Dark Tides Saga
Chapter 8
Destruction
Watching the interaction between Soundwave and his new creation was almost magical, at least through Twilight's eyes. Ravage brought out such a uncharacteristically warm and gentle side of the normally aloof robot. The offspring was initially shy and intimidated in such a vast world, but through tender coaxing on the part of his parent explored the base and its inhabitants with increased curiosity. Megatron was impressed and endeared by the little guy, and renewed his offer for Soundwave, Twilight and the newly built Ravage into his ranks. Bombshell and Kickback were increasingly fascinated. After a long day of exploring and meeting the people who Ravage would later identify as friends, Soundwave figured that this was enough for the little creature for the night.
"Ravage, transform to alternate mode," the little robot looked up at his father. After a moment, he complied and appeared to fold into himself with the end result being a rectangle. Twilight glanced over at Soundwave with confusion.
"What's that?" she asked. The blue Cybertronian lifted the small creature up and opened his chest compartment.
"Alternate mode design provides security," Soundwave answered as he inserted Ravage into his chest cavity and closed it.
Twilight watched with uncontained fascination. Afterwards, she embraced him. "I knew you could do it, Soundie."
He returned the motion with one arm. She could feel his exhaustion through the weakness of his gesture. It was apparent that he had given Ravage most of, if not all of his share of the limited energon. Twilight felt a small pang of guilt, as she had consumed her entire share without a single thought. When so low on fuel, the only thing on her mind was the want to refill her reserves. How in the world could he be so disciplined with such little strength?
Perhaps that was what made someone as unemotional as him such great parental material.
"You should rest, Soundie. Save your strength... When Ravage feels ready to explore again he's going to need you at your best." Twilight murmured.
"...advice acknowledged...and accepted," He finished his answer with a long hum of his vocals, signifying a yawn. The sound made her giggle. Removing his arm from around her, he rested his fingertips on the side of her face. Surprised, and a bit shy at the sudden affectionate gesture, she only stared at him with slightly widened optics. After a few seconds he lowered his hand and walked off.
She could only watch him leave, placing her hand on her face where he had touched her.
Standing amongst the foundation for his new empire, Arsenal watched in glee as his new slaves Huffer, Tracks and Cliffjumper mindlessly constructed his fortress. It was coming together very slowly, as the power of three weak Autobots was not nearly enough to put together something so massive in any record time. But that was alright. Despite his occasional bouts of eagerness, whenever necessary he could be surprisingly patient. If his army and power grew too rapidly, he would draw unwanted attention. As far as most robots knew, Arsenal was either dead or simply didn't exist.
Both were fine by him.
The monstrosity's crimson optics brightened into a smile as he gazed up into the dark skies. At this very moment, Bumblebee must be with the Autobots, who were making their way to Kohl for the attack. Soon his slave would return with the results of the fight...and perhaps more slaves for his cause.
All inhabitants of Cybertron will soon find out what a horrible mistake they had made by crossing him...
With a sigh of exhaustion, Twilight slumped down on one of the recharge bays. Her strength was waning. Thankfully, the shipment of energon should be arriving today. Now she and the others won't be wandering the halls like zombies anymore.
Glancing over at the recharge bay next to her, she saw Soundwave. His visor was dark and one of his large, azure hands rested on his chest plate.
Where Ravage slept.
A smile softened the femme's features.
Suddenly, the ground shook so violently that she was nearly thrown off of the table on which she was laying. Soundwave's visor immediately brightened, as he was always a light sleeper.
The two looked at each other, but before either could say anything, another tremor shook the ground with increased intensity.
After it ended, Twilight rolled off of her recharge bay as Soundwave sat up. It was then Bombshell abruptly popped his head through the door. His optics were burning with apprehension.
The words he uttered made the energon in the femme's systems run cold.
"We're under attack!"
