Annabeth
The next morning, we were still a bit shook by what happened. But, life went on. Breakfast was pretty uneventful, as it had been the last two days. Few people stared at Soundwave and his cassettes, most only sparing a glance of interest.
We demigods are pretty good at adapting, so it's not surprising that they've gotten used to Soundwave. Besides, he hasn't really done much to stand out besides just being massive.
Talks were back to normal, not really centered on Soundwave anymore. The Athena campers were talking architecture, Hephaestus machines, and Aphrodite fashion. Percy was a bit more antsy than usual, which was strange, but otherwise everyone was good.
After breakfast, we just returned to usual activities. Cleanup was pretty much finished, repairs were sufficient, and the injured were all taken care of. So, it was just normal camp activities.
However, Percy intercepted me before I could go anywhere.
He asked, "Um, Annabeth? You have a minute?"
"Yep. What is it?" I answered.
"Can you meet with me and Soundwave? I gotta ask you guys something."
"Sure. I don't really have anything to do, and I don't think Soundwave should be too preoccupied either, so we should head over to the infirmary."
"Okay then."
We both walked over to the infirmary where Soundwave was standing. Like the other days, he was leaning on the building with Nico and his minicons sitting by his leg.
While we were walking, Percy asked, "Annabeth, could you ask Soundwave to use his abilities to try to open a portal to Cybertron?"
"Sure. Is that what you wanted to talk with him about?"
"Yeah, but I just wanted to mention it to you beforehand."
"Okay."
As we got to where they were, we saw that Soundwave wasn't busy. He was just standing there, his fingers tapping out some sort of rhythm on his arm. Probably because he's a musician.
"Hey there, Soundwave."
"Greetings, Annabeth Chase."
"So, how are you?"
"I am good."
Frenzy added, "Yeah, we're just chilling. Right Frenzy?"
"Sure thing, Rumble!" Rumble responded... wait.
"Hold on," I pointed to the red one, "aren't you Rumble, and," I pointed to the blue one, "Aren't you Frenzy?"
The blue one stated, "What are you talkin' about? Everyone knows that it's FIRRIB."
"FIRRIB?" I asked.
"Yeah, FIRRIB. Frenzy is red, Rumble is blue."
"Wasn't it FIBRIR?"
"Nah, you're tripping."
"Whatever. Anyways, Soundwave, could you try to open a portal back to Cybertron?"
"Negative. Logos stated that I will find what I want here, and that returning to Cybertron will not be helpful."
"But," Percy interjected, "He never said you couldn't go back to let them know you're okay, did he?"
"I mean, he is right." Ravage added.
Soundwave pondered this before responding, "Negative."
"Alright then. Just open a portal real quick to talk to your buddies back home, and then come on back. Alright?"
"Affirmative. Although, I must do this in an open area."
"The beach should do the trick. Anything else?"
"Perhaps a generator for extra energon."
I added, "I'll try to get some Hephaestus campers to bring one over. That all?"
"Affirmative. Let us go."
They all walked over to the beach where he landed while I picked up a generator. When I got it, I wheeled it over to where they were standing. I saw the crater off to the side, all turned to glass from the heat of the impact. Strangely, the glass was shattered.
Soundwave began making preparations once we were sorted. He focused, held his hand out, and energy began sparking from it. I saw red sparks start to twirl, and it took the shape of a portal. I thought it was working, and was excited about being able to see Cybertron, but something started happening.
The first indication was Laserbeak pointing out, "Aren't Spacebridges supposed to be cyan?"
The oddity in color wasn't the only issue, however. The portal itself looked unstable. It constantly flickered, the edges were frayed, and occasionally the image of a scarlet tree would peak through. Despite this, the portal kept opening.
I shouted, "Soundwave, what's going on?!"
"I-I-I, c-c-c-c-can't, control-rol-rol, i-i-i-it..." Soundwave sputtered. We could all see and hear the effort he was using to try to get the stray portal under control.
Next thing we knew, one portal split into two. Soundwave began spouting grunts of effort as he tried to control the portals, but to no avail. The two portals began spazzing out, yet looked like they were completely opening. When they fully did, three things flew out of them.
From the first portal, two small automatons flew out. One looked an awful lot like Laserbeak, except yellow-orange, various different details, and a chipped wing. The other looked just like Rumble and Frenzy, except red and blue. I guessed they were more of Soundwave's cassettes, and the other condor was Buzzsaw. I had no idea about the red one.
I barely saw what came out of the second portal before recognition seemed to flash in the eyes of Soundwave's cassettes. I heard one of the twins mutter "Enemy" while Laserbeak muttered, "Buzzsaw."