Chapter Text
Soundwave was not a careless mech. He did not make mistakes.
He was the Decepticon spymaster and Chief Communications Officer. Soundwave executed his duties with utmost precision. He had been -- remained Lord Megatron’s most loyal officer. Soundwave was capable of handling any situation. Soundwave was superior.
However, from the moment he stepped upon Earth’s surface, everything began working against him.
Lord Megatron had perished on a rock eons away from Cybertron. The Decepticon forces were no more, scattered to the wind. The Nemesis had been taken over by the Autobots, who were in full command of the new cyberforming technology. Any high-ranking officers had either escaped or had been captured.
And he was trapped.
The ever-capable Soundwave, fooled by human children that he had erroneously underestimated. Now, he faced an enemy he couldn’t scan, and couldn’t evade. One foolish mistake after the other.
Soundwave experienced odds worse than this -- often in the gladiatorial arenas and the deep haze of war. He clearly remembers sleepless night cycles where the pain of his wounds kept him awake, and the fierce desperation that accompanied the battles on Cybertron. He made it thus far with his own adaptability and efficiency. He understood very well that it only took a single miscalculation to set things entirely off course.
As such, in the cycles following the events upon the Nemesis , Soundwave felt disillusioned. The cause he had followed, unwavering for centuries, had suddenly disappeared, and the long-time leader (gladiator… warlord… friend) that spearheaded the movement for all Cybertronians was offline.
No, he scolded himself often in the aftermath, Megatron had long since strayed from his original path. Despite that, Soundwave followed. And now, it appears he was the only one that remained.
He was left with much time to ponder over his escalating situation in the cycles that followed. Wandering the Earth almost blindly, there wasn’t much else to do. Soundwave traveled with his mire and guilt, growing increasingly desperate over retrieving fuel and keeping his symbiont calm.
To make matters worse, attempts at communication were a complete failure in the strange dimension he occupied. The shadowzone was disorienting — it distablized his gyros and left his tracking system scrambled. With severely crippled sensory networks, Soundwave was unable to ground bridge to safety, nor contact any other Decepticons.
He was stuck. Seen by no one, heard by no one.
Once, Soundwave might have been proud to have claimed that title. In his present situation, he desparetely wished for the opposite. He had been forced to preserve his energon supply, rerouting lines to directly siphon towards key systems. Energy was never wasted, and he made sure to keep Laserbeak close, limiting travel by flight.
He spent ages attempting to find a working ground-bridge. Communications to the Nemesis cut off, Soundwave made use of the dated maps he kept on his hard drive. After endless cycles of no improvement, his fuel tanks slowly deplete. Spare cubes that he saved in his subspace only granted a few megacycles each, and his inability to access fresh forms of energon doubled his risk of stasis.
He had been on his last dredges when he had discovered the human.
By some ironic twist of fate, the species of inferior beings that had put him in this mess in the first place now might be his only chance of getting out -- lest he offlines by starvation. There was no question in his next course of action.
And now, as fate would have it, he was a practically a nanoklik away from his salvation when the alert on his HUD came flashing.
STASIS LOCK IMMINENT… FUEL RESERVES LOW… 23%
The creature was charging at him, and it rapidly closed the distance between the both of them. He had no more fuel to spend on prolonged combat. He must end this quickly, otherwise, he had no hope in continuing. Soundwave calculated his following path, spreading his wing blades and bracing himself.
This is the only way, he concluded, allowing the beast to ram itself into his frame.
******
You shrieked when the boar crashed into Soundwave, hurtling the both of them over the cliffedge, barely clipping past your vulnerable head.
The rush of wind was enough to cause your fingers to slip. A sudden, choking gasp seized your throat as your fell backwards, pinwheeling your arms in the air to catch your balance. It was no use, your hands landed upon nothing and you slammed roughly into the rocks, rolling all the way back down the way you climbed.
In your freefall, you lost count of the amount of times you hit the stones. Every brush and bump seared past your padded clothing and bruised you like an apple. The sky and the ground melted into each other in a dizzying whirl before your vision was abruptly stolen from you. A sharp pain bloomed across your temple just before you lost consciousness.
******
“You really don’t know when to quit, do you?”
