A/N: Wow, the response both here and on LJ was huge! I am glowing with the praise about my writing. And because I love all my reviewers so much, I got off my ass and did this.

You all know my disclaimers.

Turning Point – Chapter three

Blaster followed his leader in silence as they walked to the taller mech's office. Blaster had a fairly good idea what this was about, and he wanted to get this chat session over with quickly so he could get back to the medbay and stay near Soundwave in case he woke up alone. It wouldn't be fair to the navy telepath if he wasn't, since Skywarp had Thundercracker and Starscream had Skyfire.

Optimus also stayed silent. It was night and most of his crew were in a sound recharge in their berths, and he had no desire to disturb them. They went into his office, Optimus going to sit behind his large desk and beckoning his communications officer to sit down in front of him.

"Now," sighed Optimus, "I know it's been an eventful night. But if I could have your co-operation, it would be good."

"Of course Prime. I expected this ya know," Blaster said mildly, smirking to ease his leader.

The red and blue mech nodded, leaning forward and saying directly, "There is no way of going a nice way about it. Why did you not tell us that you were friends with Soundwave? It is a rather important detail when signing up for the Autobots."

Blaster snorted good-naturedly, before saying, "Sir, I signed up after Mirage did. On my very first day I saw the minibots call him traitor and all that jazz, all cos he's a noble and wants to end the war, ya dig? And I knew Soundwave was a Decepticon. He split not long before I enlisted. To make sure I was treated fairly, I kinda left it out. Besides, we didn't keep in contact after our big friendship breakup. That code ya heard earlier? That was pretty much the last thing I said to him, and told him to only use it if he meant it."

"Ah. I understand your reasoning, but why not ask for confidentiality after you felt comfortable with the Autobots?" asked the larger mech.

Blaster shrugged, "The same sorta thing, that those who I would tell would call me a liar. And I tried to ignore it. It hurt so much that 'Wave chose the 'Con's. But he had a good reason at the time."

"Oh?" Optimus arched an optic ridge in question.

"Yeah. Ya see, he's originally from Kaon, while I was from Draygaz-"

"Draygaz? I've never heard of such a city," Optimus interrupted.

Blaster's smile turned bitter, before he said, "It was destroyed before you became Prime. Now we know it by the name the Senate called it. Slaughter City."

Optimus winced behind his mask and the grim expression was reflected in his optics. No one liked to talk about Slaughter City. He mentioned with his hand for Blaster to go on, and the red and yellow mech nodded.

"Anyways, 'Wave and I met in Blaster City. Right in the middle of the plain between Kaon and Draygaz. Where the music scene was happening, mech. And they had the best communications and music academy on Cybertron. I don't know if ya ever heard of it, it was called the Frequency academy. And how we met and became friends is because they placed us as roommates on campus. We hit it off right from the start. I didn't care that he was a telepath. It was the start of a great friendship," Blaster's voice had turned wistful at that last part, staring off into the distance in remembrance as he talked about a friendship he had long buried and thought would never feel again.

"We stayed in Blaster City after we finished our courses in both comms and music. I was a DJ part time with Wave, and we both got jobs at international Cybertron comm. stations. We got an apartment together and it was great because we were the best mates and the apartment was just our little slice of heaven," the boom box continued, and then he smiled softly and said, "I was also there the day that Soundwave was told his spark had split itself for the first time. I helped him design Ravage, you know."

"So that's how that design spec got in our systems," murmured Optimus. Blaster chuckled.

"Well, I thought it would help. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, best mates we were. It was the greatest time. When Ravage came, it was so cool teaching him how to speak and use his pedes. He was really cute as a sparkling mini-cassette."

