Work Text:
As much as it seems like
you own my heart
It's astronomy,
we're two worlds apart
Stop trying to keep us alive
You're pointing at stars in the sky
that already died
The night absorbed the lingering light on the horizon.
The twins argued.
Soundwave distractedly stoked the fire.
Laserbeak preened.
The flames flickered to fend off the dark of an absent moon.
Everything was as it should be.
It was like any other night since they had set out on their own. Ravage shifted in her post near the entrance of the cave, attention split between surveillance of the outside and that of her squadron. A tail flicked restlessly behind her, expressing a need to hunt that she’d ignored so long it was beginning to feel reflexive.
“I’m tired of this stupid cave!” Frenzy shouted, throwing her cube across the miniscule space where it echoed as it hit the opposite wall and clattered onto the floor. Ravage’s attention turned, head resting, cocked in mild interest as she watched the outburst.
“I want out of here, Soundwave,” the cassette continued, pulling Soundwave’s attention from what Ravage could only assume to be an internal missive. She recognized the look—a dissociated sort of focus. In fact, she recognized it further—as being connected to a certain mech.
And that caught the beastformer’s interest more than the minibot’s familiar outrage ever could.
Ravage flicked her tail, pushing up onto her back paws, front legs stretching, each joint popping idly into place before she began her languid trek over to Soundwave’s side.
“ Frenzy. Sit,” Soundwave intoned, and the exhaustion there would go unnoticed by most, but Ravage knew every tick. As Soundwave’s eldest cassette, she knew everything.
Everything.
Despite her obvious disdain, Frenzy did listen, but not before plucking the half-empty cube from Rumble’s servos.
“Hey!” Rumble stood, shoving the other bot’s chest plate and spilling energon onto the cave floor.
Ravage watched the fight ramp up, until finally Soundwave stood to tower over them. “ Stop. Now!”
The minibots turned to him, their optics wide and somewhat ashamed.
“ We do not waste fuel,” Soundwave reprimanded, and both Frenzy and Rumble nodded. Once they had sat back down, Soundwave did the same, and Ravage took the opportunity to crawl into his lap. The heavy weight of his servo, stroking along the length of her spinal strut was a comfort she hadn’t known she needed.
Soundwave went back to his suspicious, distant focus.
Why are you speaking with him ? Ravage sent over internal comms as she closed her eyes and relaxed, enjoying the rare silence that came in the wake of the twins’ fight.
Correction: I am not.
The response came immediately, and Ravage couldn’t help but scoff aloud, though her engine had already begun to purr, a low, deep rumble that quickly warmed her system and made the reaction impossible to make out.
I know you too well to believe your lies.
The line went quiet—a silent resignation from her oldest friend and leader. Her purring continued as the cave followed suit into silence—rare for the likes of the twins, but always welcome. The rhythmic stroke of Soundwave’s fingertips along her nape pulled her into a gentle lull. Of course, Ravage was always alert, even when relaxed—audials flicking around to monitor each tiny animal sound or snapped twig within a mile’s radius that went unnoticed by her cohort.
She had long since cataloged the sounds of this strange planet. Different immensely from home and yet comforting in their own ways.
Suddenly, Soundwave’s hand stopped on her neck, and she eased an optic open, tail flicking curiously behind her.
What is it? she sent.
But there was no response. Only Soundwave stood, indicating a change in the air. She hopped from his lap, and took a seat before him. At attention.
“I must go,” he said.
“What? Where?” Rumble looked up, covered in dirt and grime from where she lay on the cave floor, drawing a game of tic-tac-toe with Frenzy in the dust.
“Out.”
“No duh,” Frenzy snapped, hopping up from her rocky outcrop of a seat. “Out where , Soundwave?”
“Ravage is in charge. I will return.” He paused, glanced down at Ravage who only stared up at him with curious but obedient eyes. “Soon.”
There was no further explanation, and yet Ravage felt she knew what this must be about. And that alone was enough to send a shiver of fear down her spinal strut.