You looked up from your journal, pulling an earbud out as Vivi approached your work table. She had a disappointed look on her face, red bangs drawn low over her eyes. She set down the library coffee you had requested and you took a sip before replying.
“What do you mean?”
Vivi sighed, plopping down in the seat next to you. Her backpack bumped your leg on its descent to the floor.
“The journal. Doesn’t drawing all those things… scare you?”
You glanced at the pages you had previously been scribbling in, pursing your lips, “Not particularly, no. In fact, I find that it helps me.”
Vivi stayed quiet for a moment, not moving to get out her books or take a drink from her cup. Her expression was shadowy, as if she was trying to hide what she felt.
Unsettled, you leaned back in your chair to face her properly. “What’s wrong? You asked.
Your friend shook her head, “It’s nothing.”
You didn’t believe that for a second. “Come on,” you urged, “Really?”
Vivi struggled in place, shoving aside her coffee before confronting you. “Cassie came up to me today saying some shit, and -- I don’t know, I’m just having trouble understanding some things.”
You faltered, “Whoa -- hold up. Cassie came up to you and you believed her?”
Vivi didn’t answer, and you grew upset. “Vi, seriously, what’s going on? What could she have possibly said?”
In a robotic motion, she yanked her textbooks from her bag and flipped through them. “I didn’t believe her -- not really. She was just spouting some crap about how you had a mental breakdown back in grade school and you went to the school psychiatrist to get evaluated.”
Your heart sank. A familiar sort of anxiety knotted itself in your chest. “Well, that’s not her business to go around talking about.” You said scathingly. Turning back to your journal, you scooted closer to the table and placed your earbud back in. You were about to dial up the music when Vivi spoke again.
“Regardless of whether or not it's true,” she said you name with urgency, “this really isn’t healthy. You are obsessed with the paranormal and looking so much into these things that you’re projecting--”
“I’m not obsessed!” You snapped, shocked by her words, “I’m coping! There’s a massive difference.”
Vivi stared back at you, her gaze unwavering. “That’s not what it seems like to me.”
Frustrated, you clenched your hands into fists, frown deepening. “You just don’t understand -- no one ever did,” you lamented, “I’ve been seeing these things all my life and I would rather not be called crazy by my own friend.”
“I understand very well that you are hallucinating and you need help--”
“They’re not hallucinations!” Your voice pitched, drawing the look of several others around you. Prompted by the attention, you quieted your voice, but you didn’t forsake the speed of your explanation.
“I don’t know what to call them but they most certainly are real.” You squeezed your hands together. “Every living being on this planet leaves something behind whenever they pass away. Thoughts, ideas, emotions, words -- you name it! They’re imprinted not just physically by the paths we choose, but spiritually. We shape these things into what they are. That’s why, when strong enough, they stay behind. Like that lady in your house. I’m just trying to understand them!”
Despite your desparate words, Vivi didn’t seem all that convinced. In fact, she seemed even more upset.
Like you were being scolded by your mother, Vivi shoved her books into her backpack and gave you a withering look.
“While you’ve been trying to understand the paranormal, I’ve been trying to understand you.”
When she stomped away, you didn’t have the heart to tell her she left her coffee behind.
******
You awoke to complete darkness and the sound of your ragged breathing. At first, you didn’t move, muddled and confused about where you were. Blinking a few times, your eyes adjusted enough to catch the faint outline of a blade of grass, gently swaying in the cool breeze. You squinted, wincing as a flash of discomfort tore through your body -- and with it, the realization.
Like someone had jolted you, you sat up, hands flying around your body in a terror. By some miracle, your limbs were intact, and it didn’t appear like you had any sprains or broken bones. However, as your finger came up to touch your face, you noticed a strange wetness that had been swiped across your cheek. Pulling your hand away, your breathing grew considerably heavier as you saw the dark blood. Inspecting a bit more, you prodded at the awful gash on your forehead and concluded, yes, this was the culprit.
While relieved that you hadn’t been killed, your mounting concern got directed towards a more pressing matter.
Soundwave.
Your muscles flashed in pain as you struggled to stand. Every cut and scrape stung harshly as your skin pulled. You ignored it all, stumbling back and forth and trying to find your footing as your head swam.
