Chapter 10: Goodnight Scrap

A very long and tiring week had passed since Scrap discovered the real leader of the Decepticons but since then Knockout had secured the needed tools and the learnt what he required to put her idea into action. Now Megatron's wound was not only closed but healing neatly and he also now had a second, more diligent, pair of eyes watching over him as he recovered.

Until that point, Knockout had checked on the comatose Lord twice a day, once when he got up and once at the end of his shift. But Scrap went in to check on his progress at least once an hour, even when the med bay was at its peak of business.

During the quiet times she would go in and ensure the wound was clean, check the tubes sustaining him were stable and try to analysis how to help him. Daily she'd come up with ideas, putting them forwards to Knockout for considerations. Some he shot down at once, saying they would never work on a cybertronian but others he said he would research to see if they had use.

Almost proud she would be part of the leader of the Decepticons recovery; a very tired human stepped out of her washroom and slipped into her two piece pyjamas. Airachnid had brought her a cute little one piece but after getting called to deal with an emergency in the middle of the night, she'd taken to wearing a top and pants style one.

Dressed, washed and tired, she climbed into bed and turned off the lights with the switch by her head. She was so tired; she just dropped off in less than twenty second but her mind was racing wildly with ideas to help Lord Megatron. It wouldn't settle in her head so she tossed and turned as her brain processed every little detail of anything she could do, as well as going over all the praise she had gotten from Knockout.

As time went on she started to feel hot, agitated and the woman kicked the covers from over her and rolled towards the wall, curling slightly on herself but the notion only increased her irritation. She was tingling like something cold was crossing her skin. She could feel it, something in the air that was cold and close to her legs, but in her half-asleep state she paid no mind, only mumbling and curling on herself more, trying to keep warm.

The strange sensation did not stop, even as she reached down with a half numb hand to feel her leg where the feeling was coming from.

Her eyes snapped open upon feeling something wet and she looked at her hand to see something dark covering the tip of her fingers. Rolling swiftly to face the window, using the moonlight as it steamed in, she made out the form stood near her bed, looming over her, their shape large and made to look even more menacing by the limited light.

The human blinked, staring madly at the form before her until cold metal brushed against the outside of her leg. That was when she screamed, backing up against the wall and reaching blindly for the light switch, all the time screaming at the top of her lungs.

When she turned to find it, she heard fast heavy steps running off and when the lights did switch on, she was alone. But that didn't stop her pulling her sheets up over her body, her screams now turning to loud sobs while tears came down her face.

Someone came running in and looked down at her. "Scrap?" Knockout gasped, looking at the strange sight before him. His nurse was sat on her bed, knees curled up to her chest while holding a sheet over her chest, ignoring the fact her legs were bare and showing several small strange cuts on them, lines of blood tickling down to stain the sheets.

Breakdown soon followed and looked as well but then frowned, pushing his partner to the side and grabbed the girl, pulling her up to his chest and wrapping his arms around her. "Knockout." He ordered, his eyes narrow. "Go after him!"

That was when Knockout realised. Someone had attacked her. The cuts were from someone grabbing her legs. Eyes blazing, he turned and ran off as fast as he could, trying to catch up with whoever was in the area.

Meanwhile Breakdown rocked the human in his arms, trying to sooth her as she cried but all the while he too wanted to chase down whoever was responsible for this and rip their spark out. A few minutes passed and he began to feel sick, sitting in that room and his mind began playing tricks on what could and did happen.

Still holding her, he stood and left it, taking her to his room instead and sitting on his bed with her still in his arms. Scrap sniffed loudly as she pressed herself firmly to him, the crying slowing. After a few minutes Knockout came back, shaking his head. "Fragger's gone." He said, looking at her. He stood, thinking for a moment then nodded. "I'm getting Soundwave."

"What?" Breakdown said, a little amazed at the idea. "But…."

"One of our crew was attacked, not to mention a female. This is serious Breakdown and I'm going to ensure it is treated as such. Watch over her until I get back."

With that he turned around and left and Breakdown was left looking down on Scrap who appeared to have gained a little control of herself. "Scrap. I know this is hard but… you have to tell me what you saw."

Scrap sniffed and closed herself up in his arms. "I… I felt something, on my legs. I was hot all over and… and when I opened my eyes, someone was stood over me."

"Did you recognise them?"

"They had armour on."

