Hey sorry for not updating last week. I had a crap-ton of homework and projects.
WhiteDiamondNinja8484: Yup.
Matronium: Yes, he does. In my take on Soundwave, there's more to him than just a monotonous drone with a spark. There's reasons as to why he always wears a mask/visor, and prefers to be emotionally-detached.
PathBeater: Why, thank you, I love reading your review! Oh yes, the scientist is an OC, but definitely going to come around more later. Yes, as you can tell I love writing them! And yes, the rest of the symbiotes will be introduced! Glad you noticed XD
SunnySides: Yes, that is exactly what I was going for!
ChillingShadow: Thank you, and yesss! Oh yes, Paradox has a lot to learn. She's still fairly new to all this.
99uftballonsx.o.x: Lol thanks!
I've been focusing on Paradox a lot, even though it's 3rd POV. So, I'm gonna try and get a little bit of Soundwave's perspective from time to time.
Seven: No Room for Weak
The large metal doors to the command center split opened. Soundwave didn't have to look up to know it was Starscream. The click of his unusual heeled pedes and the egotism flaring from his spark signature was more than enough evidence. However, the big silver mech sitting on the throne in the middle of the command center grunted in exasperation.
"Lord Megatron," The Seeker's scratchy voice rang out.
"I'm not in the mood for a helm-ache, Starscream." Megatron grumbled, "Whatever you want to argue about will have to wait for tomorrow."
Starscream scoffed dramatically, "I'm not here argue. I just thought you might wanted to know that Knock Out finally got that Cybertax in."
Megatron made a bored sound of acknowledgement, "Is that all?"
"Not quite," Starscream spat the last word with venom and hate, before barking out, "Soundwave!"
Soundwave's fingers only faltered slightly at the outburst, but other than that, he didn't respond. Even if Starscream was technically, higher-ranking than him, Soundwave almost never paid him any attention. His whiny, deceitful, and over dramatic qualities were not something Soundwave saw as respectful, and he was sure the only reason why Megatron kept him around is because he could control the Seekers.
"Your little pests keep swapping out the energon in the lounge, sneaking into my mech's rooms, and re-painting their armor!"
Soundwave resisted the urge to sigh. He'd have to reprimand Rumble and Frenzy later, but now, he was working on the coordinates to an Autobot outpost far out near Tygar Pax. Starscream kept going on and on about Rumble ad Frenzy's antics, but stopped when he realized Soundwave wasn't paying attention and turned to Megatron.
"Are you just going to sit there and let this happen?"
"If it is at the expense of you," Megatron's optics gleamed darkly with mirth, "Then yes."
Starscream scoffed, "You think this is funny? This is a warship, not a playground! Soundwave better get those two glitches under control, or I can't promise that the next time I see them that I won't do it myself."
It was the underlying threat that had Soundwave glancing sharply at the Seeker Commander. "Starscream; making a threat?"
A devious smile curled on the edges of his lip-plates at finally getting Soundwave's attention. He shrugged nonchalantly, "It's only fair to return the favor."
"Starscream will not seek retaliation," Soundwave replied stiffly, his optics narrowing behind his visor, "I will handle symbiotes."
"You better." Starscream retorted, still not losing the threatening edge to his voice. The room went silent, as both Megatron and Starscream waited eagerly for a reaction.
Soundwave didn't give them one, and instead returned to the task at hand. Slightly miffed, Starscream turned back to the Lord Protector.
"How's my new recruits doing, Starscream?" Megatron rumbled, examining his sharp claws.
"Okay, I guess. The only really useful ones are the brutes big enough to do heavy labor. And that...femme."
Soundwave's digit's faltered again, but this time he was confused as to why. The two other Commanders didn't seem to notice, even as he angled himself just enough that he could see them while he continued hacking the location signal.
"We have a femme?" Megatron seemed more intrigued than surprised. For some reason, his interest in the femme didn't settle well with Soundwave. It rubbed him the wrong way, and his carrier protocols suddenly onlined. Soundwave scowled under his mask, trying to deactivate the protocols, but they weren't going down without a fight.
