Dark Tides Saga
Ch 7 - A New Life is Born
Twilight sat behind Soundwave on a large, bench-like structure. Her head rested tiredly on his back, between his broad shoulders. Exhaustion lingered with her as well as almost all inhabitants of Kohl who were not part of the Decepticon army. The only energon mine that fueled Kohl had been virtually destroyed in a terrible accident that left many dead and many more wounded. As a result, the Decepticons were forced to preserve what little energy remained until Epsilon, their main base, could deliver more.
"It should take three days," they had told her. Three days felt like an eternity. Constantly tired, most of her systems deactivated or running on conservation mode, Twilight quickly grew weary of the consistent exhaustion. She had to commend Soundwave, who not only took the weakness with stride, but also focused what little vitality he managed to preserve on his precious creation.
The femme glanced over his shoulder wearily at the 'project.' By the looks of it, he was almost complete. The outer body shell was unlike anything she had ever seen. Small, sleek and slender, the color scheme ebony, with ruby eyes, just like his father's.
A giggle compelled Soundwave to look over his shoulder quizzically. His dimly flickering gaze indicated confusion, which only made her giggle more. "Do you know what you're going to name him?"
He turned his attention back to his creation and continued his work. "Negative."
"Hmm…" Twilight laid her head on his back again. "How about…Lil' Soundie?"
"Negative. Insufficient," The blue robot answered monotonously.
"Um…how about…" a yawn suddenly overtook her, as lack of energon made her more fatigued.
"Negative. Pronunciation overly complicated," Twilight turned her head slightly, confused at his statement. Suddenly, realizing that he referred to her yawn as her name suggestion, laughed uncontrollably. Soundwave turned his head, not understanding what it was that she found so funny. The quizzical flicker in his optics only made her laugh harder. With a shrug, he turned his attention back to his creation. "…His name will be Ravage."
He said nothing more, and it became apparent that he had no intention of explaining why he had chosen the name. Knowing him as long as she did, Twilight no longer expected explanations. After a moment she was able to squelch her laughter and rested her head on his back with a final yawn. "That's a nice name."
If he had any intentions of saying anything more, his opportunity was quickly lost. The lack of energon finally overwhelmed her and she fell asleep…
"Lord Megatron?" Thundercracker and Skywarp straightened up from their slouched stances at the main entrance of Kohl. Lack of energon had worn their systems down to the point that daily scouting was out of the question and for the meanwhile they were reduced to guards. Neither of them had heard any news of their high lord's coming.
The warlord shook his head casually. "'Lord' is only for those who need to be constantly reminded of their power. Just Megatron will do. I heard you two were the ones who discovered the attacks on Terikon?"
The two aerial robots glanced at each other, then nodded at their commander.
"Good work, both of you. I've brought some soldiers and what little energon we could carry until Epsilon can deliver the rest," Megatron stated, nodding to both soldiers before walking in. A couple of other high-ranking soldiers landed nearby and too walked in. One stopped to look at the duo.
"Hmm…I could use two aerial soldiers like you," the second in command said as he looked the two over. "You can never find enough good help in this day and age. Keep up the good work and you just may qualify for the job."
"Yes, commander Starscream!" Skywarp answered.
"Thank you, commander Starscream," Thundercracker added.
The two aerial robots waited for their superiors to enter the colony before giving each other a resounding high-five…
Twilight awoke to find herself leaning heavily, almost completely on her back. Pushing herself into a sitting position, she turned to find that Soundwave's systems had finally given in due to lack of energon. He was asleep, his arms folded protectively around his creation and his head resting upon them. She found the gesture incredibly cute, as if she had stumbled upon a gentle and fatherly side of Soundwave that few others would ever see. The moment was quickly gone, however, when the door opened abruptly. Soundwave's sensitive hearing, muted only faintly by the lack of energon, immediately picked up the noise and his head raised up to regard the intruder. If Soundwave was surprised, he didn't show it. Twilight, on the other hand, was openly shocked to see Megatron, the Decepticon warlord, standing at the door…
Hatred flowed through him even as his own energon supply began to wane. Arsenal, having nothing to fuel him, was forced to find some on his own. What made the process difficult was that he had neither the equipment needed for converting raw energy into the type that he could use nor the access to any energon mines. Any and all mines were controlled by either factions or the neutrals. He, an unregistered (for all of his records must have been destroyed by now) robot of his greatness could never pass off as a mere civilian. His body was not built for anything other than war.
However, all was not lost. There was one trick he still had up his titanium sleeve.
His one hope laid on the shoulders of the Autobot spy.
"Megatron?!" Twilight couldn't hide her surprise. The silver robot nodded to her, finally fixing his gaze on her companion.
"Greetings Twilight, Soundwave." Megatron said, surprisingly polite. "You two must be low on energon. Here."
