Brothers
Chapter 1: Before the War
Soundwave sat on his berth in his private quarters on the Nemesis. He had removed his faceplate, allowing all to see his scared face.
He sighed silently.
He was worried…about Starscream.
He had every right to be. After all…the Seeker was his brother. Soundwave sighed again; he knew that his youngest brother, Knock Out, was taking care of their middle brother.
Megatron had nearly killed Starscream in his rage. Soundwave knew Megatron had the right to be angry; after all, Starscream had made an attempt on his life.
But it failed!
And now that he was back on his feet, the Seeker wouldn't make another attempt like that again. Megatron would never again allow himself to be in such a weakened state. And, by punishing Starscream in such a brutish way, he was only guaranteeing that the Seeker would try to kill him again.
But this time, it wouldn't be for leadership. Oh no, the next time it would be for vengeance!
Megatron would've killed Starscream if it hadn't been for Soundwave and Knock Out's intervention. The tyrant allowed the Seeker to live. He knew better than to fight two brothers who would do whatever it took to insure their sibling's survival.
What had happened to them?
Soundwave pondered over this and it didn't take long to find the answer.
The war had happened.
There was a point in time when they weren't so hard and cold. Soundwave remembered those days and felt his spark warm at the pleasant memories.
Soundwave's parents were both Seekers. So he was very perplexing. It was very rare for a Seeker couple not to have a seekerling. Because of the Seeker blood flowing through his veins, Soundwave was one of the few mechs gifted with flight.
His father's name was Nightwind. His armor was midnight black and he flew faster than the wind, hence his name. His optics were dark ruby red with black pupils. Soundwave's mother's designation was Twilight, her armor was silver and her optics were bright scarlet with silver pupils.
Despite not being a Seeker, Nightwind and Twilight still loved Soundwave with all their sparks.
He was their pride and joy and they were willing to bend over backwards for him. In fact, Starscream had been brought into the 'verse at Soundwave's request. He had just turned five vorns old, and his birthday wish for that stellar-cycle was a younger sibling to play with.
He got his wish.
Starscream came by his name honestly. The Seeker had been born at the time of night where the stars were at their brightest. And he came into the 'verse kicking and screaming.
Soundwave remembered the first time he had held his baby brother. He had been so tiny, so fragile. He made a promise to his sibling then that he would always be there to protect him.
Soundwave and Starscream loved each other very much. They always played together. And Soundwave taught his younger sibling the basics of flying. When Starscream was six vorns old, Knock Out came into the picture.
Their parents found it very perplexing that the youngest of the trio wasn't even a flying mech. He was a ground pounder. But that didn't stop them from loving him unconditionally.
And despite not having the gift of flight, Knock Out still got along with his older brothers. They were always together. They told each other everything. They helped one another with their problems and were always willing to do any and everything for each other.
Their mother once said that they were three pieces that completed each other. Soundwave was the mind that guided them. Starscream was the spark that held them together. And Knock Out was the shield that protected them.
Soundwave chuckled silently as he remembered him and his brothers getting tattoos. They had gotten them in the same spot; on their right shoulder. Soundwave had the Seeker symbol for mind, Starscream had the symbol for spark, and Knock Out had the symbol for shield.
Life was great for the three brothers and it seemed that the good times would never end for them…Which only made things harder when the war came.
They sided themselves with Megatron…their first mistake in Soundwave's opinion.
He had used each of them in some way.
He started with Knock Out, the youngest and most vulnerable. He attempted to manipulate him, until Soundwave stepped in and stopped him. Megatron decided it best to leave the youngster alone, and moved on to Soundwave instead.
He threatened to murder his brothers unless the flying mech accepted a program that would force him to protect Megatron. Knowing he couldn't always defend his brothers from the tyrant, he conceded.
It was because of the program that he couldn't talk and it was also the reason why he needed to wear that damned faceplate.
During a battle, Megatron had been in danger of being shot down. Soundwave took the hit and plummeted to the unforgiving ground. Unfortunately for him, he landed ontop of an energon vein. His impact caused some sparks and the flammable material exploded…right in his face. It left him unable to speak and scared his face horribly.
Soundwave was angry at Megatron for what he did to him. However, he was furious when he found out what he had done to Starscream.
While he had been healing form the energon explosion, Knock Out had done something that caused the Autobots to best the Decepticons. Megatron was furious. He planned on killing Knock Out, but Starscream stopped him.
He knew he was no match against Megatron; he was larger and physically stronger than him. He begged and pleaded with his leader to spare his brother. He offered his body to the warlord in exchange for his brother's life. Megatron took the Seeker up on his offer and spared his sibling.
Knock Out told him everything, including how late that same night, Starscream had come to his younger brother's chambers to request medical attention. Soundwave remembered the acid and hatred that dripped from Knock Out's words as he talked about repairing the claw marks and dents covering their brother's body. He didn't go into great detail about repairing his damaged port and pelvic plating.
Knock Out told him that Starscream spent the reminder of that night in his younger brother's chambers sobbing in his arms until recharge claimed him.
Soundwave, in his rage, found the strength to fight through the program Megatron had installed in him and attacked the tyrant. To say Megatron was shocked was an understatement. He found out that if Soundwave got angry enough, he could fight through the program and attack him.
He left the brothers alone…for a few stellar-cycles.
He promoted Starscream to second-in-command of the Decepticons and did everything in his power to destroy everything that was good in the Seeker and his brothers.
He succeeded…
But not completely…
There was still good in each of the three brothers.
It was just buried deep within them.
They were all caged. Each of their sparks were covered with ice and stone. But they could still feel compassion and they still knew mercy.
Soundwave looked up from the floor of his room and to an old picture he kept on a night stand by his berth.
In the picture was him at ten vorns old, standing between his parents, holding his mother's hand. His father was holding a youngling Starscream and their mother was holding a new born Knock Out whom was wrapped in a dark red blanket and recharging peacefully. They were all smiling happily.
They were a family.
They were free.
Soundwave's gaze hardened and right then and there, he made a new promise. He would free his brothers from Megatron's cage.
If worse came to worse, they could always turn to the Autobots. Knowing Optimus Prime, he wouldn't turn them away. But several things needed to happen before then.
First, Starscream needed to survive his encounter with Megatron.
Second, he had to get his brothers on board with his plan.
And third, he needed to get rid of Megatron's damned program.
He would free his brothers. If it was the last thing he did, he would make sure Megatron could never hurt them again.
For those of you who are wondering what inspired this, this story is sort of a kickoff for another story I'm working on. For those who read my TFP oneshot in my series of oneshots "Love, Strange and Wonderful" you'll understand the next part of this explanation. In the story, I had Knock Out hand Starscream over to the Autobots in order to save his life. I began to wonder what would cause Knock Out to do such a thing since he and Starscream aren't exactly friends. Heck, Starscream even messed up his paintjob in the series! Then this started to form in my mind. It seemed like a decent idea to me and so here's the first chapter. I'll be updating either later today or sometime tomorrow. See yall later. P.S. Boot-camp didn't kill me, yeah!