Too Useful To Waste.

Chapter Two.

A/N: Text in bold type indicates com-speak. Italicised sentences are Dissonance's memories.

I see Dissonance as being around Frenzy-sized in this fic.

One year later.

Dissonance has been deployed.

The com was from Mirage, but at his announcement, every Autobot on the battlefield closed off their external audios and turned off their sensors. Of course, it left them at a disadvantage, they would not hear incoming fire or pick up someone sneaking up behind them, but when Dissonance was out, both sides shut down their external pickups.

Dissonance was a relatively new Cassetticon, first encountered three months previously. The small blue and yellow mech looked fairly harmless at first, but of course the Autobots were not fooled by the new mech's appearance. As suspected, it soon became apparent that this mech was not at all harmless when a hatch slid back on its abdomen and extruded the muzzle of a laser cannon.

Of course, the cannon's positioning did restrict where the mech could aim, but they had quickly found out that Dissonance had more than just the cannon as a weapon. The mech had not yet approached close enough to engage anyone in a melee fight, but at one point it headed towards the frontlines of the battle, and turned its back. A few of the Autobots, recalling the incident later, recalled seeing that Dissonance's back resembled the broadcasting end of a large speaker.

After that, the only clear detail anyone recalled was the sensor-blinding, circuit-rattling, sonic shriek that had pierced the air. No-one had stopped to think that the new mech might have a sonic weapon, but considering that he was a new Cassetticon, linked to Soundwave, who's very name suggested his specialisation, maybe they should have.

Then the Decepticons had renewed their attack.

At the end of the day, they had managed to hold their positions until Starscream, under fire from Ironhide, had shrieked a retreat. The price of victory had been high, however: most of the Autobots sustained some major injury, and Cliffjumper was almost permanently offlined. Only some quick work by Ratchet had saved him, for Cliffjumper had discovered the hard way that Dissonance possessed wrist blades and armour - piercing hand-spikes.

After that battle, nobody ever underestimated Dissonance again. Hand-to hand with the homicidal mech was avoided where possible, and the moment he was seen, audio and sensor pickups were cut, and communications carried out via com only. So the battle continued, with the Autobots' only advantage being their greater numbers.

More members of both factions had arrived – and a few more were expected - on Earth, but it seemed more Autobots than Decepticons had answered their respective leader's calls. Judging by how many of the missing Decepticons had been staunch Megatron-supporters, it was thought that their absence was likely to be due to a dislike of the current Decepticon leadership. It was still a mystery why Soundwave, once one of Megatron's right-hand mechs, had answered Starscream's call, and Soundwave himself certainly wasn't telling.

As he battled on, Bumblebee saw a flicker of movement from his optic corner, and turned, bracing his feet and raising his free arm to defend himself. His Spark flickered as he saw who his opponent was, and he turned his audios back on - it was unlikely Dissonance would use his sonic weapon at this point.

For the small blue and yellow mech before him was unmistakably Dissonance, blades and spikes out in readiness, abdominal cannon pointed directly at Bumblebee's chest.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Fighting, dodging… Dissonance's short life had been composed of much of this. When he dreamed in recharge, he often dreamed of his combat training, or of actual battles, but at times he dreamed of inexplicable things. Disjointed images came to him, not just the experiences stored in his processors, but images or sounds that he could find no associated memories of, no explanation for. These were as hard to hang onto as smoke, dissipating as he came out of recharge, but a few were recurring, and those he could recall more easily.

Oh, he knew who most of them they were – one had to know the enemy, after all. The yellow mech was Bumblebee, the squishy femme Mikaela Banes, the red and blue mech the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. It was the context of the images that was puzzling to Dissonance.

He could recall, for example, looking at Mikaela Banes as if she were slightly smaller than him, rather than almost a foot taller. He could recall being held in the hand of Optimus Prime, of looking into the round optics of Autobot Bumblebee, and of running through the streets of a squishy city with the AllSpark clutched under an arm.

