Chapter II

Soundwave knows how to act. He stares at the camera with wide, dull, unfocused optics. His voice is soft, gentle, but frightened. The enforcers descend on him like vultures, picking his story apart with their questions, but he doesn't back down. He repeats himself once, twice, thrice. The same narrative. The same voice. The same details. The questions keep going. Soundwave's act never flickers.

According to the hospital's owner, the best medics and nurses are working on his arm. In another life, he would have been glad to know he's in good hands. In this one, he has to tell himself those hands aren't the same hands who tried to hurt him.

The flicker of a bitter smile crosses Shockwave's face. The purple medic confuses with concern, "You are in good hands! I wouldn't worry at all, Senator Shockwave. We are doing the absolute best!"

"Thank you! I don't worry at all. I trust your abilities," He stops, looking the medic in his optics, "Is there a chance to get permanent damage? As you said, you wouldn't be here if you weren't one of the very best. Rest assured, I trust those hands and the mech behind them. I tried to not use the arm at all, but with the way it hurts, I don't feel so confident."

"The arm is… damaged," The medic points out, "But we have seen worse cases. We will do our best! You wouldn't even realize the shoulder was broken after we are done!"

The medics starts dismembering the arm. To make things easier, each one of them tackles a different portion of said arm – hand, forearm, and arm –. The external plating is detached, leaving the inner mechanisms bare to the world. The sensors are deactivated one by one. Then, the joints are dismantled. The purple mech tackles the shoulder. The red doctor takes the forearm. The blue one starts working on his hand.

"The gears aren't in the best conditions," the main doctor says, "Will have to be replaced, but otherwise, it's looking good. After a good cleaning and oiling, the arm should work like new."

"Primus must have taken mercy on me." Shockwave smiles gracefully.

"Indeed", mumbles the medic, then goes back to his work.

The datapad provided by the hospital contains all kind of information, including articles about his disappearance, a live-report from the police enforcers on how the investigation is going and the details about his surgery, including all the results of his analysis and scans explained in laymen terms and many more.

Shockwave taps into the article sections, checking the earliest ones. Most of them appeared four days after his disappearance, mentioning no details other than him missing Senate appointments. Three days later, the details start appearing: "met with a friend", "seen in the presence of two unidentified mechs", "according to the eye-witness, they appeared to be Kaonian", etc.

Incoming message from: Soundwave

::I'm on the route to the hospital.::

::They believed the story?::

::They did. Will contact for more details if necessary.::

::Are you alone?::

::Negative. I am escorted by an enforcer.::

::Good. There is a soldier stationed outside. Mention your name. He has orders to let you in. ETA?::

::20 minutes.::

He turns back to his reading. One of the nurses starts humming and Shockwave tunes her out. The trivial discussion dies down as it's replaced by medical and scientific jargon. Occasionally, the sound of a hacksaw cutting down metal or a welding machine being turned on fills the room when no one is speaking.

It's different from his expectations. Back when he planned his arrival, he was aware of the hiccups he might have to face: trauma response. So far, it looks like Shockwave can keep his emotions in check. The fear of being tied down is there, lingering in the corners of his mind, whispering non-sense in his ears, but he can handle it.

"We will be done soon," the nurse announces.

::ETA?::

::At the hospital. The enforcer is leading me.::

He moves his head around the room, checking on the progress. Most of the team is done, just waiting for the shoulder to be repaired so they could reattach the arm. Soon, everything will be done.

A sudden knows surprises everyone. The nurses look at each other, astonished. "Were we waiting for someone?" Someone from the back of the room asks.

"Not really," responds a doctor. "Come in."

The soldier salutes, then quickly adopts a straight position, "The mech who saved Senator Shockwave is outside. He wants to check-in on the Senator."

"Let him in," Shockwave responds.

"But…" the same medic is quick to intervene, gesturing to Shockwave's frame, "we aren't done."

"The poor citizen is concerned for my health. I should let him know I'm fine. It's the least I can do. After all, he was the one who found me, didn't he? It won't take too long."

"Make it quick," the medic grumbles.

The soldier salutes, then leads the mech in.

"Good evening," Soundwave walks in. He follows the wall, making small, uncertain steps. His right hand wavers in front of him, as if he's searching for something. It hits a table and Soundwave stops, then turns around. His dull optics fall on Shockwave, before moving around.

"He's blind," Shockwave whispers to a nurse. Said nurse reddens, then quickly goes towards Soundwave, gently grabbing his wrists. "Hello," she says in a hushed tone. "I am nurse Fireflight. Senator Shockwave is waiting by the bed. Do you want me to lead you there?"

"Yes, please."

"Good evening," salutes Shockwave. He stretches his right hand into a greeting.

Soundwave extends his right hand.

"Unfortunately, my right hand is getting dismembered."

Soundwave switches hands. As soon as Shockwave's grabs his, Soundwave starts speaking, "I'm sorry for disturbing anything, but I was worried for our dear Senator's wellbeing. The enforcers told me the injuries are quite bad and I had to know."

"Thank you for your concern, kind citizen, but you don't need to worry. It's nothing too severe. I am in good hands," the whole team preens at the praise, "However, I'd like to thank you for saving me," Shockwave adds.

"But I've done nothing. It's my duty as a citizen of Cybertron."

Shockwave frowns, "My conscious wouldn't let me sleep tonight. You saved my life and I must pay you back for your act."

"There is no need. I've done what everyone would have done for one of our Senators." Soundwave makes a step behind, embarrassed.