With the massive energon shortage, Kohl didn't stand a chance against the colossal strength of the Autobot attackers. From their place inside of the base, Twilight and Soundwave, along with other physically disadvantaged scientists, could only watch through the window as the Decepticon soldiers tired valiantly to defend their home from the assault. She noticed, with a tinge of surprise and admiration, that Megatron stood beside his warriors in the front lines. He issued orders and even took on some of their adversaries himself, unwilling to sacrifice even one of his comrades for the sake of his own safety.
Soundwave had been right about him.
She looked over at her companion with worry. The azure robot was standing erect, his crimson gaze never leaving the fight. His fists slowly clenched and unclenched with a sudden and severe malicious intent.
"You...want to fight, don't you?" the femme asked. The question sounded weird in her own mind. The battle against Arsenal proved that the stoic android had the capacity for violence. Still...his mannerisms always indicated a sense of mellowness which rendered it difficult for her to imagine him in that kind of light.
Resting his fingertips on his chest compartment, Soundwave didn't answer her. Inside, he could feel Ravage's fear, could almost hear his unspoken questions. His creation's apprehension angered him more than anything else ever had. Ravage was in danger...and he wasn't about to stand idle and let the Autobot scum anywhere near him!
"Ravage, eject," Reluctantly, the panther-esque robot obeyed. Landing on the floor with surprising grace, he looked up at his creator. To the surprise of any spectator, Soundwave knelt down and placed his massive hand on his offspring's head affectionately. "Operation, conceal from enemy detection. If discovered, retreat." The creature nervously rubbed up against his father's hand and leg. "Soundwave's operation, protection. Return will be imminent."
Ravage stepped back, looking up at him. The older Cybertronian's crimson gaze rested on Twilight, who nodded and with an almost motherly tenderness lifted the little creature.
"Don't get damaged out there," the femme said sternly. Without answering, Soundwave turned around and ran out of the building.
Hiding behind one of the demolished buildings, Megatron and Thundercracker exchanged shots with three of the Autobot enemies. The Decepticon leader's optics continuously darting between his current enemies and the building which held the neutral scientists and his fellow scientifically inclined teammates. He noticed that his comrades which were trying to hold the enemy contained away from the building were having increased trouble.
With a quick click of his comlink, Megatron signaled the neighboring Decepticon colony, Aregol, for help. Unfortunately, that colony was a bit of a distance away and it would take a good half cycle for back-up to show up. A loud thud and clank of metal turned the warlord's attention to Thundercracker, who fell back holding his shoulder. The aerial fighter grimaced and tried to push himself up, but his energon reserves were simply too low to power his limbs any further.
Megatron stifled a growl. The soldiers simply did not have enough energon to put up against such great opposition. It didn't make any sense. Kohl was not even a major Decepticon colony, there were many others far more worthy of such a grand scheme attack. What in the name of Primus would compel them to put so much of an effort against such a small colony?
And...if they wanted to destroy this colony so badly...why did they avoid damage to the main building with such vehemence?
Only one answer came to the warlord's mind.
The scientists.
With limited speed and agility, Soundwave pushed through the door that separated the building that contained the scientists from the battlefield. In the war zone, multiple gunshots and explosions rang through the skies. Before his crimson eyes he could see Skywarp and a handful of other Decepticons defending the building from a slightly larger group of Autobots. As long as the building was protected, Ravage would be safe.
Taking shelter behind one of the smaller buildings, Soundwave took aim and fired from his shoulder-mounted gun. Unfortunately, his determination did not outweigh his lack of combat experience and most of his shots missed or only knicked the enemy robots. Not allowing this to jar his patience, the azure scientist knelt down and, placing one hand on his shoulder canon, carefully took aim at his flying adversaries.
He kept in mind the time between a fired shot and the target, and predicted where his enemy would move to during that time...
He charged his shoulder canon, preparing to fire each laser in the gatling gun simultaneously in one, single shot.
