Notes:
One of my favorite chapters here! lol, to be fair, a lot of them are my favorites. Anyway, I hope you enjoy yet another 4k word chapter!
Also, just another heads up, I will need to be moving this series to bi-weekly updates from here on out. I am going on a humanitarian mission for two weeks, and after that, I will be starting University and won't have as much time as I did before. Updates will still be on Fridays, though! Thank you all for your support throughout this series, and I can't wait to make more and share it with you all. There is so much more content to come
(Again, if a chapter doesn't come out on a Friday, it will simply come out the next Friday.)
(10 minutes after the incident): Knockout
Knockout muttered to himself as he worked on the vehicon currently laid out on the medical berth before him. The mech's servo had been damaged when one of the servo-held drills exploded during his shift. Some digits were blown clean off. But still, nothing he couldn't fix.
The medic was just reaching for a welder when the medbay door lock activated, and it started to open with a pressurized hiss.
He barely had a second to glance up and prepare to tell whoever was interrupting him off before the doors were slammed the rest of the way open with a resounding BANG that made Knockout flinch, nearly dropping his tool.
Standing in the doorframe was Megatron, hunched over, vents heaving for air. Energon splattered his frame, and… Knockout's optics widened as he took in the sight; Megatron's entire right arm had been ripped clean off at the shoulder. Jagged energon lines dripped steadily from the mangled joint, pooling onto the floor beneath him.
Knockout stared, momentarily dumbfounded, frozen with disbelief.
Then, the sheer weight of Megatron's field hit him like a wall. Seething, furious, and dangerous. It pressed down on Knockout's processor like it was trying to warn him of the danger that threatened him. One wrong move, and he was dead.
"L-Lord Megatron!" he sputtered automatically, voice pitching higher than he'd like to admit.
Megatron stormed into the medbay with heavy, deliberate steps, each footfall echoing ominously off the walls. The Warlord's frame towered over the two smaller mecha occupying the room. The poor vehicon sitting on the berth went absolutely still, struts locking in instinctive terror.
Megatron's optics snapped to the vehicon. "Out. Now," he snarled. "And if you tell anyone about this—" his optics narrowed dangerously, "—I will offline you myself."
The Vehicon didn't need to be told twice.
The soldier practically threw himself off the berth —wisely on the side away from Megatron— and scrambled along the edge of the room, hugging the walls like they might shield him. As soon as he reached the door, his metal steps clattered in his frantic retreat, disappearing like his life depended on it. Which, frankly, it probably did.
Knockout, tragically, didn't have the same luxury.
He stayed rooted in place, watching Megatron's advance like— How do the humans say it? 'A deer in headlights?'
There was a long, heavy pause. "So, uh… what brings you here today?" He tried joking, despite every survival instinct screaming at him not to open his big mouth.
Megatron's field spiked dangerously, letting out a feral and frankly terrifying growl. Knockout tensed on reflex, expecting a backhand or a fusion cannon shoved in his face.
That was when his optics flicked back down to the warlord's sparking shoulder where that infamous weapon should have been. But it was no longer.
"I suggest, Knockout," Megatron snapped angrily. "That you stop talking and fix me , if you value your helm remaining attached to your shoulders," he threatened.
Knockout threw up his hands in placating surrender.
"Right away, Lord Megatron," he said quickly, reaching for his tools.
As he turned to his supply tray, Knockout couldn't help but glance at the splattered trail of energon streaked across the floor, a trail that must have led all the way from wherever Megatron had come from. He shook his helm and turned back around.
Cautiously, he stepped closer to the looming Warlord, optics narrowing as he examined the damage.
It clearly wasn't a clean slice from a blade, or a shot from a blaster. The arm was ripped from its place with brute strength. Raw, unrelenting force.
And that? That was downright terrifying.
Knockout's processor raced. Who —or what — had gotten close enough to Megatron to do this and not immediately get atomized for their trouble? The Autobots? Unlikely. No way fragging Bumblebee or even Bulkhead had the sheer strength to yank Megatron's arm clean off like that and live to tell about it. The Prime, maybe? But even then...
Knockout hesitated, venting slowly. "Do you, um… still have the—?" The medbay doors slid open with a jerky screech due to the now broken system before he could finish his nervous question.
Soundwave entered the medbay, silent as ever, holding Megatron's missing arm with his cable-like tendrils. "Ah—lovely," Knockout drawled, injecting just enough faux-cheer into his tone to hide the unease crawling under his plating. "Just... put that right on the tray, would you?"
