Ch. 132

C.Y.L.A.S. straightened himself up as he walked down the halls of the Nemesis. He hoped for his life's sake that he was playing all this right. They had a Starscream sighting, a confirmed sighting by the hidden cameras' views, and they hadn't taken the opportunity. But the bigger picture was quickly coming into focus. He had to make that clear above all else. Patience was key.

The door of the deck hissed open softly as C.Y.L.A.S. approached and Megatron's booming voice riddled against the black mech's plating before he even turned to face him, "You have news to report to me, C.Y.L.A.S.?"

C.Y.L.A.S. walked in as his master studied the large screen before him and bowed as he nodded, "We had a sighting at Site H. Three Autobots. The cameras cleared their identities quickly. Arcee, the new mech and..." he regretted he was hesitating but history reminded him why he needed to do so, "and S... Starscream... sir."

Megatron didn't even wince. There was no sound, no quick, belligerent assaults.

The warlord sighed deeply, almost quietly, and rolled his shoulders, "Two Autobots then."

C.Y.L.A.S. blinked, "Sir? The cameras confirmed three Aut-"

"TWO," Megatron suddenly turned, the violent act throwing the red glow of his optics into the shadows of his faceplates, "and my second-in-command! You dared not to notify me that he was present?!"

The black mech locked his legs in place and held his ground, "I couldn't, sir. The element of secrecy and deception is still ours. To have attacked them so quickly would have eluded victory. This plan I have will guarantee his capture and their deaths. All I require from you is patience and time."

The warlord was seething but he allowed his anger to simmer as he slowly clenched his claws shut, "Patience and time are far more valuable to me than you think. If you dare waste these precious resources I am supplying you with, I will ensure to return the favor myself by providing you with a tortured life," he leaned in close, baring his fangs, "followed by a very convincing death."

C.Y.L.A.S. kept his chassis locked to prevent himself from trembling and nodded, "I understand, my lord."

"And what else have you to report?"

The black mech held up a datapad, "Sites A through G are on standby. They will begin emitting energy signatures to draw them in and entice a scouting operation, but they won't move without your orders. I suggest two more site discoveries for the Autobots before we begin the next phase. They will dare to follow, my liege, and they will dare to use every available resource..." C.Y.L.A.S. glared firmly, "and bot... to stop us. That is our golden opportunity. They will simply hand over the one thing they've been desperate to keep from us-"

"From me," Megatron hissed darkly, but he smiled, "Yes... Activate sites A and D. Emit their energy signatures within the same hour. That will certainly give them a rush..."

C.Y.L.A.S. bowed low, hiding a sneer on his faceplates, "As you command, my lord."

"Again," Ratchet nodded, watching the cortical feed from his monitors, "Soundwave is leaving you an opening to the end of it, just finish the session."

Starscream's chassis twitched, but a scowl from within his mind answered back, "This is the fourth time we've run this simulation!" he snarled, "The opening is too obvious, he's going to destroy me in there!"

The medic threw up his servos and leaned back in his chair to sip a cube of energon, "He's destroyed you everywhere else, why not try a new tac tic?"

"Because I already told you: it's too obvious!"

"Starscream's defeat: imminent. Soundwave: imposing victory."

Ratchet smirked, "Now, now, let him figure this out."

The seeker whined, "This is entirely unfair! What does this have to do with fending off Megatron from my mind?"

Soundwave's cortical arena was based in the forgotten city of Vos. He'd used the setting a couple of times now, with carnage, destruction and maim littering the streets of the once proud seeker city, but in this revision it was new, clean, albeit deserted. There was a reasoning to this.

"Megatron: will cloud thoughts with memories of home. Distraction: equalized with surrender."

"Well I'm not distracted," Starscream huffed, hiding beside the wall of a building, "I'm irritated!"

"Irritation: equalized with surrender."

"I'm not surrendering, either!"

"Mechs," Ratchet warned, "let's not get our protoforms in a pinch. Starscream, Soundwave is right. You've been rushing to get out of this. Megatron will use that as a method of swaying and throwing your thoughts, turning them to what he needs. So focus. The exit point is nearby."

Starscream peered around the building to see the open and vacant street but huffed, "You keep saying that! But every time I move to investigate, I'm sent right back to the beginning!"

The older mech sighed, "Soundwave, we've been at this one for almost three hours. Perhaps it's time for a break."

"Negative. Simulation: proceeding."

"Soundwave, I hate you!" the seeker yelled out into the void of his consciousness.

He roughly sat on the metal ground of his once home and dug his peds in. Even though the world around him was fake, he did miss it. And Soundwave was right, this sort of imagery was distracting. One whiff of home and he'd be lost in the remembrance of it all... That was all Megatron needed. To trap him in a fake model of his city, his planet, would leave him vulnerable to whatever techniques the warlord had ready at his disposal.