This was all very curious. He'd never met Mikaela Banes, nor had he yet come close enough to the Autobot leader or the yellow scout to even fire at them with any chance of hitting them. These memories made no sense. It was the same with the last memory. To Dissonance's knowledge, he had never even seen the AllSpark, much less run with it under his arm, but then again, Dissonance's first clear memory was of being called forth from Soundwave's chest to train in readiness for combat.

Dissonance dealt with these memories as best he could, which usually involved not worrying about them, because he knew from experience that dwelling on them tended to make no difference. It didn't bring clarity or understanding, or help him remember more. Only upon awaking from recharging did he allow himself to briefly think about them before filing them under 'unexplained' and getting on with his job.

So these were the last thing on Dissonance's mind as he danced to the discordant beat of the battle, firing, slashing, stabbing with his spikes. For all that it was not choreographed, the dance was complicated and required the mech's full attention, lest he make a fatal misstep.

Bodies moved and shifted about him as he dodged and weaved between them, avoiding friend and attacking foe. A gap, a flash of yellow, and Dissonance moved in, aiming his cannon at the yellow mech who was side-on to him. As the Autobot detected his presence and turned, he adjusted his cannon to point at its chest. At this distance, he could not possibly miss.

Its blue optics focused on him, and he paused as another series of disjointed images suddenly flashed from seemingly nowhere. None of them bar the last were combat situations, many of them were close-up to his point of view.

Bumblebee fought Barricade as he stood next to Mikaela Banes, watching…Bumblebee and four of the Autobots stood round him and Mikaela in an alley, Bumblebee dancing as his speakers played 'Check out the rep, second to none'…standing in a room in a squishy house as two squishies not on the 'Autobot sympathisers' list demanded to know who he was talking to and what the light Ratchet had shone in the window was…an explosion, as Starscream's bombs had hit, and then struggling through the debris towards him…

All thoughts of combat left him as he blurted out in perfectly understandable English "Oh God, Bee!"

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

As the yellow and blue mech blurted out this statement, it was Bumblebee who froze. The statement stunned him. He had heard 'Oh Primus', 'oh Unicron', 'By the AllSpark', 'by the Dark God' 'By the Great Maker' and 'By the Unmaker' before, and many variations around those themes, but this was the first time he'd heard anyone of the Cybertronian race used the human term 'god' in that context. It was an expression he associated exclusively with humans.

Combined with the shortening of his name that again he'd only ever heard used by humans - and one in particular - the phrase seemed out of place coming from a mech, particularly one of a faction that despised non-Cybertronian forms of life.

Belatedly Bumblebee snapped his focus back to the battle - he was still being threatened by a Decepticon that had proven itself to be a match for a mech his size - but he needn't have worried, for with a blur of movement, Dissonance pulled back, whirled away, and was gone.

For a moment, Bumblebee was stunned into inactivity by the unusual actions, then a laser blast sizzling by his audio brought him back to the present.

Turning, he aimed his own cannon at the Decepticon that had sneaked up behind him.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Dissonance froze, assailed by images that suggested that this Autobot was a dear friend, images accompanied by emotions that suggested the same, and at that moment, Dissonance knew he could not attack the yellow scout, even though he was in an ideal position to do so. It wasn't as if there was any shortage of enemies, he'd just go for one of them instead.

Leaping back into the fray, away from the yellow scout, he dodged and twisted until he was able to attack a small green mech who was distracting some of their forces with holograms.

When the retreat was called soon after, Dissonance was perfectly happy to scramble back into his Creator's chest panel next to the other Cassetticons and recharge. In recharge he would be less confused.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Soundwave was aware of the turmoil in his newest charge though the mental link he had with them all. He wasn't particularly surprised, it was a well-known fact that certain memories associated with strong emotion could leave an echo-memory in the Spark. Coming face-to-face with someone associated with that memory-echo was bound to confuse Dissonance, but it was something Soundwave hoped would be overcome over time.

If it didn't…well Soundwave would not worry yet about something that may not even come to pass. If it did, he would deal with it then.