"No, no! I must reward such an act! If it weren't for your kind nature, I would have perished in Yuss! Please, if you don't mind, can't you wait for my repairs to be done? There are some chairs. I don't think the team would mind another person being here while they work on me, would they?"

The team is quick to deny the discomfort, "No. It's no problem at all. Is there anything we can bring? Energon? A blanket?"

"Thank you, but don't let me disturb your work."

"Let me lead you to the chairs," the nurse offers.

Are they suspecting you?

No. I gave them the doctor's note.

That's good to know. I'd rather not let my guard down around them.

Understandable. As far as we are concerned, no one knows about my outlier abilities.

And we should keep it that way.

The arm clicks into the shoulder's socket. The doctors starts reactivating the sensors, testing them for accuracy and sensibility. They turn the arm around, pushing and pressing, while Shockwave describes the sensations in vivid details. When it becomes apparent the arm is back to its functional state and there is no hidden damage, the team can finally vent.

"So far, no problem. Everything is working the way it should be. If it doesn't, you should return and we would do more tests, but I doubt the pain will return. We switched everything, oiled whatever we could. It should function like before," one of the doctors explains.

"I doubt it. This team's hands must have been blessed by Primus himself. I don't think I will have problems with it."

"Thank you for your kind words. Now, if you don't mind, we will let you talk. If there's a problem, I'd be in the next room."

The whole team leaves the room, leaving Shockwave alone with his so-called savior.

"Now," Shockwave walks towards Soundwave, "I just want to thank you for helping me!"

::Thank you.::

::I'm glad it worked out.::

"Are we interrupting something?"

Shockwave freezes. His spark stops spinning. Energon runs cold, freezing into ice. For the second life in his existence, Shockwave is petrified.

"Good evening," Soundwave bows.

Shockwave turns around, "Senator Proteus. Senator Decimus. What a lovely evening, isn't it? I'm ecstatic to meet again, but not under such conditions," he waves around to the hospital room, straightening his point. "Is there anything I could help you with?"

"We are just visiting. I just want to know if our fellow Senator is in good health," Proteus comes forward, side-stepping Decimus.

"After all, it's been three weeks since he had gone missing. We've been extremely worried at the lack of news and just glad to see him back, alive, in one piece," Decimus smiles politely in Soundwave's direction.

"Senator Proteus. Senator Decimus, I would like you to meet my savior, Soundwave. He found me on the streets of Yuss. He was the one who called the enforcers.

Soundwave shakes his head, "Those words are too kind. I've done my duty as a citizen of Cybertron."

"You are too humble, Soundwave," Proteus laughs, coming forwards.

Soundwave bows his head, astonished.

"Would you mind leaving us with Senator Shockwave for some time? There are things we want to discuss." Decimus stares at Shockwave with an undecipherable look.

Soundwave nods. Shockwave grasps his arm, leading him out of the room. He entrusts Soundwave to the soldier, "Do not lose him," who nods.

The door closes behind Shockwave like a condemnation.

Stay close. I don't trust them.

Understandable.

"I was worried," Proteus speaks, touching Shockwave's face with a gentle hand, caressing his cheek, "You were gone for three weeks. No news. No letters. We were starting to believe you died."

"Where were you, Shockwave?" Decimus sits on the bed. "You said you don't remember anything at all."

"I don't," Shockwave's optics never leave Proteus'. He stares into his eyes, a burning hate engulfing his spark and mind, and lies, "I don't remember…" the screams, the pain, the murder, the gun.

"What happened?" Proteus stares back curiously.

"I remember meeting with Orion Pax. We went to have energon together. He was talking to me about someone, think it was Ultra Magnus, but I'm not sure. I think they just met and I wanted to know more." Shockwave stops.

"Then?" Proteus pushes, coming closer to Shockwave.

"Then, I woke up in Yuss."

::I can feel distress coming from you.::

::Do they trust me?::

::Decimus is intrigued by what's happening between you and Proteus.::

::And Proteus?::

::Proteus is complicated. He knows you are hiding something.::

Once upon a time, Shockwave knew Proteus was interested in him and he turned him down.

"My memories are corrupted."

::Shockwave?::

"Corrupted? As in…?" Decimus comes forward, sandwiching Shockwave between him and Proteus. No escape.

"Some are missing. Some can't be opened. I don't remember what happened at all."

::Shockwave?::

"That's peculiar. Maybe you should let a doctor look over those files," Decimus suggest.

"Back in Yuss, the enforcers called Ratchet, the Prime's doctor, to see if I can be safely transported to Iacon despite my injuries. He tried opening them, but the files are corrupted. I can't open them."

"Interesting," Proteus declares. "I'm glad you are safe and sound. Those days, while waiting for news, I remembered our first discussion over the projector-bot. You were so young back then, weren't you?"

A sharp, bitter laugh bubbles out of his throat, "A fool. I was a fool."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've seen some things" Shockwave replies. "It made me question myself. I ended up wondering if I was fighting to fight. I felt like a petulant child fighting his parents for no reason other than my ego.

"Really?"

"I kept thinking about what you said a while ago, about how everyone has their place and we shouldn't intervene. I guess you are right. Too bad it took me a nearly death experience to see it."

"In this case, I'm curious to hear about those experiences. The Senate will be holding a meeting tomorrow. We hope you can attend it so everyone could hear those details. Do not worry, it's between closed doors."

Proteus smiles, patting Shockwave's back twice. "Take care of yourself," He says.

::Shockwave?::

::Do they trust me?::

::Not yet. They will keep an eye on you.::

::Call Ratchet. We have to corrupt some memories.::