Once the low clomp of Soundwave’s receding footsteps faded into the night, Ravage turned her head back to see the obvious distress this was causing. Of course, Laserbeak, as per the bird’s MO, was unbothered, largely unfazed by the disruption as he continued to peck at crumbs of dirt between his plates. Frenzy and Rumble, however, appeared to have taken the sudden change of events to spark.
“Where in the Pit does he think he’s going this late?” Frenzy started, stomping a ped against the ground.
Ravage walked around in a slow circle until she could properly see the two young bots. Rumble had pushed herself up to sit, leaning back on a servo against the cave floor. “Not to mention—with the storm coming,” she offered, expression blank as she dragged a ped through the abandoned tic-tac-toe game on the ground.
“Exactly—with the storm coming,” Frenzy growled. Her little servos curled at her sides and she began to pace as she often did, with the weight of her ire heavy in her steps.
“Y’all worry too damn much,” Laserbeak supplied, standing up properly and shaking out his plates. “He said he’d be back soon. He’ll be back soon.”
“I say we go after him. See what’s going on. He doesn’t get to keep slag from us.” Everyone turned to stare at Frenzy whose smile stretched like a wicked slice across her face, visor glinting as she grabbed her guitar. “Or if none of you aftholes want to follow me, I’ll go it alone—”
“Language,” Ravage quickly chastised, only to receive a huff from the minibot.
“Ya comin’ or not?” Frenzy asked, turning finally to the dumbstruck Rumble.
“No one is going anywhere,” Ravage growled, standing to move in front of the entrance to the cave.
“Yeah? And who’s gonna stop me?”
“Frenzy—” Rumble stood suddenly, moving closer to her irritated sister facing off Ravage at the head of the cave. “Just stay here, he’ll be back soon.”
“It isn’t about whether or when he’s coming back, Billy,” Frenzy snapped, turning on her twin. “It’s about why he has secrets from us to begin with.” With that, Frenzy sidestepped Ravage and took a sprint out the mouth of the cave much to the cat’s chagrin.
She held up a paw as Rumble peeked out after her sister to keep from losing the second twin. “I can’t just let her go, Ravage. I’m sorry,” Rumble said grabbed her guitar–a single strum and suddenly the cave was shaking, rocks and debris raining from the ceiling and knocking Ravage off kilter enough for Rumble to slip past her.
“Welp,” Laserbeak said as both beastformers regained their balance. The bird flicked the debris from his wings, already settling in to groom again. “Looks like you did a great job being in charge. It’s no wonder he always chooses you—”
But Ravage was already out the door, following after crashing steps through the forest, turning the volume all the way up on her sensors to keep from losing track of the rogue minibots.
“Frenzy! Slow down!” Rumble called.
Ravage pivoted, following the sound, her spark pumping fast in her chest. She wouldn’t lose them, she wouldn’t—
A flash of green disappeared behind a tree and she let out a sigh of relief before dashing after it, only to see the twins dashing forward, tripping over and shoving at each other as they crashed through the foliage. A drop of water landed against Ravage’s sensornet, and then another.
A crack of lightning lit up the sky in hues of brilliant white—
One.
Two.
Three—
Ka-Boom!
Ahead of her, Rumble shrieked at the sudden boom of thunder and shoved her sister to the ground. “Someone’s shooting!”
The tumble allowed Ravage enough time to catch up, the cat growling in aggravation as she reached the twins.
“No, dumbaft—it’s thunder,” Frenzy corrected with a laugh and Ravage walked over, offering herself as a support to help the twins up. Rumble accepted, using her back to hoist herself back up to standing.
“Go back. Now,” Ravage ordered, but of course, Frenzy paid no attention.
“Slag—we lost him,” she muttered, clearly adjusting the settings in her own audials. “Wait—no. There.” And then she was running again.
With an apologetic look and a shrug for Ravage, Rumble began to follow.
And the cat had no choice but to follow suit.
Wherever Soundwave was going—it was a long way from their cave, which only made the whole ordeal more suspicious, and Ravage couldn’t shake the idea that whatever this was…it had to do with him.
