis medbay?” 

Dreadwing had finished a little bit before Ratchet had and just leaned against the wall as he watched the master practice his trade with a full range of tools for once. It was mesmerizing how smooth Ratchet was able to work without any cards stacked against him. Soon enough the surgery was finished and the mech walked closer to Ratchet in case the medic suddenly collapsed from exhaustion or something. By his internal clock the surgery had taken at least ten human hours, of course it could have been wrong since time moved differently in each dimension he visited. Megatron quickly moved out of the way as soon as the surgery was done so that Breakdown could stand beside his Conjunx. The mech smiled sadly as he looked at Knockout. Thankfully the mech would live, though only Ratchet would be able to tell them if the red medic would have any lasting damage. Soundwave made a mental note on how Starscream seemed to not want to be around Shockwave. When Laserbeak informed him that the surgery had been completed, the silent mech walked into the medbay and came to a stop beside Ratchet. Under his visor, the communication’s officer’s optics were filled with worry for the other mech, but he would not express it.

Megatron looked around and saw how exhausted everyone was and frowned in worry. “Soundwave show Dreadwing Prime and Ratchet to their rooms. I’m sure that we can survive without their assistance for a short while while they recover from the extensive surgery.” He backed away from Breakdown, a little worried that Breakdown would lash out at him should the Warlord stray too close to the mech’s recovering Conjunx.  Dreadwing waved his servo as Megatron ordered Soundwave to show him to his room. “Don’t worry about me, I found my room earlier. It helps that almost every version of this ship is the same to each other.” He stifled a yawn. His optics were slightly dim as he walked out of the medbay and wandered the halls until he came to his room.  Soundwave established an internal comm link with Ratchet. ‘Come on Ratchet, you need your rest.’ He opened an internal groundbridge not three steps away from the medic and beckoned the mech to walk through with him. ‘I cannot bridge directly into your new room, but I can get you to the door. It is a safety protocol that I built in.’

Soundwave tilted his helm to Lord Megatron before he followed Ratchet through the groundbridge. Once they were through, he pressed a couple buttons on the medic’s door and watched the heavy metal slide open. Soundwave looked over at the medic to make sure that he was going to be able to walk into the room, his concern was masked by the visor over his face. Megatron saw how Breakdown was rigid and prepped to defend himself and his Conjunx. The Warlord closed his optics as he forced himself to not tense up from Breakdown’s reaction. He might be free from the effects of the Dark Energon, but that did not erase his life experiences. He was still the same mech that would have delighted in Knockout’s torture for Breakdown daring to abandon the cause. He was still the same mech that would have gladly lured the Autobots onto the Nemesis just to betray them once they had grown comfortable.  Thankfully he could now control his darker urges. His tanks were definitely sick from how bad Knockout had been tortured. He did not blame Breakdown for abandoning the Decepticon cause after he failed to keep his Conjunx safe. He would not betray Optimus Prime and his Autobots ever again. He had definitely changed. “Breakdown.” His voice was low enough for the mech to ignore him if he wished to. “I am glad that we were able to get Knockout out safely.” The mech hesitated for a moment. “I’ll leave you two alone now, hopefully he wakes up soon.” Knockout’s systems were slowly starting to come online again. The red racer’s frame tensed in preparation for the pain that he knew was coming. “Mercy...” His voice told how broken his spirit was.

Laserbeak chirped softly as she nuzzled against the Prime’s helm and watched as the Autobots started to roll right in for the meeting. She tried, and failed, to make herself blend into Optimus Prime as Autobots started to see her. That just made her trill sadly and her small frame quake in fear.  Soundwave looked at Ironhide with a faint smile on his face. “Yeah, well I still can’t believe that we made it off the Warship without even firing a single shot at Lord Megatron.” It was unclear whether the mech would ever be able to break his habit of calling Megatron ‘Lord’. Mainly because he had it beaten into him over the years that Megatron was miles above any Decepticons in worth and that any to disrespect him would be dealt with harshly.  “Well at least I got kind of lucky when it came to you two being my first contacts within the Autobot ranks.” He said as he smiled at Lightrose. 

