Author's Notes: In this chapter, long hidden feelings are revealed, and relationships become stronger. They get closer to their goals of defeating Arachnid, and fears from the past linger in the minds of our heroes… As always, please enjoy, and drop a comment, I love hearing what everyone thinks!


Location: The Renegade, Med Bay

Bumblebee

He tried to remain focused on Ultra Magnus, still twitching in his restraints on the medical berth. But the occasional crash from around the room distracted from the somber mood. Grimlock was the culprit behind the disturbance. He and his fellow squad members poked around the med bay, turning over tables, yanking supply panels open, and being a general menace.

"Away on assignment, my rusted aft." Grimlock growled. "This place reeks of Shockwave."

"Bet he portaled away right when we got here." Swoop huffed. He sniffed around the distressed Decepticon medic as she pretended to work.

"Hey guys." Arcee snapped at the nosy group. Her servos crossed tight against her chest as she scowled at them. "How about you give it a rest? Ultra Magnus is finally calm…eh, calmer. That's sure to end if you keep dismantling the med bay as loud as physically possible."

"Arcee, why do they not like Shockwave?" Jack whispered from his perch next to her on a spare berth.

Bumblebee winced at the question. Grimlock's booming laughter cut off whatever explanation Arcee was about to provide.

"Old Shockwave decided to spill his weird science all over me and my team when terminatin' us would have been kinder! I'd show ya what he did, but the ceilings aren't high enough in here for me to show off the beast."

"It's not the end of the world." Swoop added with a grim smile. "I look at it like this. I paid in loads of pain in an ethically questionable and no volunteer needed experiment. It was all in exchange for the ability to fly. Plus, it's been a good few million cycles. I hardly wake up from recharge screaming anymore."

Jack's shoulders dropped. He obviously regretted asking anything.

"It's not like we ain't worried about Shoulder Pads here." Grimlock said with a vent. "Violence gets our minds off the ugly present."

"And Shockwave's stink is hard to ignore." Snarl added.

With the focus back on Ultra Magnus, uncertain tension returned to the party. Bumblebee flitted his gaze between Ultra Magnus and the optic catching red bot across the room. The medic had explained Knock Out was healed, and she had taken him off medically induced stasis. He should be waking up that day… at least that was some good news.

Soundwave had been tight-lipped when it came to their next move. He would have asked Rhea, but she was still with Soundwave somewhere else on the ship. All Bumblebee knew was there was some sort of important recon mission Soundwave did not need (or want) them assisting in.

Lacking anything else to do, he continued to report to Raf back on Earth through text. Still stuck in his hospital bed, Raf asked every few minutes about Ultra Magnus. Bumblebee felt worthless having to tell him nothing had changed each time. Ultra Magnus was no longer violent or lashing out, but he was far from coherent. He was being infused with a constant stream of Energon. He remained in a dazed, half-conscious state. There was still no word on the stasis pod Soundwave promised. He hoped they hadn't been forgotten in the midst of whatever important mission was going on without them.

Bumblebee had been facing his team when the door to the med bay opened. But he could guess who had just sauntered in going by Bulkhead's scowl alone.

"Good news, you wastes of Energon!" Soundwave's second in Command, Thunderblast announced in a singsong tone. "The big boy Predacon king himself agreed to give over one of his last stasis pods! My girl Clobber is lugging it up as we speak."

Miko, who had been parked next to Knock Out's still resting form, jumped up as Thunderblast arrived. Bulkhead scooped her up off the table before she could think to slide down and make her way over to the Con. "Why so tense Bulk? We're all still friends." Miko reminded him.

Thunderblast's grin grew into something truly sinister. "Yeah, Bulk. You aren't worried your boring Autobot antics are replaceable by the wilder side of Cybertronian fun, are ya?"

Bulkhead's glare at Thunderblast deepened and Bumblebee worried he would have to break up another fist fight.

"Don't be jealous." Miko pleaded from his hands. Even she seemed to sense the tension. "I can have more than one bot friend, right?"

"Yeah." Bulkhead murmured. "But I worry about this one more then even other Cons. She's reckless, irresponsible and-"

"And a lot like me?" Miko offered.

Bulkhead considered that. "Yeah, I guess in a way."

"And you trust me, right?" Miko said.

Bulkhead rose an optic ridge at her. "Against my better judgment."

Miko laughed. "Just wait, I'll get you two to be friends. Chaos doesn't have to be ALL bad."

Thunderblast stepped out of the way of the door to give the larger Con Clobber plenty of room to pull in a stasis pod. As this was happening, Wheeljack nudged Bulkhead in his side. "Don't worry. They have a small shooting range next to the wreck room. I can snuff her there." Before Bulkhead could rebuke this plot Wheeljack turned to focus on Thunderblast. "Yo, Con. You a decent shot? We have some down time, and my blasters are itching. Anywhere I can go to get a workout?" He paused in a calculated way before adding, "Since Vehicons on this ship somehow got to be better shooters then the rest of the Decepticon army, I figured the facility must be good."

Thunderblast mirrored his challenging smile. "I know you're playing me, but game on. We have a range I can show ya. I'd hate to leave you Bots board. But I do hope you're better than most other Wreckers I've bumped into. Talk about needing target practice."