They were flaring with a considerable need to defend the little femme.
To protect.
His irritation aroused his symbiotes, and they all sent him worried and questionable thoughts back. Soundwave all reassured them that they had nothing to worry about, and went on with his task, ignoring the protocols. It was probably a glitch, and if it is, he could always get one of the set of twins to help him fix it.
"Yes, I've observed her during training. A good, very versatile fighter..."
Soundwave was reminded of the night that he had to drag the cumbersome femme all the way to her hidden quarters. And the clumsy, yet quick hits she probably would have landed if it was anybot other than him. Soundwave shook his helm slightly, snapping himself out of his musings. What was wrong with him? It wasn't like him for his mind to be distracted while on duty. In fact, his was rarely distracted at all.
It shouldn't matter at all that Starscream and Megatron were discussing her. She wasn't important.
He forced himself to give his full attention back to the enormous screen in front of him.
"...But too small, and not armored enough to take hits in battle. I have her as a low-ranking soldier right now, not quite sure what to do with her."
There was a ping: Location found.
Soundwave quickly downloaded the new information, satisfied for completing his task and turned to the silver Lord Protector.
"Lord Megatron," His deep, monotone voice rumbled, "Autobot Output location; discovered."
"Very well Soundwave," Megatron grinned viciously as his optics read over the coordinates, "You'll leave in five groons to infiltrate it. Take which ever symbiotes you need to assist you. I want that whole database drained."
Soundwave nodded, about to comm Laserbeak and Buzzsaw to assist him on the mission when Megatron spoke up again.
"Oh, and Soundwave."
Soundwave paused halfway towards the exit, turning his helm slightly to one side, "My Lord?"
His optics darkened with something unreadable, "I want no survivors."
Not affected in the least, Soundwave merely nodded, and headed out the large doors.
The blazing sun beat down on to the desert land, nearly frying Paradox's circuits as she cruised across the terrain. It was, unusually warm today, since Cybertron was in the middle of the Dark Cycles. Her patrol round was coming close to an end, and she rolled up the ramp onto the warship. Pradox transformed, just a few feet away from the security check point. The violent femme bent her knee-plating, before springing up in a flawless leap, her claws catching the edges of a ridge, and she climbed up to the next level.
Not that it wasn't hard to get pass security, but Paradox found using this way more enthralling. She also noticed, a blindspot in the cameras, and knew that when the time came, this would be the spot she'd tell the Autobot's to infiltrate through. She was about to climb some more when she saw the shadow of a figure approaching. Cursing swiftly, she crouched down, thanking Primus she was small enough that she could fit in-between the two metal bars easily.
As the shadow came near, it morphed and stretched until the bot looked like it was crawling on it's pedes and servos. Paradox raised and optic ridge, leaning in slightly between the bars to get a better view. She had to bit her lip-plate to keep from yelping as a huge, Cyber-Cat came sauntering out of the shadows. She remembered encounter a Cyber-Cat once or twice in the zoos of Praxus when she was a sparkling, but they were nothing like this one.
Its painting was as dark as night, sharp long claws and matching rows of denta. It had one, large crimson optic, two twin rifles built on to it's hips, and a long, silver tail with spike trailing down either sides.
It was a Cyber-Cat from Pit.
The violet femme held her breath as the thing stopped, it's snout in twitched, and a low growl rumbled from it's chest. That crimson optic glared in her direction, and for a split second, she panicked, imagining it's large fangs sinking into her armor and tearing her apart piece by piece. But then it's helm snapped back up, and without another word(or sound even) it leapt off the high beam and onto the platform.
Curiosity compelled her to follow it, but at a much, much further distance.
Where is it going? She thought to herself, watching it warily as it basically sauntered across the roof. She had her answer a moment later, when a tall, slim figure touched down on top of the roof.
Soundwave.
She watched him walk up to the thing, as if it wasn't a huge, razor-sharp beast, and her jaw dropped when the Cyber-Cat lunged into the air, right at him. But instead of crashing into him, the Cyber-Cat transformed, just as Soundwave's chassis opened to reveal small slots. It slid into there perfectly, and once it was complete, his chassis snapped shut.