Soundwave moved soundlessly to comply. The severed limb landed with a dull, metallic clank onto the surgical tray. The faceless mech gave knockout the barest hints of a nod before slipping back out of the medbay, as silent and eerie as ever.
The door closed behind him, and Knockout ex-vented sharply, composing himself. He could feel Megatron's optics boring into him—tracking his every move like a predator watching prey debate whether or not to bolt.
Knockout, being a very smart mech, wisely kept any and all commentary locked firmly behind his denta. Survival instinct was a wonderful thing.
Just because he was the only medic on this rust heap capable of reattaching Megatron's arm didn't mean he was safe from losing a few non-essential body parts in a rage-fueled outburst. Knockout had to patch up Starscream enough times to know what Megatron could do when he was upset. And Starscream was a higher rank than Knockout by far. So he tried his best not to take too many unnecessary risks.
As Knockout worked, more details began to gnaw at his processor. The fusion cannon, still attached to the severed limb, was radiating residual heat like it had been fired recently, very recently. It was hot enough that Knockout had to take extra care handling the mounts to avoid scorching his own servos.
Whoever Megatron had been fighting, it wasn't an easy fight. More importantly… it hadn't been one-sided.
Knockout glanced again at the energon spattered across Megatron's frame. Some of it was undoubtedly his own, leaking from the ragged shoulder joint, but not all of it. The splatters along his forearms and servos told a story of brutal, up-close violence.
Megatron started this fight.
But the other mech?
They'd finished it.
x
(4 days after the incident): Roddie/C-27
x
The distant hum of the Nemesis's engines thrummed steadily beneath their peds as C-27 and Roddie made their way down one of the long, dimly lit corridors on a patrol route. Roddie sighed deeply as he walked, but C-27 resisted the urge to ask him what was wrong. Roddie would tell him in time, he was sure. The mech couldn't keep anything in for long.
After a long stretch of peaceful silence, Roddie decided to speak up about whatever was nagging at his processor. "…C?"
C-27 flicked an optic his way under his visor but didn't slow his pace. "Yeah?"
"I, uh… I haven't seen Danny in a while. You?"
Ah, right, the human. C-27 thought about it for a klik, his helm tilting slightly. "Not in the last few solar cycles, no." His voice was flat and casual. "Why?"
Roddie's shoulders sagged a little. "Dunno. Just… weird, y'know? Normally, he'd swing by on patrol or hassle us during mining shifts. But he's just gone; this place feels kinda empty."
C-27 made a quiet hum of agreement. "Maybe he's busy. Humans are like that. Got their own stuff going on." Honestly, Roddie always worried too much. Soft-sparked glitch.
"Yeah…" Roddie said slowly, not sounding convinced. His claws fidgeted at his side. "It's just— I dunno, it's not like him."
They walked silently for a few paces, their footsteps echoing faintly in the empty hall.
C-27 ex-vented slowly, shaking his helm.
"…He's probably fine," he said at last, though it sounded empty even to his own audials, "probably off with commander Starscream somewhere. No one's seen him in the last few cycles, either."
Roddie's field flickered with the littlest bit of hope, but it was small. "True…" he said simply.
C-27's optics dimmed slightly under his visor, his tone going flat. "Honestly?" he added. "Might be for the best."
Roddie glanced at him, confused. "Why?"
"Lord Megatron's been… volatile, lately." C-27's field tensed at the memory. "I've seen eight different vehicons end up in the medbay just this week. And half of them? All they did was be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Roddie winced. "Slag…"
"Yeah." C-27's tone was dark. "Makes me wonder if Danny's laying low on purpose."
Roddie laughed, "Starscream's probably hoarding him away somewhere. Primus knows that Mech gets in trouble with Megatron often." His laugh faded.
Silence fell again, heavier this time.
They walked for a few more corridors, both lost in uneasy thoughts.
"…Maybe you're right, C," Roddie muttered eventually, folding his arms over his chestplate. "…As long as he's safe."
C-27 hesitated at how upset his partner sounded, but there was nothing more he could really do to reassure him. They just had to hope.
x
(5 days after the incident): Breakdown
x
Breakdown was sitting on the berth, leaning back against the wall, watching Knockout pace furiously across their shared quarters. His conjux's pede-steps were sharp, agitated, and unrelenting. HIs field a flurry of frustration and exhaustion from all the extra work he had been doing the last couple cycles.
"You're gonna wear a groove in the floor like that, Knock," Breakdown rumbled, helm tilted slightly.
"I'm allowed to pace," Knockout snapped back, all sharp edges and defensive pride, but something was bothering him, something he didn't want to admit. Breakdown could read him from a mile away.
