Note: For additional backstory on Optimus, Megatron, and Sentinel Prime, read If We Hold On Together. Reading If We Hold On Together is not required to understand Sparkling Trafficking. It's just helpful because it covers how Sentinel Prime met Optimus and Megatron. Happy reading! :)
Crystal City - Mansion of High Protector Sound Barrier
"Soundwave. Look here." A femme medic instructed. But her patient acted completely deaf to her. Every time the femme tilted the youngling's chin up to examine his optics, Soundwave would turn away from her and stare absentmindedly at the wall. Her bright pink and orange color scheme hurt Soundwave's optics. He didn't want to look at her, and didn't understand exactly why he had to. So Soundwave continued to ignore her the best he could without saying a word.
"I'm so sorry he's like this." An iridescent purple/indego Vossian femme designated Airwave, apologized. She tried to soothe her youngling and herself by making soft whistling noises to Soundwave's audios. Forgetting the dark silent wall, Soundwave immediately turned towards his carrier and relaxed his head against her chest. Airwave knew this was strange to Soundwave, and having his visor taken away made the situation more uncomfortable. So she tried to comfort her youngling the best she could. Meanwhile the medic cleaned Soundwave's visor in her hands. She hadn't gathered much information about Soundwave's optic quality, due to his lack of cooperation. But from what she could tell, Soundwave's optics were still getting worse. The medic placed a clear wrap of flexible glass-like material over Soundwave's visor. The additional layer would help to magnify Soundwave's vision until he could come to a clinic to have his visor replaced with a stronger one.
"Has he always been...delayed?" the medic asked, though the word she was thinking of was 'glitched'.
"He's not really delayed. Soundwave's just different." Airwave answered, while stroking her young one's helm. The femme medic just stared. "He's actually very smart and well functioning." Airwave defended. There was silence for some time and that made Soundwave impatient. He moved away from his carrier's grasp and pointed at his visor (or at least he pointed in the general direction. He really couldn't see where it was). The medic took the hint and handed over the makeshift visor to Soundwave. The youngling snatched the visor from her as soon as he could see what it was and he ran off with it. The medic smiled weakly.
"I'll send Lord Sound Barrier my reports and we can set up another appointment then." the medic suggested. Airwave nodded.
"Thank you, my friend. We shall be seeing you soon." Airwave turned to look at Soundwave, reading his datapads all scattered on the floor. The silent youngling sat on the floor with his back turned to the two adult femmes. Airwave smiled and shook her head at her mechling. Clearly he was not excited about another visit from the doctor.
Crystal City - Mansion of Sentinel Prime
The Prime's mansion was as silent as deep space. No detectable sound vibrated through the halls. Due to the mansion's peaceful but eerie quietness at night, an unsuspecting intruder would be unaware the guards stood waiting to defend. The darkness cloaked the sibling guards perfectly and hid them from even the most observant of optics. Sentinel Prime's duo of Shadow Sentries was the strictest and most reliable security on Cybertron, next to the Guardians of the Allspark Temple. Because of this, young Optimus face palmed in frustration. 'If the Shadow Sentries are the best security credits can buy,' Optimus wondered while staring out his berthroom window. 'Why do they never catch you escaping out the back door, Megatron?' He wished his older brother would turn around so he could see Optimus was upset with him. But the silver youngling never looked back, and ran away from the mansion's sight.
Optimus knew where his brother was going. Megatron always had a dangerous interest in Gladiatorial Games. Now that he actually stumbled upon a couple of real gladiators and their underground set up, he was out almost every single night. Optimus was simply abhorred by Megatron's affairs with the gladiators. Though Optimus was only seven vorns old, he understood very well that the games were illegal, savage, and cruel. Megatron knew that too, but he still loved the fights. It was sickening to Optimus; to think his own brother watched violent and often deadly brawls for entertainment.
'This has to end tonight.' Optimus decided. He slid off his berth and marched out the door with no real plan in mind. Luckily inspiration hit him the second he stepped into the hall. It might not have been the method Megatron used, but at least it would get him out undetected. Optimus tip toed towards Sentinel Prime's quarters. He couldn't see much and was relying on the wall to guide him. Optimus reached towards where he thought a door would be, but instead a servo with long claw-like fingers shot out of the dark and latched around Optimus' wrist. He nearly screamed. Then the stranger's face leaned in close to Optimus.
He could see now that it was one of the Shadow Sentries, though he couldn't tell which one at the moment. Both the Shadow Sentry siblings were painted black with limited silver and they wore black visors over their optics to hide the blue or red glow (Optimus had honestly never seen their real optics). The one that encountered Optimus silently straightened up from a crouched position and opened the door for Optimus. The youngling just stared in awe at the strange interaction that just occurred. He tried to think of something to say, but the Shadow Sentry pressed a single digit to his lip components. Optimus remembered: the Sentries never spoke while on duty. Feeling a bit awkward, Optimus turned to enter inside Sentinel's quarters, and the Sentry frightened him once again. The Sentry gave Optimus' helm a long stroke before completely disappearing. Optimus quickly closed the door behind him. He decided it didn't matter which Sentry was which. They were both creeps and they both gave Optimus the surges; especially in the dark.
Inside Sentinel Prime's berthroom, Optimus took a wide corner to stay clear of the sleeping mech. When Optimus had snuck around the berth one hundred eighty degrees, he was directly in the center of Sentinel's optic range. If he made even the smallest sound now, Sentinel's optics would flash online and Optimus would be the first thing he'd see. Optimus turned his back to Sentinel and gazed at the giant open window on the wall. The youngling couldn't resist a small smirk. Did Sentinel always leave that window open, or was it just his lucky day?
The jump from the window to the steel ground below was suicide for someone as small as Optimus; and he didn't consider this until he was sprawled out in empty space. For just a moment, Optimus' frame tingled with the uneasiness of nothing under him. Then he plummeted. The youngling hit the surface and rolled a few times. His entire frame shook with pain and fear, but he stayed silent. When the world finally stopped spinning, Optimus pushed himself up to his hands and knees. He looked over his shoulder at the enormous mansion and realized how far he'd fallen. How was he still functioning? Suddenly, Optimus remembered his brother and wasted no time to activate self-repairs. Remarkably he didn't have a scratch on him anyway. 'Never mind that.' Optimus told himself. He had to stop Megatron.