Dreadwing had finished a little bit before Ratchet had and just leaned against the wall as he watched the master practice his trade with a full range of tools for once. It was mesmerizing how smooth Ratchet was able to work without any cards stacked against him. Soon enough the surgery was finished and the mech walked closer to Ratchet in case the medic suddenly collapsed from exhaustion or something. By his internal clock the surgery had taken at least ten human hours, of course it could have been wrong since time moved differently in each dimension he visited. Megatron quickly moved out of the way as soon as the surgery was done so that Breakdown could stand beside his Conjunx. The mech smiled sadly as he looked at Knockout. Thankfully the mech would live, though only Ratchet would be able to tell them if the red medic would have any lasting damage. Soundwave made a mental note on how Starscream seemed to not want to be around Shockwave. When Laserbeak informed him that the surgery had been completed, the silent mech walked into the medbay and came to a stop beside Ratchet. Under his visor, the communication’s officer’s optics were filled with worry for the other mech, but he would not express it.

Megatron looked around and saw how exhausted everyone was and frowned in worry. “Soundwave show Dreadwing Prime and Ratchet to their rooms. I’m sure that we can survive without their assistance for a short while while they recover from the extensive surgery.” He backed away from Breakdown, a little worried that Breakdown would lash out at him should the Warlord stray too close to the mech’s recovering Conjunx.  Dreadwing waved his servo as Megatron ordered Soundwave to show him to his room. “Don’t worry about me, I found my room earlier. It helps that almost every version of this ship is the same to each other.” He stifled a yawn. His optics were slightly dim as he walked out of the medbay and wandered the halls until he came to his room.  Soundwave established an internal comm link with Ratchet. ‘Come on Ratchet, you need your rest.’ He opened an internal groundbridge not three steps away from the medic and beckoned the mech to walk through with him. ‘I cannot bridge directly into your new room, but I can get you to the door. It is a safety protocol that I built in.’

Dreadwing had finished a little bit before Ratchet had and just leaned against the wall as he watched the master practice his trade with a full range of tools for once. It was mesmerizing how smooth Ratchet was able to work without any cards stacked against him. Soon enough the surgery was finished and the mech walked closer to Ratchet in case the medic suddenly collapsed from exhaustion or something. By his internal clock the surgery had taken at least ten human hours, of course it could have been wrong since time moved differently in each dimension he visited. Megatron quickly moved out of the way as soon as the surgery was done so that Breakdown could stand beside his Conjunx. The mech smiled sadly as he looked at Knockout. Thankfully the mech would live, though only Ratchet would be able to tell them if the red medic would have any lasting damage. Soundwave made a mental note on how Starscream seemed to not want to be around Shockwave. When Laserbeak informed him that the surgery had been completed, the silent mech walked into the medbay and came to a stop beside Ratchet. Under his visor, the communication’s officer’s optics were filled with worry for the other mech, but he would not express it.

Dreadwing bit his lip lightly before he straightened up. The mech was suddenly on a mission again as he watched Megatron helping Ratchet. “Very well Breakdown, you will assist me then.” He gathered up a second set of tools and got started repairing the stuff that was not completely out of his range of abilities. He would leave the worst to Ratchet as he still was not as talented as the mech.  Megatron silently gave Ratchet any tools he needed. Most of the time he had the tool already ready for the medic before Ratchet ever would indicate that he might need it. Soundwave stood guard outside of the medbay as vehicon after vehicon wanted to see if Knockout had truly returned. The mech would just glare at them under his visor and they would quickly run away. He did not know how much time passed, but soon enough they would be done with the surgery and maybe Soundwave would be able to go inside and see Knockout.

Soundwave sent Starscream an internal comm telling the mech to simply make sure that Shockwave got on the Nemesis as quickly as possible. They could always make sure the twisted mech had a room once he was safe and out of the evil Autobot’s servos.  Megatron definitely did not care if Ratchet acknowledged him or not. Something little like that might have once caused him to go into a madness induced rage, but since he was cleansed of the Dark Energon, he found his temper was much more even. Dreadwing worked in relative silence as he repaired as much of the damage that he could. When something was beyond his ability he just stabilized the area and moved on. The mech soon lost complete track of time and did not stop until he ran out of wounds that he was able to work on himself. 

