Timeflip 4

a/n Now we get to see how Barricade gets that scar on his chin. I love hearing Soundwave laugh in G1 and thus needed a reason to hear it again. I figured, after Soundwave and Shockwave worked together to get Megatron's piano built they still talk, although at this point, I think Shockwave might be ready to give another mech a scarred chin.
Ah... to my fact-checker, both of you, thanks for helping me with Nemesis/Ark timeline.
Good grief people! I went looking for ONE, can you say ONE chapter to get some clarrification and gosh damn it... 4A.M. before I went to bed. :headshake: But of course it was well worth it too! For that chapter I found, hopefully will come into play in the next chapter, and yes, I will send you a link to said chapter.
FYI, at this point, Wave Industries does not permit family members to work for the company even if they are in separate divisions, thus this is why Shockwave has kept it quiet. Quite honestly, his personal life has nothing to do with the business and he is a private mech after all. And Timeflip is respectful enough to her boss and former commander not to ask.

Copyright: Timeflip is my son's OC and this is split off =NiGhT-sTaLkEr13's universe {used with permission} and Wave Industries belongs to him as well. Most all other Transformers belong to Hasbro.

Through the smoke and the haze, Shockwave turns back to access the damage. He had succeeded in his plans: no Autobot was able to get past him and try breaching Nemesis through the hole they created and thusly using his destroyed lab as a staging area to cut further into her hull.

Now calming his spark pulse, he takes a look to what needs to be done for clean up. There's a quite a few injured Decepticons, too many for the medics to haul back in by themselves. He was going to be heading in anyways to meet with Soundwave and his lab team and find out the next course to keeping their projects on schedule. Mind as well take a few injured inside with him seeing how the med-bay is on the way.

Folding his cannon away, he uses his hands to toss one mech he is sure will survive onto one shoulder and bypasses one he knows will not make it. "He is lost, come, you are not," he tells the one with obvious sparking knee injury who is trying to assist the fatally injured one. The mech doesn't move. With a firm but compassionate voice he tries again, "Come, I will assist you."

Just as the living mech slowly shakes his head, the one in his lap slips away. The optics go dim and the face goes lax into death grey. Shockwave waits as the grieving one gives a final kiss to his obvious younger brother's face. Silently, the head is laid to rest on the battlefield and then a lilac palm is offered to assist the living one up.

Shockwave is silent as he enters the crowded halls of Nemesis. Some are the construction crews headed to repairs and put out fires. Some are running orders and supplies with the com systems out in certain areas. Medics are dashing back and forth trying to save as many as possible. Many try to get out of his way and grant him passage. It doesn't bother Shockwave that they don't salute, this isn't the time to stand on ceremony, this is time to get the duties done.

One mech bars is way and doesn't let him budge though. "Where is she?!" The furious silver face trimmed in dark blue scowls.

Shockwave just blinks. The mech on his shoulder is beginning to slip in his unconscious state, thus the purple commander gives a heft to adjust the burden, "Stand aside soldier."

"No, you tell me where she is?! I checked with the other lab assistants, they say she was with you last. Where is she?"

Now adjusting the limping mech, Shockwave pulls his aching back taught and brings out his firmer voice, "I said, stand aside. These mechs are in need of medical assistance."

The navy blue mech huffs and takes the limping one off his side, "Fine!"

Silently the two take their burdens to the medic in charge of triage. As soon as they are released, Barricade slams Shockwave's shoulders against the wall and snarls in his face, "NOW! WHERE IS SHE?"

Shockwave grabs Barricade by the biceps and pushes him back, "I don't have time for this and you should NOT be accosting an officer. You know the consequences. See to your duties."

Barricade snarls pushing Shockwave back to the wall this time slamming his helm in a cracking sound. This is when Shockwave sees the countenance of the mech before him. The mech is seething in sparkbreak. "Fine bComander/b where is your subordinate Timeflip? As her Commanding Officer it's your duty to see to her safety. She's unarmed thus making you her protection. Did you allow those slimes to take her? Do you even care?!"

