Author's Notes: As usual, thank you reviewers! You keep this story alive. On another note, I'm not sure when I'll be updating again (maybe in the next 2-4 weeks?). Apologies in advance for any delays. This chapter isn't too big on horror or anything, but it gets the plot moving a bit. By the next chapter, things will start happening. Think of this as the calm before the storm.
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or any related characters.
Breakdown felt only emptiness as he looked at Knock Out's sedated body and thanked Primus that he was a medic's assistant. Wires and tubing were connected to the medic's injured body, most coming from the hole in his chest.
He was no professional, but it didn't look good. Without an extremely qualified mechasurgeon, Knock Out's body would have to heal by itself, which could take millennia due to their limited resources and Breakdown's lack of knowledge.
But he wasn't dead. Not by a long shot. Not like Breakdown's brothers, the Stunticons, the ones who'd been there for Breakdown before Knock Out. Or the Wreckers, who'd been close enough to be brothers.
Now he had no one.
He wouldn't mind making Starscream pay. But Megatron demanded the Seeker remain alive, at least until he revealed what his plan was.
Starscream's 'plan' sounded simple enough to Breakdown. Kill off every officer on the Nemesis. Soundwave had been missing for more than an Earth week and was presumed offline. The Seeker had just had a little hitch in his plans when Breakdown had thrown him into a wall long enough to get Megatron down to sickbay.
Starscream had acted downright crazy, lashing out against both Megatron and Breakdown and screeching in a strange double-voice about how 'he' wanted him to do this. Then Breakdown had lost patience and hit him in the head, knocking him out.
How ironic, Breakdown thought. How slagging ironic.
He was now confined to the brig, being questioned by Megatron. About his 'plan', about the whereabouts of Soundwave and of whatever else Megatron thought of. The Seeker was claiming innocence.
Breakdown's musings were interrupted by something skittering in the shadows of the sickbay. He turned abruptly, readying his hammers as he recognized Arachnid's silhouette slinking out the door. He didn't trust her. Especially with his partner lying helpless on the table for the foreseeable future.
Breakdown would have been content to stay with Knock Out in the sickbay and not be tempted to beat Starscream and/or Arachnid into powder, but one of the Eradicons sent him a quick message asking him to meet the surveillance crew below decks.
He reached out and clasped Knock Out's forearm.
"I will bring you back. Partner."
"What is it?"
The Eradicon, nicknamed 4-0 moved aside for Breakdown to get a better look.
"We weren't sure whether we should get Lord Megatron for this."
It was Laserbeak, still and unmoving. Breakdown swallowed. A small part of his processor noted the dried Energon that covered the floor. He would bet his remaining eye it was Soundwave's.
This was very, very bad.
"Umm. Okay." He racked his processor, trying to think of something to say. Something intelligent. What would Knock Out say? "Is there surveillance on this level?"
4-0 shook his head. "Fixer thinks that's why Starscream chose this floor."
Breakdown knelt down and scooped up Laserbeak in his arms. The symbiote trembled as it came into contact with Breakdown's body heat. It was still alive, but barely.
"I'm going to take him to Megatron." Breakdown thought for another moment. "Could you and Fixer try and piece together when this happened, exactly?"
The Eradicon nodded and saluted. "Sure thing."
"Thanks." Breakdown turned to leave.
"Sir?"
"Yes?"
"I know this won't mean anything, but I hope Knock Out makes it out okay."
Breakdown tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace. Still, he appreciated the effort.
"I hope he will too."
Laserbeak shifted slightly in his arms as Breakdown entered the lift. The former Wrecker leaned against the wall and sighed.
He felt a questioning nudge in the back of his mind. He looked down at the symbiote and tried to glare.
"Stop that." Weren't they at the brig yet?
Breakdown could still remember running around Iacon with Soundwave and Megatron, first chasing the Omega Key, then running from Omega Supreme. Soundwave had disturbed him to no end with his disturbing sixth sense around traps and technology. He had been almost thankful to be thrown into the Stunticons and their viscous gestalt.
The lift door opened to the brig level. Breakdown stepped out, ignoring Laserbeak's querying thoughts.
Keying in the access code, he noticed how quiet it was.
Starscream was still in one of the cells, sprawled on the floor. Energon pooled around his body. The blue light of the force field surrounding the cell illuminated the room, giving it an eerie glow.
"Master."
Megatron was turned towards the cell, away from Breakdown. A claw stroked his chin contemplatively. Hearing the other Decepticon's voice, he turned his head.
"Breakdown." His optics went to Laserbeak, then quickly to Breakdown's optic. Breakdown nearly backed up, but restrained himself. "You recovered his body?"
