Author: gatekat and starshield on LJ
Pairing: Prowl/Soundwave
Rating: PG-13
Codes: Crossover, Slash, Violence
Summary:
Disclaimer: The authors are only playing with their own twisted muses. Transformers belong to Hasbro. Fandom-side, check the inspirations page (anhrefn-hyfryd .livejournal .com/22919 .html) We draw from a ton of amazing stories and authors you should read.
Notes: klik = 1 minute; breem = 8.3 minutes; joor = 6.3 hours; orn = day/32 joor; metacycle = 6 (5.9285) years; vorn = 83 years/14 metacycles
~text~ bond/hardline talk
::text:: comm chatter
At All Costs 21: A Crack Becomes a Chasm
Hook nearly slammed into Prowl's quarters four orns after Prowl had woken in the Constructicon base, his momentum almost taking the door out as it failed to open fast enough.
"Grab your weapons," he snapped in full cadre commander mode. "We're attacking Iacon."
Prowl was already in motion before his processor caught up completely with Hook's words. He didn't stop getting ready, but he did start asking questions before the Constructicon leader could leave.
Even if the initial question wasn't terribly intelligent. "We are doing what?"
"Attacking Iacon," Hook snapped. "Megatron's orders and your plan from the look of it."
That drew a frown from Prowl as he subspaced his knives and checked the charge on his blaster. He had been working on a plan, per Megatron's orders, to take over Iacon. Had in fact submitted a working draft, heavy with recommendations including pinpointing specific targets, just the orn before. But-
"That plan is metacycles away from being complete, and was meant as a contingency, not immediate use."
The Constructicon shrugged. It rather said it all. This was Megatron. Unstable was a fact of functioning, even if no one could pinpoint when his sanity began to unravel, much less why.
"Ready." Prowl said, falling into the center of calm that vorns of martial arts training with Korrës had developed. The rest of his processor was already devoted to reviewing the plan, working on alterations from the gaps and flaws he already knew to exist.
"How long do we have?"
"If we hurry, we might be there before the Senate surrenders," Hook said as he transformed and rolled for the exit at full speed to join the other Constructicons. ::Attack is already underway.::
Prowl swore to himself, practically riding the Constructicons aft out the door. He was already not liking the way this battle was shaping up.
Reaching a decision he sent Hook a short message with his intent and sped ahead, out of sight in a matter of seconds.
That he had nearly a joor to brood on the frantic drive to Iacon, having left the Constructicons far, far behind. A joor full of increasingly bad news even though the Decepticons were making deep, fast inroads on the capitol.
The only good thing from Prowl's perspective was that this attack was significant enough to bring Soundwave to the front lines once more. His calm, even voice broadcasting commands nearly as fast as Prowl could processes was an intense relief.
He hit the edge of the city, broadcasting an ID as soon as he did in an attempt to avoid being caught in any sort of friendly fire and to see if there were any specific orders regarding his part in the battle.
Not bothering to wait for actual direction Prowl started working his way through to the front line of scrimmage, pinpointing Soundwave as a goal. A focus he found he needed as his optics took in the sheer destruction all around him. He'd seen enough battles now to know there was only one order that could produce the sheer civilian casualties he was now witness to: leave nothing alive.
It was an order he objected to, even intentionally ignored and didn't pass on, when the target was a military base, but this ... this was a city. Even as the seat of the imperial government less than five percent of the population could be classified as Autobots, even using the loosest definition Prowl could muster.
These ... creators killed in front of their sparklings, futilely trying to defend the young sparks that were extinguished only a few nanokliks later. Grayed and shattered frames of artists, merchants, scholars ... all lightly armored, none meant to survive this kind of trauma, lay everywhere between shattered buildings.
It shook the Praxian to his core, his entire base programming screaming in protest along with his spark, for once the two in perfect agreement.
This was wrong.
It tore at him and he sped up, making reaching Soundwave his goal now, deliberately skirting active combat, working his way through the destruction quickly as he struggled to make sense of what was going on around him.
None of this had been in his plan, the entire attack arranged in such a way as to strike armed defense stations with the precision he knew the seekers were capable of while the ground forces subdued the Senate and took over the palace to capture the Prime.
Civilian casualties, while inevitable, should have been kept to an absolute minimum.
This ... this was targeting the civilian population.
~Calm, my Prowl,~ Soundwave's mind finally reached out to him as he came in range of his lover. ~It will be over soon.~
Prowl latched on to the calm, not understanding how Soundwave could maintain such a level of control in the face of all this death and destruction.
Prowl's emotions did not rule him. He did not, even now, display any outward sign of the turmoil in his spark. That did not stop the fact that his spark was in pain.
Finally Soundwave came into view and Prowl made his way to the host's side, settling into to provide protection, monitoring the battle communication and prepared to contribute where he could, even as he reached out to Soundwave seeking a why.
~Soundwave: away too long. Megatron: insanity broke control programs faster than Soundwave anticipated. This: Megatron's uncontrolled state.~
The implications of that explanation were disturbing, adding to Prowl's distress as his tactical computer offered several suggestions to taking down a pocket of resistance reported on one of the Decepticon bands.