Wheeljack's grin widened as he cracked the pistons in his knuckles. "Yeah, this is gonna be fun."

"Um, any luck with him?" Clobber's soft voice managed to ask. Bumblebee had almost forgotten she had been there with them, even despite her size. Between Thunderblast and Wheeljack's gun measuring contest, anything else was easy to forget.

Somehow more remarkable, he realized she was asking about Ultra Magnus. She had gotten closer to him than anyone else to set down the stasis pod. "Y-yeah. I guess he's as well as he can be… Thanks, for asking."

Clobber nodded a few to many times. "I'm sorry he got bit; I actually have a friend, Lockdown, in stasis right now. He was bit too. I'm sure Master Soundwave will find the cure, so I'm not too worried. Um, is here, ok?" she directed the last comment to the medic, who only answered with a curt nod.

Once the pod was down, Clobber stepped out of the way, or at least as much as she could be due to her size. She pressed against the wall, flitting her single optic between Thunderblast and the ground. Clobber was an oddity amongst her Con peers. She was innocent and adorably naive. A little too much so in fact, and that was coming from Bumblebee. He was someone who still couldn't help but see things on the brighter side, even if he was floating in the inky blackness of space.

If he wanted to fish for information, he could get her to spill any info much easier than anyone else. He felt a little guilty when he approached her with this very intention. "Does, Soundwave need us with… the important mission that's going on?"

Clobber turned from Thunderblast to look down at him. Even with their height disparity, Bumblebee felt like she was shrinking under his gaze. "Um, no. He has it under control… It's important, so I'm staying out of the way."

"I know I already talked to him about it, but can he handle it alone?" Bumblebee asked, trying to sound like he already knew the topic in detail.

Clobber nodded along with an eager smile. "Absolutely! Master Soundwave and his Minicon are the best for the job. They were, are, the best spies. If anyone can sneak by Arachnid and reclaim the Bunker, it would be them."

Jackpot. He buried his guilt as he pressed on, intending to learn more. He hoped Clobber wouldn't get in trouble for being so open. Thunderblast was still distracted with her flirtatious threat swapping with Wheeljack. He also tried to suppress his alarm. Soundwave was making some bold risky move to sneak by Arachnid?

A memory flitted back to him of a time not so long ago. But they discussed it before Decimus and Sigil took the kids. It was when they first made their alliance with Soundwave, so it felt like a million years ago. Soundwave had mentioned a Con Bunker Arachnid was sitting on…this must have been it. The unknown Decepticon asset that would tip the scales of any battle in their favor. Even against Arachnid, her infectious army, and whatever stranger had landed their ship in her swarm the night before. It was also the asset that was supposed to be their final chance against the Autobots if the war rekindled. In that regard, Bumblebee sort of understood the secrecy. Still, he was a little irritated Soundwave had gone ahead with such an important task by himself.

"I'm sure it will be worth it though, even though it's risky." He offered with a shrug. Once Ultra Magnus was taken care of, he had to find Soundwave. The idiot didn't need to go it alone.

"It's our last hope." Clobber agreed, though paused to offer him an awkward smile. "With all that's there, we can win against her. He must trust you guys a lot, since the Bunker is all we Decepticons have left. It's why we couldn't Bridge into the Bunker in the first place, because it's so hard to get into. It was, is, our last hide away from, well, you Autobots." The last observation made her laugh at the irony of it all. Even Clobber knew what was at stake. "That's why I'm glad you Autobots are on our team now. Though, don't pass that around, Blitzwing already makes fun of me as it is. After this, I'm excited for the fighting to stop."

"Lip plates are sealed." Bumblebee promised, stifling his shock at her candor. Now he was the one to hesitate, feeling like he had to add something to assure her trust wasn't misplaced. It didn't help he had started this conversation in a bid to get info in a less then honorable way. "I can't speak for all Autobots, but Team Prime takes our alliances seriously. We still have worlds between our beliefs, but that doesn't mean we would turn against you."

Clobber seemed relieved to hear that. Bumblebee couldn't help but match her smile. If there were more bots like Clobber, the Decepticons could change for the better.

"Breakdown?"

Bumblebee jerked his attentions to where the name had been groggily moaned. Knock Out was stirring, coming to from a cloud of confusion and daze.

"He's awake!" Miko all but cheered from Bulkhead's grasp.

The Autobots gave him a healthy distance to avoid crowding him as he came to his senses. Miko had no such inclination for that idea. She leaped from Bulkhead's hands and landed on Knock Out's berth.

Knock Out blinked his one optic groggily. He struggled to bring those who surrounded him into focus. The fog of stasis was lifting, and he glanced between the faces staring at him, confused. He turned from the Autobots to investigate the empty air. He looked to be searching for someone who he expected to be there. "Where did you…" Clarity touched his gaze as he seemed to realize the Decepticon he named was not among the party that greeted him. "I'm, alive?" It was barely a question, but rather a statement he didn't believe.

"Yeah, because you are awesome, who knew?" Miko exclaimed, clamoring up his chassis to get into his direct line of focus. "You remember, right? You saved us from those goons at the prison! You were the definition of bad ass!"