The mech growled at the cowardice but said nothing. He just sat, waiting until Knockout and the silent Decepticon arrived, the former looking down on the pair blank and emotionless as always. Knockout nodded first. "Scrap, will you let Soundwave look at your legs?"

"W…why?" She stammered, curling up even more.

Knockout had that serious, deadpan look in his eyes, she'd only seen when in the middle of something that needed true attention. The jokey, playful Knockout was gone for the moment as he focused on the task at hand. "There might be a clue to who did this on your skin. Please."

The human nodded and moved to slip out of Breakdown's grip but her brother grabbed her tighter. "What if he's the attacker?!" He hissed, eyes narrow on Soundwave.

Knockout didn't even think about it as he waved his hand in the air. "Soundwave wouldn't know what a femme is, let alone what to do with one."

After a moment to think, Breakdown seemed to agree and let his precious cargo stand. Soundwave, unfazed by the comment, knelt, looking at the side of Scrap's legs where the cuts were. He remained where he was, staring, unmoving for a good few minutes before reaching out and touching one. She flinched a little but kept as still as she could.

Normally she would be fascinated by being this close to the strange, isolated Decepticon but tonight she just wanted to jump in the shower and wash every inch of herself.

And that was just what she was able to do. Having touched her leg and staring at his hand, Soundwave stood and left the room, Knockout behind him. Breakdown looked at her then nodded to his shower, leaving her to wash in private.

Once washed and dried, the human found some of Breakdown's clean clothes and slipped them on, wanting to be nowhere near her own at that moment. And since the men didn't appear to be coming back, she went to the bed and pulled over the warm thick covers. They were a little rough but at that moment, she just wanted to be surrounded in anything that wasn't hers. The smells were different, the itch, the warmth.

Her head dropped before she had chance to think.

"And I'm telling you, she didn't see them. Only the armour."

"She might be able to recognise the armour." Knockout countered. "It might narrow it down."

Breakdown grunted. "They are interchangeable. It could have been anyone."

"Well…"

Soundwave who was leading the three into the room, turned sharply and placed one finger to where his mouth would have been, silencing the pair before turning to look at the bed.

Knockout looked as well then smiled and turned to leave. "Let her sleep, we have enough to work on for now."

Breakdown nodded and the two left, leaving Soundwave as he looked at the girl, frozen in place. Then, after a moment, he turned and stalked his way out of the room and into the living space where the red and the black haired mechs stood waiting for him.

"Well?" Knockout asked.

Soundwave said nothing and did nothing other than walk out of the medical and down the halls.

Behind him, Breakdown and Knockout thought he was just being himself, being the emotionless, sparkless creature they knew.

In truth, Soundwave was so angry the razors of his glove were cutting into his flesh and energon was dripping to the floor.

In investigating Scrap's wounds he'd found oil. Engine oil that was used only on a seeker's jet. And there was only one Seeker who would dare attack the female.

~#~

Scrap chose to consume her every waking moment with work in the following two days. She cleaned every inch of the medical bay and when that was finished; she restudied everything she knew about the cybertronians. She literally worked until her body dropped and she'd fall asleep wherever she was, in the lounge, at her desk or in the kitchen. If she sat down for more than a few minutes, she'd be stuck in a dreamless sleep.

Knockout and Breakdown were a little concerned with her behaviour but they agreed to give her a week to work this out in her own way before they intervened.

They were also irritated as Soundwave hadn't come back to them with any findings of the attack. They were beginning to think he had just forgotten the human, deeming her as unimportant. It just made their energon boil to know nothing was happening.

Two whole days passed and the only change was that Scrap's bedroom door now had a lock installed on it.

"I don't care about protocols or rules! She is getting a lock!" Knockout had all but screamed at Starscream when requesting the device. And not wanting to upset his medical team, Starscream allowed it.

But while the lock was programmed to only accept the three of them access, and put the two men at rest, was it didn't help the girl. She still felt exposed and vulnerable.

Sighing, she leant back against her chair and lowered the data pad she was reading from as she found herself wondering what she could and should do. Just then, she turned suddenly at the sound of the main med doors opening and was amazed to see perhaps the worst collection of injuries she had ever seen.

Strangely, it was Skyquake who came hobbling into the room, energon dripping from lots of different injuries. Scrap gasped and kicked her chair back as she ran over with Knockout to support him, easing him to a table. "Easy Skyquake." She said with a sigh. "What happened?"