"Starscream: has surrendered?"

Starscream glared up at the fake sky and scoffed, "No! I'm thinking..."

"You won't be given this much time to think if Megatron has you cornered," Ratchet informed him, "You can't sit and wait for the answer."

The seeker's wings vibrated angrily, "Well moving passed the exit point to start from the beginning doesn't help, either!"

"No, it doesn't, but you're close. You're almost there!"

Starscream rolled his optics. Leave it to Soundwave to make an Easter Egg out of an exit. It wasn't invisible, that would be cheating... The seeker looked up. There wasn't any sign of the blue mech hovering above him and Soundwave wasn't allowed to move around. At least, not yet.

"Ready or not: Starscream has surrendered?"

Starscream huffed and stood, "No! Give me a minute to think."

Ratchet hummed, "Starscream, Megatron won't-"

"I KNOW Megatron won't, but Megatron isn't here and this is training, so I am allowed a moment to think!"

The medic frowned but went back to sipping his cube and watching his monitors. He could clearly see the seeker trying to work out where Soundwave was. As soon as Starscream found him, the exit point would open and the session would be done. But even this test was the hardest he'd seen so far.

Ratchet didn't have the patience to watch this go on for much longer, but these tests and techniques were important so he grumbled, "Soundwave? Given this is just a simulation, can you give Starscream a hint?"

"Negative: I'm a phase not."

The seeker's wings perked and he laughed loudly. Soundwave never misspoke, so it was an odd treat in this stress-inducing run-around to hear his clue in the shape of a pun.

"Clever," Starscream sighed, cautiously walking away from his protective wall to the middle of the street, "very clever..."

His tapped a ped onto the metal beneath him and shuttered his optics. He had to remind himself that this world wasn't real. It was all a construction. As Miko had once imparted to him 'like, there is no spoon!' there was indeed no city of Vos around him, no towering buildings above him, and no solid ground below him, keeping him from falling, or phasing through.

With another deep intake, Starscream clenched his jaw tight and felt himself fall through the fake world. No roads, no cities, no stars above. His optics snapped open wide when he felt a familiar presence and they frowned out into the darkness when he saw Soundwave, floating, waiting, in the middle of nothingness with a smug air about him.

"Session thirty-eight: complete." he informed him, sprinkling the victory over with a smiley face on his screen.

Starscream rolled his optics and the rush began, the tear back into his body as the program exited out and the weight of the actual world began to press into him again, both in the figurative and literal sense.

Soundwave was perky, however, and sat up per his usual routine to vocalize his enthusiasm once more, "Session thirty-eight: complete."

Before he could say more, Ratchet unplugged Starscream, "Yes and we're going to hold off on thirty-nine for at least a couple hours. You two deserve that much..."

The seeker groaned and snuggled into the med berth, "Oh, Primus, make this end..."

"I do not believe Primus to be so malevolent as to withhold from you the only training that may save your mind from a cortical assault from Megatron."

Starscream huffed and turned his faceplate away as Optimus walked in, that same gentle smile on his faceplates that he always had, "That being said, a break from such training is always a welcomed reprieve, I imagine," the Prime looked to Ratchet, "Everything is going well?"

The older mech shrugged, "To be expected at least. This last one was a bit painful, but Starscream made it through just fine."

"Request: forgo rest to begin session thirty-nine."

Optimus gently helped Soundwave to stand, "I was hoping to have some time to talk to Starscream alone. May I have some time to discuss with him? I will call you both when we are finished."

The seeker held in a growl as he heard Ratchet and Soundwave slink back into the base. When they were clearly away, Optimus spoke softly.

"You are still angry with me."

Fragging right he was. Being treated like a youngling. Not allowed to go out. Had his datapad taken away. How was he supposed to keep up with all the excitement of the real world when he was being treated like a prisoner?

"I am sorry for that," the Prime apologized, "especially since I know this anger is partially my fault."

Starscream huffed, "You and Megatron, I swear... And no, I shouldn't be comparing you two, but I am. Both of you want me locked away yet only one of you has succeeded."

"Indeed, I have," Optimus agreed, "so this may come as an insult when I ask if I may share a cortical psychic patch with you."

The seeker finally sat up, glaring at the Prime, "You cannot be serious."

Gentle optics stared back, "I am. I wish to give you something that has no form but may very well protect you should Megatron ever have the opportunity to harm your mind again. Please, Starscream?"

Starscream grumbled and gritted his dentals, then frowned and laid back down roughly, "Just... hurry up."

Optimus nodded and plugged the seeker's helm back into the cable as he picked up the other end, "I will do my best, Starscream."