Holy Primus. I have just gotten a hundred reviews. I've entered the triple digits. I can't believe this...

I won't keep you waiting. Here's the next chapter.

…

Following

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By some sort of mysterious intuition, Optimus Prime had decided to discard Soundwave's restraints, and soon the Decepticon was being escorted to a spare quarters by the Prime himself. However, the medic, Ratchet, wasn't going to let him off so easily. As soon as the restraints were off, he'd seen fit to attach a signal jammer to Soundwave; they weren't taking any chances with their mainframe. Soundwave involuntarily touched the small, round jammer firmly bolted to the back of his neck. He hadn't resisted the medic's ministrations, or made any attempt to repel the Prime, as he walked him to his room. In fact, he just wanted to be alone. He didn't know where or how, he just wanted to be left by himself. He tried not to reach upwards and touch his abdomen, where his cerebrum secondary used to be; it would be a show of weakness.

Soundwave felt a bitter pang of despair. Like a seeker's wings, his information processing implant had become ingrained into his psyche. He had acknowledged the risks when he'd decided to undergo the operation, and he had been well aware of the effect it would have if it was removed. It had felt like a part of him, an integral piece of a greater whole, and now that it was gone…

All of his hard work, all of that painstakingly gathered information he had collected over vorns…Soundwave felt like a limb had gone missing, or like he had suddenly gone blind. It was a splinter in his processor, and he felt like it was softly and slowly tearing away at his spark.

"This will be your quarters for the time being, Soundwave," said Optimus, as he hit a button on a panel. The rusty steel door hissed open, revealing a small, square room. A narrow berth was situated on one side, and a row of empty shelves and a desk was at the other. It smelled a little stale.

Soundwave didn't reply. He silently swept past Optimus, and made a beeline for the berth.

"Wait, please." The young mech froze. "I understand you may be disheartened, and upset," said Optimus, "But you must know that you are not being held as a prisoner, old friend."

Soundwave's servos tightened into fists, and his jaw was clenched. Old friend? Old friend? After all that had happened, after all he had betrayed, and after all he and his group had done to him, he had the gall to call him a friend? Soundwave bared his sharp denta; his black faceplate contorted in anger, and turned around to face the Prime. But he was too late; the door swished shut.

Soundwave scowled.

Fine, then…

He'd soon settled into an uneasy recharge, and when he awoke, he groggily checked his chronometer, and discovered that it was six in the morning. He had powered down for a full fifteen hours. Soundwave blinked, and sat up in the berth. The room was as he had left it, not that he had expected it to change. He shivered a bit, something that had nothing to do with the temperature, and pulled his knee joints to his chest. He didn't know why, but he attempted to access his vast bank of data. He only received an error message in response, telling him that his cerebrum secondary was most likely disconnected, and if it wasn't, he was welcome to go through a list of troubleshooting options.

Soundwave sighed, as he dismissed the notification. So much for that…

He leaned back, and tried to ignore the hollowness in his abdomen. The recharge had helped, easing the pain, but he still didn't feel any better. Involuntarily, he traced a slim digit across the scar on his stomach. It glowed, a bright red, casting a dim crimson light onto the berth.

If only he had detected the virus earlier…If he had, he would have been able to lessen the damage caused. If he had, then Knockout wouldn't have…

Soundwave felt that uncharacteristic anger again.

Knockout! That irritating little…As if his arrogance, whining and constant grooming weren't enough, he had the nerve to go ahead and suck up to Megatron, when he himself hardly contributed outside of the med bay, or the race tracks. And whenever he did, he failed simply by gross incompetence, or his own egotism.

Well, okay, there was that one time he managed to acquire that shield generator, but that was just because Bumblebee hadn't put up enough of a fight. If there was one thing Soundwave could tolerate about Knockout, it was that he was a useful medic. But that was where the lenience ended.

Someone knocked on his door. Still feeling peeved, Soundwave rose from the berth, hoping it was Optimus. He clenched his fist, and padded open the door, ready to give the Prime a piece of his mind, only to encounter a red chest plate. Soundwave blinked, and slowly looked upwards, into the growling faceplate of Ironhide. The acerbic remark he'd been building up had vanished.