Skyquake grunted suddenly, as if just realising where he was and what was going on. His one good golden eye widened suddenly and he pushed her back away from him. "Stay away from me! You just stay away from me!"

The human was thrown off balance and landed on her backside, looking up at the wounded man in amazement. "What… what? I'm just trying to help!"

"Well you stay away from me!" He yelled then grabbed his side and grunting in pain.

Knockout nodded to her. "Scrap, I've got this."

Irritated at being pushed aside so roughly, Scrap stood up and frowned at the pair but then turned and went back to her studies. When she was engulfed in her work once more, Knockout began tending to the man beside him while eyeing the wounds carefully. "I must say Skyquake." He said, cleaning up the one around his eye. "I've never known the Autobots to afflict this kind of damage before. It must have been some fight."

Skyquake said nothing, just sat there, taking the treatment.

Knockout grinned in victory. "You know, I've seen wounds like this before. But… only in data files. It's a legendary skill taught only to those of the highest rank of Koan." His eyes lifted to look at the seeker. "It's used to extract information and inflict torture."

The wounded seeker gasped as Knockout pressed hard on a wound, none to carefully. "Watch it!"

"Ops." He said, as innocently as he could. "So he didn't cut your tongue out?"

"Leave it Knockout."

The medic grinned as he went to his trade. "Of course." He frowned at him and leant a little closer. "But if you ever go near her again, this will be nothing compared to what I will do to you." He took the melding torch to a wound and the seeker hissed in pain while his second torturer smiled.

It took ages for Knockout to seal each and very cut, often not very gently, all the while with Skyquake refusing to look at anything pardon the floor. When he was finally finished, he got off the table and spared a glance at the back of the human but then grunted then left.

Knockout chuckled to himself then went over to Scrap, patting her shoulder for a moment then walked on.

~#~

Running a hand back in her hair, Scrap just sighed to herself, walking mindlessly across the ship. It was night outside and she knew she wasn't meant to be out and about without an escort but sleep was out of her grasp.

For some reason she kept on thinking about Skyquake, each time making her feel sick to a point she thought she'd come down with something. Knockout had given her some medicine to help her but it had yet to work and it had been three hours.

She didn't want to disturb his sleep again so just set off for a walk, hoping to make it kick in sooner. It was possible, she realised, that it never would work, since in his half sleepy state, he'd given her cybertronian medicine.

That just made her sigh again and rub her head. Her mind wanted sleep, it was crying out for it but her body just would not rest. Eyes closed, she thought about heading back to her room for some reading when she was knocked off balance by someone coming around the corner and fell to the floor with a bump. "Oofh!" She grunted then looked up at the person.

Even with his visor, she could tell Soundwave was a little confused by seeing her sat on the floor near his feet. The human just laughed. "We have got to stop bumping into each other!"

Soundwave said nothing but he did move to hold out his hand, helping her up from the floor.

Scrap scratched the back of her neck as she stood before him, unable to look at the visor. "I… umm… I guess I should explain why I'm out here on my own. I know I'm not meant to but…" Her smile faded a little. "I just can't sleep. I keep thinking about… about what happened and… I feel sick."

The communications officer stood, statue like as the human explained her situation and soon the air grew uncomfortable, to the point where most would turn and leave yet Scrap just moved her eyes from the floor to his faceplate, tipping her head to the side a little. "I'm sorry for bumping into you again Soundwave. I'll… head back to my room now."

Soundwave allowed her to move but then, as her arm brushed past his armour, something reached out with lightning fast reflexes and grabbed her wrist. Like before, it wasn't in a way that hurt or endangered her but did make her stop in place and turn to see her own shocked reaction mirrored to her.

"Umm… Soundwave?" She voiced as he kept his grip. "Is something wrong?"

The cybertronian just kept still but then twisted his grip on her wrist and began walking, heading down the hallway, dragging Scrap behind him.

She wasn't scared, more curious to what he was doing, where he was taking her. Soon she realised he wasn't taking her back to her room, the route wasn't right. And when they went to an elevator, she knew he wasn't taking her back. She hadn't left level five so where ever they were going, it wasn't back to medical.

As Soundwave stood in the elevator, Scrap wondered how he was going to make it work. After all, the lifts were voice activated.

But then the ground moved and not a word had been spoken.