Shockwave pushes his own emotions aside and lowers his voice, "Soldier, I understand you are upset, but losses happen. You and I are no stranger to that."

Barricade snarls again and roars, "You pencil necked, cold sparked DROID!"

That did hurt, and Shockwave's hands tighten down on the Enforcer's bulged and angry arms, "You are now out of line. Let go of me and step aside. Last warning."

"You bastard. You evil cold hearted bastard! I have no idea how she could stand working for an emotionless prick like you. Maybe it's best she's dead. For you better pray to whatever you DROIDS pray to -if you give a damn!- you better pray she's dead! For if I find out she's been captured, I'll come back and rip out your only optic and then squash your spark like a scraplet."

He seethes and tries to crack Shockwave into the wall again. This time, Shockwave hisses and swings slamming Barricade into the wall instead. "Shut up! You are only making this worse for yourself. Keep this up and you find yourself in the brig."

"Get your good for nothing pristine clean hands off me!" Barricade snarls back.

Yes, Shockwave knew exactly what that meant. The lower ranking soldiers see the commanders as white collared mech who do nothing and are absolved from all injuries and ramifications. Untouched, untouchable by the higher ups. The truth is far from that. Commanders are the primary targets on the field and most certainly, the good commanders take it to spark when one of their teams is killed. Megatron also holds the Commanders responsible for failed operations. Right now, if what Barricade is saying is the truth, he lost one of his lab assistants along with his lab. And unarmed bot and yes, it was his duty to protect the unarmed ones as well as his lab. Even if she had warpped into a battle trying to help him retreat against his orders.

"Are you sure she's missing? I haven't had a chance to check," he calmly states the fact hoping to calm the other down.

"You didn't check? YOUUU!" and the blue fist swings.

Shockwave, ducks the swing. Swiftly a violet arm lashes out and shoves a forearm under the blue mech's chin pinning him to the wall and snaps back, "Too far, Barricade! Too far."

Barricade kicks out cracking Shockwave in the knee making him step back, thus releasing the chin. But he's not done, and tries to use his weight in a tackle. Shockwave pulls his right fist back and then surges it forward. Perfect strike to the chin making the heavy mech stagger back.

Some of the bots in the area stop to watch the scuffle but seeing it escalate from shoving to punching and with SHOCKWAVE?! They all pull back giving the two mechs more room to do battle. They know in the sparring ring, there are only two bots who can even get a foothold against the droid-cold calculating and limber bot. Neither are here right now, either.

"Stand down and go to the brig of you own accord, NOW!" he slams Barricade to the wall with a pede flat to the chest. This time his tone is devoid of any compassion he held before for the mech. No, now he is clearly making an border/b to one the mechs that is know for abusing information out of prisoners.

Barricade's optics go wide in fury. All the love he had for Timeflip goes into his next move and charges at the larger purple wall of authority. Fists fly. Pedes strike. Bodies collide. Fury and aggression is released.

Barricade is fighting for a lost love. Shockwave is fighting to hold his title and dignity. Neither is willing to budge and neither is going to lose. Barricade might be used to dealing with bullies of school and uncooperative prisoners, but Shockwave has a faster processor, a more graceful form, and hung onto every piece of training he has been taught from the King of the Gladiators.

This is no easy fight for either of them, but by and by, Barricade can feel himself losing the battle. Not just losing Timeflip, but in absolving her death (so he believes). More and more of Shockwave's blows are taking their toll not just on his body, but his spark. Shockwave can see Barricade starting to cave as well and lessens his intensity but keeps striking every time Barricade tries once more.

In a last ditch effort, Barricade goes dirty and pulls the dagger from his cuff. Shockwave's optic goes wide at the glint of steel. Whirling he grabs the left-hand holding the blade with his own right; slamming both hands and blade into the blue mech's chin leaves a gash from jaw hinge to chin tip. More blood spills on the triage floor. The hard sharp blow was too much for the spark broken mech and he crumbles to the floor. Shockwave leans over to make sure the mech is really down for the count. It's there that he hears Barricade whisper, "I failed her."

