Warning: there's a little violence in this chapter. More—or at least somewhat more descriptive—than there has been in the past.

During my second class the next orn, I got a message from Jazz.

[Meet in the auditorium after detention. We can negotiate. No teachers, no tricks. Come alone, or you'll be sorry.]

That was all—that was the entire message. He didn't even specify what we'd be negotiating about. My abilities? If he had evidence, he wouldn't need to negotiate about anything. If I wanted I could just decide not to show up. This was quite obviously some sort of trap, and I wasn't going to walk right into it.

As the orn continued, though, I started to worry. Jazz wasn't stupid. He must know I wouldn't fall for this. I waited anxiously for the class we had together so I could try to figure out what he was doing.

But he wasn't in Cablereach's class. And neither he nor Motormaster were in detention.

Searchlight realized I was being even quieter than usual, and kept asking me what was wrong. But I didn't say anything.

After detention. The old auditorium.

I wasn't going to go, of course. I ought to tell Cablereach or someone, but the warning that I would be sorry nagged at me. I needed to think about it for a while before I made a decision about what to do. I needed to figure out what their plan was.

After detention, I went right past Searchlight's room. He watched me go and wondered if I was just going to bring Ravage or if I wanted to be alone. He wondered again what was bothering me. He had asked if I'd had a test, but I had told him I hadn't and that I was fine.

As I approached my room, I started to get the itchy feeling that something wasn't quite right.—that something was missing. I was almost to the door when I realized what was wrong. I stopped, and my energon froze in its lines.

No. Primus, no…

I ran through the message in my processor again. Meet in the auditorium after detention. We can negotiate. No teachers, no tricks. Come alone or you'll be sorry.

I turned and walked away from my empty room and toward the auditorium.

The auditorium was dark, but not empty. Jazz and Motormaster were waiting on the stage, sitting on a rectangular table someone had left out. I had to cross the entire room to get to them.

"So," Jazz said. "Ya decided ta show up."

"Whe-ere is Ravage?" I asked.

Motormaster didn't know, and Jazz was refusing to think about it. I stood, waiting for him to slip up. They had better not have hurt him…

"Sorry," Jazz said. "I'll let ya know, but not for nothin'."

We're going to pound you, freak.

I took half a step back. "Wha-a-at do y-you want?"

"Come here." Up on the stage with us so you can't get away. Jazz grinned. We have you now, don't we? You'll do anything we want.

Tanks churning, I stepped up onto the stage and approached them. He was right, of course. I'd give anything in return for Ravage.

"So-o wha-at do you wa-ant?" I asked again.

"I want proof. Solid proof ya can read minds. I want ta record you talking about it and explaining how it works and what the limits of your power are." And you're going ta talk until I'm satisfied ya aren't lying.

"Why?"

"So I can have it," Jazz said. "So I can know for myself, and so I can pass it on ta Verdict, who can make good use of it, whenever he feels like it." He smiled again. You'll never know when.

I stared, spark sinking. He had me and he knew it and he intended to turn the rest of my life into a game of looking over my shoulder. I would never know when someone was coming for me. Even if he never gave the evidence to anyone, I would be worried about it.

"Tell me-e-e whe-ere Ravage i-is."

"No," Jazz shook his helm, smiling still. "Not until you've talked." I'm recording this conversation. You're slagged, mech, stop trying.

"Ple-e-ease, y-you do-on't have to do-o-o this."

"You're the one who tipped off the headmaster aren't ya?" We didn't tell anyone else, and you're the only one who could have said anything, besides me. "A scene flashed through his processor where Verdict had backed him up against the wall and demanded to know if he'd been the headmaster's anonymous informant. He banished the memory, but it was too late and I had already seen. He was scared too, because Verdict could get him in a lot of trouble if he wanted to.

But now ya see why I need this as well. "So start talking, Stutter."

"Jazz, do you kno-o-ow wha-at wo-o-ould ha-a-appe-en if me-echa fo-ound o-o-out?"

"I can imagine," Jazz said. "They'd make ya disappear at the very least. Don't worry, I'll think real hard before I give the evidence ta anymech. Can't say as much for Verdict, though."

I looked down. "Do-o-o you pro-omise to-o give Ra-avage back?"