For so long, they walked, that Ravage was beginning to think they may never reach a destination. Perhaps they would only make a loop back. After all, the route itself was rather convoluted. Rumble had started to whine, dragging her pedes despite Frenzy’s hurried pace. And—while she knew that at some point they should have turned back—Ravage had long since lost her inhibition to indulge the curiosity bug that had taken hold of the wilder twin, and—now—herself.
“Come,” she said finally, gesturing with her chin to Rumble, telling the young bot to hop on her back. Rumble huffed, but did as instructed, arms wrapping around Ravage’s neck to hold herself in place.
Some quarter-mile ahead of them, Soudwave’s pedesteps slowed, and Ravage sent out a warning ping to the excited Frenzy. Fall back, she sent, slowing her own pace. Atop her back, Rumble had started to stroke behind her ears, body having fallen forward against her. For once, Frenzy listened, waiting ahead of them until she fell into pace next to Ravage. The nerves were scattered on her sensornet as they approached, coming upon a clearing where the strength of their caretaker’s frequency became more and more palpable.
Stay low, Ravage sent to both twins, dropping down on her haunches as she crawled toward an outcrop of bushes that lined the clearing. On the other side, Soundwave stood, stock still as he faced the opposite end. To the left was a cliffside, overlooking a small ravine. The sound of uninhibited rain pinged quietly against the mech’s plates.
He was waiting.
“What’s he doing?” Frenzy whispered, earning a quick glare from Ravage who simply shook her head once.
Internal comms only, she sent.
Frenzy huffed in response, but nodded. Fine, she returned. What is he doing????
It looks like he’s waiting for something, Rumble added to the chat.
Ravage only watched. She let her optics cycle in on Soundwave—seeking out his familiar field. Luckily, they were far enough away that their own signatures would go unnoticed if not deliberately sought out. The rain helped as well, muddying the connections—but also, unfortunately, her own readings. Even still, it was risky.
Waiting for what? Frenzy asked, only for everyone to go impossibly silent as a fifth frequency began to encroach, followed close behind by the heavy thud of familiar pedesteps. At that very moment, the rain seemed to pour down harder, bringing with it a sheen of dim, grey fog that hung in the air, obscuring the mech who finally emerged from the opposite line of trees.
With a silent gasp, each of the twins’ jaws dropped and then—in tandem, they whispered
“Megatron !”
Rumble and Frenzy sprinted toward the hulking mech as he finally came onto the bridge of the Nemesis. Meanwhile, Ravage simply threw a knowing smirk up at a slightly annoyed Soundwave.
“You are late,” the Communications Officer informed his leader who walked over to the battle map with two tiny cassettes hanging off his arms.
“Yes, yes. Apologies,” he said, pulling first Rumble and then Frenzy onto his hips. “Was dealing with Starscream’s nonsense as per usual,” he said, which earned him no sympathy.
Ravage stood on the table, stretching her haunches as she moved closer to Soundwave and began to rub against his side. The larger mech reached down to scratch behind her ears as she preferred, beginning to purr immediately from the attention.
But, only a moment later, Megatron was rounding the table and the attention ceased as the captain pulled his Comms Officer against his chest. He’d deposited Rumble and Frenzy on the ground, where they rushed under the table to conspire in hushed whispers on Primus only knew what.
“You’ll forgive me, Soundwave,” Megatron crooned as Ravage watched, tilting her face up.
And she knew Megatron was indeed correct. Never before had Soundwave been able to stay angry with the big silver buffoon. But even as she thought the bitter words, one of Megatron’s hands came over to her own helm and immediately melted the ice in her own spark. She gave a warm, happy rumble of her engine, pressing up between her two masters.
“Soundwave…forgives ,” the other mech said after a moment, but then pressed a palm to the center of Megatron’s chest, pushing him away slightly. He glanced up at the frown on Megs’ lips, cocking his helm. “Imperative: Work must be done.”
Megatron sighed, glancing down at the battle plan laid out before them. A hologram of the field where they were to ambush the Autobot forces—tomorrow would be the only certain opportunity. And potentially a turning point in the war.
“Right,” Megatron intoned, voice thick with an unnameable exhaustion. Ravage watched him step around the table, looking over every hill and valley with bored optics, before a hand slipped under the table and he flipped the switch. The hologram immediately turned off, and Ravage bristled. “We’ve done nothing but plan this attack for weeks now, Soundwave,” their captain informed him.