Suddenly, a blow on the back of his head and neck sent the blue android crashing heavily onto the unforgiving Cybetronian soil. With all the strength he could muster, Soundwave tried to push himself back up but the lack of energon in his systems took a grave toll on him. In fact, he could feel what precious little energy he had seep from the blow he had sustained. As his interior mechanics systematically failed, he noticed out of the corner of his blurring optic an Autobot entering the building...
Holding Ravage close, Twilight watched the battle out through the window. Through the glass she could not see Soundwave, as she was located on the side of the building as opposed to the front or back. To her chagrin, she had no means of determining his condition, if he was damaged, or even alive.
The femme shook her head violently, tightening the grip on the little creature. She could not allow her imagination to get carried away. He was sturdy, intelligent and would not be one to make costly mistakes on the battlefield. Plus...there were the other Decepticons who would help him, right?
Twilight glanced over her shoulder to see Bombshell and Kickback arguing with Shrapnel.
"We cannot just stand here! There must be a way we can help!" Bombshell argued.
"I understand-understand," Shrapnel responded. "But remember our concentration of energon is very low-low. We would not last long enough to be of any assistance-assistance..."
An abrupt and loud bang silenced the group. Twilight looked over at the door. Her advanced radar, though weakened by the minute amount of energon in her system, was still sharp enough to detect an Autobot somewhere in the building.
There was no way Soundwave would let anyone sneak in unless...
Her interior mechanics whirled in horror.
"What was that noise?" Kickback asked as he neared the door. "Please let it be a Decepticon..."
"No!" Twilight cried. "It's an Auto-"
The door suddenly swung open and crashed into the wall, tearing off of its hinges with a snap. The three insecticons, Twilight and the other scientists looked at the doorway to see Optimus Prime glaring back at them.
Megatron tried desperately to make his way back to the building, but Thundercracker injuries have left him against the three Autobots virtually alone. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his comrades slowly falling under their enemy's attacks.
This battle was lost.
With a growl of frustration, the warlord grabbed hold of the blue aerial bot's arm and took to the skies. There were only few Aubots that could fly, and by now most of them had been taken out by Starscream and Skywarp.
As he sped away from the battlefield, the others Decepticons taking suit, he could only watch out in aggravation as their antagonists swarmed the building.
"Well, look what we have here..." Optimus Prime hissed. Kickback swallowed nervously and backed away. Twilight turned her back to the Autobot leader, trying to hide Ravage from his gaze.
Bombshell stepped forward. "So this is how you recruit others to your cause? I must say it's not very charismatic."
A small laugh emitted from the much larger and more intimidating robot. "Sometimes charisma alone simply won't cut it!"
"What do you want with us-us?" Shrapnel asked.
There was no answer.
Twilight watched the exchange from over her shoulder, pressing her titanium lips close to Ravage's audio receptor. In the faintest voice, she whispered. "Remember Soundwave's orders."
With that said, she released him. To her immense relief, he landed soundlessly and merged into the shadows with surprising proficiency.
Suddenly, a swarm of Autobots made their way into the room. The femme noticed a sadistic glint in the persimmon eyes of their commander as his soldiers slammed the scientists into the walls and on the ground with fierce brutality. One of them, a rather small robot with a yellow paintjob, approached Twilight. She quickly rose her arms in defense, but a quick blow landed her on the ground. It was followed by a sudden impact into the back of her neck which sent her systems into shut down. As her vision dimmed, she vaguely noticed the panther-esque robot sneak away undetected. A small smile made its way into her visage even as unconsciousness overtook her.
Author's Notes: dodges bullets, bombs, torpedoes and sharp sticks I know! It's been a really, really long time since I last updated, but I wasn't lying when I said that I would never let any of my stories remain unfinished. The reason for my update delay is a mixture of a loss of interest (which I am trying vehemently to restore) as well as an immense amount of college works, be it tests or projects. Fortunately, now that it's all over, I should have more time to work on this and the next chapter should come by much more quickly. Thank you for your patience and I hope that this chapter was worth the long wait.