Blasters soft smile faded abruptly. "And then the senate began to basically separate Kaon and the badlands from the rest of the planet because of its socio-eco status, and Megatron came into power. And mech, Soundwave did not have a good upbringing in Kaon – no thanks to the political powers that were. His one remaining creator was so poor and had so little credits he could only find work as a drone. Only reason why he got into the academy with me is cos his creator's creator had enough money to clean him up enough so he could get a scholarship. And so ol' Megsy comes along with the dream of an equal Cybertron, and from the first speech I knew Soundwave was hooked."

"Did he ever encourage you to go with him at the rallies?" Optimus asked quietly, intent on hearing the end of this story.

Blaster nodded, "Oh hell yeah. But I didn't wanna. Loved DJ'ing too much to care about political crap"

"Oh…so what happened next?"

Blaster 's gaze moved to his lap.

"He got really excited at the idea of having a united and free Cybertron without the senate, but instead a series of bodies in power who would keep a check on each other. He really wanted what Megatron promised. It was about then he got his mask and vodocoder. I hated it. It was the first of many arguments about Megatron and his cause . And then the destruction of Praxus. I told him it was either he left or stayed. If he stayed, he could never go to Megatron again. He said he was leaving. That one moment, I knew I couldn't convince him to stay. So I gave him the code and said, 'If you ever want to come back to the right side, I'll welcome you back with open arms. But only if seriously.' He only nodded, picked up Ravage, and left. I didn't see him until I was on the battlefield years later. He was already TIC by then."

Blaster concluded with a sad shake of his helm, "And it finally takes something like this. He has no more trust in Megatron, that's for sure, but he feels like getting ra-…violated was his fault."

Optimus hummed in thought, before saying, "I am satisfied with your explanation. And I have a task to assign you. Please, when Soundwave is better, take him in with you and your creations. The familiarity from all those years ago would be better for him than placing him in a room by himself."

Blaster nodded. He was going to do that anyway. Standing up, he asked, "Can I go back to the 'bay? I'll stay with Wave until he wakes up. And then I'll get his little guys and bring them to my quarters."

Optimus chuckled, "Those extra large quarters will come in handy for the dozen of you."

Blaster grinned at his leader, "Just make sure Red doesn't fritz when he see's Con cassette's waltzing down the hallways."

Optimus groaned, "Thank you for that slightly weird mental image, and I'll leave a comm. for Red Alert for when he onlines. You are dismissed."

Ratchet wiped his hands on a rag, cleaning the energon off his hands. It had been a little annoying to fix Skywarp while Thundercracker was cuddled up to the black Seeker in comfort, but it had been manageable. Instead of a neck with torn out wires and a damaged voicebox, Skywarp's face and neck looked as fresh as the day that the parts had rolled off the assembly line. Ratchet looked in satisfaction at his work, but was worried. How far did Megatron go with the youngest Seeker? He had to find out.

He manually undid the interface panel with a special medic's code so it would not alert the sleeping mech's processor, and was relieved to find no damage. Good. That was one less thing he had to worry about. While Skywarp had undoubtedly suffered trauma, he had not been violated in his valve, and would recover quicker than Starscream or Soundwave.

He cast a critical optic over Thundercracker, wondering if he should check him over as well, before casting the idea beside. As stoic as the blue Seeker seemed to be, there would be some reaction or tell-tale indication of abuse. There was none.

Venting, Ratchet debated who to work on next. He decided on Soundwave. Without an interface panel, the mech would be more insecure. He had to get those systems fixed and re attached immediately.

And then after that, before he even thought of dropping into a nice long recharge, he had to fix Starscream, or else the Seeker may go insane from both memory and pain.

Walking into ICU 2, Ratchet prayed to Primus to give him the strength to not murder Megatron on sight next time he saw him.

Blaster slipped into the medbay quite a while later after his talk with Optimus Prime. He decided to refuel and have a light recharge. He couldn't help Soundwave if he was useless because he hadn't taken care of himself. And Ratchet also needed the time to finish the repairs with great discretion.

As he walked towards ICU 2, Ratchet, looking tired and haggard, stepped out of ICU 1.