Recollection did seem to spark in him while he gaped at the human on his chest. Then he groaned, and his helm fell back down, losing the ground he had managed to gain in his struggle to wake up. "I feel how Starscream looked after Megatron took his day out on him." he raised a servo to cradle his helm in a dramatic way. His digits brushed against his missing optic, and he froze.

Now he was alert. He struggled to sit up, Miko yelping and holding on to keep from tumbling off. He groped at his face plates. He winced in pain and disbelief when his digits brushed the temporary patch welded there.

"Soundwave's medics couldn't save that." Bumblebee offered as gently as he could. "But otherwise, you'll bounce back."

Knock Out caught his reflection in the tinted door window on one of his servos. He gazed at his reflection in abject horror. "I'm… It's gone." He whimpered. It looked like he may fall back into stasis lock from the shock. Grief threatening to overwhelm him, he broke optic contact with his own reflection and turned desperate to the Autobots. "Does it look bad?"

"Are you kidding?" Miko piped up. She didn't see Bulkhead's desperate hand gestures, begging for her to stop. Or more likely, she was ignoring him. "Dude, you were bad ass in that prison, and now you look it! Come on, pretty boy with one eye, do you have any idea how many anime main characters you look like?"

"I, don't know what that is." Knock Out admitted, failing to hide his confusion.

"It's a good thing." Miko promised with a grin.

"If I can get a word in." Jack said from the ground next to Arcee. "You saved our tails back there. If Raf were here, he'd say the same thing. Thanks, Knock Out."

"Exactly what an anime protagonist would do." Miko added.

Knock Out studied the two bright faced humans. Bumblebee couldn't tell if the comment touched or offended him. Knock Out could be hard to read. "I… I guess you're right. It just, seemed like what one of the Autobots would do."

"Good instincts." Arcee said with a grin. "Who knew you had it in ya."

Despite the teasing tone, the air had lightened considerably. And because Miko couldn't let the last word go unspoken, she said, "And if you still need cheering up, I brought some permanent markers." She pulled out a set of black markers from her back pockets. "When Screamy falls asleep, we can sneak into his room and draw on his face."

Knock Out managed a chuckle at the offer.

Thunderblast huffed a laugh at the sight. Bumblebee turned to see her observing the party with a pursed smile. Clobber stood next to her in her usual awkward fashion. "Glad pretty boy traitor is ok, and I mean that sincerely… It's REALLY lucky Tarn is pushing up lug nuts. He would not be happy at all."

Despite her joking tone, Bumblebee caught Clobber shutter at the comment. Whatever Decepticon drama they were referring to went forgotten when Ultra Magnus stirred. "Shoulder Pad's is waking up!" Swoop announced to the room.

The children remained by Knockout. Bumblebee and the others approached their commander, hopeful but still weary.

"Easy there chief." Wheeljack encouraged when Ultra Magnus gazed confused between them.

"Grimlock?" Ultra Magnus asked. He seemed to not believe his own optics.

"'Fraid so." Grimlock chuckled. "We snatched you from under those pompous blue bloods, Sigil and Decimus. The adventure brought back memories."

"It's good to see you again, sir." Swoop said with a bright smile.

"W-where?" their commander managed to say.

"A Con War ship smacked dab in the middle of the Kaon Capital." Wheeljack chuckled. "And if you can believe it, that is actually the best place to be these days."

Ultra Magnus blinked a few times, clarity dripping into his processor. He quickly noticed the restraints holding him down to the table with a steady stream of Energon pumping into his veins. He didn't panic, and if he was, Bumblebee couldn't tell. "It was a trap." His dim blue optics took on a far-off gaze. He managed a pained intake as he studied the stasis pod the Decepticon Medic was preparing. He seemed to understand. "Decimus hinted that Prowl could be saved… then the cages in the lab opened. Everything went dark."

"We took care of Decimus and Sigil." Bumblebee promised him. "We are working on a cure to the Dark Energon virus, but it's slow goings."

"Shockwave almost had one." Ultra Magnus said. "According to Decimus and Sigil's reports I managed to read before… well, they revealed Shockwave was close to a breakthrough."

"Good to know we are relying on that lunatic." Grimlock grumbled.

Thunderblast took that opportunity to butt into the conversation. "Shockwave was tragically close. But even though he stole his work when we sprang him from Iacon, he doesn't have the resources to keep up that same pace."

"That could change soon though." Clobber offered, referring to the mission to reclaim the Kaon underground.

Thunderblast shrugged but added nothing else.

Ultra Magnus laid his helm back onto the berth with a vent. "What remains of the New Council, must take charge, and fix the damage that has been done."

"You still trust those idiots?" Thunderblast demanded.

"How is this your business, chuckles?" Wheeljack demanded.

She crossed her servos. "You're on our ship, that's how. So tough scrap."

"We'll take care of it all." Bumblebee promised Ultra Magnus while ignoring the argument. "Focus on getting better."

He managed a weak nod, surrendering to the harsh fact he had little choice in the matter. "Hold the New Council to account." Ultra Magnus stated. Grimlock and Sludge helped him off the berth and into the awaiting stasis pod. "I wasn't able to discover if the rest of the Council were compliant in Decimus and Sigil's plot. We can hope they were not, but we can't be caught off guard again."