I'd have to ask Cablereach to help me go into hiding. No, I couldn't. This was my fall, and I'd take it on my own. I wasn't going to make this choice and then ask Cablereach to face the consequences of it.

"Yeah, I promise" Jazz said. He's just in Verdict's room… frag it!

Relief flooded through me. Well, I could leave now. I turned to go.

"Hey!" Jazz said. Motormaster reached out to grab me, but I dodged and turned to run for the door. I wasn't fast enough. Motormaster tackled me, slamming me down into the auditorium stairs. Then he dragged me back to the stage. Primus, this was not good. I was going to die.

"Ok," Jazz said. "Let's try this a little differently."

"y-y-you're go-oing to get e-expelled fo-o-or this."

"Yeah, I know. I don't fragging care. Talk and I'll let ya go."

"No," Motormaster said. "We tried this your way, Jazz, and it didn't work."

"What?" Jazz said.

"Now I'm doing this my way. Verdict didn't say exactly how he wanted to get revenge."

Jazz crossed his arms. "Well, he did say he wanted proof Soundwave could read minds."

"I'm done with you and your slagging plans. We're doing this my way now."

"Fine," Jazz said. "Fine, whatever."

Motormaster slammed me against the wall and then drove his fist into the side of my helm. I tried to call out to Jazz. He didn't understand. He didn't realize that Motormaster was actually going to kill me, that he was going to enjoy it. Motormaster let me fall to the ground and kicked me a few times, just getting warmed up. Then he picked me up and slammed me into the table. My screen hit the sharp corner and cracked. I screamed as hot pain washed over me.

"Hey, Motor," Jazz said. He needs to calm down a little or he'll really hurt him.

"You got Verdict expelled," Motormaster dragged me away from the table. "You're gonna pay."

I groped at my cracked visor. He slammed me into the table again, this time deliberately smashing my face against the corner. My screen shattered and I cried out again as I felt it fall away.

Oh, Primus. "Motor! Stop."

He slammed me into the corner of the table again. I felt energon pouring from where my screen had been. I was blind now, but I could still see things from Jazz's optics, and Motormaster's.

So I watched distantly as Motormaster pulled a knife from subspace and Jazz pushed off the wall he was leaning against, horrified. I was them in that moment—Motormaster's excitement and Jazz's shock. All I was receiving from my own systems was pain. Motormaster raised the knife…

Then his weight left as Jazz shoved him off of me and knocked the knife from his hand. "Pit! What are you doing!"

"Get off."

"You're going to fragging kill him!"

"Get off!" Motormaster shoved Jazz off of him. He was suddenly terrified of what he'd been about to do—afraid that they'd send him to jail because of it. He ran for the backstage exit.

I curled up on the floor, trembling. I was leaking—I could feel my energon levels dropping. Jazz glanced at me, then turned to follow Motormaster.

He was going to leave me here as well, to leak out on the ground. He took two steps away, then stopped. I can't just go. He looked back at me, watching for a moment as energon flowed from the damaged machinery where my faceplate should have been. He took a step back toward me, feeling sick. "Soundwave?" He said "Can ya hear me?" He's leaking like pit, Primus, oh, Primus, what if he's dying?

I could barely move.

"Frag it, I have ta get a medic" Jazz said. "Stay right here."

The auditorium door slammed open and Searchlight and Ratchet came in.

"You!" Searchlight sprinted down the stairs. Jazz stared at him, feeling horrible, and didn't move to defend himself as Searchlight knocked him away from me. "What did you do!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't… It was Motormaster." He didn't fight as Searchlight slammed him to the ground and punched him in the faceplate.

Meanwhile, Ratchet came over to me. Oh, Primus, what do I do? What do I do, he's leaking all over the place… He knelt down next to me in the pool of my energon that was spreading across the stage. His screen's entirely gone, and that is far too much energon... If whatever they did damaged his processor…

Jazz gasped as Searchlight hit him again.

"Stop it!" Ratchet shrieked. "Both of you stop it!"

Jazz and Searchlight looked up.

"He could be dying and you're just...!" Ratchet said. "Searchlight, go get Ochre! Hurry!"

Searchlight got up and ran.