"How are they all?" Blaster asked softly.

"Repaired physically. What that fragger did to them…" Ratchet growled.

The red and yellow mech patted the medic on the shoulder in a placating gesture. "You're not the only one. I'm as fragged off as pit, but 'Wave needs me. Right now, I'm the one he trusts most out of the Autobots."

Ratchet could only nod tiredly, stumbling off to the spare berth in his office wall. As he did so, he murmured to Blaster, "Be careful. I've had to replace his valve. I was lucky I had enough replacements in stock. I still have spares. Had to use 'em on Starscream." Blaster nodded at the medic, shooing him off to rest. He was thankful that Ratchet had done such a thorough job (as per usual) and now wanted to make sure the telepath woke up with a friend at his side.

Opening the door, Blaster felt a pang of something go through him as he saw Soundwave on the berth. It reminded him when they had lived together as flatmates – for the heck of it, he would creep into Soundwave's room in the early morning and tickle him awake, leaving them in fits of laughter.

Oh yes, he had also forgotten one little detail when talking about how he had been friends with the (hopefully) ex-Decepticon TIC.

He was in love with his friend.

Moving into the room and drawing the visitor's chair closer to the berth, Blaster smiled bitterly. He didn't know how, when or why. But he knew that somewhere between Soundwave's departure and the Ark's crash, he had fallen in love with his friend turned rival. He sat, leaning forward.

"I wish I could rewind and freeze. Maybe if I went with you, this wouldn't have happened. Or maybe we would have both been killed. My main machine, you are one unlucky bot," he whispered to the room. He laid a hand over his chest where his cassette's rested. Rewind and Eject were actually awake, although curled up within the compartment. His cassette's knew of course that he was in love with his split spark counterpart. He tried to tell them the truth as much as possible. Ramhorn and Steeljaw were deep in recharge. They had been tired from a day out in the mud with Hound and Trailbreaker.

Blaster dozed in and out of recharge as morning approached.

Then Soundwave's steady vent's hitched, his body tensing.

Blaster's focus zeroed on the navy frame, fearing that this was the beginning of a bad memory flux for the telepath.

It was.

Soundwave began to shift on the berth restlessly, little whimpers echoing out of his maskless mouth. Blaster stood, reaching for him, but not knowing what to do. What touch would drive him deeper into his flux and which would save him from it? Biting his bottom lip, Blaster hesitantly shook Soundwave's shoulder, and instantly regretted it.

The lash of mental power made his knee joints buckle and he gasped in pain.

There was pure, unadulterated rage in that attack. It was only the first blush, and it felt as if his insides were being turned inside out. His hands blindly searched and found Soundwave's hands. He squeezed them, optics frizzing with static, gritting his denta almost hard enough to crack them as he tried to fend off the telepathic attack.

"Wave! It's me!" he called out.

Instantly the pain stopped, and he sagged in relief. His optics adjusted and saw Soundwave sitting up, visor shining over brightly.

"Blaster?" Soundwave asked softly. As if he was an imposter.

With a wry grin, Blaster choked out, "Yeah, it's me main machine." Hopefully that would do the trick. That's what he used to call Soundwave all the time when they had shared an apartment.

Soundwave instantly jerked his hands out of Blaster's, muttering, "Shouldn't touch me…I'm…filthy, worthless. I hurt you."

Blaster sighed. "No, Wave. It's understandable, ya were in a flux. It's ok. Look, Ratchet did a really nice job on ya. Ya look real nice," he said, trying to turn the visored mechs attention from the fact that yes, he did hurt Blaster, but the boom box knew it was not intentional. He was relieved as Soundwave looked down at himself. Blaster frowned, belatedly registering what Soundwave said about touching him. Again, his spark sank. He kept silent for now – he could prove Soundwave wrong later. Instead, he watched as the stoic mech ran his hands tentatively over his replaced plating. Especially over the new interface panel, as if feeling it wasn't real.