Soundwave looked Optimus straight in the optics. “If you turned me away now, then I would immediately hunt Lord Megatron down and try to offline him. Then I would do the same to Starscream. If I survived both confrontations then I would have been leader of the Decepticons and could have forced the war to end.” He hesitated for a moment. “I do not even believe I could have taken Lord Megatron down.” He looked at Ironhide and slowly walked over to the other mech. “I’m sure it will be perfect Ironhide.” He said as he removed his servo from his face. He really wanted to put his visor back on, but he also knew that it would be easier to be accepted by the Autobots if they could see his face. That was also why he was forcing himself to continue talking. 

Soundwave tipped his helm at Optimus and hesitated before he left the room. “Hey Optimus?” His voice was hesitant. “If you have time later, after you calm the rest of the Autobots, do you think we could just... talk?” He turned to Ironhide and nodded his helm as he started to follow the mech. He knew that the other Autobots were likely to not be as accepting of him as Ironhide, Lightrose, and Optimus had been, but he was already feeling a hundred times safer within this base than he ever had on the Nemesis. “I hope I don’t do anything to make you change your mind.”  Laserbeak disengaged herself from Soundwave’s chest and flew back to Optimus Prime and chirped as she landed on his shoulder. The minicon was a very curious being and wanted to see for herself just how the other Autobots would react to their presence. 

Soundwave looked Optimus straight in the optics. “If you turned me away now, then I would immediately hunt Lord Megatron down and try to offline him. Then I would do the same to Starscream. If I survived both confrontations then I would have been leader of the Decepticons and could have forced the war to end.” He hesitated for a moment. “I do not even believe I could have taken Lord Megatron down.” He looked at Ironhide and slowly walked over to the other mech. “I’m sure it will be perfect Ironhide.” He said as he removed his servo from his face. He really wanted to put his visor back on, but he also knew that it would be easier to be accepted by the Autobots if they could see his face. That was also why he was forcing himself to continue talking. 

Dreadwing bit his lip lightly before he straightened up. The mech was suddenly on a mission again as he watched Megatron helping Ratchet. “Very well Breakdown, you will assist me then.” He gathered up a second set of tools and got started repairing the stuff that was not completely out of his range of abilities. He would leave the worst to Ratchet as he still was not as talented as the mech.  Megatron silently gave Ratchet any tools he needed. Most of the time he had the tool already ready for the medic before Ratchet ever would indicate that he might need it. Soundwave stood guard outside of the medbay as vehicon after vehicon wanted to see if Knockout had truly returned. The mech would just glare at them under his visor and they would quickly run away. He did not know how much time passed, but soon enough they would be done with the surgery and maybe Soundwave would be able to go inside and see Knockout.

Dreadwing Prime looked around and caught Optimus Prime’s optics. He smirked at the mech and dipped his helm in a mock bow. “Uncle.” He said with a sneer on his face. Without waiting for a response from the twisted mech, Dreadwing disappeared and reappeared directly in the medbay. “I’ve got him.” He said as he laid the wreck of a mech down on a medical berth. “It’s pretty bad, but thankfully he is in stasis. Soundwave also walked through the groundbridge just in time to see Dreadwing Prime reappear. His optics widened behind his mask from how bad off Knockout was. The silent communications officer walked over to the medbay entrance and walked out the door. There he would stand guard so that the medbay would stay as peaceful as possible.  Megatron hurried towards the medbay, just barely being able to keep the former Decepticon in his line of sight. He slowed down when he saw that Soundwave was standing guard outside the medbay.

Knockout’s body was in tatters. Most of his armor had been removed and the softer protoform beneath was torn up from his torture. There were gashes and puncture wounds on ever available inch of his form. His arms and legs were only connected by a bare few cables while his chest had been clawed half open. Energon stained every inch of his body, making it to where he seemed to be a blue mech instead of a ruby red one. It was honestly a miracle he was still online, especially since his spark could be seen through the ribbons that his chest now was. Then there was his helm. It was damaged in a way that he might end up waking with amnesia.  Dreadwing trembled as he finally took in just how bad Knockout truly was. His optics went over to Breakdown and he approached the mech. He kept his voice low as not to disturb Ratchet. “Do you have any medical experience at all Breakdown?” He looked at Megatron and frowned at the mech. “I know you do, get in there and help Ratchet. This is very serious, it is no small miracle that he is still online.” He hesitated for a moment before looking at Ratchet. “How much help are you going to need on this Ratchet?” It was a serious question that needed to be asked. He could get some help, if he needed to.  Megatron narrowed his optics as the Prime ordered him to help Ratchet, but he ignored it as he walked in the medbay and stared at the mess that his medic had become. It tore at his spark that Knockout was only like this because he had failed in his duty to keep his medic safe aboard the Nemesis. He started to hand Ratchet any supplies that the medic might need in order to repair Knockout. Soundwave quickly stepped aside as he saw Breakdown running towards the medbay. He definitely was not going to stand in the way of Breakdown going to his Conjunx’s side. No one in their right mind would do that. 