"No – just – the Eradicons found him in the lower decks. I told them to try and find out when Soundwave went in to see where we were then. So maybe we could…find him then." He wasn't sure how Megatron would react if Breakdown implied Soundwave was dead.
But Megatron only nodded.
"At the very least, it will yield some information on when Starscream first began acting out."
Breakdown nodded.
"What should I do with him, sir?" he held up Laserbeak.
Megatron held out one hand. Unquestioningly, Breakdown handed Laserbeak over, glad to have the voice-thought-feeling out of his head.
"Has he said anything?"
Megatron growled.
"He claims to have no knowledge of what he did to Knock Out or Soundwave." Megatron began pacing. "Rest assured, I will find out what has been…motivating our second-in-command and deal with it accordingly."
The silver Decepticon resumed staring at the fallen Seeker. No dismissal was offered. Breakdown wasn't sure if he was supposed to leave, or stay or wait for an order to leave.
As quietly as he was able, Breakdown made his way out of the brig, thoroughly disturbed by the look in his leader's optics.
Megatron had many theories on what had happened to Starscream.
And they all stemmed from one fact.
Starscream was losing his grip on reality.
His extreme changes were triggered by his neurological systems shutting down – hence, why his personality had shifted when Breakdown had thrown him headfirst into the wall. He had woken up scared, claiming to not know what had happened.
He had been acting completely innocent before exhaustion had overwhelmed him. When he woke up, he would be acting insane, Megatron knew.
The innocent (if any side of Starscream could be 'innocent') part knew absolutely nothing about what was going on. The malicious part was the instigator of the whole thing, but claimed another part of Starscream wanted him to do it.
Unicron? Dark Energon? Or had the Seeker simply come down with a case of space madness?
He wanted to know what Starscream had done to Soundwave, so he could repay the favor in full. He missed the former gladiator's familiar presence at his side.
At the thought of Soundwave, Laserbeak stirred in his hand, sending a querying thought to Megatron.
"I don't know where he is." The symbiote raised his head slightly. "His signal is blocked, or he is offline."
Laserbeak sent fear in response.
"Can you find his location?"
A half-confident yes was his answer. Laserbeak shifted, trying to curl up in the palm of his hand.
"You need Energon."
Hungry. Tired.
"Alright. But this had better not be a waste of resources."
Laserbeak acknowledged the half-threat by burying his head under Megatron's thumb.
Casting one last glance at the stasis-locked Starscream, Megatron left the brig.
He refused to turn off his pain receptors.
The pain was the only thing keeping him sane. Whatever Starscream had done to him had been very thorough, leaving him unable to communicate with the Nemesis via his comlink. He was doing his best to override the codes, but it would take time he might not have. Of course, he could talk, but that would only attract the humans that were tromping through this desert area in search of aesthetically appealing landscapes and spiritual enlightenment. Soundwave was doing his best to avoid them.
Night had fallen, leaving him alone with his pain. He listened to the sounds of the desert in an attempt to distract himself from the pain. But there was only so much sound the desert could make.
So he turned to examining his injuries. Both his shoulder wings were ripped off, leaving him unable to fly, so getting back that way was out of the question. And he'd probably crashed into a rock formation falling to Earth, because his side was split open. That certainly hurt.
But the thing that hurt the most was his cracked spark chamber. Sand was getting into it, and from there it was getting into his internal systems, mucking up everything splendidly.
But even his pessimistic assessment of his injuries only took so long.
He traced a pattern in the hard ground beneath him. He was leaning against a huge pile of rocks mostly obscured from view.
He had been a gladiator before the war, like Megatron. No pain was a sign the end was near. No pain was when there was no chance you could be saved, when the only thing left to do was end it quickly so the cameras filming for the gamblers in Iacon couldn't portray the screaming, begging mechs with legs and arms cut off.
Soundwave looked to the sky. Giving up wasn't an option. It was what had kept him alive in the arena and kept him alive right now.
Someone would find him. Even if the Autobots on patrol found him, he could work with that. He was going to get back. He let himself be content monitoring the transmissions of the humans who were utilizing the Internet in the small town to the far east.
Abruptly, Laserbeak became aware.
Soundwave perked up, trying to contact him, but it was like trying to talk through a one-way glass to a mech missing his optics. He could see what Laserbeak saw. Breakdown carrying him to the brig, thinking paranoid thoughts while worrying about Knock Out—
What had happened to Knock Out? Soundwave would find out, but it didn't bode well for the rest of the ship's crew.
Then Laserbeak was in Megatron's hand, and they were talking.
"I don't know where he is. His signal is blocked, or he is offline."
"Can you find his location?"
Soundwave dared to begin to hope.
"You need Energon."
He began working again at the codes. Laserbeak would need all the help he could get.
