A/N: This is a major plot bunny that I had to get down. Im almost wondering if it would be worth it to write what I believe the origin story to every odd Cybertronian, but, Ill only do that if I get a good idea. This was a dream I had. Please, review only if you have something nice to say, or unless you want to tell me how to make my work better. Oh, I have no idea if I wrote Soundwave right. Sorry, Soundwave fans!
WARNING! Major Angst, Slight AU, slight out of charecter moments. Only read if you read the A/N!!!!
::Message:: -internal comm/ bond talk between Soundwave/ Ravage
Message - Flashback
The lines were added to show the breaks in the story. I didnt write pointless moving scenes; make up what you will. If it is confusing, please let me know KINDLY, either in a PM or a review. Thanks!
It was a simple mission. Infiltrate the Decepticons base, get the information, and get out.
I can't believe how badly I screwed up. Of all the mechs to run into, it was Soundwave. The cold-sparked blue mech that could make anyone tremble in fear. I hoped that he wouldn't notice me, but of course he would. I was pressed against the walls, wishing that I could become one with the purple metal. Of course, I cant, so I was easily picked out.
"Decepticons: security breech. Lockdown: In effect." He said in his monotone as he reached for me, I, of course, tried to flee. He didn't even move, the slagger. He just reached out, and knocked me off my feet with his mind. I screamed, my tail lashing and me ears flat against my head. I snarled as I felt him pick me up roughly. He kept me in pain, torturing me with images of the mechs and femmes alike that I had known, and seen torn apart. He ripped through my mind as he casually walked through the halls. I just wished that the pain would go away. I fought inside my head, trying to keep him out, but his processor slaughtered even my best firewalls.
::Tell me your name.:: he whispered in my head as my programming went haywire. I thrashed in his hands as I flung images at him, trying to distract him. If he knew my name, he would have control over me, wholly and completely. It was the one defense that I was glad Jazz told me to add.
::Never.:: I said, and with that, he gave up trying to coax it out of me. He ravaged through my processor, taking control of my body as his own body offlined in his room. I jumped out of his slack hands, my mind screaming at my body to stop as I went to the meeting place. The bot that was there surprised me; why did Jazz send Bluestreak, of all mechs?
"Blue. The mission failed. I barely got out of there alive." I heard myself speak, and I cringed mentally, flinging myself against the walls Soundwave had put up in my mind. I screamed at Blue to run. But, of course he couldn't hear me.
"Really, now? Then why aren't you scratched, or something? I know that this was an infiltrate mission, but you should at least have a few dents or something if you barely made it out alive, Longtail-" At the mention of my name, Blustreak's optics widened, and he turned and fled, transforming quickly. I stayed where I was, but the presence of Soundwave was gone. Before I could process it, my free will was taken by the mech who made me betray.
::Longtail, to base.:: Said Soundwave's voice, and I obliged unthinkingly. Soundwave found the perfect solider he always wanted.
Soundwave looked over the femme before him; he commanded her to change to her bot form when she arrived. She was small, that had been obvious to him when he saw her alternate form was a panther. It was a larger panther than the actual size, but she was much smaller than any of the other bots he had seen. She was even smaller than a mini bot.
"What is it, Soundwave, that you had to call me away? This better be-oh." Megatron said, walking into the room. I regarded the tyrant coolly, my optics showing no sign of any emotion. I stood beside Soundwave, waiting for orders.
"This is remarkable. You finally caught the Autobot femme spy? Excellent work." Megatron said, walking around me in a circle, his optics looking me over like some energon he had found.
"Soundwave: Question for Megatron." Said the monotone voice, and Megatron looked over at his most trusted servant. He waited, nodding for him to continue.
"Autobot Femme Designation: Longtail. Longtail: Been reprogrammed, is now: Ravage." He said, and Megatron looked gleeful at me. Soundwave rocked slightly, gaining the tyrants attention again.
"Ravage: mission query." Soundwave said, and Megatron moved closer, looking the blue mech over again.
"Go ahead, Soundwave." He said, rubbing his fusion cannon. Soundwave didn't move, but I folded smoothly into my alt form.