"We'll make sure, sir. We promise." Bumblebee assured him. It seemed to calm him as he settled into the pod. The glass door closed, and Ultra Magnus's pained vents ceased. His uncomfortable expression relaxed.

Thunderblast turned to the Autobots again with a scowl. "You want to keep the Autobot New Council in power even after EVERYTHING?"

"If they had nothing to do with Sigil and Decimus's plans." Bumblebee specified. "If they did, then of course we will dismantle the Council."

Thunderblast scoffed. "Suuuure. I'm sure when push comes to shove, you'll jump right back in line, following orders and throwing us to the wayside."

Bumblebee saw Clobber's shoulder's slump at the bleak concept. "I guess," Bumblebee began thoughtfully, "You'll just have to trust us to stand by you when the time comes."


Soundwave

He sat stiff in the quiet of his quarters, anxiety threatening to crush him. He saw everything Laserbeak saw, read every slight variation in terrain. Laserbeak was almost to Slaughter City. Soundwave had Bridged him as close as he could without drawing unwanted attention from Dark Energon infected optics.

It was early twilight. Dark enough to cloak Laserbeak's silent movements but not late enough for the infected to emerge from the shadows to feed. Once Laserbeak was underground behind the shield of the Bunker, Soundwave would lose visual.

He dreaded that moment.

'I detect the corrupted Energon signatures of forty figures at the entrance of the city.' Laserbeak reported.

'Readjust course.' Soundwave ordered.

Laserbeak changed course, skimming the shadows of an overhang. The ground was pocked with dark tunnels, some dug fresher than others. Arachnid and her troops had been busy it would seem. She was desperate to find any structural weak point in the Bunker.

'Your elevated Spark Pulse is very distracting Master.' Laserbeak informed him matter-of-factly. Despite his worry, Soundwave managed a frowned. 'Rhea, do find a way to ease his worry.' Laserbeak added before Soundwave could chide him.

"Laserbeak says to calm down." Rhea intoned from her perch on his shoulder. Her own focus was glued to the computation device Laserbeak had fixed from her original device. She too was monitoring Laserbeak's progress in the top corner of the screen. But she was multitasking, taking care of the constant stream of text that came through. Soundwave had trusted her to work as his intermediary with the Autobots. They had discovered this was the day of the stealth mission somehow, and he needed them out of his way. She answered their questions and kept them from storming his quarters. She also texted back and forth with the other humans. They were snooping as well for info for their own respective Bots.

'I could scan for Arachnid's life signal, while I am so close.' Laserbeak offered.

To this, Rhea did look up from her screens to scowl herself. "If you want Soundwave not to worry, how about you not try and find the big bug herself? Let's save that for the next outing, shall we?"

He didn't have time to comment in his defense, as Laserbeak used the cover of an arch to enter the city. The joking ended. Through Laserbeak's optics, Soundwave saw the condition of Slaughter City. It had never exactly been a shining beacon of architectural ingenuity before. Now slick web blanketed smashed buildings and torn streets. Still cocoons hung suspended everywhere, like the rotting fruit of some alien tree. An occasional rusting servo poked from a cocoon; the occupants drained of life.

Laserbeak was like a shadow. He avoided the webs, assuring not even the breeze from his flight disturbed the trap's layout. The webs would serve like a hairline trigger, alerting Arachnid to movement and stirring the swarm.

The Bunker would have many entrances for them to exploit. The largest, most obvious would be in the city center. This was the entrance they intended to avoid at all costs. Arachnid would more than likely be here. Soundwave had deduced this from Thunderblast and Demolisher's intel. Before they fled when Arachnid had invaded their ranks. The main entrance had access to the first level of the Bunker. Any Decepticon could use it without higher clearance. None of the other entrances would have similar benefits. Arachnid would have little use for them.

Laserbeak flew for the southern edge of the city. Before the Decepticon uprising, the poorest slaves once called the region home. During the war, Megatron utilized this area as a training camp. With no trainees living there, there was little storage of Energon or weapons. Arachnid would leave it alone. That was their hope, anyway.

The webs became sparse where there were not as many buildings to attached to. But with less webs, movements in the streets became clearer. Laserbeak ducked for cover. They weren't Insecticons. Vehicons lumbered aimless and confused, the dark Energon corroding their outer plating. Some were unable to even limp. These poor bastards remained slumped in the shadows. Many moaned, inaudible murmurs about Energon, pain, pleading over and over for help.

'None have noticed me.' Laserbeak noted and was kind enough to leave out the word 'yet.' 'Thanks to Rhea's contribution.' Laserbeak pointed out. Soundwave caught Rhea purse her lips in defiance of a smile.

Before they executed the mission, Soundwave contemplated how to mask the smell of Laserbeak's Energon from the infected. Even as silent as he was, his own Energon would give him away. It had been a scenario Soundwave could not think his way around.