“Soundwave!” You gasped, “Soundwave, where are you?”
The silence stretched out in response. Night must have fallen while you were unconscious, because the pitch blackness rendered everything unrecognizable. You were unable to see anything past five feet.
You were alone. In the woods. At night.
Fear gripped your heart, freezing you to the spot. Without your permission, your body started trembling uncontrollably, and a cold sweat erupted on the back of your neck.
What were you going to do? You were alone in Gripper, hurt, and without a guide to lead you back to the main roads. As if things couldn't be worse, you had the awful feeling someone -- some thing -- was watching you. And Soundwave --
You sucked in a breath of air, holding back the tears that threatened to spill from your eyes. In a push of sheer determination, you wrestled away the cloud of panic building in your head. He has to be around here somewhere, you reassured yourself. You have to find him.
Testing your weight on both legs, you deemed the agony bearable for now. Your backpack must have been torn off during your fall, as you just noticed it wasn’t hanging on your shoulders. You wandered in a slow circle, sweeping the areas in front of you with your feet in order to look for obstacles. It wasn’t even a second later when you remembered you had your phone in your front pocket, and immediately pulled it out to turn on the flashlight. (Unfortunetly cracked in the top right corner, you mentally tucked away the problem of having to explain this messy situation to your friends and family afterwards).
You found the backpack right at the bottom of the cliff face. Its contents had, thankfully, not scattered all over. The straps were intact and you checked the items inside. Besides some crushed food items, your belongings seemed to be in good shape and you brought out the flashlight and turned it on. You hiked it on your shoulders, wincing when it rubbed on some bruises. Straightening out your hand, you cast the beam of light forward and cut through the inky darkness. You followed the curve of the familiar clearing, gently stepping past foliage and downed trees, trying to distract yourself from the increasing signs of destruction.
Right before the clearing disappeared into the brush, you paused. Taking another deep breath, you called out for Soundwave. In retrospect, this was not the best idea. Despite there being no intelligent response, the forest was alive. You could hear the whispers on the air, riding with the breeze. The branches shook with unknown figures; boughs bent underneath heavy, shadowy weights. There were eyes watching you. Something had tickled your ankle.
Your lungs constricted, and you could instinctively feel every muscle in your body tighten in apprehension. Gripper was most certainly occupied -- with beings that are not quite as harmless as the blobs you often saw in school. The night was their time to come out. The beast from earlier -- no, that had been a predator. And if there was a predator, there was prey. That prey could have very well been Soundwave, which didn’t help calm you down.
One part of your hysterical mind worried that what you might find further in the woods would prove what you had been dreading all along: Soundwave wasn’t real, and you had been following your own imaginations for the whole day.
No. You can’t allow yourself to believe that. The thought was instantly dismissed before it could be allowed to fester. You pushed forward.
It had been violent, as you soon found out. The ground was torn up by large footsteps, distinguable amongst the wreckage. There was a distinct smell, like the earth had been struck by lightning and it had left the air filled with electricity. As Soundwave and the beast fought, they had kicked up enough of the ground and surrounding trees that it had cleared an entire pathway into the forest.
A splintered tree marked the end of it, where a strange blue substance glowed on its broken edges. Not wanting to analyze it, you swept past, nervously skirting around a shadow figure that had manifested beside it. It cooed as you went by, and you took that chance to call out for Soundwave to drown its words out.
“Soundwave!” Your voice wavered. “Soundwave, I’m over here!”
Silence.
You increased your stride, shoving through the crumpled bushes. There were things crawling
over your boots.
“Soundwave!”
Your flashlight shone right past a flickering image, and you immediately leaped towards it, almost slipping across the dewy ground.
As you approached, your source of light caught onto the outline of a smooth figure, and you cried out in relief. Falling to your knees, you scrambled to Soundwave’s still body, coming up beside the crown of his head.
“Hey, hey,” you whispered, “I’m here, are you okay?”
There was no response, and your heart skipped a beat. This time, you swiped a hand through Soundwave’s cold outline, waiting for the slightest bit of movement.
When he didn’t stir, you gulped, a fluttery panic growing in your stomach.