"Ravage: Infiltrate Autobot base." Soundwave said, and Megatron laughed, his smirk widening. His red optics flashed with evil thoughts, he nodded, motioning to the door.
"Yes, Soundwave, that's perfect." He said, and he watched as I looked at Soundwave, nodding before moving off. The two watched me leave, but only Soundwave truly cared. He wanted his solider back. Megatron just wanted information.
It seems like I keep doing this. Screwing things up, I mean. I cant remember how, but I ended back up at the Autobots base; everything seems fuzzy before I onlined in front of Jazz and Ratchet in the medbay.
"State your designation and rank, femme." Ratchet growled, but Jazz laughed, placing an arm on the enraged CMO's arm.
"Cool it, Ratch." He said, and he turned towards the door, his visor brightening for a few minutes before returning to its original color.
"C'mon, girly." He said, and I leapt lightly off the table, landing on all four of my paws. I shook my head, looking around in wonder. I was small, but why was I stuck in my alt mode?
"Jazz-" was all that Ratchet could say before we both bounded out of the medbay, heading out. My audios flickered around, catching bits of conversations I rather didn't hear. I growled slightly, slinking around as everything whispered through my audios.
"Prime. She dealt with Soundwave. There's evidence of PR. Lasting damage. She can't transform, and I'm not even sure if he left her alone. She could be transmitting, for all we know!" Ratchet said to a big mech, one I didn't truly recognize.
"Ratchet. Do you think Jazz would know if something was wrong? She is in his squadron, you know. He knows his mechs, and his femmes inside and out. And Prowl refuses to let Jazz out of his sight. If she tries anything, we'll know." Said the other mech, and I growled, my optics caught on the medbots as his optics caught mine. He watched as I turned haughtily, waving my hips as I stalked away.
I paced the halls for days after that, pinning my audios in an attempt to keep the conversations out. No one talked to me in the span of time, except for Jazz. He was the only one who came to me, to get me to recharge or refuel. I never stopped pacing, trying to figure out why I kept getting bough's of de ja vu. Mechs I would talk to, whose names I didn't know, I would act like I knew them, and suddenly, their name would pop out in conversation. The mechs always gave me odd looks after that, and I would go back to pacing.
"Jazz?" I asked one night, for I heard him sneaking behind me. I sat on my haunches, my tail twitching as I flicked my audios again, closing my optics. Primus, the voices…
"Girly, you okay?" Jazz asked, appearing out of the shadows like the saboteur he was. I shuddered, lying on the cool floor beneath me, trying to cool my over heating body. I felt his hands on my body, picking me up and cradling me. My optics flashed as memories that had been repressed, locked away, flashed in my processor. I growled as I felt Jazz trying to restrain me. I wanted to feel the wind on my hide… I thrashed as my growl ripped into a scream of pain and sadness. I wrestled my way out of his grip, transforming into my bot form for the first time in over five earth months. I fled, my processor stuck on the exit.
"Prowler! She's bolted!" Jazz said, and suddenly there were two bots chasing me as I fled for the wind. I ducked and weaved, turning the corners tighter than the other two, for her smaller size allowed her to.
"Let me go, Jazz!" I said, and I careened right into one of the new mechs, a blue one. I knocked him down, but I was incoherent, spitting and crying for the wind the exit teased me with. He gripped me tightly, and it was then that I noticed he was around my height, but my processor just flitted that away. I struggled, trying to get free as Jazz and Prowl rounded the last corner.
"NO!" I cried, and I twisted, transforming into my alt mode and fleeing out the door. I flicked my audios back as I fled, trying to figure out what they were going to do. The blue mech growled, spinning around and flipping neatly into a blue mini cooper. He floored it, catching up to me quickly. I tried to leap over his roof, but he spun, catching me in his cabin and flipping the door closed, landing on his wheels and locking the doors. I writhed on the floor as he pumped sleeping gas into the cabin. I was soon knocked out, slumping in the front seats. The blue mech waited for a bit, making sure I was truly out before transforming with me in his arms.