Laserbeak intended to evade attack when the infected did inevitably smell him. That was, until Rhea requested a portal back to Earth. She claimed it was to retrieve something that could possibly help Laserbeak's Energon scent remain undetected. She had returned with a small decorative glass container of clear liquid. Courtesy of the human Jack's maternal figure, she explained. Soundwave was unsure how such a small amount of material would help mask Laserbeak's chemical scent. That was, until Rhea stated, "Whatever the equivalent of holding your breath is, I'd do it now." Then sprayed the liquid onto Laserbeak. Having not taken the original suggested advice, Laserbeak's intake wheezed in protest. Soundwave soon did the same when the strange combination hit his olfactory sense.

Rhea had laughed at their combined reactions and continued to apply the concoction. "Perfume. Derived from the digestive secretions of giant ocean mammals, plant oils and fermented who knows what. It's about as opposite to Energon smell as we can get. But now you smell ready to hit the town with the girls."

Rhea had been right. The scent was so different from what the infected were hyper focused to detect, nothing came out of the shadows to attack. It was so, well, alien, Laserbeak remained invisible.

Laserbeak's perspective darkened. He bypassed a trembling infected form and glided into a crumbling building. It was once a meeting hall for officers to converse. It also had a secret purpose, the reason for Laserbeak's visit.

He flew to the large Decepticon logo mounted on the far wall overlooking the hall. He ran a generic scan for any traps and found none. With that out of the way, he liberated the topmost crest from the logo. This unveiled the rusting control panel housed underneath. Unfurling a data cable he connected to the system, allowing Soundwave remote access. The complex HUD appeared in front of his own vision, demanding a series of passwords. It was a system only Megatron had ever seen.

He tried not to linger on that overwhelming fact as he logged in. The system welcomed 'Lord Megatron' as it opened. It gave him instant unlimited access. The map of the bunker's twisting labyrinth downloaded before him, but he didn't take any time to study them. He wanted Laserbeak in those Bunkers and out of the open.

With a final long-distance command, he opened the Bunkers. Laserbeak got out of the way as the Decepticon emblem split. The hidden doors screeching open were far too loud for Soundwave's comfort. Laserbeak didn't linger long enough to deal with anything that could have heard it. He flew in the moment the opening was wide enough. Soundwave reversed the process to seal him safely inside.

Then the image of Laserbeak's point of view vanished. 'I am inside the second layer and making my way further down.' If not for Laserbeak's report, the loss of visual feed would have panicked Soundwave more. He knew it was coming. The Bunkers were so impenetrable, (the reason Arachnid could not burrow in despite how hard she tried) most transmissions could not make it through.

Laserbeak had the map as he did and would know the way to the fixed Bridge. Soundwave forced himself to relax, knowing there was nothing more he could do. He glanced at Rhea on his shoulder, and saw she was looking at the same black screen. She let out a sigh of her own before switching to the map of the Bunkers. She was attempting to track Laserbeak's progress as well. "I knew he could do it." She assured out loud. Though she still rubbed her fingers against his helm in a rhythmic pattern, to ease her own stress.

"All we can do now is wait." He added. Waiting with nothing to do happened to be his least favorite activity, so he switched his focus. With Laserbeak no longer in danger, he distracted himself with the security feed of his own ship.

He found his Second in Command in the small shooting range, the Wrecker Wheeljack in the lane next to hers. They shot targets for a while, their trash talk escalating back and forth between blasts. Then Wheeljack 'accidentally' caught Thunderblast's shoulder in a ricochet shot. The range targets were soon left forgotten as the two turned their blasters on each other. Both unleashed fire and manic laughter, seeming to being having the time of their lives.

Switching perspectives, he saw the recovered medic Knockout was with the human Miko. They were sneaking out of Starscream's personal quarters, during Starscream's recharge time. Whatever the purpose for the visit, both appeared amused with themselves.

He found Demolisher in the storage room with Clobber. The rest of the Autobots were there too. They finally appeared done digging for information. Now they were offering a servo to move crates out of storage. They seemed to be as uncomfortable sitting around doing nothing as Soundwave was.

Demolisher was grumbling about the ever-growing human presence on board. In turn, Jack glared at him from atop a crate Arcee was moving. Most of their company ignored his griping. Clobber found herself nearer the Autobots, stumbling over her words.

"Yeah, I've talked to Thunderblast, unfortunately." Arcee answered Clobber from a previous question. "A self-important flirtatious idiot. I'd stay away from her if I were you, Clobber."

"Really?" Clobber wondered, taken aback. "She's always been nice to me… I guess she may pity me, like loads of folks do. But, I was wondering if she ever shared with ya anything she liked? Ya know, personal stuff."

Arcee stopped her work to look at Clobber, optic ridge rising. "Why?"

The simple question threw Clobber for a loop. She stumbled over her words, degenerating into a stuttering mess. At first, she pretended to do work before she gave up on the act and bolted from the room.

"This army's a mess." Demolisher vented.

Soundwave turned his focus elsewhere. He found the massive Dinobots in the wreck room, indulging in their Energon stores. There were other Decepticons in the wreck room keeping their distance. No one was brave enough to confront the Dinobots about their liberal serving of Energon.

Across their table sat the Vehicon Sharpshot and their squad. They were the only ones not avoiding the lumbering Autobot beasts. Sharpshot's crew even seemed to find them decent company.

"I'm glad your creepy boss didn't send you into that infected bug nest to get to those Bunkers." Grimlock told Sharpshot, oddly sincere coming from the likes of him. Soundwave tried to repress his irritation for how the Autobots had gained the knowledge of the Bunker infiltration.