"Your medic's work is really beyond compare," Soundwave said softly. He then winced as he felt Rumble give him a mental kick. His creations were awake again.

He saw Blaster nod.

Why wasn't he running away in horror? He was a Decepticon, and not only that, he was tainted. Why would Blaster, past friendship aside, stay?

"Yeah, the Hatchet's a gem, but I think we've got more pressing matters on our servo's. I think ya little guys are trying to get out." Blaster was no fool. If his hunch was correct, the cassetticons had been in there for too long. They needed energon and fresh air.

The navy mech hesitated.

"Listen, if you tell 'em to behave, mine will. They will look after each other if they go to my quarters. Plus, they will stop wanting to kick your chest glass open and will be able to get some fuel, sound good?" Blaster said in his best coaxing voice, leaning forward with his hand outstretched.

Maybe it was a step too far, or maybe it was just the right one.

Soundwave slowly nodded. He could not fail to see the logic in his counterpart's statements, and so he released his chest glass, releasing his six cassettes.

He ignored the babble from all his creations, controlling his body and trying not to flinch as Ratbat snuggled into his neck, seeking for comfort…

…the hot breath, panting in his audial, the weight on his body, the pain…

He winced. The others were staying well back, but Ratbat was apparently in youngling mode and was seeking comfort that Soundwave couldn't bring himself to give.

"Boss, this is crap!" screeched Frenzy. The rest of the statements were the same. A feeling of failure enveloped the navy telepath. He didn't realise more tears escaped from his visor until there was complete silence as every one of his creations stared at him in disbelief.

They had never seen him cry before.

"Cassettes: go with Blaster. Operation: behave and co-operate," he managed to murmur to them. Sure hands gently took Ratbat from his neck and cradled the youngest cassette in their hands. Soundwave couldn't even bring himself to look up as Blaster quietly directed his creations from his room. He didn't know where Blaster was taking them. There were some mentions of quarters, but where were those? But they left, Blaster casting him a look filled with empathy. It made him feel weak. He felt like a fool again. They left him there.

He wallowed in despair, more tears streaking down his faceplates.

He lost track of time, only knowing that his door opened again to reveal Blaster, sans cassettes – and he was still crying. But when he saw his long lost friend, his soft crying turned into spark breaking sobs. He curled into himself on the berth, shivers and shudders making their way up and down his frame as he hasped and sobbed. He saw Blaster get in front of him, arms held out in front. He approached slowly.

"Oh 'Wave," Blaster breathed. He wanted to cry with the mech. But he had to stay strong. He had to be the anchor Soundwave tied himself to. "I'm just going to get on the berth in front of ya and hold ya. If you don't want it, shake your helm."

Soundwave wanted to shake his helm. He so wanted the comfort, but he couldn't let his tainted metal touch Blaster's. Nevertheless, he did not shake his helm. Slowly, Blaster laid down beside him and wrapped his arms around his heaving and shaking frame. He flinched away slightly, but because he was seeing the red and yellow plating in front of him, it was better. He even curled into the arms, crying even harder.

Crying for the loss of his trust in something he had so strongly been loyal to.

The loss of his strength.

His superiority. He was now inferior.

The loss of identity. He felt like it was all ripped away.

Who was the mech who was left?

He didn't know. All he knew was that Blaster's arms felt so nice and comforting around him, making him calm a bit. Blaster would never hurt him. If he had to trust in one thing when all others had failed him, it was this. He pressed closer, listening to Blaster as the Autobot began to sing a soft lullaby to him. A lullaby that they had composed together when they were at Frequency Academy. It made him ache for those days. He had been so stupid.

The thoughts circled in his processor as he cried himself into recharge, aching, but listening to the sweet sound of the lullaby weaving it's melodic calm from Blaster's mouth and through to his body.

A/N: Whew…Was that angsty or what? Anyway, PLEASE review. I want to see what you think. And thank you to my reviewers so far.