I promised myself I would wait to post this chapter, maybe even hope for another review or two, but I'm in such a good mood now that I completed all my exams that I don't want to wait any longer! To hell and be damned, I'm going to post chapter 2 of Devil at the Crossroads with a smile on my face!

A little side note to everyone: since Christmas is coming up, I'm going to try to write up a couple one-shots as presents to friends on , as well as to very special readers/reviewers who've stuck with me through thick and thin. I'm pretty sure you all know who you are! Of course, with all the gift writing, the next chapters to As We Come Together and Serendipity Kiss may be delayed. I'll do my best to get them done, though. Thank you for understanding! Hopefully I will have the gift-fics up soon!

My sincerest thanks to the wonderful and kind and generous reviewers Litahatchee, Bunnylass, Violetlight, and Lecidre! Thank you so much for taking the time to write out a review. I really appreciate it! Love to you all during this festive season!

Dedicated to Violetlight! Merry Christmas!

**Nightshade/Waspinator- the combo belongs to Violetlight. Their partnership is her brainchild. :) **

Devil at the Crossroads
Chapter 2
"May the devil make a ladder of your backbone - While he is picking apples in the garden of Hell" Old Irish toast quote

Rumble tapped listlessly at the control panel he was stationed at, frowning mulishly at the keys. "Tell me again why we're here," he whined, craning his neck around to peer at his cohorts trapped in the dingy command center with him.

"Because the Decepticons don't think Soundwave is valuable anymore, so they shucked him here," Nightshade replied.

"But why are we here?" the bronze mech pressed, pouting.

"Because we have a deep seated loyalty for Soundwave and are unwilling to abandon him, unlike all the other ungrateful slag heaps who just tossed him aside," the femme said without even looking up from her work.

"No, really- why are we here," Rumbled continued to whine.

Nightshade glanced up, her optics glinting. "Alright, fine- how about because I have a deep seated loyalty to my master, and you're too stupid to survive without him. Does that compute with you?"

Rumble's faceplate creased into an impish smile, pleased to have gotten the rise he wanted. He was quick with a snappy reply, "An' here I thought it was the other way around, 'Shady."

"There's a big difference between lying to yourself to make you feel better and all-out delusions of grandeur," Nightshade pointed out, rolling her optics.

Ravage glanced up from where he lounged on the floor. "I don't think our dear Rumble has quite figured out the difference yet."

Nightshade laughed, always one to enjoy the quick-witted acidic humor Ravage offered. "No, I don't suppose he would have yet," she conceded. "I do believe knowing the difference would require the intelligence of a youngling, at least."

Ravage offered a fanged grin to Nightshade, utterly pretending Rumble was no longer in the room. "A youngling's intelligence at the minimum, which we both know he hasn't graduated to yet. Too bad he'll never reach that level. Soundwave always did have such high hopes for him."

"Master Soundwave only ever wished the best for each of us," Nightshade intoned mock-solemnly, over-acting her part but having fun anyways as she razzed her 'brother'. "It's so sad to see his dreams be crushed by a mech with less computing power than a decommissioned drone."

"Har har, ya acid-washed pit hounds. I'm still here, ya know," Rumble cut in, unnecessarily reminding them of his presence.

"How could we forget? The intelligence of the room keeps going down because of you," Nightshade laughed, shrugging carelessly. Ravage barked a laugh.

Rumble, in all fairness, knew the game was all meant in a cruel sense of fun, and he would play along on any other orn given another symbiote was on the chopping block, but for now he expressed an exaggerated pout and patted his chassis above her spark. "All this negativity hurts right here, right where my spark should be, ya bunch of sparkless fraggers."

"And I bet it hurts you here, too," Ravage countered, pointing to his head, "right where your processor should be."

"If yer not careful, I might just leave ta somewhere where I'm better appreciated," he threatened haughtily.

"Good luck finding a place like that," Ravage laughed.

The bronze-plated mech huffed, putting his olfactory sensor to the air with the right amount of mock-haughtiness to make him look ridiculous. "Just because Soundwave likes me best doesn't mean ya have ta be so jealous."

"What was that about delusions of grandeur we were discussing earlier?" Ravage snorted.

"Alright, I'm definitely starting to get the feeling of un-love around here." He pouted pointedly in his quadruped-brother's direction.

"I wonder what would give that impression?" Ravage sneered.

"I could always leave," Rumble threatened.

"Awww, really? Don't get my hopes up."

Rumble grinned, his optics sparkling wickedly. In one smooth move, he slide from his seat and sauntered to the door. "Well, if ya feel that strongly about it, I might as well leave my work in much more capable hands." He darted from the dingy command center before he could be shot down and dragged back to his station.