Shockwave's antenna wilt. Barricade's fight was not with Timeflip's Commanding Officer, it was with himself. Wiping the blood on his own grieve, he tucks the dagger back into the defeated mech's ankle cuff. The position they were fighting in, no one else would ever know Barricade had drawn a blade on the senior officer and he most certainly would not reveal that either. Barricade passes out, weather it be spark break or the Shockwave's beating, it doesn't matter. They both had a duty to protect her, and both had failed...

Standing in the door way to the conference room now, Shockwave gapes to the sight before him. The last time he saw Timeflip, she was fading out of a battle scene to a den of safety, but that was... lifetimes ago. Her face doesn't look like it's aged a day from that fateful one. Although her conservative Army armor has been replaced with a cute professional attire, she looks the same none the less.

How? What? Where?... his poor processor is trying to grapple with all those questions still tingling from the flashback fight with Barricade. Yet there before him she stands.

"Shockwave?" Pilot asks again confused by his Senior Draftsman's expression.

"Oh, right," the genius dumbly says striding forward. He sticks his hand out in greeting, "Timeflip?"

She too is at a loss for words. The warmth of his hand in hers has her hand clenching down tight. She has to know this is real and he is really safe. Of all people, she thought the most loyal and bot would be gone defending their Leader and The Cause. The lemon yellow optics are still searching trying to behold the truth.

When his second hand comes up to enclose her hand, she knows this is very real. He gives her a slight flash to his optic (as she knows his sign of a smile) and smiles in return. Releasing her hand, motions for her to take her seat and he takes his directly across from her. She slicks her hands down the back of her thighs tucking her skirt flat and takes her seat.

Slick starts with his smarmy tone of voice, "Look, no offense, Missy, but we have gone through a lot of secretaries recently and I just don't see what you have to offer other than a cute face." Uhu, groans.

Pilot holds up his hand to both but then turns to Timeflip, "Please forgive his attitude, but I have looked over your resume. Yes, you worked for a communication's expert and a police department, but this is a complex manufacturing firm with connections to not just Cybertron's off world colonies, but also other species. You, Timeflip, are not very old. How old are you?"

Timeflip looks to Shockwave who is remaining silent, for he has no idea what is on her resume so it would not be prudent for him to say anything and cause more confusion, but he is rather curious for her answer. For she has been MIA for a very long time and he is boggled to her ageless face.

Timeflip takes a soft deep breath and folds her hands professionally on the table. She looks to the chauvinistic pig who reminds her too much of Starscream, then to the polite business mech and then lastly to the personal department head. "I have a question for you. Why are you looking for a secretary? Was the last one too old or too young?" Uhu smirk says it all, she likes this femme, she knows her rights. "Or is it because the last ones you had were incompetent?"

She waits for the senior officer to answer letting him know she has some inside information as to how desperate they are. He flushes, "Ah well, you are correct there. Good help has been hard to find. No one really understands this industry very well and it's unique nuances. And Miss Polystyrene-"

"Oh dear Primus!" Timeflip sinks her face into her open palm. She then lifts her head and looks right at Shockwave, "Please tell me he's kidding?"

The purple mech chuckles lightly and slowly shakes his head. Both of them dealt with her during the war. Shockwave wanted to euthanize the worthless bubble-head, but Commander Starscream found her amusing and on top of that, a torture device. Whenever either Shockwave or Soundwave (Lord Megatron's two most trusted officers and more creative bots) upstaged him with their creations, he would transfer the helium-head back to their department which just brought all operations to a halt until she could be transferred elsewhere.

Timeflip pulls back up to a professional position and knows this is her chance to prove herself. Still looking at Shockwave she asks leadingly, "Are you having problems finding your files on selenium capacitor readings vs. the capisium capacitors?" They had gone down this path back in the early days of the bridge designs and it was something Poly could always foul up.

Pilot pipes up bewildered, "Uh, how do you know about these things?"

"I didn't list all my past job experiences. Let's just say, I'm older than I look and have far more knowledge in unraveling Poly's filing system than I care to remember."