Picking the one most likely to succeed from the information he had Prowl relayed it to Soundwave and set to work on the next problem, detaching himself from the sheer wrongness as best as he could in an attempt to maintain his own sanity.
~What do we do?~
~Focus forces on valid targets. End this battle quickly. Take control of Megatron.~ Soundwave listed his priorities.
~The Constructicons are on their way.~ Prowl informed him, sinking deeper into planning and coordination mode as he struggled to find a way to bring the battle to a quick resolution. ~Where is Megatron?~
~Leading the main force assaulting the Senate and Prime's Palace,~ Soundwave answered, most of his focus on blocking and coordinating various comm traffic.
~How close are they?~ Prowl asked, directing some of his attention to listen into those lines specifically. ~If they fall fast enough maybe we can justify ending the attack.~
Or maybe Prowl would see about trying to arrange some sort of tactical excuse to call an end without Megatron's express approval. It would certainly bring the Decepticon leaders wrath down on Prowl, but it was a price the Praxian considered worth it.
Especially since it seemed like he spent most of his time on Megatron's bad side anyway.
A queasy feeling, a wild rebellion of the spark and horror was all Soundwave could pass on for a too-long moment, the host's processors actually stalled by whatever he'd just learned.
Prowl reached out, not understanding but offering whatever support he could, taking the feeling that was overflowing into him and processing it through as he literally leaned into the larger mech.
~What?~ He pleaded softly, letting the battle fade to secondary as he focused his primary attention on Soundwave. ~Tell me.~
~My Lord Prime,~ Soundwave trembled, his mental voice weak with shock that was slowly morphing into a mixture of rage and guilt. ~Sentinel Prime: Murdered.~
That statement shook Prowl as his processor tried to wrap around the idea that the Prime was dead. Even to someone as far removed as he had been the idea was disturbing.
As troubling as that was, his own distress did not hold his attention for long. As confused as he was by his lover's reaction, it did nothing to diminish the emotion from Soundwave or Prowl's response.
He extended his sensors outward, automatically acting to guard them both against attack as sent love and support into the larger mech until Soundwave could gather himself. It was a process that took longer than it should have based on Prowl's limited experience with Soundwave and trauma. It also gave the Autobots a sudden advantage as Soundwave's control of the comm frequencies faltered.
Another comm-specialized host tore into the frequencies, asserting his own dominance and locking it down before Soundwave could recover.
What little Prowl could now gather was from Autobot frequencies as they were rallied with words of vengeance for a murdered Senate and civilians, but no word about the murdered Prime.
It was working; Decepticons required constant and firm control to maintain anything resembling order and all hint of that was gone now.
"Decepticons: Retreat!" Soundwave suddenly roared, using the full power of his telepathy and his comm suite to reach as many Decepticons as possible.
Retreat.
Prowl pulled up plans already complete, formulated during his drive to Iacon in case-
Well, this exact circumstance was not something even he had considered as a possibility. But the idea that they would meet enough resistance to turn them back had, and he pushed a plan at Soundwave.
~Transmit this one. It details pre-determined routes and will divide our forces among still secure strongholds, improving the chance of survival.~
~Soundwave: will try.~ the host promised, still shaken to his core. He stood still, broadcasting on secure frequencies and his telepathy when he could, focusing on contacting cadre leaders.
Even as Prowl began to transform when the transmission was done, he realized that Soundwave hadn't moved. The big mech wasn't even trying as he stood on a high point, in the open, a high-value target for any Autobot who got close.
Reverting to root mode, all of his sensors at their strongest, Prowl pushed at Soundwave physically as he shoved his field at the mech. "We're done. Move."
~My Prime,~ Soundwave repeated, chaotic flickers of emotions, thoughts, sensations trickled through the thought. ~Soundwave: should not meet the next Prime.~
"There haven't been any other reports about him." Prowl pointed out, speaking aloud in another attempt to distract his lover, to break him out this loop that he didn't understand. Hoping that this would work. He had one more trick to try before his last resort of attempting to physically drag the mech before him from the battlefield. "Maybe they lost him. We can find out when we are safe."
It seemed to help, a little. Soundwave looked down at Prowl and love mixed with sadness flowed freely from him. "Symbiots first."
"Agreed." Prowl tugged at his arm gently, glad that he had not had to resort to trying to guilt the mech into action. "But they can join up with us under cover just as easily as here in the open."
He leaned into press against Soundwave for just a moment, his own love and desperate worry projected clearly. ~Come out of the open, please.~
Large arms reached out to embrace Prowl as Soundwave nodded, then forced his uncooperative frame into motion, able only to focus on his lover for direction. If he didn't allow his processors to wander much further, they wouldn't meet the crippling pain of LOSS.
Prowl kept one hand on the large mech, leading him to a place sheltered enough as they waited for the last of the symbiots to return. Settling Soundwave behind the barrier he reached out, in physical and field contact continuously, burying his worry at the condition of his lover and concern for the future as he stood watch until the last of the symbiots, a badly damaged Frenzy, was dragged in by Rumble.