Sharpshot laughed. "We're good, but I'm sure Master Soundwave knew they would have spotted us way easier than his Symbiote."

"Exactly Grim's point." Snarl huffed into his Energon. "Usually, you Vehicons are the first ones thrown at an impossible problem. Paving the way for the higher officers to come through without scuffing their treads."

"We share the sentiment." Swoop snickered. "They always threw us into the insane death missions first. Lost loads of Wreckers. Thought we lost poor Sludge for the longest time until he turned back up eventually."

"War can be unforgiving." Sharpshot said with a shrug.

"Still no excuse to throw you into the proverbial smelter." Slag added. "Most of the Con's on this ship don't think you visor opticed lot the same as them. So, you let us know if there is anyone you need roughing up. We'll get it done for ya."

Sharpshot only laughed, but Soundwave was sure he picked up the slight hint of uncertainty in their tone. The thought of sending Sharpshot's team to find the Bunkers in Laserbeak's place had crossed his mind. But much like Sharpshot said, it wouldn't have worked. All that would have accomplished would be the loss of his most talented arial scout unit. And eliciting the wrath of Arachnid's swarm. But the strategy of throwing troopers into deadly situations would have been normal protocol.

"Why are they different?" Rhea piped up.

Soundwave hadn't even noticed she was watching the screen on the wall with him until the comment.

"They are not, so different." Soundwave said, careful.

"But they aren't equal, are they?" she said.

"They are clones, originally designed to increase Megatron's armies. To expedite the war efforts, we needed a warrior class and servant class."

Rhea considered that explanation, studying Sharpshot on the big screen. "That sort of sounds like a caste system." She pointed out.

Soundwave dissected that for a moment before answering. "It, is different." He said, and it sounded as hollow and uncertain as he feared it would. "They are not made the same."

"The same way Laserbeak is only a drone?"

Soundwave stiffened. Then he finally offered her a defeated smirk. "Fair enough."

Silence between them stretched on. He watched the security feeds of the ship shifting every few seconds. But he had stopped paying attention to anything on the screen. "We became what we fought so hard to destroy." He admitted out loud for the first time. But Rhea was right. That fact was painfully obvious. "I've had functional blindness to it for so long. The Decepticons have descended into something unrecognizable. In many ways, we became worse than the Senate that suppressed our people. Megatron must have realized it when he was imprisoned inside Unicron. I do not know if I will be able to fix it, or even know how to."

"It's never too late to change." Rhea offered in her usual optimistic fashion. "The Autobots changed from what they were before the war. That Optimus guy seemed to have set at least something like that in motion."

Soundwave managed a humorless chuckle. "I never would have thought I would aspire to be like an Autobot."

He focused on the screen again, feeling Rhea lean against him in a comforting sort of way. In Clobber's haste to escape the awkward questioning from Arcee, she stumbled on Thunderblast and Wheeljack's 'sparring' match. She had managed to drag their unconscious bodies to the med bay before either of them bled out. The rest of the Autobots, save for Grimlock's squad, found themselves there again. The Renegade's medic patched Thunderblast and Wheeljack's wounds while they pounded out the details of their rematch. No one decided to consider the fight a threat to their Decepticon and Autobot alliance. It was assumed both Wheeljack and Thunderblast were equally at fault. No one was dead, so no harm done.

Knock Out had filled the roll of assisting in the procedure. He even welcomed Starscream like an old friend when the seeker rushed in. Unknown black chemical markings appeared on his chassis when he woke up after recharge. Miko was next to Jack, unnoticed as she twirled a human writing instrument in her fingers. Knock Out only smiled, motioning for Starscream to sit so he could scrub away the mysterious substance.

Something had shifted amongst the two once polarized parties, and Soundwave saw it. There was no more tension, or sideways glares. He wouldn't say it was trust, but there was a force stronger than a grudging cease fire. Soundwave had no idea if it was sustainable, like Bumblebee hoped for. But he knew for a fact, another war would not be in the best interest of their collective people.

The silence demanded more of him. He was doing exactly what he tried to avoid, and that was to linger in his thoughts for too long without distraction. He had managed to rethink himself into about one hundred morally polarizing holes. One of which was the future of the Decepticons and the entire planet. There were glaring problems he had to address down the road. But above all that, there was a singular topic he needed to stop running from and face. And now was a better time than any.

"I'm sorry, Rhea." He murmured. "I should have been upfront with you about my plans about your place on Cybertron. It spans from my selfish desire to not lose you." Rhea's computation device clicked closed, but she didn't interrupt him. "Perhaps the Autobots were right. I may have seen your humanity as a barrier between us. But in that same sense, my own Cybertronian nature is a similar obstacle. If I did not want our bond to break, I should have found a means of turning myself human." He only added the last observation as a sort of light Sparked joke to break up the tension. But the thought of losing his identity, his Cybertronian heritage, was terrifying to him. It made him feel even more guilt for wanting Rhea to do the same for him. How scared she must have been. To think giving up her humanity, the only thing she knew, was the only way they could stay together.