"Jazz," Ratchet said. "Go get Cablereach!"

"Cablereach?" Jazz sat up, staring blankly at Ratchet.

"Go get him! Go get him right now!" We need him here so they don't just send Soundwave to the hospital. They'd probably figure out something was different about him at a hospital.

Jazz left.

Ratchet stayed, kneeling over me. "Soundwave?" What do I do? I have to stop him from losing any more energon somehow. If I can't stop it, he could leak out. Oh, Primus help me, I'm so useless, I don't know what to do. I wish I knew what to do…

A fresh wave of pain washed over me and my systems started shutting down. I fought unconsciousness, struck with the sudden fear that if I passed out, I wouldn't wake up again.

Ratchet's thoughts were fading in and out. He reached into my helm, trying to figure out where all the energon was coming from so he could stop it. The last thing I saw through Ratchet's optics was the mess of broken glass and crushed machinery where my screen was supposed to be.

And then my processor shorted out.

I came online slowly, somewhat surprised that I wasn't dead. Ravage, who'd been sitting at the end of my berth, heard my systems booting up, and I quickly turned my screen on so I could see as he leaped up onto my chest.

He was heavy but I didn't care. I put my arms around him as he pressed his faceplate against my screen, purring. I was so worried, Soundwave, don't ever do that again.

I flinched, and he backed off so I could sit up.

My screen…

It seemed to be working normally, but my helm hurt a little when I sat up, and when I reached up to touch my screen, even the slight pressure of my fingers against it was unpleasant.

"Are you ok?" Ravage asked.

I nodded. "A-are you?"

"I'm fine," Ravage said, then growled. "They caught me in a cage and stuck me in some other room. I didn't know what was happening until Searchlight and that teacher, Cablereach, came and got me. I wish I'd been there so I could have killed those mechs who attacked you."

I was just glad they hadn't hurt him.

We were in Crescent's house, not at the school. I looked around, wondering what had happened. Motormaster had smashed my screen against the corner of that table. I shuddered as I remember the way it had felt when it shattered…

I had passed out at some point. They must have contacted Crescent. I had a new screen, so she must have gotten it replaced. I checked my chronometer. Apparently I'd been unconscious for two whole orns.

I got up. I needed to talk to Crescent. I could ask Ravage what had happened, but he wasn't likely to have a good grasp on the situation the way Crescent would. Ravage climbed onto my shoulders. He felt especially heavy because I was still weak, but I didn't complain. I wasn't sure if bringing him with me was wise, though.

"You sho-o-ould stay he-ere," I told him.

"No," he said. I'm not leaving you. I am not.

"I-I-I'm going to ta-alk to Cre-escent," I said. "I-If you co-ome, you have to be-ehave."

"Fine," Ravage said.

I stood and made my way down the stairs and to the front room, where Crescent was sitting. By the time I got there, I was exhausted.

She looked up as I came through the door.

"Oh," she said. You. "You're awake. What do you want?" Ha! You can go back to school now. I can finally get rid of that low-sparked annoyance of a friend you've made. He keeps showing up here.

I looked down.

"Don't just stand there," Crescent said. "You should be thanking me. Do you know how much it cost to replace that screen of yours?" Not half as much as a new faceplate, but still quite a lot.

I hesitated, then shrugged. "Thank y-you?" I said.

She shook her helm. "And you're lucky I've decided to let you keep going to that school. You told a lot of mecha your secret." You stupid little glitch. Sometimes I think I should just hand you over to the government and be done with you. A memory of my femme creator laughing flashed across her processor. She shoved it away.

"A-are you go-oing to blackma-a-ail them?"

Crescent sighed. "I'm not." Unless they let the secret out or something. "Your teacher explained to me his plan if you get discovered." You know, the one where he sends you to Iacon. "And I approve of it. I asked him to let me know if that happened so I can be prepared, but other than that…" She shook her helm. It's too late to do anything about the situation without making it worse, so you are just going to keep going to that school and if anything else like this happens, you keep me out of it, do you understand?

I nodded.

"Ok," she said. "So was that it? Can you frag off and leave me in peace now? You can go back to school." The medic said he should stay home for at least three orns, but I really don't think that's necessary.