He has another symbiote? Paradox's scarlet optics widened.
Her audio sensor twitched, picking up on the sound of swift wings cutting through the wind, and her optics snapped up above. Two small creatures circled above in the air, before swooping down to land perfectly on the roof.
"Laserbeak, Buzzsaw." Soundwave's voice brought her attention back to him, "Databursting coordinates. Objective; infiltrate Autobot Outpost 96."
Paradox's spark sank a little. That was the outpost in Tygar Pax, the one where she had transferred from. It was where she had met Retrobeam, realized who she truly wanted to become, and what she wanted to do for her planet.
The two robots spring back into the sky, transforming into little jets, and Soundwave takes off after them.
Paradox was relieved to see the navy blue femme back at the Med Bay again. She was tending to a Vehicon's arm, quietly humming a strange tune. The little femme waited patiently by the bench across from her, silently observing her. She seemed content, happy even, as she finished his weld and nodded for him to get up. Nightblade turned to Paradox, pink optics softening as she smirked, leaning against the counter.
"Go ahead."
Paradox raised an optic ridge, "Go ahead what?"
Nightblade rolled her optics in amusement, "Tell me what's on your processor. If you keep it in any longer I'm sure you'll glitch."
Paradox flushed, and averted her optics to the ground. "It's nothing really. I mean, you just seem so... happy when you do your job."
Paradox watched the femme's lips press into a hard line, before she forced herself to smile again. She also noticed her servos drumming softly against the counter, but chose not to comment about it.
"I've always wanted to help people, ever since I was a sparkling." Nightblade's optics clouded over with a distant memory, and then, she shook her helm and sighed, "But things change, life changes. Sometimes it doesn't always go the way you want it to go. You just have to make do with what you have."
"Nightblade," The violet femme said softly, "Why are you here if this doesn't make you happy? What's the point of staying?"
She chuckled softly, "Better be careful there kid. These Cons have optics everywhere, and you don't want them to catch you saying something like that."
Paradox tensed, eyeing the camera in the corner of the Med Bay, before looking back up at the older femme. Nightblade moved away from the counter, and began cleaning some tools. Paradox couldn't help the wave of melancholy that washed over her. It was clear that she was being forced here against her will, just like it was obvious she wasn't happy.
How could anybot really be happy trapped within these walls?
Paradox silently vowed that she would do whatever it takes to free Nightblade from whatever that is keeping her here. It was true the femme did have a bit of a harsh bedside manner, but pooling in those pink optics just under the surface was how much she cared. And she sure did like to fuss a lot with Paradox, even about the smallest of things like refueling. The blue medic looked around for a moment, as if deciding something before grabbing her servo and leading her towards the back. Once she was sure they were alone, she looked at Paradox with pleading optics.
"You got to keep your guard up here. Don't trust anyone, there's a good chance they'll double cross you. These mechs here don't do anything unless it benefits themselves or brings someone else down."
Paradox froze, trying to find the words to say, "Why...Why would you tell me all this?"
Nightblade's emotions dulled, and her face-plates returned to the hard expression. "Because there's no room for the weak." Just as she had said it, the door swung open, and the soldier Paradox learned was Breakdown was waiting on the other side.
He took one look at the two femmes and his optics narrowed warily, "What are you doing back here?"
"Nothing, we were just leaving." Nightblade replied quickly, trying to urge Paradox and herself out of the room when Breakdown's servo clasped on to the blue medic's arm. With a wicked smile, he said, "Lord Megatron requests your presence."
Anger flared up in Paradox's spark and washed through her systems as she watched Breakdown 'escort' her to Lord Megatron. She wished so badly she could do something, anything to help. She hated herself for being so useless, when it was clear Nightblade needed her.
On a mission. She needed to remind herself, On a mission. For the better of Cybertron. For the good of everybot.
Besides, Nightblade was right. In the Decepticon ranks, there was no room for the weak.
Sorry it's a little short, I hope that wasn't too much of an awkward place to end the chapter! Next will definitely be longer ;)