"Don't do that." Rhea said firmly. Curled up on his broad shoulder, she leaned heavy into his helm. "The Decepticons need you as you are. I don't have a mass of people back on Earth looking up at me to lead them out of chaos. But I have thought about the offer, and I want to do it."

"Do you wish to go through the procedure for yourself or is it only to appease me?" he asked.

She hesitated. "I guess I don't know. Jack was right. In human standards, I'm young. I like to think I'm smart but smarts only get you so far."

That familiar guilt ate at his Spark again. He had confused her, throwing a major dilemma into her young life. He tried to imagine a similar parallel in his own experiences. It would be as if an alien being came to him the moments after he was Forged, wanting to forever change his species for the supposed better. How horrifying a scenario that was to conceive.

"There is another option." He said, turning to take in her curious expression. "I could suspend my offer and remain with you regardless in whatever form that takes. I will ask you again when enough time passes, when you are more confident in your understanding."

She blinked, pondering hard on the edited offer. Then she rewarded him with a sideways smirk and an excited shake of her wrists. "It's a deal."

The final tension had lifted, and he felt the same calmness between them again. "In the meantime, I can get the juvenile crush I have on you in relative check."

Soundwave was about to continue his surveillance of the boarder of Slaughter City. But then he turned away from the screen and looked at Rhea, perplexed. "What is a 'crush?' I'm afraid that is not translating well into Cybertronian."

Rhea's face flushed a degree or two hotter as her blood circulated upwards and she snorted a laugh. "Oops. Had hoped you would have ignored that. It's an um, human thing… Or not. Sort of like a subdued version of what Thunderblast is always doing around Arcee. Or, more like how poor Clobber feels about Thunderblast. You know, wanting to be intimately close to someone."

Soundwave considered that, probably for a longer than comfortable period of time. Then it clicked. Well, scrap. "I guess, I have never considered that sort of thing, for myself." He admitted. "But I never assumed to have formed such an intimate bond with anything other than my symbiotes."

"Same with me, though minus the symbiote thing." Rhea said with a forced grin. "It's something I am still too young to wrap my head around. So, I'll bring it up again, later in life, like your offer. Is that, ok? Or should I never mention it again?"

He thought again. He studied her face, weighing his own thoughts carefully. "Yes." He finally answered despite his own uncertainty. "You may ask again, when you feel ready." Could he open his Spark to someone in such an intimate way? Who better then someone he cared for more than himself, like Rhea. He was glad they had given themselves a reprieve of time to think all this over.

'I offer my congratulations to both of you for overcoming this emotional hurdle.' Laserbeak's voice chimed in.

Soundwave jolted and had to steady Rhea with a hand so she wouldn't tumble off his shoulder. "Report. What is your status?" Soundwave asked when the relief of hearing from his Minicon ebbed.

'Oh, I have located the Fixed Groundbridge already. In fact, I located it as you both began to converse. I did not wish to interrupt. It has taken you a ridiculous amount of time to finally have this much needed conversation. I can now request your codes again to begin the process of hard linking into the Fixed Bridge's systems.'


Rivet tightened one last bolt on the Space Bridge generator. The audience of Decepticons, Autobots, and humans watched his every move. When it failed to start, he whacked the side of the generator with his tool. That did the trick. The machine whirled to life, and he stepped back to admire his work. "That should do it, my Lord." He said to Soundwave in his usual gruff tone. "I synced the Fixed Groundbridge up with ours. Barring any unforeseen problems, which seem to be in growing supply these days, it should be ready to go."

"And this will Bridge us right under Arachnid?" Bumblebee asked Soundwave.

"Yes, but she will be unable to reach us in the Bunkers." Soundwave said. "There we will be able to gain more stasis pods, weapons, and Energon. We will also obtain the scientific resources we will need to develop a cure to the virus."

"If we can sneak Shockwave in past Grimlock." Bulkhead snickered.

Ignoring that unfortunately accurate fact, Soundwave linked into the new Bridge coordinates. Then he opened a portal before them. Through the swirling rip through space, Laserbeak whirled through. Relief flooded him when Laserbeak reconnected into his systems.

'Mission accomplished, Master. As I knew it would be.' Laserbeak said.

Rhea, who still sat on Soundwave's shoulder, pet Laserbeak along one of his wings. "No one doubted you." She promised.

"Race ya in Jack!" Miko shouted, rushing for the portal before Bulkhead could stop her.

Soundwave was faster and snatched her with a data cable before she could vanish into the vortex. "I would not advise such action. The Renegade has adequate life support for humans, but the Decepticon Bunkers do not. The effects to your body would be unfortunate." He placed her down amongst the Autobots. She didn't protest beyond a disappointed pout.

"This is why I wait for the Bots to go in first before I give it a whirl." Jack said to Miko. She responded with a shove into his shoulder. Soundwave gently placed Rhea on the ground next to Miko and Jack. He didn't have to explain she had to stay behind on this mission.

'You may continue to observe our progress through my perspective if you wish.' Laserbeak offered. Rhea's computation device chimed to emphasize the point. She opened the computer to see the swirling vortex from Laserbeak's higher vantage point on Soundwave's torso. Miko jumped into Rhea's personal space to take in the image, desperate to remain in the loop.