Even still, Ravage could feel the quiet rage already building under the surface of Soundwave’s plates. She had heard the late night discussions, the arguing. They had always worked it out, but even still—Soundwave’s aggravation with Megatron’s flickering determination was more than clear.
“Yes,” Soundwave agreed. Remotely, he flipped the hologram back on, only for Megatron to manually turn it off once more. “Do you insinuate we are too prepared , Megatron? ” he snapped.
“I insinuate that perhaps we are all in need of a break.” Reaching down, he picked a distraught Rumble up from the ground, holding her close as she sniffled.
“The attack is tomorrow— ”
“And we cannot possibly be more prepared than we are right now—”
“Lies!”
They all went silent, following the comms officer’s snap, audials ringing from the slap of metal on metal as he hit the table.
For a moment, the silence reigned, taking with it all the lightness in the room, claiming it for itself—until, finally, Megatron decided to step forward. At times, it felt as though Megatron controlled the air in the room. Ravage had always assumed it to be a part of his leadership–the power that had brought him into his position.
“Soundwave,” Megatron soothed. Rumble in tow, he rounded the table once more. “Dance with me.”
Ravage couldn’t help but roll her optics, settling on the surface of the table, paws folded under her chin. Soundwave would succumb, of course—he always did. After all, while Megatron may have been slacking off in certain areas as of late, he always managed to woo him.
Protesting for only a moment, Soundwave gave in when Megatron reached up and curled digits around his neck, surely massaging the tense struts.
Soundwave was, by and large, a logical mech. He could run toe to toe with Shockwave on a good day, and was often capable of making the most difficult decisions regardless of the consequences. And yet—there was always a piece of that cool exterior that would crumble for Megatron’s warmth.
It never did fail to concern Ravage.
She watched, though, as Soundwave turned into Megatron’s chest. He tilted his helm up, and Ravage saw a tenderness in his gaze that was reserved only for the Decepticon leader. As he let Megatron guide him out to the center of the bridge room floor, Ravage’s tail flicked curiously. Her eyes darted down to Frenzy who stood, leaning against the side of the table with her arms folded across her chest.
“Something’s wrong,” the minibot said, quietly, barely audible over the music that had begun to melt through the speakers—surely at Soundwave’s command. Frenzy glanced to Ravage, a frown contorting her lips. “You can feel it, right? You always see this stuff before anyone else.”
Ravage didn’t reply.
She had, indeed, felt that something was wrong for quite some time. Longer even, than Megatron and Soundwave had been fighting, growing short with one another. She couldn’t put a claw on what exactly it had been, but something had sown the seeds that Frenzy now spoke of.
Though she only shrugged, turning on her perch to watch as the happy couple began to dance on the bridge. Internally, she logged into the lights control and dimmed the overheads. Megatron had lifted Rumble onto his shoulders as Soundwave pressed against his chest. She watched a hand press almost desperately against the chestplates of the only mech Soundwave had ever truly loved—other than his own cassettes.
Beside her, she could feel the anxious energy flowing from Frenzy’s EM field and she let out a low vent. Her tail flicked over to the minibot, caressing her shoulder sweetly.
Go. Join them, she commed.
Frenzy didn’t react for a moment, and Ravage figured she would just ignore the missive, but then she shifted her weight forward, bounding out to them. She watched as the small mech took their hands, and they immediately worked her into their little group. Frenzy and Rumble laughed as Megatron tickled and teased them, Soundwave watching on with love in his optics.
There was trust there. Something that ran deeper than struts and cabling. Soundwave wanted to believe everything was fine. That they would win the battle tomorrow and turn the tides of the war. That the Decepticons would have everything they had worked so very hard for all these millennia. That their little family, as it were, could be happy and safe—together.
Ravage wanted to believe it too.
“Soundwave.”
“Megatron.”
Ravage rested back on her haunches, suspicious gaze trained on Megatron. A hundred questions spun through her processor ( Who had requested this meeting? What was it for? Was this the first time? Or had this happened before? ) and she immediately bristled when a small servo came to rest on her nape, before relaxing, seeing Rumble pressed against her side as her wide optics watched her guardian—and former guardian—face off.