She is soft and very careful to what she wants to reveal and what she wants to hold back. She's finally got a chance to stand on her own and Barricade and Soundwave have really gone out on a limb to get her this job. Besides, she knows Shockwave has got to be ready to rip his antenna off and stab himself with them if he's had to deal with the likes of Poly and Slick for too long.

She then turns to Slick, "We were in a secretary pool together for a short period of time. Have you been having problems with any of your clients? Ploy is not really well known for her linguistic skills either."

Slick sheepishly nods there too which makes Pilot's face pull into a frown understanding their drop in sales. Timeflip carefully offers, "I didn't want to seem arrogant, but my father was a archeologist, his specialty was linguistics. I might be able to smooth over a few ruff areas there for you as well."

Shockwave's antenna perk. He now remembers the story of how she came to the Decepticons. Her father had been dragged out of his home and executed on his door step by some over zealous government official trying to put Decepticonisium to rest by silencing anyone known to speak the language. No trial, no excuses. Shortly there after, Barricade and Timeflip joined the Decepticons because her family was being hunted down.

Pilot suddenly becomes very interested, "Really! What languages do you know?"

Timeflip carefully lists off the ones her father had read her berthtime stories and some of the others she learned while being at Soundwave's side. "And recently I've been learning some of the human languages."

Pilot turns to Shockwave, "Seeing how she will be in your department, do you have any questions?"

The two former teammates look to each other and share the same amused expression, iYes I have questions but not about the business./i Shockwave just shakes his head, "Not at this time."

Pilot nods, "Very well. Miss Timeflip, I think you would make a fine addition to our company. When can you start?"

"When would you like for me to start?"

For once serious, Slick sighs with relief, "Yesterday?" The whole table rumbles with amusement. Uhu has been inundated with complaints on Poly's misuses of the comlines and distracting other departments. She will be more that pleased to see someone with a level head who looks interested in the long term. The Personal Manager smiles holding out her hand, "Welcome aboard Wave Industries. If you have a few moments, I can get a file started for you."

Rising, Pilot motions once more to Shockwave, "Why don't you take her around the department and get her acquainted with your section until then."

Shockwave stands and gestures to the door, "If you will follow me, it would be my pleasure to show you the Design Engineering Division."

Timeflip shakes hands with the others and then follows her former Commander out of the door. He first shows her the secretary's abandoned desk and then quick brief introductions to the other four engineers. Finally he takes her to his office and shuts the door.

Now comes the moment of truth. After a lengthy awkward silence, "What happened?" they both ask and then lightly laugh. Shockwave makes his way to the couch and offers her a seat, but she shakes her head and instead chooses to look out the window to the back lot.

"In that last blast, I teleported not just through space but time. I ended up on Earth in their 1960's." The genius quickly does the math and figures out that she arrived on Earth BEFORE Nemesis and Ark crew awoke. "I arrived back last vorn. I was gone less than two Earth years."

"Oh... Primus," Shockwave can see that the war's end has been just recent for her like a blink of an optic where for him it has been torturous vorns of isolation and then blissfully peaceful years in armicist. That would explain her rather defensive attitude. Still trying to get over the viciously torn society being mended back together.

Timeflip presses her hand to the glass. She knows good and well that either Soundwave or Shockwave will give her the most honest answer, after all they had been top commanders, not mere soldiers like Barricade. "Is it true that Lord Megatron actually signed the treaty? After all the blood and the hate, he really just gave it all up so easily like all we did was for nothing?"

For Shockwave, he has to be very careful as to what he says. Not only is the former Warlord his mate, but also this is a femme dealing with the new world. "Timeflip, look at me." Slowly she does and he can see the hurt on her face. "Yes, he signed the treaty for all of us. No, not so easily. It was at a great personal pain that he did it."

He holds her gaze making it clear that this was no easy task for anyone. "It's been a hard row for many and no easy walk for Megatron either. He has not abandoned us. We won, we all did. There's a new government, right? There is more freedom and no caste, correct?"

Slowly she nods in agreement to that. "That's all he wanted, Timeflip. For everyone, not just himself."