Nightshade blinked once, and then laughed once she realized what happened. Next to her, Waspinator buzzed a tune that reflected his master's sudden burst of mirth.

Ravage snorted, getting up from his spot on the floor and stalking over to the vacated station his brother just abandoned, as if making sure his brother was really gone. "Did he just-?"

"Yeah, he did. Rumble just pulled a fast one on us," Nightshade confirmed, shaking her head. "Half-bit little bugger probably had it planned from the start."

Ravage pulled himself up into the chair, balancing there on his haunches. "I doubt it," he replied, extending his claws in order to use them as improvised fingers on the controls. "He has a hard enough time thinking a few astroseconds ahead."

"Too true," Nightshade conceded with a knowing nod.

"Had he even bothered to think this through a few breems ahead, he would have realized what's going happen to him tonight after he goes into recharge."

"And what would Rumble have realized will happen to him tonight?" She cocked an audio in Ravage's direction while she sent a data stream to the nearest base concerning the information she'd just inspected and condensed.

"Leaving me his work only means I get to chew him apart limb from limb the moment he shutters his optics for recharge."

"Ah, I see. Obviously didn't think his plan through." She slanted a glance in Ravage's direction as the feline-bot tapped away at the controls, his tail-like appendage swaying like a metronome in order to keep him balanced on the awkward chair. "Of course, you don't have to take his shift, you know."

"I know."

"Then why not save yourself the trouble and just let Master Soundwave get after him for slacking? You could go back to doing… whatever id was you were doing before."

Ravage shrugged as best he could with his awkward frame. "I'm fine. That's what siblings are for, after all: helping and ripping each other apart in their sleep."

"In a twisted sort of way, I suppose," Nightshade granted with a nonchalant shrug, somewhat glad she was created without real siblings.


Rumble, in a particularly jaunty mood now that he had managed to skip out on his boring-as-pit shift, found himself wandering around the half-lit corridors of the Quel-Caol outpost. Not the most stimulating of activities, but when stuck in an outpost whose most fascinating feature was a lump of oddly colored rust that seemed to move every time you blinked, there wasn't much to choose from in the category of 'stimulating activities.' Wandering around the corridors was easily the best of any of the options open.

As he breezed aimlessly through the sadly familiar halls, each one as derelict as the last, he contemplated the outpost which had become his rotting pit. Quel-Caol was quite possibly one of the most insulting places the Decepticons could have relegated Soundwave to. No. Correction; it was the most insulting place they could have sent him to. Imaging, the Decepticon's third-in-command being shipped off to a hole-in-the-wall outpost like some malcontent grunt; it was insulting, to say the least. Infuriating at the most.

Of course, being stuck in the outpost only served as an all too clear reminder of how far Soundwave had sunk in the ranks since the orn he'd let Flamewar go.

"You know, you might want to be careful thinking so hard, Rumble. You might blow a fuse."

Startled from his thoughts, the mech glanced up in time to catch sight of a long, sleek frame lounging by an unrepaired blast-hole in a wall. She was a frivolously designed bot; sleek, but no speed or specific strength. The armor was aethectically pleasing, but didn't offer much in the way of protection. Of all the bots trapped in Quel-Caol, Harlotease had been there the longest, and her acidic delight whenever a new bot got shipped to the outpost was always a sore point for everyone.

Gathering himself quickly, Rumble was quick to make a snappy comeback. "Maybe I'd like ta blow a fuse with you." He bobbed his optic ridges for effect. Harlotease, who was hard to impress on a good orn, was less than entertained now.

"You couldn't afford to blow a fuse with me," she replied, tipping her sleek head to the side. Her optics, sharp like a pair of pinpricks, regarded Rumble with a certain kind of nasty delight. "You have so few to begin with."

Rumble sidled up to the femme's side, his tallish microbot status putting him nearly on par with the femme's shorter femme frame. "It's not the number of fuses I have, it's how I use 'em," he replied.

"And I'm sure you use them well," Harlotease purred, patting his head with the right amount of condescension to let the mech know she wasn't open to degrading herself with him just now. There were better things to do around Quel-Caol than interface with a little symbiote. Maybe tomorrow, if she was bored enough.

"Haven't heard a complaint from ya yet," Rumble shrugged. Knowing another opportunity with her would come soon enough, Rumble carried on in his wandering, leaving the femme to go back to her disinterested staring into space.

He perked up as a new sensation awakened in his psyche, tickling his thoughts in a way that caused him to cock his head and scratch at audio as if he could relieve himself of the feeling that way. The symbiotic contract he held with his Creator had long since become second nature to him, and with such familiarity came the ability to pick out certain moods drifting from Soundwave. What he was feeling now was… odd. It was a curious sensation he had never felt before; not happy or sad or angry or any particular emotion at all. It was just… there. Maybe a little determined, or perhaps scheming? It was hard to say. If the action of thinking could be put to an emotion, it would probably best describe what Rumble was feeling at the moment through his contract.