There must be another way. She thought to herself, bracing for the breakneck speed of the ride as they went up. All the time, Soundwave kept his light but firm grip on her wrist and when the doors opened, he pulled her once more.

There were no markings to tell where she was but the doors on this floor were closer together, showing whatever was behind them were small and close to each other. Eyes on the doors, keeping a slow step with the man leading her, Scrap didn't notice where she really was going until she collided to Soundwave's arm.

The bot looked at her and she had a feeling whatever was behind that glass was looking at her like she was an idiot. Her cheeks warmed at the embarrassment but then Soundwave turned to the door he'd stopped outside and pressed the door control before pulling her inside.

Scrap was amazed by how dark and small the room was. It didn't have a window or a desk or a bathroom. Just a bunk. The human looked over the dark room then at Soundwave. "What… what are we doing here?" She asked.

Almost invisible in the faint light, Soundwave turned on the spot to face her, his hand reaching up towards her. She was still, unafraid, dispute what had recently happened. Curiosity was stronger than caution when it came to Soundwave.

The Decepticon appeared to realise she was judging his actions as they slowed a little, his hand reaching out for her neck. The cold metal tickled her but other than a small flinch, she didn't move, feeling as the fingertips reached behind her head to the base of her skull.

Still stood before her, Soundwave carefully began moving his fingers, as if trying to find something. Scrap looked forwards, motionless as she felt him suddenly find what he was looking for and pushed into her skin.

A painless gust ran across her and she lost all consciousness, her knees giving way and she began to fall forwards until colliding with something hard and solid. But the contact was remarkably soft due to the arms that had wrapped around her and were now holding her up.

Looking down on her sleeping face, Soundwave kept still before sweeping the woman into his arms, her ear to his chest. Once more, he stopped, looking down at her, watching how her chest rose and fell and how her warm breath fogged up against the metal on his chest.

Watching her comfortably sleeping in his arms he stepped over the bed and placed her carefully on the bunch, removing his hands and looking down on her once more. Shifting to the end of the cot, he took hold of a blanket and covered her slender frame with it. The human smiled in her induced sleep and rolled onto her side, pulling the cloth to her chin while her dreams warmly span around her.

~#~

Purring, Scrap rolled onto her back and looked over at her wrist where her communicator was, bleeping at her. Pressing it she looked at who was calling her. "Ah? Knockout? What is it?"

"Scrap, where the frag are you?"

"Umm…" She said, sitting up in the strange room and looking around it. "I… I don't know."

"What!"

Standing, the woman ran a hand over the wall, using it to find the door. "I'm on the ship but… I don't know where. But don't worry, I'll find my way back to medical. I'll see you in a bit." Sighing, Scrap looked over the door, trying to tell who it belonged to or what it was.

But it was as blank as the rest of the Nemesis. She didn't even know what floor she was on. She tried to remember how she came to be here and as she yawned, she looked at her wrist and it all came back. "Soundwave." She whispered to herself then turned to look at the door again and slowly walked down the hallway, heading for the medical bay.

~#~

Meanwhile, back in the empty room, the door slid open silently and an even more silent form entered his own personal quarters. He rarely even used them but he kept them in a perfect condition for when he wanted them. Never before had he thought he would bring a female to them and allow her to sleep there. But as he looked at the nest that she appeared to have made of his blankets, he found himself not wanting to correct it, wanting to preserve it and keep it as she had left it. His sharp eyes scanned the pillow as he noticed a single short red hair lying on the pillow.

Careful not to disturb the rest of the bed, he picked it up between his fingers and twisted it, admiring how the faint light shimmered off it.

A/N: Thanks once again to everyone who is following and loving this story!

Rocky, Aria and I just love your reviews and support! And thanks to everyone who took part in the vote, the tally has been taken and we have a draw so both characters will return to the story. You will have to wait and see which ones. (Warning, it will be a long wait. Into the new year long.)

But there is something serious I wanted to say.

Due to other commitments, Rocky has been struggling to meet our Sunday editing deadlines so we now want to look for a second editor to help her with the Sound of Scrap's Heart.

If you are interested, please state in a review but please know, we will require to have email contact so do not apply if you do not want to be contacted away from Fan Fiction.

Otherwise, hope you enjoyed the chapter and we will see you next Sunday!

I'm sure you will like it:

Next week: Autobots