In his massive grasp, he held a large storage container of energon. It was very difficult to store energon, as it was highly explosive in it's purest form. Therefore it was generally kept in massive containers and shared amongst the Cybertronians.
Twilight took her share almost greedily, her hunger intensified by the sweet smell of the energon her body lacked so severely. She almost had to force herself to stop, so that Soundwave could have the rest. Ripping herself away from the sweet container of energon, she passed it to her companion. The dark blue robot took his share with the same air of nonchalance that always hung about him. Twilight watched him in quiet awe. His endless discipline never ceased to amaze her.
As Soundwave handed Megatron the container, the Decepticon warlord's persimmon optics rested upon the project. "What's this?"
The azure robot quickly shifted closer to his almost completed creation. "A project. Upon completion will be a sentient being capable of its own thoughts and emotional processes."
"You do know that something like this has only been constructed by teams of scientists, never one solitary Cybertronian?" Megatron asked.
Twilight stood silently, her soft gaze shifting between the two males. If the words affected Soundwave in any way, he didn't show it. "Correction, had only been accomplished by teams of scientists. My attempt will be successful."
The warlord looked into the eyes of the neutral scientist, finally his titanium lips widened in a genuine smile.
"I like your way of thinking, Soundwave. Your mix of ambition, discipline and enthusiasm is a rare and refreshing find." Megatron reached forward and rested one hand upon the smaller robot's shoulder. "I want you to know that if you wish to join us, our door is always open. To you as well, Twilight. Good evening."
With that said, the commander turned on his platinum heel and walked out of the door. The two stood in silence as Megatron departed. Twilight had to admit, it was quite risky for the Decepticon warlord to be here. With such an energon shortage, if Kohl was to be attacked he would be in great risk of destruction. Either he was incredibly arrogant, or he was willing to take that risk to ease the worries of his weakened subordinates. She had to admit, she was impressed by his courage and concern for his troops, and even more so for his concern for the neutral victims. Perhaps…her prejudices had been unfounded.
"Do you think…" the femme stated softly, once Megatron had left the room. "Do…you think that the Decepticons didn't do all of those attacks after all…?"
Soundwave turned his gaze to her. "Affirmative. They are not the cause."
"I wish I was as certain as you are, Soundie…" Twilight whispered. "I…honestly, I don't know what to believe."
A sudden touch on her shoulder immediately snapped her from her thoughts. She looked up to see Soundwave standing so very close to her, one of his massive hands resting on her shoulder.
"Do not angst. Keep your mind open. The secrets of the universe reveal themselves to those who listen," He stated, his normally monotonous voice holding a slight tinge…of what, she couldn't determine. At that moment, she realized just how close they were. One hand rested on her shoulder, the other hung by his side…so close to her unused hand. His crimson optics locked onto hers. Seconds felt like moments, like hours, like an eternity. Suddenly Soundwave released his hold and the eternity was lost, like a faded dream. "Completion of my project is essential…"
"Yeah…" Twilight breathed, watching him as he returned to his place on the bench. "…essential…"
Thundercracker and Skywarp were sitting in the recharge bay, sipping from a shared container of energon in their lackluster attempt to preserve as much of it as possible. It would be awhile until their next.
Sitting across from them in another recharge bay were Bombshell and Kickback, also sharing a container of energon.
"Did you hear the latest?" Skywarp suddenly asked, his optics darting to each of his companions. "Supposedly the Autobots have been kidnapping neutrals and using some kind of mind control on them."
"Really?" Kickback asked.
Thundercracker nodded, "It's pretty twisted."
"How do you know?" Bombshell inquired.
Twilight walked into the room, wanting to give Soundwave a little time to himself to concentrate on his project. "Hey…"
"What's wrong with you?" Kickback asked as he glanced over at her. "You look a bit flustered."
The femme quickly shook her head. "Uh, me? Oh, no not at all! What were you guys talking about?"
"The 'Bots are brainwashing neutrals," Kickback re-capped.
"What?!" Twilight sat down next to him and Bombshell. The thought of it sickened her. Could the Autobots really do something like that?
"Well, we don't have any physical evidence yet," Skywarp stated. "But there have been reports of neutrals suddenly siding with the Autobots."
"According to friends and acquaintances, some of these neutrals had never expressed any previous desire to join the Autobots. An even crazier fact is that these neutrals have a couple things in common. One is that they all came from destroyed colonies. Another is that their general attitude and behavior after joining the Autobots had changed dramatically. Finally, no matter what color their optics were, as soon as they joined the Autobots their optics turned gold," Thundercracker added.
"Gold?" Twilight echoed. Kickback and Bombshell glanced at each other. Gold was not a regular eye color.
