Cascade flew through the city, her scanners on high alert and Rumble in her cockpit. She'd been flying for hours, ignoring how her turbines ached and how the sun had begun creeping up over the horizon. Apparently, when Soundwave decided he didn't want to be found, he simply wouldn't be found.
She straightened when her wing began to dip down and felt Rumble rub the controls. "Cascade, let's go home. You need energon and recharge."
She slowly circled a building. "I'm fine."
He softly huffed and stomped his pede. "Cascade! Stop! Soundwave doesn't want to be found!"
She let out a choked sob, rattling slightly as she started her descent to the ground. "Why? Why did he run away?"
He frowned, gently rubbing the controls again. "It's a long story. Carrier had a tough life before meeting us."
She carefully landed on an empty street and opened her cockpit, letting him out before transforming. They made their way over to a bench and she helped him up onto it, pressing the button for a transport. "We've got time."
He rested his servo on hers, rubbing her digits slowly. "Carrier's Carrier didn't just scar him for the sharp denta and weird optics. Carrier's always been really good at reading fields. Like, he doesn't just feel them and understand the emotions, he can see them, even manipulate them with his own field sometimes. He can even read thoughts when he puts his mind to it, which led to a lot of accidentally getting into trouble with his Carrier."
She frowned, staring down at the ground. "Is that how he always knows before you and Frenzy start fighting?"
He nodded, still tracing along the joints of her claws. "Yeah, it's a bit easier for him to read our thoughts since we're his Cassettes. He can get a pretty good grasp of what others are thinking, too, it just takes him a bit more effort. Anyway, he would read his Carrier's thoughts and respond without realizing what he was doing. He wouldn't realize it until he got an opticfull of angry field. He kept getting punished for it, but never meant to do it. He kinda just... gave up on speaking to anyone after that. He was old enough to take care of himself when the scarring happened. Apparently his Carrier came home on some routers and got all pissed off and took it out on him. He just left after that, went to go take care of himself."
She wiped at her optic, rubbing away the fluid that gathered. "Primus... that's fucking awful."
He hugged her servo close, his own servos trembling slightly as they gripped her claws. "Ravage was the first one he found, digging through scraps. Lazerbeak and Buzzsaw were both abused and tossed out on the streets, left to fend for themselves. Me and Frenzy were strung out on routers, part of a fighting ring. We lost a nasty match and got tossed out for scrap..."
She shifted closer as he went quiet and gently hugged him. "It's okay, you're all okay now."
He leaned into her and softly mumbled, "Frenzy was half gray when Ravage found us. Soundwave spent so much time getting us back together and healthy. Primus, getting off those routers had been Pit. Soundwave genuinely showed us all care he never got and we decided to become his Cassettes. A few reformats later and we're all sorta family now."
She nodded and picked him up when the transport stopped in front of the bench. She slid in the back and told the driver the address before rolling up the privacy window. "What does that have to do with him running away? We were just kissing and then his denta kinda cut my lip, but it wasn't serious. I've never seen him so... so scared."
He leaned into her side, tracing a split in the seams of the seat. "After a while, we convinced him to try and find someone to date. He met this one Racer, all sleek and pure black. Was a model or somethin', always gettting the hottest new upgrade. Anway, as soon as Soundwave revealed his optics and intake, it'd been Primus knows how long, and the Racer got pissed. Lashed out, accused Soundwave of lying to him, hidin' the truth, whatever. If you think Soundwave was quiet when you first met him, he might as well have muted himself thanks to that piece of slag."
She curled her claws against the seat, her field flaring out before she reeled it in. "Primus... that's fucking awful. No wonder he looked so scared when he showed me. How can someone be so cruel?"
He shrugged, lightly punching the seat to stir up a bit of dirt. "Frag if I know. Seeing him unmasked in front of you had been so surprising, me and Frenzy thought we were sharing a good defrag, but nah. Soundwave's just... so scared of losing you. He really loves you and we can feel it, he's never been this happy and he doesn't want to risk anything. He's so torn right now. He blocked us off, but we can still feel how fraggin' scared he is."
She nodded slightly, hugging him close. "Can you... can you let him know that I'm scared too? I miss him and I just want him home so we can fix this. I just wanna talk to him."
He hugged her, gripping her plating tightly. "I'll do my best to relay the message. Thank you for staying. Soundwave just doesn't know what to do with all these emotions and how to react to them."
She smiled slightly, glancing out the window. "I'll do my best to help him."