With the humans taken care of, Soundwave stepped forward with his entourage in tow. He walked through the portal to the other side. The Dim lights of the Renegade's Engine room had been bright by comparison. A cavernous room cloaked in darkness. Only a few lights along the ceiling and the portal itself gave off a foggy glow. As the others came in behind him, he connected to the old system and attempted to activate the lights. Those not broken did come on, blinking in protest as they activated after so many long eons of quiet slumber. The dim light reflected off the cash of massive weapons, heavy artillery, all-terrain vehicles, and bombs. And this was only in the one room that shared the fixed circular Groundbridge in the center.

The last to illuminate was the massive Decepticon emblem on the wall. It watched over the hoard like a silent sentinel. Carved under the insignia was an inscription. Written in simple Cybertronian, easier for the slave class to read.

"Fight on, my Decepticon brothers. We are the light of Cybertron's future."

A lasting message from Megatron. Meant to inspire survivors if the war ever drove the Decepticons down into these tunnels.

Soundwave found himself staring up at the words of lasting defiance. He tried to picture Megatron in his prime yelling it over a crowd. Even in his imagination, he couldn't hear it. He could only picture Megatron in the cavern on Pluto, hunched over in defeat.

"WOW." Smokescreen announced as loud as his voice box could let him. It bounced off the high cavern ceiling and cleaved the quiet in half. The obnoxious interruption drew Soundwave back to the present. "Megatron was sitting on all THIS?"

"It was a last resort, which he never felt desperate enough to indulge in." Soundwave said.

Demolisher and Clobber wasted little time taking inventory as the Autobots gawked.

"Hey chief!" Wheeljack called. "Any grenades?"

"Three tunnels down." Soundwave said. He hoped it would get him out of the way. With a mischievous chuckle Wheeljack, trailed by Bulkhead, hurried off the main cavern.

"Ug," Starscream complained. "Can you imagine what our old Lord Megatron would say if he saw Autobots pawing through OUR weapon stores? Desperate times, I suppose."

Blitzwing scoffed at that. "Megatron is one thing. But it is a very good thing our old vayvard friend Tarn is not here to vitness this Con and Bot alliance."

Starscream's intakes all but stalled at the thought. He fumbled to put some distance between Bumblebee, as if the ghost of the D.J.D would see his treachery through the many layers of Bunker.

'Who is Tarn?' Miko's voice piped up. The humans were still observing them through Rhea's Computation device. A recent speaker addition to Laserbeak's hardware allowed everyone to hear the question. 'I heard some Con's whispering about him before like he's the robot boogeyman.' Almost by instinct, every Decepticon in the vicinity shuttered. 'Yeah, like that!' Miko added when she saw the reaction.

"I thought he was only another brutal bounty hunter under Megatron?" Arcee wondered, the remark aimed at Soundwave.

He hesitated a moment before clarifying. "He, was more than that. Tarn was the leader of a task force known as the Decepticon Justice Division."

'And I guess it wasn't as boring as it sounds?' Rhea's voice said.

"Far from it." Soundwave confirmed. "The D.J.D was an internal secret police and killing force. They hunted down and massacred assumed Decepticon traitors. Tarn, the founder, and leader of the organization was a murderous zealot. He did not see Megatron as a leader, or even a war lord. Tarn thought Megatron a God."

"You would think we would know more about him if his reputation was that bad." Arcee said.

Though his nervousness was still palpable, Starscream managed a snarky chuckle. "For him to be well known amongst Autobots, he would have to have left survivors to spread the stories."

"Almost all Autobots." Grimlock snickered. "I did a number on his faceplate when we met, and I'm still standin'. I hope I'm still on his kill list. I don't like unfinished business."

"Tarn is assumed terminated." Soundwave said to the Autobots. It was also meant to assure his followers. "He was last reported hunting down the space pirate Thundertron and his crew. That was two and a half million years ago, and he has not been heard from since."

"Megatron never thought to reign the lunatic in?" Smokescreen said.

"No one could control him." Demolisher vented. "It was best to let him be. It's real good he's only a bad memory now. Trust a Con when I say he was even crazy amongst us. And a 'traitor' in his opinion was subjective. Even the highest-ranking officer who may have looked at Megatron funny wasn't safe."

"How did Starscream make it then?" Arcee wondered, which of course elicited a bitter glare from the Seeker.

"He could kill you with his voice…" Clobber whispered to Arcee and Bumblebee.

"And then steal your T-Cog." Thunderblast added with a grim expression. "But only after forcing you to transform first, so when he took them from your fresh corpse, they would still be warm."

Clobber whimpered while holding the side over her T-cog protectively.

"So, be glad he is dead and floating in space somewhere." Demolisher huffed. "He would have taken one look at this alliance we have going, and wouldn't hesitate to rip us all apart. Even with the bugs as an excuse."

The hum above them brought all optics to the ceiling, Tarn sinking back into their collective memories. It was the rhythmic beating of thousands of wings. It was audible even through the many layers of solid metal above them.

"The Insecticons. Arachnid knows we are here." Soundwave realized. He looked back down to his soldiers. "There is no more time to waste on past specters. Begin moving the supplies through the Groundbridge. We now have everything we need to defeat Arachnid."