Dreadwing Prime looked around and caught Optimus Prime’s optics. He smirked at the mech and dipped his helm in a mock bow. “Uncle.” He said with a sneer on his face. Without waiting for a response from the twisted mech, Dreadwing disappeared and reappeared directly in the medbay. “I’ve got him.” He said as he laid the wreck of a mech down on a medical berth. “It’s pretty bad, but thankfully he is in stasis. Soundwave also walked through the groundbridge just in time to see Dreadwing Prime reappear. His optics widened behind his mask from how bad off Knockout was. The silent communications officer walked over to the medbay entrance and walked out the door. There he would stand guard so that the medbay would stay as peaceful as possible.  Megatron hurried towards the medbay, just barely being able to keep the former Decepticon in his line of sight. He slowed down when he saw that Soundwave was standing guard outside the medbay.

The Dark Prime noticed how Megatronus seemed to be worried about Orion Pax and his face softened a fraction. “You really care about Optimus-I mean Orion Pax, don’t you?” If he could feel more than just the barest of emotions then his spark would have warmed at the sight. “Megatronus, you must accept that he will be a Prime. If you don’t then it will tear the two of you so far apart that you will take up the motto, ‘peace through tyranny’ and Orion will stand firmly against you. His ranks will be made up of the privileged of Cybertron while yours will be composed of the Gladiators and slaves.” He paused for a moment. “Somehow he will train his army until it is able to meet yours hit for hit in combat.”  Dreadwing looked at Alpha Trion as the Archivist stormed up to him. His optics were curious as he watched the Prime and an easy smile took over his face. “Alpha Trion. If you are here to fight then you should have brought the others with you. Though I daresay that Nexus doesn’t want to see me ever again. I believe I’ve taken his training and corrupted it beyond anything he ever imagined.” He relaxed in his seat as he watched the Prime losing his temper. Alpha Trion glared at the mech. “Prime? He cannot be a Prime if he has Unicron within his spark.” He looked at Megatronus with suspicion in his optics, of course that was nothing new, he had always been suspicious of the mech that had named himself after The Fallen. “I knew he was here because I could feel the Dark Energon move through Cybertron. I knew the moment he appeared in our universe. Dreadwing finally stood up and faced the Archivist with a firm look in his optics. “I assure you, Alpha Trion, that I am a Prime. I was one of Primus’s Primes before a version of him screwed up so badly that we had to fight against him. The only way for me to do that was to welcome Unicron into my spark. It took two Matrix of Leaderships to imprison that version of Primus and a Prime who was willing to sacrifice her life to purify him. Primus freely allowed Unicron to make me his Original Prime. Where Primus had Thirteen, Unicron had One. He forged my new Matrix out of Darkness and Dark Energon. I can command the Dark Energon with barely a thought. I can infect the dead with a push of my aura.” He looked back at Megatronus and smirked. “You will only ‘detain’ me should I deem it necessary to teach you.” He looked back at Alpha Trion. “And I am not lying.”  Orion arrived back at the booth and frowned seeing what was unfolding. “Alpha Trion, welcome.” He handed Megatronus his drink before sitting the other two down. He did not like how tense the atmosphere seemed to be around the three mechs. “Why don’t we all just calm down and sit. Have a drink and some friendly conversations.” He looked at Alpha Trion again. “Like why this mech somehow seems to think that I am one of the Original Thirteen Primes.” “All Uniccron ever does is lie. If you are with him then you cannot be trusted either.” The mech said as he allowed everything that this so called Dreadwing Prime said to wash over him. As long as neither Megatronus nor Orion Pax believed it then he could pretend that everything the mech said was a lie. A flash of alarm flared across the Original Prime’s optics at Orion said that this Dreadwing ‘Prime’ had said that he was the Thirteenth Prime. They had tried to conceal that fact from Orion Pax since the mech had his memories wiped and he was reformatted into a new body. 