Frenzy, on the other hand, looked geared up to fight, crouched and ready to spring.
Stand down, Ravage sent to the group chat. She narrowed her eyes as Frenzy glanced back at her. We mustn’t let them know we are here.
Reluctantly, Frenzy sat back, faceplate still tilted up to watch the unlikely conversation through the brush before them.
The ground rumbled as Megatron moved in closer to Soundwave, standing before him.
“We do not need to do this, Soundwave,” Megatron said, breaking the thick silence.
In response, Soundwave activated a hologram projection, reflected against the dense cascade of rain and fog in bright green before them. Ravage recognized the text well, and couldn’t help leaning forward, attempting to see which section was highlighted.
In the cases of separation or arguments of guardianship, Decepticons will prioritize the appraisal of physical superiority via servo-to-servo combat.
Across from him, Megatron sighed, reaching a hand up to rub at the bridge of his nose. “I know what the code says, Soundwave. But I am no longer beholden to it. I am not a Decepticon—”
With a booming protest, Soundwave lurched forward, through the hologram which disintegrated into the downpour. He threw a fist into Megatron’s jaw, knocking the larger mech back against a jagged rocky outcrop. Megatron grunted, shifting his helm from one side to the other, struts in his neck cracking back into place.
Soundwave’s shoulders heaved, staring at his foe. “ Command: Fight me. Now.”
Megatron righted himself, shoulder pauldrons rolling back. “Let us discuss this civilly,” he said.
The rain came down harder, fat drops rolling down each mech’s plates.
“There is nothing civil about this ,” Soundwave countered. “It is time to make arrangements once and for all. ”
“Is it not better to keep them together where they are? If not for our sake, then for theirs,” Megatron said, and suddenly Ravage’s eyes went wide.
This was…about them. The cassettes. Her optics grazed over to the minibots who still watched in rapt attention. It was impossible to tell if they had come to the same conclusion, though the lack of outrage (particularly from Frenzy) was something of a sign.
“Counterpoint: It is protocol.”
Megatron huffed, something in his gaze shifting as he appeared to realize that Soundwave would not back down from this point of reasoning.
Soundwave would insist that they battled for custody of the cassettes. Last mech standing took the quarry. Ravage’s hackles bristled and she buried herself lower against the ground, watching the fight with renewed dismay, though she trusted Soundwave’s reasoning. She had never known her leader to be irrational, but the fact that he was willing to give Megatron the opportunity to change the tides, that Megatron may win this battle, was disconcerting.
“Soundwave—if you insist on this—”
“I do.”
“…know that I protest this barbaric protocol, and the hatred it will bring out in us.”
“Hatred is already here.”
As soon as Megatron squared his shoulders and brought his fists up, Soundwave took another shot. This time, he delivered a swift roundhouse kick to his former partner’s abdomen. Megatron staggered back, bracing a servo against the rock wall behind him.
The former gladiator growled, letting out a shout as he launched himself back at Soundwave, shoving at the other mech’s chest and throwing him to the ground. Soundwave skidded back, kicking up mud as his pedes made deep rivets in the makeshift battlefield. Hardly a moment passed before Soundwave was up, throwing himself back at Megatron.
The sight devolved into a flurry of heavy fists, clanking metal against metal, and aggravated grunts as they watched. Rumble hid her face against Ravage’s neck, breaths hurried and panicked, all while Frenzy’s anxious optics darted back and forth, following the match with tense precision.
Something wasn’t right.
The first indication: Megatron shuddering back, holding up a hand and wiping at Energon from his olfactory, as if he needed a rest.
Megatron—the greatest gladiator on Cybertron, the leader of the Decepticons in the Great War—needed a timeout .
He wasn’t trying—wasn’t giving it his all, and Ravage could see the exact moment Soundwave realized the same: Megatron slammed a ped into his abdomen, and Soundwave barely budged. Sure, he was likely braced for it—but this wasn’t the first time he’d sparred with the former leader. Ravage’s tail went stock still behind her as Soundwave took a step back. She saw the tension in his shoulders, the way he looked down at the ground.
