Ch. 127

Ratchet yawned and looked at a clock on his desk, huffing, "After midnight. Already. No, I'm not surprised..."

Soundwave twitched and unplugged himself from the cortical patch he was connected to, "Seventh cortical session: completed. Request: begin eighth cortical session."

Starscream gurgled some tired nonsense from the med berth, the patch still connected to his helm, and Ratchet frowned, "It's late, Soundwave. I would think after all that you two have done today, you would want to recharge," Soundwave just stared and the medic hummed, "Or... rest in some capacity."

Soundwave buzzed, "Soundwave: rest not required. Soundwave: optimized for optimal output. Request: begin eighth cortical session."

The blue mech laid back down, preparing to plug in again, but Ratchet stood and went to Starscream to disconnect his patch, "I think that's enough for one day. Six sessions back-to-back would be more than enough progress, wouldn't you say?"

"No."

The medic frowned harder at him, "As a medical physician, I am ending these sessions for the night. You two can pick up again tomorrow once you both have recharged. Both of you."

"Soundwave: upset."

"Well, that's too bad," Ratchet huffed, helping Starscream sit up, "But I doubt Starscream will be able to accurately complete your sessions if he is pushed too hard."

"Soundwave: still upset."

Starscream finally gurgled out a loud, "Frag YOU," while almost slipping off the berth. Ratchet caught him and helped him stand, carefully handing him a small cube of energon.

"Drink this slowly and then you'll need to get yourself to your quarters," the medic told him.

The seeker hummed and drank quietly while Soundwave still buzzed, "Cortical sessions: needed. Progress optimized: one hundred and forty-six percent."

Starscream frowned, "Well good for us..." he mumbled.

Ratchet sighed softly, "I know. And I am proud of you both. But if you do not rest, I can guarantee that number going from one hundred and forty-six to zero very quickly. Keep that in mind, won't you?"

Soundwave buzzed again but relented. The blue mech silently stood and walked out of the med bay, quietly disappearing into the base.

Starscream huffed, "Eager, isn't he?"

Ratchet shrugged, "'Eager' isn't the word I would use. He genuinely worries for you. And not just you, but the rest of the team."

The seeker smirked, "Yes, being beaten near to death by your idol will do that to you."

The older mech glared softly and knocked against Starscream's cube, causing him to whine, "Be nice to him. He's working just as hard as you are on all this. As am I. Since Soundwave is treating me like his partner, I will defend him with all the respect he deserves."

Starscream huffed again, waving him off, "Fine, fine, I get it. Can you at least not be so annoyingly physical in your defense?" he finished the rest of his cube and handed it back, "So, am I cleared?"

"Crystal," Ratchet said curtly, directing him out of the med bay, "Now shoo. I have to clear this up."

The seeker grumbled and marched further into the base, rolling his optics when he heard quick pedfalls coming towards him.

"Scream!"

Starscream groaned, "Primus, end it all now... What, Smokey?"

Smokescreen smiled, "Hey, it's starting to grow on me. Anyways, how'd your cortical sessions go with Soundwave? Bet they were pretty freaky."

The seeker made his way around the younger mech, trying not to snarl, "They were fine. Simple, but fine. He's taking it easy on me."

Starscream hoped Smokescreen would leave him alone after he got his answer, but he wasn't that lucky, "Wow, really? So, like, what goes on in there? Do you two fight? Does he make you walk through dangerous mind-mazes? I bet he has you look Megatron in the optic and make him explode," the white mech's optics widened, "just by thinking it."

The seeker looked amused but was still annoyed, "Wh- no! He doesn't have me do anything like that! Primus, why are you so interested?"

Smokescreen smiled again, "I might have to train with Soundwave. I'd like to know what to expect."

"Well, considering you are currently training with Bumblebee," Starscream frowned, "He'll probably give you a more difficult regiment than what he's putting me through."

The white mech clasped his servos together, a huge grin growing on his faceplates, "Aw, please tell me! C'mon, I wanna know!"

The seeker leered, then huffed, "Fine, fine. Just stop... looking at me like that."

Smokescreen nodded and followed along, "So?"

"'So'," Starscream began, "all he really has me do is walk through various cities. It's almost maze-like in a sense, but he's encouraging my mind to create blocks where there should be none, or in reverse, remove them so that I may press on. Once I find him, the session is over. I assume once I get to a certain point he'll add drones or even the odd Decepticon lieutenant, but for now, just... 'mazes'."

Smokescreen frowned a little, "Is... it helping?"

The seeker shrugged, "I didn't think so at first. The first session was so quick, I didn't have time to notice anything. Megatron damaged a part of me before my mind escaped the Nemesis. I have wounds that only show up in a cortical patch," Smokescreen moved in for a concerned hug, but Starscream pushed him back, "That aside, I have noticed both gashes are beginning to close. It's not a lot, but it's something."

The white mech smiled that dumb little smile once more, "Hey, progress is progress. Nothing better than a step in the right direction."

The seeker stopped in front of a door and purred, "Yes, it would appear so... And would you look at that? My quarters. Good night, Smokescreen."

Smokescreen watched Starscream open the door and walk in, "Well wait, you're not going to recharge already, are you?"

Starscream glared back at him, "... Shoo. Or I'll go back to calling you 'fan-bot'."

The door closed and the white mech pouted, "Aw, I hate being called 'fan-bot'..."