"Thank you, Turnbout." Said Jazz, and they waited as Ratchet walked out of the base, his optics trained on my still form. I was in my bot form, but there were subtle changes. I still had the audios of my alt form, the sensitive tail and the claws. I was curled on myself, twitching and muttering in Turnbout's arms. He watched silently as the much taller for of Ratchet walked closer, scanning her carefully.
"Jazz. How did you find her earlier?" Ratchet asked the quiet saboteur. Jazz looked from Prowl to the CMO, his optics hardened.
"She was restless, like befo'. Wouldn't stop pacin'. She la'd down, and I held her, tryiin' ta figure out what was wron'. Then, she bolted." He said, and they all looked at me lying so innocently in Turnbout's grip. Ratchet scanned me again, focusing mainly on my processor. He then turned to Prowl, nodding.
"Soundwave tampered with her. She snapped back on her own." Ratchet said, and Turnbout looked around in surprise. He tightened his grip on me, crouching lower to get a better defensive position.
"Easy, T." Jazz said, and Turnbout moved slightly out of his position. Prowl moved to stand beside the smaller bot, his optics assessing my form.
"She 'snapped back'?" he asked, his voice cold. I fluttered, air huffing through my vents as I twitched.
"She broke through the block Soundwave had on her. Shes back to her true self. " Ratchet said, and he turned to Jazz.
"Your program? It was the thing that almost saved her." Ratchet said to Jazz. The saboteur jerked, his optics flirting from her to Ratchet.
"How?" Turnbout asked, breaking the sudden silence. Ratchet huffed, air cycling through his vents loudly.
"It created a split personality, one I didn't notice. She wasn't Longtail when she came here, she was someone else." Ratchet said. With that, my optics onlined, alerting everyone to my coming online.
"Longtail?" The blue mech asked, and my optics locked onto his. My audios flicked forward as I scanned him.
"Turnbout?" I asked, my voice had a hard edge to it. I waited as his face plates folded into a look of joy.
"T!" I said, and I leapt up, grabbing him into a hug. He slowly gripped me back, looking at the mechs behind me.
"Longtail? I need to speak with you." Ratchet said, and I turned slowly, my joy replaced with dread. I had no idea why, but I knew something was wrong, something was…off. Something was going to go wrong. Horribly wrong.
"No, Ratchet." Turnbout said, and I took his arm, shaking my head. The slight motion caused my head to swim, and I leaned on Turnbout far longer than I should have.
"Its okay, Turnbout." I said, but my recent run from Jazz had drained my already low energy stores. My optics flickered as warnings popped up in the corner of my vision, and I felt Turnbout catch me as my legs gave out. Ratchet ran forward as I blacked out.
"Soundwave did something to her. She would of never allowed this to happen." Turnbout said, and Jazz nodded, moving towards the downed femme. Even if she was considered a traitor, she was still one of his men, and he cared about his men deeply.
"You all now what happens to the ones Soundwave touches." Ratchet said, and he picked me up out of Turnbout's slack grip. The bots were silent as he took me to the medbay, thinking over the words mulling in their processors.
It was a few weeks after that I heard his voice again. I was trying to recharge, lying there in the dark, when I heard it whisper across my processor.
::Ravage.:: said the voice. I jerked awake, onlining in battle mode. I scanned the room, looking for the mech in my nightmares, but there was no one there. Jittery, I moved to the door, opening it and looking down the empty hallway.
::Easy, Ravage.:: The voice said, and I jerked, pressing myself into the wall. That voice…why was it so familiar? I started to walk down the hall, not aware of where I was going, when I ended up at the entrance to the base. I looked out at the rain with longing in my optics. I leaned against the wall, letting the cool breeze waft over my tail. The rain on the roof pattered gently, almost blocking out the voice.
:: Ravage…you cant ignore me forever.:: said the voice, and then it went away. I sat there until I could see the clouds lighten, and the sounds of mechs patrolling around behind me caused my audios to flick to the side.
"Longtail?" Turnbout asked, coming up behind me to stand on my left. I nodded, my optics locked onto the horizon.