Slowly she turns away from his deep gaze boring deep into her with an intensity she just can't understand. Yes, she's been in this new world for nearly a year, but there are still many past years to get over. There was a lot of destruction done by politics and by weapons. "I see a lot of change here in Kaon and Tarn but I also see a lot of destruction still out there." She takes a deep sigh and looks down to her toes peeking through her new life shoes, "It just seems so weird to go from so much hate and fighting to a life of sudden peace. Kind of hard adjusting to."

Shockwave gives her a hum of agreement. She's still so young considering everyone she has ever known is either dead or vorns older and battle scared. While they have all move forward without her, she is racing to catch up.

Digging her toe to the floor, she finally asks, "Barricade won't answer me, but when I ask, he only strokes that scar on his chin. Shockwave did he do something after I went MIA?" Shockwave's silence has her lifting her helm and sees the flush on his face. "Oh no, what did he do?"

Shockwave grazes a thumb across his own chin, "I gave him that scar although he blames himself."

Now Timeflip does sink down to the couch beside her past and present superior. "I'm so sorry."

Shockwave narrows his gaze curiously, "Why should you be sorry?"

The knock on the door stills the last of that thought, "Yes?" Shockwave begins to rise, then stills when he sees the familiar royal blue and yellow mech enter.

Soundwave closes the door behind him and beams, "So Shockwave, how do you like Barricade's little surprise of a mate?"

Shockwave whips back to her now understanding her last question, "Mate? So you caught up with him. Good!" The purple shoulders tension seems to all ease away by hearing the navy blue mech has finally gotten his deepest desire... one he can most certainly relate to.

Leaning his aft against the former Guardian's desk, Soundwave crosses his arms over his chest and chuckles lightly. They both turn to him curious to what has amused him so much. The reserved communications expert cants his helm just so egging the other genius on. Shockwave now scowls.

It always perplexed her how these two could have pages of dialoged without ever speaking, and it has nothing to do with telepathy or com links.

She can see Shockwave about the bristle and so she changes the subject, so she thinks, "So you two can solve a rumor for me. Barricade told me the funniest one yet. He said Lor- erm, Megatron bonded after signing the treaty. He's kidding right?"

Soundwave can't hold back and cracks out loud with burst of laughter quickly clamping a hand over his mouth. Shockwave on the other hand, thrusts to a stand, rather proud. "No, it's not a joke."

Timeflip understands the pride to be for their Leader finding peace and harmony in this new life with everything else he told him. "Oh, wow. Well good for him. She must be someone pretty special to handle a former Warlord help him settle down in this new world."

Once again Soundwave laughs, but this time he is really trying to hide yet failing miserably. Shockwave strides up to his soon to be former friend and slams a fist into the ball of his shoulder. "Oh shut up!"

Poor innocent Timeflip just has to ask the last question, "So what about you two?"

That is Soundwave's undoing and he doubles over, "I'm sorry Shockwave, I'm so sorry."

Shockwave opens his office door and snarls, "You know what this is and I would appreciate it if you used it. Preferably now."

With that he huffs away and makes his way to the window. Raising one pede to the near floor length window ledge, he stares out into the back lot. Soundwave can see his friend is really hurt. It's also there that Timeflip can see a different kind of tension across her former commander's face.

"Shockwave, I'm sorry." The door closes, "Listen, I know the trial has you-" Shockwave whips his head back to Soundwave to remain silent. "Oh Primus you didn't tell her?!"

Timeflip gapes, "What is going on?"

Shockwave lets out a heavy breath, "It's a long story which I would prefer not to discuss and really is no one's business. But I would appreciate you helping get our division back in productive operations. We have had major delays due to some unfortunate situations and your knowledge of my experiments plus your linguistic skills will be great asset to Wave Industries."

All of the former respect she had for Shockwave has not changed. The mech knows how to keep things in line and how not to let projects get sidelined by petty issues. A clean organized operation. Logic and order, she sticks her hand out, "Sir, it will be an honor to be working with you again and I promise to give you and the company my best."

She uses the old term in the civilian form of respect. Likewise, she too will find comfort in the structure of a professional and respectful work environment. He takes her hand and they seal the deal.