"Checkup time, sonny," grunted Ironhide, as he stepped aside and gestured down the passage. Soundwave's shoulder slumped, and he stepped out into the hallway. With a light shove from Ironhide, he was soon heading to the med bay.

The medic was currently occupied with a console, and he simply pointed to a berth as Soundwave entered. The slim mech chose the one nearest to the medic, and lay down, choosing to stare up at the ceiling, so he could wonder what the medic had in store for him. A few beeps and whirrs from the console told Soundwave that Ratchet had completed his task.

"Ironhide, I need you to go with Bumblebee and pick up the children."

Soundwave could practically feel the red warrior's grimace. "This early? Ain't they supposed to be at that 'schule' place, or whatever the hell it's called?"

"It's the weekend, Ironhide; they have the day off. And before you ask, yes, it's an order. Now jump to it; Bumblebee is already waiting." Ironhide muttered a stream of curses, as he left the med bay, leaving only silence, as the medic fussed around with something. Soundwave looked up, just in time to see Ratchet put away a tool, and for Arcee to enter.

"Ah, good you're here," said Ratchet, "Just in time; I thought you wouldn't arrive."

"Sorry; Optimus wanted me for something. So what needs doing?"

"Well, you can start by checking on Soundwave's status for me." The blue femme looked towards the Decepticon, who immediately looked away. Arcee shrugged. "Sure," she said, as she grabbed a scanner, and headed over to Soundwave's berth. The Decepticon shifted slightly, but otherwise made no sudden movements.

"Alright, let's get a good look at you," said Arcee. "Can I see your abdomen?" Soundwave hesitated, but otherwise moved his arm so the scarring could be seen well. Arcee frowned at the deformation. "Is that supposed to be glowing red? It's just like your bio lights…"

Soundwave shrugged. "Medic's Statement: Injury: Fully healed, Complications: None. Scar luminosity: Unforeseen side effect of nano-fiber self-repair."

Arcee paused and looked back at the mech. "Well, if Ratchet said so…" She looked back at the scanner and performed several checks on Soundwave's frame. "You've got an interesting voice, by the way…" Soundwave gave the femme a look, but she didn't look up from her scanner.

"Are there any complications?" asked Ratchet, as he emerged from the supply closet.

"None that I can see so far," said Arcee, handing the scanner to the medic.

Ratchet muttered something, as his optics flicked across the screen. He then ordered Soundwave to move his arms and legs, testing the joints, and performing various scans of his own. "Well, he appears to be recovering well, and the repairs are holding," he said. "But I still recommend that you don't strain yourself, Soundwave." He flipped open a rectangular container and handed Soundwave a cube of energon. "Here, ingest this. Arcee will escort you back to your quarters." Soundwave nodded in assent, and rose from the berth. Not looking back, he trudged down the hallway that led to his room, looking forward to a nice, long sulk. He was aware of Arcee following behind.

"And remember," said Ratchet, calling after Soundwave, "No strenuous activity."

It was only around noon when Soundwave stirred from his quarters again. His fuel tank was vibrating in need of energon, and he headed towards the main bay for his ration. The sounds of revving engines and cheering greeted Soundwave's audios, and he turned the corner to see that the children were occupied with their gaming device, a PlayStation 3, if Soundwave recalled correctly. The room quickly fell silent as Soundwave entered. The humans present; the two young males, turned to look at him warily.

Arcee, who had been performing routine maintenance on her blaster looked up and smiled. "Well, look who crawled out of his den…" She raised a slim servo and pointed to each of the humans in turn. "Jack" -The boy looked away nervously- "Raf" –He gave a small wave- "And that's Miko." Soundwave turned his gaze. Seated on a crate, notebook open on her lap, was the girl from yesterday, who simply stared at him in awe.

"Here for your ration, I presume?" asked the medic's voice. Soundwave swiveled around to see Ratchet, a cube in his servo. "You're quite punctual; I was just about to deliver this to you."

Soundwave ignored him, as he took his cube. He swept around, only to collide with the hulking Ironhide. The Decepticon staggered back, surprised, and found himself looking into the weapon specialist's scowling face. "Watch it, slagger," he growled.

