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Gamer

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"Idiots! Idiots, the both of you!"

Soundwave stepped into the med bay that morning, and beheld the sight of Optimus doing his best to calm the seething, nay, absolutely furious Ratchet. The medic was trying to get past the Prime, with what looked like a blowtorch in hand, but Optimus' sheer size prevented him from doing so and spilling blood. Nearby, next to a bank of monitors, were Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, who were trying their hardest not to laugh and looking like complete loons in the process. But it wasn't this scene that truly startled Soundwave.

It was the various tools that seemed to have been stuck onto various parts of Ratchet's frame, as if they'd been glued there. There was a monkey wrench on the medic's forehead, giving him an awkward monobrow appearance, several chain linked tire irons carefully arranged around his waist gave him the appearance of wearing a miniskirt, two large elbow pipes were affixed to his helm to resemble viking horns, and most mortifying of all, were a series of nuts and bolts arranged around Ratchet's upper body to give the impression of having a feminine chest.

Soundwave shut his optics, not wanting to see more.

"I powered down for the night, for the best recharge I've had in weeks!" Ratchet was all but bellowing. "And then I wake up and find I look like-like some slagging opera sideshow piece! No, get out of my way Optimus! I want to give them a piece of my mind!"

"Sideswipe, Sunstreaker," commanded Optimus. "Please go to your quarters. I will speak with you personally." Still snickereing, the twins exited the med bay. Soundwave stood out of the way to let them pass, and once they'd rounded the corner, the two broke into full blown laughter, which echoed down the hallway.

Soundwave made a mental note to get himself a security key pad for his door.

"I understand that you feel upset at your...remodelling, old friend," said Optimus, using his best soothing tone. "But the twins are-"

"The twin are high-grade guzzling, femme-ogling, trigger-happy ingrates!" shouted Ratchet. "I mean it's bad enough I have Miko to contend with, but now that those two are here, I'm being driven mad!"

"Then, I believe we must do as the humans say," said Optimus. "The proper phrase is 'grin and bear it' if I am not mistaken..."

Ratchet grit his denta audibly, but said nothing, as the Prime patted his shoulder and departed the med bay. Soundwave averted his optics, as Optimus approached. The Prime noticeably slowed his pace, and for a minute, Soundwave thought he would say something. But Optimus remained silent, and he swept past Soundwave without a word. The Decepticon waited until his footsteps receded, before turning back to the med bay.

Ratchet was currently attending to his frame. With a combination of grunts and foul cursing, he proceeded to remove the objects on his frame with what Soundwave recongized as a demagnetizing tool. Not wanting to further the medic's bad mood, he silently waited until Ratchet was done tending to himself.

As the last tire iron was placed back into its accomodating storage bin, Soundwave made himself known with a small cough. Ratchet turned around, his brow still creased in irritation. "Oh, it's you," he grumbled. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get on the berth; your morning checkup isn't going to do itself."

Soundwave complied, and lay still as the scanner's beam passed over him, leaving behind a warm sensation. The monitor next to him switched to a display of Soundwave's internals. The medic seemed to have forgotten his anger, and he became calm as he settled into his task. "Well, everything seems to be healing properly. Even your T-Cog is coming back to optimal condition; you'll be able to access your vehicle mode soon. I still recommend you don't strain it too much, however..."

The scanner shut off. "This is your last checkup, Soundwave," said Ratchet, "Stay out of trouble and we might keep it that way..."

Soundwave nodded, and slid off the berth. The fact that he would soon be able to transform was good news; fit and strong as he was, even he could do only so much walking. He didn't understand how the humans did it all the time, staying in one form all the time, unable to shift your anatomy into something else. It must be maddening...

Wait...

Human...? What...?

That was when the memory of yesterday hit Soundwave, and his shoulders slumped. Of course, how could he forget? He would be tending to one today. Soundwave pursed his lips, and wondered if Optimus and Elita had lost their minds. Having to deal with that Miko only once every while was bad enough, but having to look after her?

Soundwave started wondering if he should have stayed in his room that day...

"Here," said Ratchet, as he handed Soundwave his energon. Soundwave sighed as he complied, and he left the med bay. It was only once he was out of sight, did the medic realize, that out of all the cybertronians and alien life forms he'd tended to, Soundwave was by far the most well behaved patient he'd ever had.

Ratchet smiled.

Arcee and Bumblebee were already in the main bay, ingesting energon, when Soundwave arrived, and he swallowed the last of his cube, as he approached the two. The prospect of looking after Miko for a whole day was weighing in on Soundwave, to the point that he stood in an uncharacteristic hunched pose. Arcee seemed to have noticed, because she did her best to give a good natured smile.

"Worried about today?" she asked, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "Don't worry; Miko's not that bad..." But her voice held an edge of uncertainty about it. Soundwave didn't blame her. Ever since Optimus and Elita had dropped the bomb, every one on base was on tenterhooks.

/ You'll like her / chirped Bumblebee. / And besides, it's only temporary, right?...Right? / The yellow scout looked around, from Arcee to Soundwave uncertainly. Bumblebee had made a good point. Optimus had said ' complete and total guardianship', but he hadn't specicifed for exactly how long. Was it for a few days, a few weeks, or Primus forbid, a few months or years even?

"You'll get used to her," said Arcee. "Miko's a bit of an... acquired taste..."

Bumblebee polished off his energon, and then transformed. His frame folded, buckled and compacted itself into an Urbana 500. He let out a beep and trill, and revved his engine, to show he was ready. Arcee threw one last unsure smile at the Decepticon, and transformed into her Ducati form. With a roar of engines, the two tore through the entrance tunnel leaving behind a trail of dust.