The moment he was out of Blaster's comm shutdown Prowl was assaulted by horrible news on all fronts. Retreating forces were being hunted, hounded, cornered and slaughtered with a viciousness that shocked even the Decepticons giving the reports and demanding help. The command element was virtually absent. Megatron was either extinguished or still in the city. Starscream was too focused on his Seekers to care about anyone else. Soundwave was just barely holding on to his ability to keep moving. Shockwave never was in battle, it wasn't his function for all he was terrifying in combat.
Once more a catastrophic retreat was dropped on Prowl's shoulders.
The Praxian buried his frustration, this being neither the time nor the place for such emotion no matter how justified, as he turned to Ravage for help. "Keep him moving?"
It wasn't safe to stop, not with the Autobots out for revenge, but this demanded his attention as well. If the symbiot was willing to try and keep her host moving in the general direction of safety Prowl could focus on helping the others.
"We'll try," the feline promised and took over pressing her master forward.
Prowl took a moment, correlating all of the data and improvising an overall plan in response.
Responses that were promptly directed over the comms to those free of the blocks, Prowl taking control and giving orders that allowed no argument. His original plans no longer worked, too many having fallen victim to vengeance or still out of touch where he could not reach them. Prowl was forced to plan on the fly, reducing the number of strongholds and directing mechs to those easiest to reach as he managed to begin forming order from the chaos.
This was, tactically, as bad for the Decepticons as it was for the Autobots in Prowl's opinion. Both sides had lost great numbers, had likely lost key command officers and the Autobots had been handed a reason to take this war entirely too seriously. If the Prime was really extinguished, it could be a crippling blow, or it could be the greatest propaganda item the Autobots could ask for.
'Fight against the traitors to Primus, the outlaws who killed the Prime!'
A battle cry to strengthen them before they had a new Prime to rally around. For unlike his own faction, the Autobots would have a strong leader again soon. The Matrix of Leadership would ensure that.
He stopped, already trailing the symbiot and her charge by a considerable distance, and forced himself to look back. The carnage tore at his spark all over again, his powerful processor filling in images that he had managed to 'not see' during his walk, so occupied had he been by other things.
Now he swayed on his feet as they rushed over him, and it was a struggle to regain control for a moment. Finally he returned to his intended task, comparing the numbers of those who had checked in against his estimation of those who had participated in the attack.
The result was pitiful, but enough that Prowl made the decision that there was no reason for him to remain behind any longer. There were other tasks that were more important than a few stragglers that might have a better chance of making it without his interference.
Satisfied as much as he could be, Prowl turned and hurried to catch up.
A light touch on Soundwave as he announced his their destination to the large mech and the determined symbiot still trying to herd her master in the direction Prowl had indicated. At the question look the Praxian shrugged his doorwings in a tired gesture of almost surrender.
"They will not stop until they are sure they have caught or eliminated every Decepticon in the area. If there are some that have not made it out yet they are on their own. We have functioning damaged to see to, and plans of our own to make to prepare for when they attack."
For attack they would, Prowl had no doubt. It would likely be sloppy, disorganized from the loss of their leader and government and the rise of a new Matrix chosen guide. But it would be rage fueled, and sometimes that was all the advantage the other side needed, if a cooler head could be found to shepherd it.
"We need to rest." A glance at Soundwave, Prowl finally allowing his deep concern to show, deeper than his own exhaustion and need to refuel. "And at least try to be ready."
"Black Echo: formidable commander." Soundwave managed to drag himself into the here and now enough to join Prowl in conversation while they rested. "Ultra Magnus: formidable commander. Autobots: not lacking in practical, focused officers."
A quick check of his records revealed details, at least all of the ones the Decepticons had managed to gather and that Prowl was privy to, on both of the mechs that Soundwave had mentioned. He moved so he was touching the larger mech, offering comfort in a manner that always seemed to bring him some, as he responded.
"Neither of them seem likely to initiate a full scale assault, but both appear perfectly capable of channeling the energy of others into such an endeavor."
"Agreed," Soundwave murmured, leaving into the touch.
For moment Prowl was silent, hands running over what he could reach of the larger mechs plating in a soothing manner, offering in a glance at Ravage in an invitation to join them and share. It was an offer she accepted quickly, pressing into Prowl's hand, side and field gratefully. They needed to move again soon, but Prowl needed them all capable of moving.
The destination he had picked out was not his first choice, others being better defended, but it was the closest one, and reaching any place of potential safety was highest on Prowl's list of priorities at the moment.
Hating to ask but deeming it necessary after only a breem Prowl spoke. "Can you move?"
"Affirmative," Soundwave said as he stood. While his field still bled numbing shock mingled with rage, the mech seemed far more steady. "Safety: priority. Frenzy: requires extensive repairs."
Satisfied, Prowl gathered himself and scanned the landscape before setting out at pace they could all hopefully maitain. "Then it's best we get moving."