I wasn't sure if I'd make it back to school. Ravage curled his tail around my neck.

Is he even listening to me?

"Crescent?"

She glared at me. What is that tone? He sounds like he's a fragging sparkling again, begging for a pet. If he asks me for something, I hope he knows what the answer is.

"Why ha-aven't y-you thrown me o-out yet?"

"What?"

"Or gi-i-iven me to the go-ove-e-ernment?"

I think you know. You're just fishing for more information. Get out of my helm, freak. "If you're not going to go to school, then at least go to your room," she told me. "And be grateful. And don't ask questions."

I turned and walked away, back toward my room.

We were like sisters, Crescent thought. I still miss her. Pit, I need to get out of here. She got up and left.

There were still things Crescent was hiding from me. I wasn't even entirely sure how, but there were secrets surrounding the accident that had offlined my creators. Something she didn't even want me to know about myself. I didn't have the energy to wonder about it right now, though. I went up to my room to get some recharge. I was exhausted, and I wanted to be ready to go back to school the next orn. I lay down and turned my screen off.

I did go back to the school the next orn, though I waited until classes would already be over. I let Ravage stretch his legs as I walked through the city, to the school. He stayed close to me though—feeling a lingering sense of protectiveness.

When I got to the school, I headed for Searchlight's room. I had picked up from Crescent's processor that he kept stopping by to try and visit me. Of course, she'd never let him in, and eventually she'd told her servants not to open the door at all when he showed up.

He looked up when the door to his room opened and I came in. "Soundwave!"

Ravage leaped up to Ratchet's desk.

Searchlight put the datapad he'd been looking at down on his desk. "How are you feeling?" Are you ok? You look ok, but oh, Primus, I'm so sorry…

"I'm o-ok," I said.

"You sure?" Searchlight said. That was my fault.

"I'm fine," I said. "Wha-a-at… Wha-at di-id you do a-after I…"

"Passed out?" Searchlight said.

I nodded.

His caretaker didn't tell him what happened? Well, I guess that doesn't surprise me. "Mech, you terrified us. Ochre didn't really know what to do, since she hasn't worked with mods like your screen before. Fortunately, Cablereach contacted your caretaker and she got your private medic on the comm."

"What?" I said. "Ca-ablereach did…"

"Yeah," Searchlight said. "I know you didn't want your caretaker to know we knew, but it was worth it, cuz that medic got here fast. Your caretaker was surprisingly cooperative, though Ravage was right—she's a glitch. Also, Ratchet totally saved your life. He managed to pretty much stop the flow of energon by the time Ochre and I got there. You know, I made fun of him for reading a medical manual, and now I feel bad about that. He's really broken up about not being able to do more, though. You're going to need to talk to him and prove you're all right." This is my fault. "Soundwave, I'm really sorry for what happened."

I shook my helm.

"No, really, it really is my fault. I told you I'd try to keep my helm down this term and I didn't even try. I'm the one Verdict should have asked them to get revenge on, because I'm the one who was causing trouble. I didn't even think they might go after you, and I… I'm really sorry you didn't trust me enough to tell me before you walked right into their trap."

I shook my helm again.

"Stop," Searchlight said. "Mech, just let me apologize."

"Se-earchlight," I said. "It's o-ok."

"It's not ok," Searchlight said. "I put you all in danger when I was the one who was doing stupid things." This is serious, 'Wave. "I promise I won't let something like this happen again."

I sighed. He'd probably forget that promise before the decaorn was out.

"And I am so, so sorry." Please forgive me.

"Of co-ourse."

"Thanks, mech," Searchlight looked down, but he was smiling.

"So…" I said. He'd stopped thinking about the story, and I needed to know the rest of it.