"No one trusts me anymore, T." I said, huffing air out of my vents. My tail twitched at the breeze that blew rain into the entrance, falling onto the metal beneath me. Turnbout touched my shoulder lightly, his hand warm against my cold outer armour.
"I trust you, Longatil." He said, and I smiled lightly, my audios flicking again. I moved, pushing myself away from the wall, staring longingly out at the rain as Jazz turned the corner with Prowl following behind.
"She cant be trusted, Jazz-" Prowl said, and he stopped, his face composed as he noticed me standing beside Turnbout. I didn't say anything, my optics flashing with anger as I turned to the mech beside me.
"No one else does." I said, and I turned out to the entrance, running out into the rain and transforming, letting my anger drive me foreword as I faintly heard calling behind me. I continued to leap and bound, dancing with the water as it fell gracefully form the sky. I ignored the mechs that were running towards me; it was just the rain and I now.
"Longtail?" Turnbout asked, and I turned slightly, pausing. My optics scanned him, emotionless, and then I turned back to the rain. In the back of my processor, I knew that I shouldn't be doing this. But, for now, it was what my body wanted, what my processor craved.
"Autobot Longtail, stand down." Ordered Prowl after he watched me for a few minutes. I stopped moving, my optics locked on his.
And then I growled, my audios pinned against my skull and my tail twitching. I crouched, ready to pounce, when the voice whispered in my mind again.
::Ravage, listen to the Autobot. Stand down.:: the voice whispered soothingly, and I reacted, standing placidly in my alt form beside Turnbout. Jazz walked forward, his optics locked onto mine as he held his hands out in a friendly manner.
"Longtail?" he asked quietly, everyone watching me for my reaction. I stood still, the only sign of my agitation my tail in its twitching.
"Easy, Longtail." Turnbout said, and he stroked my back, which got a reaction. I started to purr, arching my back and looking towards the blue mech beside me. I rubbed my head against his, my claws racking the dirt beneath them as I pressed my small weight against his leg.
"She's fine, Prowl." Jazz said, and with that, the tension in the air seemed to dissipate, almost as if it hadn't been there to start with. I kept my face blank as I watched the black and white mech walk back into the base, muttering under his breath about a security breech.
"Good ol' Prowler." Jazz said, and his musical laugh flitted between Turnbout and him, fleeting as a bird. I huffed air thorough my vents again, waiting for Turnbout to move forward.
"Lets go in, Jazz." Turnbout said, and with that, we walked into the base amongst the whispers of curious and suspicious mechs alike.
Turnbout made me go to Ratchet for a check up, but Ratchet's scans were inconclusive. I took that as a bad sign. Neither Turnbout nor Ratchet said what that could mean. Another bad sign.
It meant I was getting worse…but from what?
The voice came back a week after that. I had hoped that it had left, but I was wrong. As always.
::Ravage. Come to me.:: commanded the voice, and it took all that I had to stop myself form leaping out of my seat in the rec room and flee for the door. I tightened my fist on the half cube of energon that I was in possession of, and I looked to the floor, my frame tense and vibrating with the need to leave.
Prime was still keeping me away from any battle. I was wondering if it was because he thought I would defect, but there are always other things on his mind…after all, I'm fit for battle, according to Ratchet. Jazz and Bumblebee, another mech on my unit, had left for a mission earlier today. I went to the rec room to see the mechs that would still be friendly. I didn't count on Sunstreaker and Sideswipe to be there.
"Hey traitor, how are things?" Sunstreaker sneered at me, and I flinched, my optics trailing the floor again. Turnbout chose that moment to walk into the rec room, and our optics met for a few seconds before mine found the floor again.
"Leave her alone, Sunstreaker. You're just jealous that she doesn't have to worry about her paint getting scratched." Turnbout said, and I gave him a grateful smile, sliding closer to him on the chair I was on. I leaned on him slightly, the tension easing slightly form my frame as I made contact.
"You okay, Longtail?" he murmured, concerned. I nodded, resting my head on his shoulder as the voice echoed back to his question.