Soundwave sighed, and turned around, looking for something to occupy his time with. His optics fell on the television, and he raised an optical brow.

Why not?

He deployed a tentacle to pick up what he recognised as the remote control, and after finding the correct button, he flicked the television on. The first channel he came to was 'Animax', one that exclusively broadcasted Japanese animated shows. Apparently, he'd just arrived in the middle of an episode of a show called 'Code Geass'. Soundwave set the remote down, as he leaned forward to watch.

So this was the so-called 'anime' the Eradicons kept referring to...

Soundwave was still watching when Arcee and Bumblebee returned. Needless to say, he was hooked, as he had just finished watching episodes of 'Mobile Suit Gundam' and 'Full Metal Panic', and was halfway through 'Death Note' when he heard the familiar sounds of high performance engines. He turned around and saw that the two had returned, with the humans. Soundwave sighed, and flicked the television off.

Jack removed his helmet, and clambered off of Arcee. He gave a weak smile in Soundwave's direction, but that was it. Rafael gave a more enthusiastic wave, however, as he scambled out of Bumblebee. It was only Miko who threw a filthy look at the young mech, as she slid out of Bumblebee, her arms folded across her chest. Soundwave returned the glare all too willingly.

Miko snorted, and made her way up the stairs, muttering something foul under her breath. Soundwave followed her progress, still with a look of pure loathing, and watched her fire up the PlayStation.

"We'll be somewhere around Loading Bay Six," said Jack, as he backed away slowly, along with Bumblebee and Rafael. "So, uh...see you around?"

Soundwave ignored them, preferring not to respond. Not that he was the conversational type to begin with...

His thin brows angled into a deeper glare. So what was he supposed to do with this girl? Just stick around and wait on her servo and pede? Or maybe pose for one of those ridiculous scribbles of hers?

"Relax, it'll be fine." Soundwave's frown disappeared, and he swivelled his helm around to look at Arcee. He hadn't realized the femme was still in the vicinity. "Guardianship isn't so bad. Just make sure she doesn't get into any trouble."

"He's not my guardian," growled Miko, without looking away from the screen. "He's not Bulkhead."

This earned another sharp glare from Soundwave. Arcee, however, watched all of this with growing foreboding. She gave another smile, turned on her heel strut, and left the main bay.

A full two hours had passed since then. Both Miko and Soundwave hadn't moved from their positions, and the two had attracted more than their fair share of odd looks from the other Autobots as they went about their business. So far, Soundwave had done nothing but watch Miko play game after game after game. The girl seemed determined to ignore him, and Soundwave actually liked it that way.

On another note, Miko had gone through six games already, and Soundwave had to grudgingly admit that she was pretty good. She'd pasted wave upon wave of noobs on 'Call of Duty', tore through legions of zombies in 'Dead Rising', blown thousands of bandits into gory pieces in 'Borderlands', and dismembered countless necromorphs in 'Dead Space' and its sequel.

Right now, she was playing a rather intense level in 'Bulletstorm'. Soundwave found himself fascinated at how the game developers had managed to capture the gory, snarling chaos of the planet Stygia without ever having been there themselves; even the carnivorous, flesh eating plants were accurate to the last detail.

/ Hey, Soundwave/

The Decepticon blinked, and looked round to face Bumblebee. The yellow scout shifted from pede to pede as he spoke. / Me, Optimus and Arcee are gonna go out and see if we can get alt-modes for the new guys...you wanna come? /

Soundwave sighed. As much as he would have liked to step outside for a bit, he didn't feel like moving around much. "Offer: declined. Nonetheless: Much thanks," he said.

Bumblebee seemed to look a tad relieved. /Oh...well, okay then.../ He quickly trotted away, towards the gaggle of Autobots who were waiting near rhe Ground Bridge. Soundwave could see both the twins pouring over an automobile catalog on a datapad, and apparently they were arguing over which vehicle mode they could agree on. Elita and Optimus were having a quiet discussion, the details of which Soundwave couldn't pick up. Roller was standing nearby, looking very left out. An oblivious Perceptor was boring Arcee with a scientific lecture she'd stumbled into by accident.

Soundwave found himself smiling. He had to give credit to Arcee; she was doing a very good job of pretending to listen. She'd even fooled Soundwave for a second.

Ratchet input a series of commands into the Ground Bridge console, and the portal flared to life. Soundwave stood by and watched, as the Autobots left in groups of two; apparently they were picking up vehicle modes from an automobile showroom. That too, in a heavily populated area. As soon as the last pair were through (Roller and Perceptor) Soundwave sighed and leaned back.

With the base almost empty, he had just realized how quiet it could be. Ratchet put away a few tools and headed out of the med bay, presumably towards his quarters. Now that there were no Autobots around, the main bay was still. Only the low hum of the consoles in sleep mode could be heard, alongside the quiet chattering of Soundwave's internals.

Soundwave allowed himself the luxury of a small smile. This was the sort of peace he rarely got nowadays, what with being on another planet and all. Even the sound of gunfire from the PlayStation-

Soundwave's smile dropped like a brick, and he whipped his helm around so fast, the joints cricked. The sharp pain was the least of his problems, however; in the time he had been distracted, Miko had abandoned the gaming console, pause screen still on, and slipped away.

The young Decepticon was stumped. On any other day, he would have applauded the girl's ability to sneak off unnoticed. But he had a job to do, wether he liked it or not, and with a huff, he set off on his search.

Primus really loved doing this to him...

Next Chapter: In Memoriam...