"Right," Searchlight said. "So… your caretaker called your medic and showed up with him. He seemed to know what he was doing. They took you to his clinic, out in the city. Meanwhile, Cablereach invited your caretaker and Ratchet and I to go to his office and talk. For a while she insisted she didn't know you could read minds, but then she broke down and admitted it, and then threatened all of us with some pretty serious things if we told anyone else. She doesn't know that Breeze knows, but… yeah. They caught Motormaster. He's not old enough to go to jail, but I heard Cablereach mention something about a detention center for fledglings. So that's where he's going on charges of attempted murder. Jazz has been expelled, obviously. He just barely avoided joining Motormaster in fledgling jail, but he was really cooperative and seemed honestly sorry. I guess he wasn't quite as much of a glitch as the other two or something. Still a glitch, though. He just stood there and watched until it was almost too late. Since Verdict was already gone, he got off without any further consequences, even though he was definitely involved. But you know," Searchlight scowled. I can't believe he had the last say in this.

"It do-oesn't matter," I said.

He deflated a little. "I guess that's true… and I'm just glad you're all right. I tried to go visit you, but your caretaker wouldn't let me in. I don't think she likes me very much."

Well, that was a pretty safe assumption.

"And I think that brings us to the present," Searchlight said.

We were quiet for a few moments.

"Where's Ratchet?" Ravage asked.

"Library or something," Searchlight said. "I don't know. And Breeze has a group project she's working on. But they should both turn up eventually." He looked at my screen. I'm glad the medic was able to get him a new screen… he really doesn't have a faceplate behind it at all…

I shrugged, uncomfortable. I wished he'd stop thinking about what had happened. It was like some horrible nightmare, but it was over, and I was fine, so it didn't really matter.

Ratchet showed up a few breems later, and Ravage jumped on him, of course, but then quickly returned to me and climbed up on my shoulders. Searchlight moved to his berth so I could take his chair, and Ratchet could have his own desk back.

Ratchet glared at Ravage, then studied my screen. Looks like they replaced that screen. Good. "Well, you're back, finally," he said. No thanks to me.

I shook my helm slightly. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say to him. According to Searchlight, he had saved my life. "Thank y-you."

Ratchet huffed. "Are you all right? Does your screen work the same way it did before? I did some research about mods like that, and it must have been somewhat difficult to replace."

"It looks just like it did before," Searchlight said. "He's fine."

"I should have been able to do more."

"You're not a medic," Searchlight said. "You can't do everything, Ratchet." I've been having this argument with him since you were hurt. He thinks he's some sort of failure.

I hated that feeling, of not knowing what to do—not knowing how to help... Ratchet turned around in his desk and started working on his homework. He had it almost finished by the time Breeze showed up.

"Soundwave!" she said when she came in. "Oh, Primus, are you all right?"

I nodded.

"I can't believe they'd do something like that. I mean, I didn't think they were that... I don't know, messed up."

I was just lucky that Jazz had stopped Motormaster before that knife had fallen. I might actually have died. That was a scary thought.

"In any case, it's great to have you back," Breeze said, and sat down on Searchlight's berth next to him, feeling rather bold because of it, but also hoping he didn't think it was weird. When he didn't react, she turned her attention back to me. Are you ok, like psychologically? That probably had to be traumatizing.

"I'm fine," I said flatly.

"Ok," Breeze said. "I'm glad." Of course he'd say he's fine either way...

No one talked for a breem. They were happy to have me back and relieved that I was ok, but no one could think of any more ways to put that to words. So we all just stared at each other.

I don't know what to say... I wonder if this is how Soundwave feels all the time, Breeze thought. Awkward silence…

"So," I said at length. "Wha-at now?"

"Well," Searchlight said, "Verdict is gone and Motormaster and Jazz too. And your caretaker knows that we know. And, well… I don't know." He looked at Breeze, and she shrugged, systems heating up. Someone needed to tell her that Searchlight didn't notice her at all, and that he was entirely oblivious to the way she felt about him. Maybe then she'd relax a little. Or maybe it would just make her really mopey. I didn't know.

Searchlight looked away from Breeze again and smiled. "Well," he said. "I'm sure something interesting will turn up. It'll be fun, or at least it won't be boring."

I looked around the room from Ratchet to Breeze to Searchlight.

That seemed like a pretty safe prediction.

Notes:

1. Yay! No more bullies.

2. At this point in my original draft I skipped all the way to the beginning of their final term of school. But my little brother convinced me that I couldn't just gloss over all the character development and the like that happens between now and then. So I went back and filled in some of the gap. I hope you don't mind hanging out in school for a while longer, even though it means the overall plot will move really slowly for a while.