Breakdown tilted his helm, "What's getting under your plating, Knockout?"
Knockout crossed his servos over his chassis and scowled at Breakdown, but after staring at his partner for a split second, the scowl faltered into a frown. "The brat's been missing for days."
Breakdown blinked once. Processing. "Danny?"
"Yes, Danny," Knockout gestured vaguely, like that should be obvious. "First, he misses our movie night." He flicked his servo between himself and Breakdown. "Then he doesn't respond to any of my comm messages, and I've had to do multiple surgeries on my own without the brat's help now that you have been reassigned to overseeing the new mines."
Breakdown had noticed the kid was absent as well, but he hadn't had much time to think about it like Knockout had. Breakdown had kind of assumed that the human just had somewhere to be that Friday night, so he and Knockout went alone.
Slowly, Knockout came to sit on the berth beside him. "I know you're worried, Knocks." Breakdown started.
"I'm not worried about a dumb human," Knockout snapped. He then glanced away, focusing on the wall. "My job just gets harder when he's not around."
Breakdown smirked at Knockout, and the red mech pointedly ignored him. Then Breakdown tilted his helm, continuing with the conversation. "Well, do you think he's with Starscream? No one's seen him either."
"Probably." Knockout scoffed. "That human practically glues himself to Starscream's wing strut."
"Where do you think that seeker is anyway?" Breakdown asked.
Knockout tossed his servo to the side. "Slag if I know, not like he tells me anything. Last I saw him, he was getting patched up in the medbay before he left for his 'important duties to attend to.' Which we all know means an abrupt meeting with Megatron." he rolled his optics, then paused. "Actually, that was the last time I saw Danny, too."
Breakdown frowned. "You don't think…" He started. Knockout glanced up at him, frown already etched into his face plate, knowing where this was going. "...That Megatron offlined Screamer, do you?" He suggested. If Danny had gone with the seeker, if Danny was inside…
Knockout scoffed, turning his helm away. "Please. Megatron's a killer, sure. But he's not dumb enough to scrap his own second-in-command." But it didn't have his full spark in it. It was like he was trying to convince himself. "Why do you think I have to patch him up so often?" Knockout huffed, venting sharply through his denta. "Megatron wants Starscream alive."
Knockout kept going, trying to keep his tone light and casual, but it was hard to keep the bitterness from leaking into every word. "Half the time, Megatron drags the mech to the medbay himself, just to make sure he stays online." He laughed bitterly, shaking his helm. "It's a power move. Always is. Megatron just wants to feel superior to someone, and who better than the sniveliest mech we know?"
Breakdown sighed deeply. Yeah. That sounded about right, but frag, it upset him. The way Megatron tossed mecha around like they were nothing. How many times had he seen their medbay flooded with half-functional soldiers just because Megatron was in a bad mood?
Megatron was once a mech that fought against oppression and wanted a free and equal Cybertron. In Breakdown's opinion, being terrified to make one wrong step around a warlord for the risk of being shot by a fusion cannon didn't feel very free and unoppressed to him.
Knockout sighed. A tired, heavy sound. He stood up from the berth and turned around, raising a dramatic servo. "Not like it's our place to contradict the great Lord Megatron." The sarcasm in his voice practically dripped onto the floor. " Primus forbid." He pinched his helm fin between his fingers. "We just have to keep doing our jobs. Otherwise, we end up in a Starscream situation." His lip curled faintly. "Primus knows the only reason I'm still around is because I was the only half-decent medic willing to join the Decepticons. And I started as a cosmetic surgeon." He said incredulously.
Breakdown chuckled, but then suddenly he felt Knockout's field change, sharpening, turning bitter.
"And you..." Knockout's voice wavered —just for a second— before he looked up at Breakdown with something harsh and pained in his optics. Then, like it was too much, he turned his helm away. "He would have left you with those humans. Those monsters," he snarled angrily at the wall.
Breakdown's tanks twisted.
He'd been told as much. Told flat-out that Megatron wasn't going to waste resources retrieving a soldier who was pathetic enough to get captured by mere humans… They hadn't even told Knockout what happened to him; he would have never known.
He wouldn't have even had the chance to find out where Breakdown was, not that the mech would have ever stopped looking. But by then, it would have been too late.
Out of all the mecha to vouch for him, the last Breakdown would have expected was Starscream.
Starscream had gone out of his way to form a rescue team. He had found the human base. He had found him. And then he told Breakdown outright that Megatron had abandoned him. Even if Starscream did rescue him while demanding Breakdown's alliance in the future, he still tried.
Which is more than he could say Megatron ever did to try and gain Breakdown's loyalty.
