Dad got me Fall of Cybertron (just finished) which is pretty much what I've been doing lately, hence the lack of updates. Anyhow, I decided I'd make a drabble series for any ideas that pop into my strange lil' brain while I play this game to death. War for Cybertron was great too, I recommend anyone who hasn't played either game to go and do so! You get to play as Grimlock in Fall of Cybertron! :D
Optimus and Ratchet shared an uneasy glance to one another, then back to the tiny mech bound in front of them. Rumble spat and cursed, rolling around on the floor in an attempt to break free, even when Sideswipe repeatedly kicked him back to sitting up straight on his knees.
"Fragging Autobots! When I get rid of these slaggin' things-!" Optimus lowered his audio receptors, not wanting to hear a child swear. The fact Soundwave allowed him to do so was disheartening enough!
"Listen you little brat," Sideswipe hissed, hunching over the smaller mech threateningly. "Keep on like that and I'll toss you back in the dark, creepy cargo hold! Don't want that now, do you?"
The tiny Decepticon just snorted. "I ain't Vortex; that dark don't scared me!" Optimus raised his servo, signalling for Sideswipe to fall silent before the red mech could retort and make the situation worse. He then looked down, making optic contact with the child. How old was he? From the looks of it, he'd barely reached adolescence yet, but there was blood on this boy's hands, so to speak. The last Prime felt his fuel tank churning from simply thinking about it.
"Rumble," he began, trying not to sound condescending. "You need not struggle; we are not going to harm you,"
"Don't care," Rumble replied promptly. "I ain't meant to be here, so I's gonna get out!" Again, Prime glanced to Ratchet, though the medic shrugged half heartedly.
"Soundwave left you for dead, Rumble," The white mech offered, stepping closer. "He's not coming after you, do you realise that?"
All he got in return was saliva spat into his face.
Sideswipe's pede collided with the little mech's shoulder, making him tumble sideways with a yelp of pain. Again, Optimus raised his servo, Ratchet wiping the slobber from his optics. "That wasn't polite." The medic grunted, reeling in his temper as best he could.
"Frag you," Rumble snapped. "You don't know nothin' about my boss!"
Prime cleared his throat, causing Ratchet to step back. "Perhaps not," He agreed. "I'd like to think any carrier would attempt to retrieve their offspring." Rumble's optics widened behind his visor, mouth opening and closing a few times in shock.
"H... how did you-"
"How did I know? Even without yourself and your siblings addressing him appropriately, it was not hard to figure it out," Optimus explained, bending down to sit Rumble up, this time in a more comfortable position. "The question remains; why?" The cassette winced, glaring at all the adults in the room.
"Why what?"
"Why do none of you refer to him as carrier?" The question plagued his mind for quite a while, along with others regarding Soundwave and his family. He knew this wasn't what this meeting was supposed to be about; it was meant to be an interrogation, getting information on what Megatron wanted with Trypticon's remains. Sideswipe and his bots managed to nab Rumble in the midst of battle, but Soundwave had not attempted to rescue him. The child's own carrier simply ran off.
"None of yer business!" Rumble snapped, squirming in place. Ratchet's optics suddenly widened when a whirring sound rang from Rumble, and the child cried out in pain.
"You're damaged," he exclaimed, crouching before the little blue mech.
"Duh; your boys ain't exactly fluffy petro-bunnies!" Red optics glared at Sideswipe, who simply shrugged in response.
"You didn't give us that much choice." Of course, Rumble hadn't come in quietly. He'd been kicking and screaming, even biting several of the troops, trying to escape. Optimus held respect for the child's defiance.
"Hold still," Ratchet pointed his energon replenisher down at Rumble, the pale blue rays easing through his systems until a relieved sigh was released. Rolling his shoulders and head, letting his joints crack, Rumble let a frightening grin spread over his lips.
"Much better," He chuckled. Optimus half expected him to suddenly burst from his bonds and make a daring escape, but Rumble just sat there, optics shuttered, head hung in submission. He was relaxed now that he wasn't in pain.
"Rumble," he said, making the blue mech's helm snap up. "It is our business to know; you're a Decepticon soldier, but you're also a Sparkling. We need to know why someone your age is fighting in a war."
"You don't even know how old I am!"
"I made an educated guess," Rumble narrowed his optics at him, the staring contest stretching out over a few clicks. Eventually, the Decepticon sighed and shrugged simultaneously, shuttering his optics again.
"Yeah; Soundwave's our carrier, big whoop! Why worry?" He snickered.
"Why is he forcing his own children to fight for him?" Rumble's head snapped up once again, optics wide in astonishment.
"Forcing?" He repeated. "Dude, we choose to fight. After all; who wouldn't want to defend their carrier?" There was an air of silence, no one speaking up to answer his question. "That's what I thought."
"You're a Sparkling."
"Doesn't matter," Rumble shrugged one shoulder. "We were conceived just as the war kicked off; couldn't be helped. We've been raised on a battle field, it's inevitable that we also fight on it with our creators." Again, Optimus felt his respect for Rumble grow. Here was a small, not particularly bright, Decepticon child, claiming he fought in his carrier's defence. He and all his siblings did so, for Soundwave. It made his Spark pulse painfully to know the Communications officer abandoned him.
"Wait," Sideswipe spoke up. "Creators? Your carrier and your sire?"
Oh. He hadn't thought of that.
"And?"
"Soundwave's bond mate is still alive?" Ratchet gawked, jaw dropping. Rumble scoffed in offence, puffing out his chest.
"Of course he is! No one could ever bring down our dad, not you, not anyone!" Rumble spoke so highly of his father, as well as his mother. Spark warming until Optimus realised who all Decepticons spoke of with such pride, respect and admiration.
"Your father is Megatron."
It was a dark, cold silence. One that only Rumble could've possibly been proud of. Here in front of him, bound and abandoned, was Megatron's offspring. As far as he could tell, Rumble was the eldest of Soundwave's children. A split spark, in fact.
"Then... there's no hope for you, kid," Sideswipe said, sounding aptly sympathetic.
"You what?"
"Rumble, Megatron does not pay ransoms. He does not go back for his wounded, let alone perfectly healthy captives," Optimus explained carefully, not wishing to upset him. "He will not come for you, my boy."
"What are you talkin' about?" Rumble smirked. "He's right outside the window." All three Autobots whipped around, just as the windscreen at the front of the station burst into thousands of pieces, showering and cutting them. Optimus grunted in pain as a fist collided with his abdomen, Ratchet being tossed after him, Sideswipe being spun around and pinned to the floor as he tried to attack. Megatron just snorted in disapproval, kicking the red mech into the wall. He then turned to Rumble, looking down sternly.
The blue mech smiled nervously, squirming in place. "Hi dad," He whimpered.
"You were careless,"
"I was outnumbered!" The tyrant reached forward, lifting his son off the ground with one servo, crushing the device powering the bonds with the other.
"Run along now; your mother has been worried sick," he chided, placing Rumble back on his pedes. "Primus, you truly do know how to reduce him to tears, don't you?"
"Sorry Pop..." The blue Sparkling then scampered towards the broken window, Soundwave suddenly in view and sprinting towards his child. Megatron looked down at Optimus, sneering at Autobot commander's puzzled expression.
"If you had children, you'd understand."