Orion had been watching Alpha Trion closely and saw the alarm in the other’s optics. He straightened up and stared Alpha Trion directly in the optics. “Tell me.” His voice was firm and had a slightly deeper tone to it than it had previously. His optics were steely and once more he looked every bit like one of the Primes. The air around him almost seemed to become charged and cold from his anger. If he truly was one of the Original Thirteen Primes, then why had his memory banks been wiped? Why had he been reformatted into a body that was so weak in combat that a youngling could take him down? Why had Alpha Trion not tried to help him to remember? Alpha Trion paled and stepped back. “Orion I... I can’t tell you. It has been decried by Prima.” The mech glared daggers at the Dark Prime. “You should never have come here taint of Unicron.” He did not know if he could convince Megatronus and Orion Pax that everything Dreadwing Prime said was a lie when they had already found one truth to what the Dark mech was saying.  Dreadwing Prime smirked as he watched Alpha Trion slowly loosing his cool. The mech sat down on the otherside of the booth and stretched himself out so that Alpha Trion would not be able to sit down. He was rather enjoying the chaos. Once Orion had returned and handed out drinks, the Prime took his and started sipping on it. “Alpha, you might want to tell your brother, otherwise I might just tell him myself.” He said with a smirk. Then his audio receptors picked up Megatronus’s laughter. He looked over at the mech and tilted his helm to the side. “Yes, I can see how this situation might be a little hilarious.” Orion was still standing before Alpha Trion, his back straight and the air charged around him. “If you do not tell me Alpha Trion, then I will have no other choice than to ignore your warnings about Unicron’s Prime. Either spill or get out.” He barely even twitched at the sound of Megatronus’s laughter. It was rather rare to hear, but it was still one of his favorite sounds.

Soundwave straightened up and looked Optimus Prime in the optics. “Do you remember back when you were Orion Pax and Lord Megatron was Megatronus?” The mech hesitated for an instant before continuing. “I owed Megatronus a debt of gratitude. He trained me in the Gladiatorial Pits. He made sure that I could win just about any fight that I could ever come across.” This was going to be a decently long story so he attempted to ignore the physical contact as much as possible.  “Back then he was an honorable mech, just like you. I came to respect and trust the both of you, but when the Council stated that Megatronus was not worthy of being a Prime while you were, I could see just how sparkbroken Megatronus was. He saw your gratitude as a betrayal. He felt that you should have refused simply because the system was rigged against those of us who were born into the slave class.” Soundwave gently pulled away from the Prime and began to pace. He was feeling a little agitated by bringing up old memories, but it had to be done.  “To be honest, I thought the same way that Megatronus had. I believed that you had betrayed our cause by bending to their will. So I left with Megatronus.” The mech stopped in his tracks and closed his optics tightly. “I don’t know when exactly it happened, or how, but soon after that Megatronus changed. He insisted that his comrades call him Lord Megatron and bow before him. His optics, while they had been red for a short time, were a vivid purple and I deduced that he had been poisoned by Dark Energon. Once I had gathered up enough evidence for it, I approached him as a friend who was concerned. Lord Megatron barely listened to my words. He destroyed my evidence, and he clawed my face. He tortured me. I nearly offlined that day... When Lord Megatron finally left, I had to rely upon a groundbridge to get myself back to my quarters. There I tended to my wounds as well I as could.” He reached up and touched the inflamed scar on his face. “This scar has never healed. I have given up on it ever healing. There must be some kind of Dark Energon contaminants in it or something. From that day forward, I acted the loyal eyes and ears to Lord Megatron. I reported to him every time that one of the other Decepticons talked about running from him. I became known as the mech without a face because of my mask. I never talked from that day forward, mainly because I knew that I would never be able to keep my temper around the mech I had called a friend.” He looked Optimus in the optics. “You ask me why I left Lord Megatron? Because the mech is nothing like Megatronus. He is not the mech that I decided to follow. He is not the friend he once was.”