A sparkbreak that would never heal.
With a blast of sound that threw even the twins back, Soundwave launched himself across the clearing and threw his pedes into Megatron’s chest hard enough to send the massive mech into the mud, sprawled and heaving.
Soundwave trudged over, steps heavy with something new as he stood above him. The lasergun mounted to his shoulder charging menacingly with a high-pitched whirr.
“ You refuse to fight,” he accused in his labored monotone.
“Wha—what are you talking about? We were just—”
Soundwave shot off a blast next to Megatron’s helm on the ground and stomped a ped forward, the ground trembling underfoot, birds shaken from their slumbers fled the surrounding trees, Ravage’s tail curled around Rumble’s quivering form.
“ You refuse to fight me!” Soundwave shouted, in as much of a shout as the mech ever came to.
Megatron did not argue again. Ravage watched, spark dipping, as Megatron’s chin fell, eyes casting off to the side. “I do not know what you want from me, Soundwave…”
“To fight for them!” Soundwave replied. “To fight for me.”
That seemed to catch Megatron’s off guard, thick brow furrowing as he shifted onto his hands, pushing himself up. Carefully, he peeled himself from the ground, holding out a hand to keep the other mech’s blaster at bay.
But Soundwave didn’t seem to be focused on that anymore. Giant shoulders heaved, spinal strut straightening as he rose to match Megatron before him.
As Rumble pressed against her side, Ravage stayed alert, ready for the worst if it were to come. She would fight for her partner. Always. Even if it meant going against a mech she had once loved nearly as much.
“You betrayed us,” Soundwave continued, stepping back even as Megatron seemed to inch closer. “Left. For your Autobots ,” he sneered. “And now you protect your Earth mechlings as you once did the cassettes.”
“That is different—”
“It is not! ” Soundwave barked. “ Argument: You prove my point correct by refusing to fight for the cassettes. You throw this fight. You pity us. But that is all. You fight for them now—you lock up our kind .”
“Soundwave—”
“Query: Did you ever care about us, Autobot Sympathizer?”
“Of course, I—things have changed.”
For a moment, they both fell silent, only the patter of rain against plating could be made out across the clearing. Ravage leaned forward, putting her audial sensors at full volume, until she heard Soundwave speak again.
“Nothing has changed but you, Megatron. You are not who I once knew. Who I once followed with all of my spark .”
The charge in Soundwave’s blaster reached a crescendo, and Ravage flinched as the shot went off, only for Megatron to duck and dodge, before launching himself back into Soundwave’s flank. They tumbled to the ground, a vicious grapple for purchase, until finally Megatron came out on top, Soundwave pinned below him, wrists to the ground. Soundwave struggled, trying to pull his wrists free, and beside her, Frenzy jerked.
Ravage put out a paw, claws extended and digging into the minibot’s arm.
Wait, she commanded.
Slowly Soundwave stopped struggling, chassis heaving with labored vents. Ravage could still make out the sound of his engine rumbling in aggravation, but even that had calmed. With caution, Megatron released one of Soundwave’s wrists, hand coming up to his helm. He stroked a thumb over his faceplate, optics soft. It only took a moment, though, for Soundwave to snap out of it, using his sound pulse targeted at the center of Megatron’s chest. The larger mech was prepared, though, and quickly deflected, grabbing his wrist and sending the pulse in a different direction—toward them instead.
Rumble shrieked, the sound buried in the deafening blow as the pulse came over them. Both minibots huddled against her, and Ravage growled as she braced the impact. Luckily it didn’t last long, silence flooding back in aggressively before their senses could be awakened once more. Slowly, the sound of the rain, the rush of wind—Ravage leaned forward once more as the twins clung to each other, still watching the ordeal if not listening.
Ravage reclaimed her auditory balance, and tuned in, only to hear Megatron’s voice, soft and sweet as Soundwave stared up at him.
“No — no. Lies ,” Soundwave sneered, but the venom, the anger had dissolved.