::Ravage, come. Bring him if you must, just return to me.:: the voice said, and I tried to quash it, but it did no good. I moved away from him slightly, my narrowed optics alighting on the golden Lamborghini that was sitting beside his brother, acting like he owned the place. I hate arrogant mechs.
"You think you got it bad?" I all but snarled at him, leaping lightly onto the tabletop that he was leaning on. He leant back, his brother moving forward in reaction to my comment I ignored the red twin; we used to be friends, so he was internally debating on helping his brother or staying out of this.
He chose to stay out. I was glad, secretly, but my anger reared up again. I growled as Sunstreaker tried to say something; I cut him off mighty fast as Turnbout moved towards me.
"You don't know half of my problems. I've been beaten, raped, slagged, thrown, drowned, chopped up, been called a traitor, and miniaturized. What the hell kind of claim on 'slagged.' do you have?" I snarled, and I ran out of the room, Turnbout running after me. I let the anger run through me again as I ran towards the exit. It felt like the voice had wakened something inside of me that had been waiting for a chance to take over. It uncurled form my inside my processor, giving me extra strength and speed as I ran through the quiet halls. Scenes flashed before my optics as I ran blindly, letting my legs and processor get me out of the Autobot base for the last time.
A young femme sparkling watched as the town blew up around her. She was quiet and watchful as flying mechs landed in the charred street, their wings and height towering over her. She cried out in fear as one of them walked towards her; he was blue red and white, and his trine mates walked with him as her creators ran out of the house towards her.
"Longtrail!" the mech called, shooting at the nearest flying mech. He screeched, blasting her creator to pieces. She started to cry as her other creator exploded, parts flying across the gap.
"You worthless piece of slag!" the mech called to her, back handing her across the table. She landed face down, energon leaking slowly out of her split faceplate. She wiped at it with fear in her optics as he beared down on her.
"You're a piece of refuse desitned for the smelting pits, femme!" he said, and he was raining down blows as she curled around herself, tucking her legs in and waiting for him to go away.
"Catch the femme!" said the mech, and she felt herself go airborne as her tormentor released her, flinging her halfway across the street. The other mech caught her, his claws leaving tears in her armour. HE laughed, his blood red optics catching hers with evil behind the glass.
"Back at cha!" he said, and she was thrown again. There was a loud clang, and she noted that the street was the same as the mech that caught her.
"Oops, I missed!"
"Hold her down!" said the femme, and she looked from the fellow femme to the others that ran into the room. There was a huge vat of energon there, simmering lightly, and she had a feeling that this was not going to end well. Mechs poured out of hiding places as one of them tossed her into the vat, leaning over the edge to keep her head below the surface.
"Hot enough for you?" they called, laughing as she saw warnings flash before her optics, her vents struggling to pull air through the thick energon. There was pain, constant pain as the vat's temperature spiked, burning and melting through her armor…
"You like it rough, don't you?" said the mech, and she watched in horror as he advanced, his cronies holding her arms behind her as he pulled out his interface cable, reaching for her panel that held her port.
"Hold still, this will only hurt a little…" she said, and she felt him wrench open the panel, slamming his cable into the port as she screamed in pain, memories flashing back and forth and slamming into her firewalls, weakening them slowly.
"She still has all her body parts." Said the mech, and she stayed still, hoping they would let her go. She was dumped onto a table as a mech poked at her body, turning her over like a turbo fox.
"That can be arranged." The mech said, and he powered up a energon blade, slicing through her arms and her legs neatly. She started screaming around the time he was putting the saw away…
She woke up in a unfamiliar med bay. She looked around, aware that she was looking up farther than she remembered. Why was everything so big?
"Hold still, femme. You went through a rather rough surgery. Gotta check things out." The medic said, and she waited, lying back, as he scanned her. He moved back, reaching in his subspace for something.
"We had to do a few changes." He said, and he held up a mirror. Who was that femme that looked like her? There was no way that she could be that small!