The odd feelings Soundwave was radiating guided Rumble's next steps. Taking a right, another right, and then sliding into a fallen out hole in the wall that served as the symbiotes' own personal 'secret passageway' through the outpost. Quickly carrying himself on sure feet to the source of the tugging in his spark, he exited in the barracks hall from a collapsed corner. Laserbeak was just gliding into the hall as he wandered towards the door at the end.

"Ya feel it too?" he asked unnecessarily.

The aerial bot bobbed her head once. "We all feel it." She fixed him with a sharp look. "Aren't you supposed to be on duty?"

"I'm- uh… taking a break."

"Sure you are." Obviously, Laserbeak believed in his honesty as much as Ravage believed in his intelligence. She landed gracefully on the floor next to her brother, a frown pulling at her long, pointed faceplate. "You're here to check on him too?"

"Yeah."

She nodded. "Good. The others are busy, but they want to know what's happening."

They drew abreast of Soundwave's rooms quickly. They had once belonged to Harlotease, but upon their arrival, she had been more than happy to relinquish them for a few trivial things; cuts in shifts and a handful of off-the-record favours Soundwave was able to provide, though he refrained from discussing the nature of the favours afterwards.

Rumble stopped short of the door, glancing to Laserbeak's awkward form as she waddled next to him. "You go first," he offered, graciously taking a step back to make room for her.

"Coward," she scoffed. The door crunched on its gears, and then slid open with a horrid death-groan.

Soundwave was not where they expected him to be. Normally, when he was off duty and not contemplating the stars from the roofless section of the outpost, which had been made so through vorns of bombing and a lack of interest to repair it, Soundwave could be found in his quarters, contemplating the vastness of space through the single, grimy window in his room. After all this time, he would still look to the stars as if he were searching for the answers to mysteries that only the stars knew. In a sense, to know something in their master hadn't changed from the war was comforting. In another sense, it was sad to think that the loneliest part of their master still stirred within in him and they were unable to help him in any way.

But today, Soundwave was not at the window.

Before Rumble could call out into the semi-darkness, Laserbeak butted his arm, directing his attention to where their master's spark pulsed strongest. Light from an active monitor cast shadows across the wide, low-ceilinged room, Soundwave's large form silhouetted against the source. He was not moving, solely focused on the screen. A deep, rumbling undertone drifted throughout the room, revealing that he mech was indeed speaking with someone.

Rumble made a move towards him, but Laserbeak held him back. "He's talking to someone," she transmitted.

Rumble resisted the urge to reply with a 'duh'- instead, he transmitted back, "The command center didn't pick up any outgoing calls."

She rolled her optics, backing away slowly. "Don't make me remind you of his expertise, you idiot." As quietly as she could, she crawled into the barren corner where a lone berth was shoved, indicating that Rumble should follow suit. "We'll wait for him to finish."

"Fine." Clambering onto the berth, Rumble scooted back until he was against the wall. As an afterthought, he slung an arm out and captured Laserbeak, drawing her to him in a brotherly sort of way, only to shove her away when she hissed and snapped at him, catching his fingers in her razor-lined beak.

Soundwave paused, a smoldering flicker of red light casting across the room as he glanced back at the pair. They were instantly silenced. He went back to his conversation without another word.

Rumble glanced to his sister. "You're fault."

"You wish."

It was not long before Soundwave was pushing away from the too-small desk, the ancient monitor he'd been using left dark and dead. Rumble, who managed to doze off while waiting, was snapped back to reality by a sharp pinch to his side courtesy of Laserbeak's beak. The peculiar sense the pair had felt before was somewhat soothed now, replaced by another feeling that resounded in their contract-bond overwhelmingly. Again, it was hard to place the particular feeling.

"Is everything all right?" Laserbeak asked, peering up into the shadows in order to find her Creator's visor.

It took a moment for Soundwave to decide on an answer. "Yes," he finally replied. "Everything is all right now."

"Who were ya talking to, big guy?" Rumble enquired, and then flinched when Laserbeak reprimanded him for his rudeness with another sharp nip. "I mean… if you don't mind me askin'."

There was something about his stance that caught the symbiotes' optics. He was standing straighter, taller, than he had in vorns, as if there was no longer an immense weight bearing down on him. It was strange to see this rejuvenated stance; strange, and yet wholly satisfying.

