This chapter was written by Dragonsketcher, since I'm still fighting writer's block! Thanks man, I owe you one! Or two, maybe... ;)

Chapter 9: Soundwave's POV

Their reaction was what I guessed they would be. Prowl looked shocked, His sparkmate looked dumbfounded, the solders around me shared expressions of surprise and even prime looked somewhat stunned. He motioned for me to follow him inside.

"You?" he asked. I nodded as he locked the door, with me, Prowl, Riella, Ironhide and Jazz inside his office. "You've been sending the Enigma code?" he asked in a tone of disbelief.

"Yes." I muttered. My feet still held trace amounts of forest dirt.

"Wait." Ironhide said. "You're telling me, that after a millennium, you suddenly turn to our side?" Everyone had the expression on their face that said that they agreed with Ironhide. I turned to him.

"You want to know why I changed sides?" I asked coldly. "I don't suppose you've ever lost someone you love, have you?" Everyone was staring at me as I drew closer to Ironhide. Out of the corner of one optic, I saw Riella tensing, ready for combat. "You ever lose someone in battle? Someone who finally made you feel like something more than a drone?" I was an inch from his face now.

Ironhide shook his head silently.

"I have," I growled, my voice heavy. "Starstrike was my sparkmate. She died in Mission City, giving birth to Hyperjump. She was killed by one of your soldiers. Her death made me realize what the Decepticons are doing." I pulled away from his face. Everyone was staring at me.

"You lost your sparkmate?" whispered Riella. I nodded.

Angrily, I wiped away a tear. "Megatron didn't know we were sparkmates. When he found out that I was a father, he was furious. I was exiled from the Decepticons for months before I was allowed to come back. At that time, I made a decision to create a code that would tell you where Energon deposits were. When Megatron found out…"

I trailed off. Tears had sprung from my optics. I wiped them away. Nobody made a comment. "I paid dearly for my treachery. So did Hyperjump. He stopped Megatron from killing me, but was shot down." I turned to Riella and Prowl. "I must tell you of the immense gratitude I owe your daughter. She saved my son, despite differences in side."

They nodded, looking surprised. Jazz and Ironhide had odd looks on their faces.

Bluestreak opened the door a second later. "Um, Riella?" he asked. She looked glad for the excuse to stop staring. "Can you and Prowl come with me for a minute?"

She glanced at Prime, waiting for dismissal. "Yes, you can go." he said. "As a matter of fact, all of you can go. Soundwave and I must have a word." Everyone left. Ironhide shot me a look that I took to mean that he didn't believe me.

Optimus stood, staring for a long time. Finally, I spoke. "My son," I said forcefully.

"Our medic is working on him as we speak. Energon poisoning… it… well…" Prime trailed off. I buried my face in my palm and let the tears flow. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"I can't lose him." I said, shuddering.

"I understand." he replied gently.

"Do you think he'll make it?" I asked, lifting my head. He didn't appear to notice my tears.

"I don't know." he said, and a look of suppressed worry came over his face. I sighed.

"Then I suppose there's only one thing left." I held out my hand. "Will you allow me to enter your ranks?"

Optimus looked at me for a long moment, then reached into a filing cabinet and pulled out a red patch. He slipped it into my outstretched hand. I looked at it. An Autobot symbol. I looked up. He was smiling.

"Welcome to the Autobots."

I forced a nod. There was only one mech on my processor.

He put a hand on my shoulder. "Let's look in on your son."

At that moment, there was a loud crash, followed by what sounded like the voice I recognized as Prowl's: "WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HIM? Why would he say that?"