Ch. 88

Soundwave wasted no time in punching Dreadwing hard into the snow, knocking him unconscious. The blue seeker was now one less mech he had to contend with. Starscream and Optimus, however, were in no state to fight back against the silver warlord that was now running straight at them, the wild look in his optics foretelling of dark plans ahead for the smaller seeker.

Soundwave rushed with his armor as fast as he could and slammed into Megatron from behind, knocking him away and off course from the wounded mechs stuck in the snow.

Megatron snarled and leapt to his peds, running at them again, "GIVE ME MY SECOND-IN-COMMAND!"

Soundwave stayed where he was and flipped the warlord back, stomping a ped into the ground for emphasis, "Lord Megatron: please desist."

"You will not fight me?!" Megatron growled, "You wear armor that grants invincibility yet you will not fight?!"

The blue mech shook his helm, "Soundwave: protecting Lord Megatron. Starscream: has revealed to Soundwave details that pertain to Lord Megatron."

Megatron huffed out a laugh, standing, "So, he has shared his power with you, has he? Not to his leader, the one who shaped and created him, but YOU?! The one I assigned to spy upon him?! HE has told YOU of his power?!"

Soundwave said nothing and simply put up his fists again. In truth, he did not want to fight his former leader. But this... this Megatron was not right. Something inside Soundwave cringed away from the thought of this warlord being the one he had idolized and looked up to. Change-

Megatron swung his sword down hard against the Apex Armor's front, Soundwave still not used to the protective quality of his new outer casing as he blocked and backed away. The warlord used his size and speed to throw Soundwave off balance, then lunged for Starscream once again. The seeker threw up his arms to defend himself but found the action unnecessary as Megatron was grabbed and thrown back by, yet again, Soundwave.

"Lord Megatron: please desist."

"Do not tell your master what to do!"

Megatron punched hard at Soundwave instead, pushing him back with brute force. The assault did no damage, but the emphasis behind it was clear: move. Soundwave side stepped to dodge the hard punches and grabbed the warlord by his back when he tried to slip passed, swinging him away.

"Lord Megatron," the blue mech pleaded, "Please desist."

"NEVER!"

Megatron rushed at Soundwave, the pair locking servos as the silver mech tried to over power his former communications officer. Starscream freed himself from the snow and struggled painfully to help Optimus up, both of them shaking and sparking dangerously.

Megatron saw the movement and snarled, holding up his cannon, "GIVE ME MY SECOND!"

Soundwave shoved the warlord back, watching as the cannon still held its aim and began to charge. The blue mech's digits rushed to his chestplate in rapid frenzy, activating the armor to retract. Starscream screamed loudly for Megatron to stop as the bright glow from the cannon began to emanate at its strongest point. But the silver brute didn't stop; he sneered as he fired.

The cannon still had two fractions of a second before it would actually expel searing plasma. Soundwave was thankful for this. It allowed him to throw the Apex Armor at the pair as a shield which the fusion cannon's blast hit, slamming the Iacon relic onto Optimus's chest plate. The Apex Armor activated as the Prime collapsed in a heap, now protected but still tired and in pain.

Megatron turned on Soundwave, hissing, "Now that you have no armor, will you fight?"

The silver warlord didn't wait for a response as he pounced quickly onto the smaller mech and began beating him hard, scratching and dragging his claws over delicate metal. He focused his assault on Soundwave's faceplate, punching into the glass as the mech tried to speak to him.

"Lord Megatron: please desis- Lord Megatron: please d- Lord Megatron: please- Lord Meg- Lord-please-ple-pl-s-PLEASE-"

The phrase turned from static ridden words to shrill screams as the glass of Soundwave's faceplate cracked and shattered, energon spilling from the wound. Starscream trembled as he left Optimus's side and tackled Megatron off the blue mech, rolling him away and into the middle of the compound again. The seeker tossed the larger mech off and weakly stood as his opponent did, his frame attempting to bulk under his fatigue.

Megatron stomped forward roughy, chuckling, "Are you done running, my dear Starscream? Are you done allowing your pawns to take the pain for you?" he gestured towards Soundwave's broken and beaten chassis as Optimus dragged himself to the mech, gathering him up, "Are they done being manipulated? Are they done dying for you?"

Starscream felt the ice beneath him cracking and shuddering as the warlord drew closer. The seeker looked back at Optimus, who now had Soundwave firmly cradled in his arms. The Prime's blue optics caught his own and Starscream sighed, his voice raspy.

"They have done what they have done for me and because of me, not because I demanded it... but because they were willing to trust me," the seeker said hoarsely, "and now... I trust them, too."

Megatron took another step forward and Starscream quickly dropped down, firing his last missile into the damaged ice. The warlord stumbled back as the shelf of hard ice and snow crumbled and shattered, the roar of its destruction drowning out the sound of Optimus yelling for Starscream. The crater grew larger, filling in with the ice, and the Prime had no choice but to jump back with Soundwave.

Everything stilled...

Megatron snarled and moved forward to dive into the crater, but was held back by Dreadwing, who huffed and shook his helm in a daze, "My lord... we should retreat for now. If you insist on going after him, we must do so carefully and with the proper equipment. The waters are far too cold without protection..."

The warlord growled deeply then roared as he transformed, Dreadwing following his lead, and flew off. Optimus stared into the crater, shaking, then looked down at Soundwave. A pit within his spark grew as large as the hole that swallowed Starscream up. But if he didn't act, he would lose two mechs. The green glow of a ground bridge opened behind him and he looked back, standing with a grunt and carrying Soundwave into the portal, away from the harsh and the cold and the white on white on white...