Hey, everybody! Thanks so much for the support on Triple Beat! God bless you all. And here's the sequel! Enjoy!

-Wonder

Prologue:

Melody POV

Even in stasis, Soundwave's last words echoed in my mind.

"... Take care of yourself. I love you."

He cared. He really did. But time had not been kind to my brother. We had our golden years, in our youth, but as time passed, things slowly started to crumble. Nothing lasts forever, I suppose. Mother and father died of old age. Before the war, thankfully. It would have been a pain on their poor old hearts to have to die in a world that was falling into chaos.

I would have fought, if Waves had let me. Vibes and I took private martial classes while Soundwave was in training. He was always so stubborn about us, not trusting anyone with our safety but himself. But we knew that he wouldn't always be there.

I was an exceptional fighter. My trainer said so. Vibes was less enthusiastic, but learned quickly. I'm sure she could have taken care of herself if she had to.

Soundwave held me back, though. Kept me safe. He didn't want me risking my life over such a pointless war. Even he didn't completely understand what had started it, since Megatron was too busy demolishing cities in his rage to explain. It had something to do with that archivist at Iacon, Orion Pax. And the Prime Council.

The war was not for me. I had the ability to fight, but like my brother, I hated the violence. I could see that Soundwave hated the mech he had become. Through being a gladiator and fighting in the war, he was much different. These were not good times, and Soundwave didn't want us to have to witness them. To live through them.

If only he could have realized that we were willing to live through these dark times. For his sake.

xxx

Vibes POV

I wept bitterly until I was put into stasis. I heard what Soundwave said to Melody. I heard his final words to us. It broke my spark, because I knew that those would most likely be the last words I heard him say.

"I love you."

I love you, too Waves. Don't you see? I love you, so I'll do anything for you. I might be shy, frail, but I can do my best. And even if my best isn't enough, we could still be together, couldn't we?

Melody and I could see clearly that Soundwave wasn't the mech he used to be. Being a gladiator had changed him, and he despised who he had become. The war made it worse. We tried to comfort him, but he became distant. Cold. It was hard to tell sometimes, that he was the same Soundwave that had let me sleep by him as a sparkling, when I was too scared on my own. The same Soundwave who had promised he wouldn't give us up.

Where was that Soundwave now?

My fear is too great, that he won't be coming to find us.

xxx

We sailed on for eternities on end. Our pods never strayed from each other as they hurtled across solar systems, farther and farther into the unknown. We were both haunted by the memory of our last few minutes of consciousness, forced to relive that spark-shredding moment when our family was torn apart. Unconscious tears were shed, hidden behind our visors. Soundwave was all we had left. Nexus and Stiletto were with the Allspark.

And soon, we feared, our beloved brother would be joining them.