"Prime. She dealt with Soundwave. There's evidence of PR. Lasting damage. She can't transform, and I'm not even sure if he left her alone. She could be transmitting, for all we know." Said Ratchet to an unfamiliar mech. The mech sighed, looking over the medics shoulder to the darkened hallway behind them.
"There's no reason to keep her here then, Prime. She's a traitor, from moment one. I was there when she came in. She had a Decepticon insignia, for Primus' sake!
Longtail came out of her memories quickly, as she noticed that the entrance was blocked. She hadn't remembered the last part of that conversation until now. She had been a Decepticon earlier? Before her time here? Why couldn't she remember?!
"Longtail!" Turnbout called out behind her. She spun neatly, her optics focusing on the one blue mech there. She stood tall, the new feeling in her processor taking over again.
"That's not my designation." I said, and I let my alt form overcome me as I stood on all my paws, my claws raking the orange metal floor of the Autobot's base on last time.
"Its Ravage." I said, and I turned to the exit, bounding out and not hearing the keening cry from Turnbout behind me. I leapt over the boulders and around the cars as I made it to the Decepticons base, the voice leading me on.
::Ravage. Report to the command room.:: said the voice, and I turned a left after making it to the base, stopping before the large purple doors of the command room. I growled, my anger lashing out at the doors as they opened. AS soon as they were opened enough for me to slip through, I was bounding in, skittering around the mechs that were firing at me, and stopping beside Soundwave. He looked me over, reaching down to touch my hips lightly. A weapon appeared, and a purple symbol etched itself onto my skin.
"Megatron: Ravage's first mission: Success." Soundwave said, and the silver tyrant moved closer, looking me over as I sat at Soundwave's heels.
"Good, Soundwave. I think its time we tried her out in battle." He said, and with that, the Decepticons walked out of the room, cheering as the prospect of a new battle excited them. I waited by Soundwave's side as Megatron walked closer.
"Is she ready?" he asked Soundwave, and he nodded. Megatron walked out, allowing Soundwave and I a small amount of alone time.
::Ravage. It has been me you are hearing in your processor. Do not use this channel unless you truly need help.:: he said, and I nodded, padding silently out into the hall. The other Decepticons left while Soundwave explained something to me.
"You are connected to me, and I to you. If either is injured, either will know." He said. He opened a button on his chest, and his chest panel opened, revealing a large space.
"This is the easiest way to travel for you." He said, and he touched me lightly on the back. I folded down into a cassette, and he picked me up, placing me into his chest compartment.
::Soundwave? What did you do?:: I asked, and he chuckled mentally. There was a slight jolt, and I got a disorienting sense of flying.
::I am a Cassette player in my alt mode. You are a cassette in yours. My cassette. Your panther mode is now your bot mode.:: he explained, and we soon landed. He walked around, and I heard the muffled sound of talking. I waited, letting my thoughts drift as the sounds of fighting and mechs crying out in pain rumbled through Soundwave's chassis.
"Ravage: Eject." His monotone voice said, and I felt myself falling, transforming and lading on my paws as the Autobot around me looked around in confusion.
"A new Decepticon?" the nearest bot asked, and I leapt, growling as I flew through the air and landed on his chassis, knocking him over. I tore into the bot, the beast inside me that I know knew was Ravage uncurled from my processor again. The battle flew by fast, with us retreating in the end.
I found the almost offline form of Turnbout curled around the form of a black and red version of him. I paced, sniffing, as I realized that they were twins. The red and black twin was hurt bad, and I called for Soundwave.
:: I'm on my way, Ravage.:: he said , and his footsteps made the earth shake slightly. I continued to pace as he worked over the twins, my concern for Turnbout leaking through my calm façade. He patched the two of them up, and he looked at me with his red visor.
::Turnbout is the blue one. They are twins, with my program. Get one's name, you get the other.:: I said, and soon, there was the presence of two new bots in the back of my mind. Soundwave showed me his handiwork as the Decepticons were made to retreat.
::Ravage, meet your brothers. Rumble and Frenzy.::
A/N: So..yeah. taht was my whole dream with more deatils. Gotta love the wierd ones. Please review!!