Soundwave saw how overwhelmed Optimus Prime was with the information that he had given him and gave the mech a gentle smile. “My struggles were my own fault Optimus Prime. If I had stuck with you in the beginning instead of Lord Megatron then I never would have suffered like I have. Thank you for taking me in, I hope that soon enough your Autobots will learn to trust me and that I can be a functional member of your team.”  His servo went to the scar on his face and he winced. Since leaving the Warship behind, it was getting more and more inflamed. He did not know if it was psychological or if Lord Megatron had done something to the scar to cause him pain if he ever managed to defect. The pain levels were steadily rising, but he would conceal the pain that he was in as much as possible for now. He did not want to be a bother, and being injured would definitely be an inconvenience, especially to the Autobot medic. “Yes, I would not survive long if Lord Megatron were to get his claws on me. I have done too much damage to the Decepticon cause for me to live.” He looked at Ironhide and smiled faintly. “That would be nice.” Then he could retreat to this room and try to figure out what was going on with the scar himself.

Soundwave sent a silent message to Megatron to allow his leader to disperse the information however he wanted to. No matter how much he might wish differently, he was still conditioned to be subservient to the warlord.  Megatron’s optics widened as he received what Soundwave had just sent him. “Laserbeak found Knockout…” He looked at Dreadwing Prime. “Are you sure that you can do this alone? I can get a team together in less than ten minutes to go get him.” Dreadwing Prime stood up straighter and stared Megatron straight into the optics. “No, I will not endanger anyone else. Especially since I can just teleport in. I would have to either take your backup with me, or ruin my stealth by using a groundbridge or flyers. No, it is best I do this alone Megatron.” He walked over to Soundwave. “Hey Sounders, can you give me the exact coordinates for exactly where Knockout is?” Soundwave tilted his helm to the side at the nickname that the Prime had given him, but not even that could get him to speak. The mech communicated with Laserbeak for a moment before he sent the Prime a set of very specific coordinates. Then he also sent him the coordinates for the medbay as it would be best for him to take Knockout directly there instead of to the bridge.”

Optimus looked at them with wide optics that were filled with worry for Dreadwing Prime and Knockout but he didn’t voice his concerns due to the fact that he knew this needed to be done, instead he’d voice something else. “Do you need us to do anything or have anything besides the med bay ready for your return?” Optimus asked not sure if anything else needed to be done but would want everything to be as ready as possible for the worst just hoping they’d be over prepared. 

Dreadwing Prime looked at Optimus Prime and Megatron. “Just... Be prepared for anything you two... and get to the medbay, this should not even take me two minutes to get him and get back here.” With that the mech disappeared. He needed to get to Knockout as quickly as possible and did not want to dawdle around with forming plans or anything.  Megatron watched Dreadwing disappear and sighed. “You go to the medbay, Soundwave will show you the way Optimus.” He walked towards the exit. “I will find Breakdown and let him know.” He felt he at least owed the mech that much.  Soundwave tilted his helm to the side at Megatron’s order. He hated that he was still being ordered around, but felt that there would be no other way. Instead of walking all the way to the medbay, he simply opened another groundbridge portal and motioned for Optimus Prime to go ahead through. It was definitely quicker and easier than directing the mech through the ship. It was at least a five minute walk to the medbay. When Dreadwing Prime arrived in the exact coordinates that Knockout was being held, the Prime had to cut down the three Autobot guards that surrounded the injured medic. He purposely kept his optics away from the mech’s wounds after making sure that he was still online. His tanks were rolling just from the barest glimpse he had of Knockout’s wounds. Since there would be no way to pick the mech up without agitating the wounds, he simply scooped Knockout up off the ground as gently as possible. Megatron quickly tracked Breakdown to where the mech currently was. “Knockout has been found. He should be in the medbay within the next couple minutes Breakdown.” 