"I was speaking with an old acquaintance," the mech informed the pair, making no move to reveal the identity of said acquaintance. The tone of his voice was as even as ever; not a hint of affection or revile for whomever the acquaintance could be. He crossed the distance between them and took a seat upon his berth, allowing his Creations to take up perches upon his leg and shoulder. Once they were settled, he continued. "Doubtlessly, you and the others have noticed that these last few vorns have been rather difficult-,"

"Yer tellin' us!" Rumble cut in with an indelicate snort. "Difficult? Try damn near unbearable!" If being a symbiote in the Decepticon ranks was difficult before, it was damn near impossible to be one after Flamewar trashed Kaon and everyone thought their master was a traitor. Before they were shoved off to Quel-Caol, the vorns they'd spent amongst their own faction were like running acid through energon lines.

While Laserbeak was too far away to reprimand him with a bite, she glared nonetheless, but relinquished to the fact that her brother did have a point. "We have noticed a change in you over the last couple of vorns, especially since the Kaon incident," she said softly, rubbing her head along her master's faceplate. "You've become more withdrawn and…" she trailed off, unable to find appropriate words.

"More complacent with Decepticon demands?" Soundwave offered.

"Yes," the symbiote confirmed, ducking her head as if she were ashamed of the admission.

With a large finger that was more delicate than its size would dictate, Soundwave stroked the avian bot's head gently. "I understand. Do not worry." Hidden beneath his visor, his optics slid to the window, staring out at the stars. "My value to the Decepticons has long since decayed, which is more obvious now than it ever was before. My loyalty was to only Megatron, who was the only one I made a deal with to retain my position and keep you all safe."

"Megatron's been gone a long time," Laserbeak pointed out.

"Yes, he has, and the powers of this faction have shifted. Every last remaining mech who bore semblance to Megatron's power has either been demoted or eliminated." The hand stroking Laserbeak's head dropped back to his side. "I have allowed for my demotions without complaint thus far in order to spare you all from the backlash should I have resisted, but now…"

It was easy enough to put two and two together.

"Now you fear the others are planning for your elimination," Laserbeak said.

"It would seem that that would be the most logical course of action for them to take."

Rumble tensed, optics flashing. "Yer not gonna let them, are ya?" He stood, fists clenched. "We'll fight if we have ta."

"Everything I have ever done is to protect you," Soundwave said, his words settling like a physical weight around them. "I joined the Decepticons to spare the hub from destruction when Megatron came for me, and I entered into contracts with each of you to spare you from death."

"But we've fought just as hard as anyone!" Rumble protested.

"Yes, you have," Soundwave conceded. "However, none of you were built for war. You've proven yourselves more than capable in battle, but I have done my best to protect you from many of the harsher realities-."

There was a soft knock at the door, and whoever was on the other side didn't wait for an answer. Nightshade popped her head in, Ravage slinking in between her legs, followed by the other symbiotes.

"Master Soundwave?" the femme intoned.

"Come in," Soundwave invited quietly. Sensing the atmosphere, and seeing the gathering on the berth, they all drew to their master, Nightshade taking her seat next to him, while the symbiotes crowded for a proper perch on his frame.

"They felt the need to come," Nightshade said, nodding to Ravage and the others. "They were worried, and so was I. We couldn't wait."

"It is fine." Soundwave raised an arm to wrap around his apprentice's frame, displaying a somber affection for her that she took gratefully. "Perhaps it is better you have come."

"What's going on?" Ratbat squeaked anxiously, his wide optics growing bright.

"I will have you all know that I am proud of you," the mech said.

Buzzsaw sighed. "It's never any good when anyone starts a serious conversation with something like that."

"Listen to what I have to say first, and then make your own judgments," Soundwave said, focusing on his ragtag family. "All I wish to say is that nothing has ever made me prouder than the way each of you have held up for so long. Even in the face of immense adversity from the Autobots, as well as from our own faction, you all have been exemplary in your duties and conduct-."

A few discordant thank yous rippled in the semi-darkness. They weren't used to Soundwave being openly praiseful, so this made them feel both flattered and a little more anxious than before.

"Unfortunately, now has come a time when I can no longer stand back and allow things to carry on in the course they've been set."

Ravage growled darkly, a low sound that vibrated his frame. "What do you mean?"

"The 'Cons want ta kill 'im!" Rumble suddenly snarled, unable to restrain himself. The sudden outburst caused the others to jump. "The ungrateful pit-slaggin' aft-fraggers!"

"I don't intend to let that happen," Soundwave intoned over the slight uproar produced in the wake of Rumble's interruption. "I have taken steps to ensure my safety, and, most importantly, the safety of all of you."

Nightshade tensed, catching on to the undertone that laced her master's voice. She looked to him with questioning optics. "What have you done?"

Again, his optics drew to the stars, which he contemplated before answering.

"I have made a deal, of sorts…"