Ravage zoomed in, and she could see the condensation gathering around Soundwave’s visor. He shoved at Megatron, but there was no real energy behind it—in fact, he let the larger mech grab his wrists, pull him up into his chest as he sat back.
“I have never lied to you,” Megatron said quietly. “I have only ever given you my truth, Soundwave. Even when I knew you would not like it.”
Ravage felt her spark contract as she watched Soundwave’s spine reluctantly relax as Megatron pet over the struts. His shoulders shook as he allowed Megatron to slide into the mud, to pull him against his chest. He looked so small, wrapped in the embrace of Megatron’s bulk.
“I have made many mistakes,” Megatron continued, lips pressed to the side of Soundwave’s helm.
If she focused, Ravage could feel the frantic thrum of Soundwave’s spark, and she wanted nothing more than to be at his side where she belonged. But she knew better than to interrupt.
Weak static fogged Soundwave’s voice as he spoke again, “Abandoned—everything…the Cause. Cybertron. Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage—Soundwave.”
“I’m sorry.” Megatron sighed and Ravage whimpered as she watched, pushing forward on her front paws as the twins clung to her flank. “I did—I do care, Soundwave. I’ve always cared. It’s just—there is no other way, Soundwave. There is nothing left for the Decepticons.”
“This is the only way. ”
Above her, she heard the subtle shifting of her guardians. She could only imagine Soundwave curled into Megatron’s chest as he often was. The rest of the cassettes were settled in Soundwave’s chassis for recharge. The air in the room was still, as if poised for a shift. Though, Ravage supposed it had been for quite some time.
“There is never only one way,” Megatron countered. “We always have a choice.”
They had failed.
Since their arrival on Earth, all tactical plans had led dead ends. Discussion of obtaining the AllSpark had begun, with Shockwave leading the charge, and Soundwave behind him at every turn. Megatron, though—had remained suspiciously quiet.
“You have been…conversing with Optimus ,” Soundwave accused.
“Diplomatic talks. Yes. He is…open to negotiation.”
“But we are not .”
Silence.
Ravage shifted under the berth, cocking an audial up toward them, tail dragging the ground restlessly.
“Soundwave—what if…what if we are wrong?”
More shifting above.
“You doubt the cause. ”
“No…no. I do not doubt what the cause once was. I…may doubt what it has become.”
“Counterpoint: The Decepticons have become what we have needed to become. What we were meant to become .”
“We are destroying this planet, Soundwave.”
“Then let it be destroyed. ”
“But—”
“Query ,” Soundwave snapped. Ravage’s brow ticked up. “ Would you abandon the cause for the sake of these…humans? These humans who despise us as much as we should them— ”
“That is not true—”
“ It is .”
A silence bloomed once more, only for Megatron to let out a snort of a laugh. Ravage heard another shift before it sounded as though he pulled Soundwave back down to his chest. “It is merely a…theoretical discussion, my love,” he said.
Though Soundwave seemed to reluctantly accept that, Ravage could still feel the tension emanating off of her guardian’s field.
“Query: In this ‘theoretical’ situation—who fights for the liberation of our kind?” he asked. “Who fights for our cassettes? ”
Ravage whimpered, pressing against the ground. She closed her eyes, incapable of shaking the feeling that everything was being ripped apart before her very audials, that she was listening in on the last of an era.
“Me, Soundwave. Us . Always us.”
“There is never only one way ,” Soundwave played, using Megatron’s voice back at him—a time that felt so long ago now.
Even still, Megatron clung to him, and Ravage watched as Soundwave reluctantly clung back. He pressed his helm up under Megatron’s chin, and for a moment, it seemed, they found something with each other long lost. Something soft and warm. Something that Ravage hadn’t seen in her leader now in far too long.
That moment shattered, though, as Megatron lifted his helm. He used a finger to tilt Soundwave’s face up to his own.
“Join us,” he said. “If you join the Autobot cause, I will vouch for you and the cassettes with Optimus, and—”
“No .”
“Soundwave, if you just trust me—we can be together again—”
“ If Megatron cared about Soundwave, he would have never left— ”
“Love, please—”
But Soundwave was already moving, shoving against Megatron’s chest and standing, shoulders squared against the wind as he watched Megatron do the same.