You didn’t understand Soundwave in the way you would a human. He didn’t have a pulse, he didn’t have anything that you might have recognized to be a sign of life. For all you knew, he could be dead, and you had failed in helping him. You sat there, shock-still, waiting for him to come online and begin moving. But it never happened.
Before your dark fear could cripple you, you set down your backpack and began frantically clearing away the damaged foliage from around you. Shoving your flashlight between your teeth, you dug a hole a few inches deep beside Soundwave’s head and began laying branches in the center. After much rummaging through your bag, you came upon your match and lighted the pile, a fire bursting into existence and brightening your surroundings. You couldn’t bear to look, but you saw shadows scuttle away in your periphery.
Hands shaking, you brought out several more important items you packed.
A bunched up sleeping bag, some trail mix, and a recently sharpened hunting knife. You had no idea what had happened to the beast, but just because you couldn’t see it didn’t mean it wasn’t there. It could have left Soundwave here to only come back and finish him off.
Not like I’m going to let that happen. You glowered, already sawing off some longer branches to make the fire bigger. If it meant staying up all night to make sure Soundwave would be safe, then your mind was already made up.
When you finally had a stable flame, you settled carefully beside your unconscious friend, legs trembling with the burst of effort; it took you three tries to untie your sleeping bag and even longer to open it up. You cocooned yourself as best as you could, sticking your hands inside and keeping a tight grip upon the knife. From your position, you had no choice but to wait. Wait for Soundwave to wake up, or for the beast to return. The latter a much more likely possibility than the previous.
It took only ten minutes for you to get antsy. At first, your scalp began to tingle. And then, a bad feeling crawled down your spine, prompting you to sit up straighter and train your eyes on the darkness ahead. You let out a shaky breath, rubbing your eyes and dragging your backpack closer to your body.
Just wait. You urged yourself. Don’t take your eyes off of anything.
It wasn’t much longer after that when the exhaustion hit. The constant focus on the blackness in front warped your perception, and now it seemed to stare right back -- which, when you thought about it, might actually be the case. The voices didn’t stop either; it was a constant hum in the background of your awareness. Your bones ached and the enticing pull of deep sleep dragged your eyelids lower and lower. Every few seconds you had to pinch yourself to stay focused. You struggled against it, the panic and worry only saving you a few seconds each time your head lowered. But, soon enough, your eyes drifted close and they didn’t open for the rest of the night. You sank down, melting against the soft ground and slightly loosening your grip on the knife. Rest seized you, and the last thing you remember seeing was the bright glow of the fire, and distant pairs of glistening eyes.
******
Something touched you, drawing you from your rest and right into motion. You lashed out in a frenzy, slashing the knife manically. Instantly, you tripped on something and ungracefully landed on your face, narrowly missing stabbing yourself. You didn’t give yourself a chance to recover, as you scrambled up and whirled to face whatever had awoken you.
You couldn’t see anything, as your eyes were still blurry with sleep and halfway closed from the dried blood. Sudden movement in front of you drew your attention.
Eyes now open wide with relief and happiness, you watched as Soundwave bent his helm, nearing your stunned expression with his visor.
“Inquiry: Recharge, complete?”
You let out a garbled sound, slapping a hand over your mouth. “You’re okay!” You mumbled past your fingers. The relief felt like it was seeping out your pores with how viscerally you felt it, and you tried really hard to appear unbothered.
Soundwave nodded, lifting an arm to show you a rather deep gash on his side, right below his wide chest-plate.
“ System scan: complete. Injury: of low severity. Fuel reserves: critical.”
With the blood still rushing through your head, you let out a sigh to calm yourself. “O-Okay, that’s good. Could be worse. What about that… that animal?”
The mech raised his other arm, pointing a long finger behind you. It was now, in the early light of the morning, that you saw the trampled path through the brush. The boar must have retreated, you concluded, noticing the massive hoofprints. Swallowing a bout of fear, you turned back towards your friend.
“Guess we better keep going before he comes back, huh?” Your breath ghosted in the cold air.
Soundwave stood up as if nothing had even happened, shaking off his limp and injured side like it was merely a slight nuisance on his part. Without missing a beat, he took a step, angling his helm in a way that signaled he was ready to go. You jumped, hurriedly packing your items and easing into his side.
This time, you kept the knife in your hand.
******