Soundwave straightened up and looked Optimus Prime in the optics. “Do you remember back when you were Orion Pax and Lord Megatron was Megatronus?” The mech hesitated for an instant before continuing. “I owed Megatronus a debt of gratitude. He trained me in the Gladiatorial Pits. He made sure that I could win just about any fight that I could ever come across.” This was going to be a decently long story so he attempted to ignore the physical contact as much as possible.  “Back then he was an honorable mech, just like you. I came to respect and trust the both of you, but when the Council stated that Megatronus was not worthy of being a Prime while you were, I could see just how sparkbroken Megatronus was. He saw your gratitude as a betrayal. He felt that you should have refused simply because the system was rigged against those of us who were born into the slave class.” Soundwave gently pulled away from the Prime and began to pace. He was feeling a little agitated by bringing up old memories, but it had to be done.  “To be honest, I thought the same way that Megatronus had. I believed that you had betrayed our cause by bending to their will. So I left with Megatronus.” The mech stopped in his tracks and closed his optics tightly. “I don’t know when exactly it happened, or how, but soon after that Megatronus changed. He insisted that his comrades call him Lord Megatron and bow before him. His optics, while they had been red for a short time, were a vivid purple and I deduced that he had been poisoned by Dark Energon. Once I had gathered up enough evidence for it, I approached him as a friend who was concerned. Lord Megatron barely listened to my words. He destroyed my evidence, and he clawed my face. He tortured me. I nearly offlined that day... When Lord Megatron finally left, I had to rely upon a groundbridge to get myself back to my quarters. There I tended to my wounds as well I as could.” He reached up and touched the inflamed scar on his face. “This scar has never healed. I have given up on it ever healing. There must be some kind of Dark Energon contaminants in it or something. From that day forward, I acted the loyal eyes and ears to Lord Megatron. I reported to him every time that one of the other Decepticons talked about running from him. I became known as the mech without a face because of my mask. I never talked from that day forward, mainly because I knew that I would never be able to keep my temper around the mech I had called a friend.” He looked Optimus in the optics. “You ask me why I left Lord Megatron? Because the mech is nothing like Megatronus. He is not the mech that I decided to follow. He is not the friend he once was.”

Soundwave tilted his helm to the side as he saw the two Autobots interacting without battling other Decepticons. It was rather nice to be able to see it in person instead of recordings. The mech looked at Lightrose and smiled sadly. “I would bet it would be closer to an interrogation as well.” He stiffened as Ironhide sent a message to Optimus Prime. The mech silently debated upon whether or not to grab his face mask back out, but in the end he decided that it was time he stopped hiding. So he left his face mask off, his icy blue optics blazing in determination, and displaying his inflamed scar with pride. It was, after all, what convinced him that Lord Megatron was no longer a mech he wanted to follow. When he heard Optimus Prime’s voice, Soundwave cringed back. He had not expected the Prime to move so fast. He had been hoping to have a little more of a conversation with Ironhide before facing the mech that used to be his friend, but resigned himself to his fate.  “I don’t expect anyone to go easy on me Lightrose.” He said as he kept his optics glued to Optimus Prime. “I did have the reputation of being Lord Megatron’s most loyal soldier. I was his third-in-command.” He was not even going to attempt to hide his voice from the Autobot leader At Optimus Prime’s suggestion, the former Decepticon took a step backwards, his optics showing a quick flash of hurt. “If you believe that is best.” He bowed his helm slightly. No matter what, he did not expect to be a prisoner of the Autobot’s. Especially after providing them with so much, but if it had been Lord Megatron... well he would have been tortured. “I know it is hard to believe me, but I will never go back to Lord Megatron. He would torture and kill me for the damage that I’ve done. The Nemesis should be grounded for a very long time.” He hesitated. “I also destroyed his stockpile of Dark Energon.” 

Soundwave blinked in surprise that both Lightrose and Ironhide would defend him to their leader. He was also surprised that they seemed to question his choices. Something like that would have been an invitation to visit Shockwave’s lab with the Decepticons.  “I don’t expect anyone to immediately trust me sir. I just don’t want to be chased off. If that happens then Lord Megatron will find me.” An involuntary shudder surged through his frame and he closed his optics for a moment. “I will be careful around them sir. He looked Optimus in the optics. “I am ready to answer your questions at any time.” He looked over at Lightrose and shook his helm. “I could not allow Lightrose to be used as an experiment by Shockwave. If I had not acted as quickly as I did then that would be where she was not. Shockwave has a way to reprogram a processor so that there is no questions about loyalty. Skyquake had that done to him as has many of the other Decepticons.” The mech sighed softly. “I feel I should also warn you that, if I am ever allowed to be a fully functioning member of your team, you might get a few more deserters. They just are not brave enough to leave Lord Megatron without knowing that there is a good chance of getting accepted by you.”