/ Aw, come on, 'Hide, he's not gonna do much/ said a passing Bumblebee. Ironhide paid no heed to the scout, and Soundwave shot the yellow 'bot a scathing look.

"Still don't know why Prime's lettin' you prance 'round here," he growled, "But lemme tell you this; I sure as hell am watchin' you." And he stomped away, making sure his shoulder bumped against Soundwave's. The Decepticon glared at the red mech's back, before he stalked away from the main bay, hoping to finish his cube in private. As he proceeded further down the hallway, he heard the sound of gameplay resuming.

Jack let out a relieved breath as soon as he was sure Soundwave was out of audio-shot. "Damn…he doesn't look too happy…," he said.

Arcee smiled. "I don't blame him, partner." She finished her repairs, and her blaster folded away. "It's getting a bit dull in here. You want to go for a ride?"

"Sure…If it's okay with you," said Jack, putting down his controller. He was more than eager to escape the tension in the base.

"Eh…I'm good till 0400. You wanna tag along with us Raf?"

Rafael shrugged. "Sure. Is Bee coming?"

Soundwave took a bite off the cube, his sharp denta slicing through the energon like a knife through butter. It was only when he was halfway down Corridor-C that he paused in mid chew, his right cheek bulging comically. Frowning, he cast his optics left and right to locate the source of the light tapping noise he was sure he had heard a klik ago. When nothing but silence greeted him, he shrugged and resumed his journey to his quarters. It was probably nothing anyway…

Soundwave's brows angled downwards in a frown, as he stopped in his tracks again. The energon he had been chewing was swallowed indignantly. His optics flicked not only left and right, but up and down as well. Was he hearing things? Had the medic's repairs loosened up the circuitry in his sensory input? Or was it simply a side effect of his ordeal? He was sure he had heard a tap-tap-tap somewhere around him. His brow knitted in thought, and then he strode towards his quarters again, this time with his sensors' settings to their maximum. He didn't even take another bite of his cube, as he slowly walked down the hallway, his optics narrowed in suspicion.

A few kliks later, and he heard it again. Soundwave was ready this time. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, and swung around, his fists raised in anticipation of combat. He blinked in consternation when he saw only the long hallway he had just traversed. He lowered his arms, his face crinkled in confusion, and then he heard the slow exhale of a relieved breath.

Soundwave looked down, and his mouth opened at the sight of the human girl. Miko took a sharp, audible intake of air, as Soundwave's optics locked onto her. His pencil-thin optic-brows angled sharply downwards, as she flipped open that sketchbook and started scribbling. "Damn, this is amazing! Could you make that combat pose again?"

Soundwave stared at her for a full five seconds before he grimaced and turned on his heel strut. "What the hell…Hey, wait!" called the indignant voice of the girl, as she ran after him. Soundwave took longer strides. It was bad enough that he was stuck in this Primus-forsaken place to begin with, but now he had a human rodent tailing him like a lost puppy. No, the faster he got to his quarters the better.

"Come on, just one sketch! It won't take long, I promise!"

Soundwave vented in irritation. "Current action: Cease and desist." He padded open his door, and swept in, hurriedly shutting the door lest the human scurry in. With a 'humph!' of satisfaction he took another bite of the cube, and turned to face his berth. Maybe now he would get some peace and quiet…

"Okay so I'm thinking we could have you in a ninja-kick sort of pose, and then-"

Soundwave coughed as the energon went down the wrong fuel line, and looked sharply downward to see Miko at his pedes, her accursed sketchbook in hand.

How in the name of the Allspark did she…

Miko winced as Soundwave's coughing intensified; she hadn't meant to startle him. His shoulders heaved, as he forced the energon down the correct fuel lines, and with a final wheeze, he looked at the girl with a glare of pure venom. Miko squeaked, as the Decepticon rose to his full height, deposited the cube on a shelf, and padded the door open. He then stood aside, and jabbed a single digit towards the hallway outside; the universal gesture for 'get the hell out of my room'.

Miko complied, and scampered away.

Sit tight, folks; it's getting better!

The next chapters will contain some lulz, as Miko and Soundwave interact, and more developments arise when fire falls from the skies!

I'll leave you to work that one out.