“WE are Decepticons! ” he said, lifting his palms. He braced a foot back as he sent pulses directly at Megatron’s chest, shoving the former ‘Con back until he was able to grab onto the nearest tree, wrenching himself in place. The thick trunk creaked and cracked in his grip, as he pulled himself forward against it.
“Slag—” From behind her, Frenzy wiped at her teary face, and jumped up, yanking her guitar out from behind her and pushing through the brush to join Soundwave on the field.
“Oh no!” Rumble fell forward onto her palms, grabbing her guitar as well.
“No! Stay—” Ravage shouted, but it was futile. The twins had already pushed out into the open.
Immediately, Soundwave stopped the weaponized pulse, and stared at the minibots sprinting toward him. Megatron was relieved of the barrage of sound, and Ravage pounced from the bushes when she saw him advancing toward a distracted Soundwave. She let out a low rumble, beginning to circle the Autobot as he stared her down.
Ravage. The internal comm flickered over her screen, and she had to fight the reaction her spark wanted to have at the long-missed frequency.
Megatron.
I’ve missed you.
She continued to circle, spark pounding harder as Megatron grew nearer. Her tail, alert and waving in the air, stilled as he stood before her and crouched. He held out a hand, as if asking permission. She didn’t give it, but her gaze couldn’t help but soften slightly, her neck arching. Her engine let out an involuntary purr as Megatron scratched behind her ears familiarly. Lubricant gathered in the corners of her optics and she frowned, pulling away when she heard heavy pedesteps behind her.
She turned, walking to press against Soundwave’s ankles, nuzzling into his legs. The twins flanked his either side, and Ravage watched as a familiar smile curled on Megatron’s lips. “Rumble—Frenzy,” he crooned, holding out hands for each.
Rumble accepted, moving forward and letting Megatron pull her into a hug, even as her sister turned away, refusing to look the defector in the optics.
Ravage could sense the Soundwave’s stillness behind her as he watched Megatron with Rumble, could feel his desire to pull her away–and yet, at the same time, his longing.
“Stop fighting,” Rumble’s soft voice pleaded as she pulled away from Megatron, tilting her face up to Soundwave. She shook her helm. “Please… please stop fighting.”
But Soundwave did not reply. He only stared back at her silently.
This, after all, was not his decision. Megatron had called the shots that had brought them here. Megatron…had abandoned them. Abandoned everything they had ever fought for together.
“Come—Soundwave,” Megatron tried again. He stood, Rumble still gripping at his servo. “Let the cassettes meet the Terrans. See what we’re doing with G.H.O.S.T.—”
“Murderers ,” Soundwave snapped. He shook his helm, beginning to walk away, leaving them all in the field. “I am a Decepticon. I will perish a Decepticon. I am sorry you will not do the same .”
As Soundwave reached the edge of the clearing, silhouetted against a moon that was beginning to shine through a break in the clouds, plates matted with mud, he stopped. His shoulders fell, and he turned back. “ Rumble, Frenzy—Ravage. You are all autonomous beings. It is your choice with whom you stay. ”
And then he waited.
Hardly a moment passed before Ravage joined Soundwave’s side. Glancing back, though, she saw the hesitation in both twins’ expressions. Rumble’s hand still hung limp in Megatron’s. Rain, or perhaps tears rolled from her optics as she trembled. Another moment, and Frenzy sighed. She walked to Rumble and pressed a kiss to her sister’s cheek. “Bye Billy,” Ravage heard her say softly, before she jogged back over to Ravage and Soundwave.
Soundwave, though, waited another moment more, his gaze trained on Rumble. But she only pressed closer to Megatron, until he leaned down and scooped her up. She hid her face against his chest.
Soundwave’s spark—already broken and bleeding, wounds impossible to heal—shattered, and Ravage felt the pulse as if it were a physical pull on her own life force and she whimpered, pressing against Soundwave’s side. He reached down and pet over the top of her helm, but there was something missing there. Some piece of him— pieces of him—had gone.
“Ravage—Frenzy ,” Soundwave intoned, standing up straight and fighting for his composure as his chest compartment opened.
“Return .”
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