The ebony aerial robot nodded. "An Autobot insignia is one thing, eyes suddenly turning gold's another. With all of that other stuff to go with it… We think something screwy's goin' on there."
"Well…" Bombshell leaned back and gazed up at the ceiling. Twilight looked over at him. "Mind control is certainly not impossible. The question is, what use would the 'Bots have for mindless scientists? Apparently they've found a way to control them while allowing them enough of their own mind and logic as to not hinder their work."
"Bombshell, you're specialized in all that neurotechnology stuff," Kickback said casually. He too leaned back. "Maybe you can figure it all out."
"Yeah…" Bombshell said wistfully as he turned his gaze to his friend. "Maybe I can…"
Arsenal was impressed.
So…all of the scientists that escaped from his wrath found their way to the small Decepticon base, Kohl.
Optimus Prime's plan to attack the small base, re-capture those scientists and destroy any and all witnesses was quite brilliant.
Perching on a small, partially demolished building within the wreckage of a small colony he had destroyed years prior, Arsenal enjoyed his much-needed energon recharge.
"You do good work, my new servant," the monstrosity said casually to the mindless Bumblebee. His evil gaze lingered on the small mind control device planted on the back of the small robot's neck. It had been a mere prototype back when he stole it from the Autobots months before. But with a little tweaking here and there, it worked fairly well. Unfortunately, while the chip was activated Bumblebee had virtually no mind of his own, but he had no use for willful subjects anyhow. Now, he could use the golden android to keep the Prime off his back, as well as bring back information for him. The Autobot spy was now going to be his spy, and the wreckage he now stood upon will be the foundation for his new army.
Decepticons, Autobots and Neutrals alike will regret the day they crossed him.
Arsenal threw back his head and laughed, his hideous roar echoing into the starlit sky…
Twilight sat silently on the bench next to the feverishly working Soundwave, her mind wracked with turmoil.
Could the Autobots really do something like this? Were they really capable of such terrible things? Could the Decepticons be lying? What if they weren't?!
What if…all of her previous thoughts about the Decepticons were mistaken?! Perhaps, she was wrong to judge them so quickly…
Yet, at the same time, this war was going to cause nothing but death and destruction. Neither the Autobots nor the Decepticons were innocent in this world's pending doom. …However…could the Decepticons be the lesser of the two evils?
On the other hand…what if they were lying? What if this whole thing was a ruse to get her and Soundwave to join their side?
…but Soundwave seemed to believe in them. He must have had a good reason for his beliefs. Perhaps he knew of their truthfulness because of his telepathy? Yet, what if the Decepticons somehow knew of his abilities and were playing both of them for fools?
What if…
"Complete!"
Twilight was ripped from her thoughts by a surprising cry from Soundwave. She immediately jumped up, glancing around the room like a frightened animal.
"What happened?! What's wrong?!" The femme cried. For Soundwave to show any kind of emotion, she assumed something terrible must have occurred.
"Ravage is complete!" Twilight turned to see her companion standing up, hovering over his newly constructed creature with an aura of pride and excitement. Realizing what he meant, she rushed to his side and hugged him around the waist.
"That's wonderful!" she cried. Surprisingly, he returned the gesture.
"Ravage is not yet activated. All mechanisms checked and re-checked. He is complete." He released his hold and laid one hand on the small creature's back. With a small flicker of his telepathic abilities, he mentally activated Ravage's internal processors. The little creature's ruby eyes suddenly lit up and he raised his head. Twilight stepped back as the two looked at each other, wanting to give them both space. She could barely contain her excitement, yet at the same time she was practically frozen as she watched the two interact.
The small robot slowly pushed himself onto his feet, looking around the room with open curiosity. Finally, his ruby gaze met his creator's. Soundwave withdrew his hand from Ravage's back and rested it tenderly on his head.
His usual monotone was tinged with a softness that Twilight had never imagined capable of him. "Welcome, Ravage. Welcome to Cybertron."
Author's Notes - This chapter was fairly difficult, yet at the same time seemed to write itself at parts. I wanted to make Soundwave seem a bit more open and friendly towards Twilight, yet at the same time retain the aloofness he was known for. I'm not sure if Soundwave's excited response to Ravage's completion could be considered out of character. At the same time, Ravage is his very first successful attempt at creating a sentient being. I would think that even one as stoic as he would be pretty excited. I also wanted to have him act a bit more maternal towards Ravage, especially towards the completion of his creation. Since he is both mother and father to Ravage, and Ravage is right now the only 'child' he has, I would imagine Soundwave to be a bit more protective and parental at this point than he is in the show, where he has a little army of 'children.' I hope you liked this chapter, and that I've managed to build the suspense with the Autobot gossip, the building sexual-esque tension between Soundwave and Twilight, Arsenal lingering in the background and Twilight's internal turmoil.