Though in the end, Starscream wasn't even the one who had gotten him out of that base. It was the Autobots. Bulkhead, of all mecha. The one mech Breakdown had fought over and over on the battlefield, slagging dents into each other like it was all that mattered.
But when it came down to it? Bulkhead had pulled him from that fragged-up lab.
And Megatron, the mech Breakdown had once devoted his life to… hadn't even lifted a servo.
Breakdown vented slowly, heavy in his frame. He'd told Knockout all of it. Knockout had been livid. Had even suggested leaving the Decepticons, just for a moment.
But they couldn't. Not really.
Where would they go? The Autobots? As if that would work. Not for them.
And being alone, no alliance, no energon, no resources, no way to survive for long?
They were trapped.
Breakdown clenched his servo loosely. They were here because here, at least, they could survive. And here, they had each other.
Cybertron —old Cybertron—would never have given them that.
Breakdown wasn't stupid. A mech like him? Built for breaking things, for taking damage, and shielding others. Not someone fancy. Not someone from the towers. He wouldn't have had a chance at anything other than grunt work. He knew that he and Knockout wouldn't have been together on Cybertron, that their frame types weren't viewed as compatible. It wouldn't have even been a possibility. And it would have been the same with the Autobots.
If he was being honest with himself, all he'd ever really wanted was simple.
To drive side by side with Knockout.
Just them.
No war. No Megatron. No Autobots or Decepticons.
Just… peace.
But that wasn't their world.
And he feared…
It couldn't ever be.
x
(7 days after the incident): Laserbeak
x
Laserbeak swerved sharply through the winding halls of the Nemesis, scanner pinging nonstop, trying to track a very specific signal he had grown so close to. But he found nothing. Danny was missing. And Laserbeak didn't know where he was.
But Laserbeak would find him. Laserbeak had to find him. He wouldn't stop until he did.
His wings twitched, and the field saddened with every failed scan, but he wouldn't lose hope. Danny liked to hide often; Laserbeak just had to find him. He was probably somewhere here, and Laserbeak just had to try harder. He dipped through another corridor, moving faster now—faster than Soundwave would have advised for indoors.
Eventually, he skimmed into one of the larger storage bays. The lights were dim, and crates were stacked high in uneven rows. And then, all of a sudden, something caught his optic. Laserbeak spun around instantly.
A smudge of familiar white and black peeked out from behind a half-forgotten storage crate.
Laserbeak perked up instantly, letting out a hopeful little chirp. Silly, silly human. Danny must have fallen asleep back there. Laserbeak never understood the human's strange and uncomfortable napping spots.
Laserbeak zipped toward the shape in a blur, relief and excitement already rising in his systems—
Only to pause just before the crate.
It wasn't Danny.
It was just an old severed limb, a spare protoform arm shoved aside and forgotten, collecting dust.
Laserbeak hovered there for a moment, staring at it.
Disappointment soured his field so sharply it felt like static crawling across his plating. The limb didn't even look like Danny. Not even a little.
Frustrated, Laserbeak let out a small, warbled sound, before turning sharply and pushing on.
He searched the rest of the cycle, going back to all of Danny's favorite spots that he had searched multiple times already this week. But still… nothing.
Soundwave had told him not to search. Told him Danny was safe. Soundwave had access to the security feeds, the scanners, the whole ship. Soundwave would know.
But…
But Laserbeak wanted to find him.
Laserbeak needed to find him.
How could Danny be safe without Laserbeak and Soundwave there to watch over him? That human had zero self-preservation instincts. He was probably off starting a fight with something three times his size. Or worse… And Laserbeak couldn't help him.
Couldn't protect him.
Laserbeak hated that more than anything.
By the end of the cycle, wings drooping and field miserable, Laserbeak slowly made his way back to the bridge. Soundwave stood at the command console, silent and composed as ever, going over security logs with unrelenting focus.
But Laserbeak could tell that Soundwave was upset and stressed, too—he could feel it in their bond.
Laserbeak hovered there for a moment, uncertain, then slowly glided down to the console in front of him. He landed with a soft clink of metal claws, chirping quietly.
Soundwave didn't react at first. Laserbeak inched closer anyway. Danny might not be here, but Soundwave was. And if Laserbeak couldn't help Danny, then he could comfort Soundwave.
Laserbeak shuffled forward, pressing himself into the cool metal of Soundwave's arm. A soft, almost apologetic chitter escaped him.
For a long moment, Soundwave didn't move. Then, slowly, Soundwave's servo lifted from the console.
He ran his fingers over Laserbeak's helm, a silent but steady reassurance.
Laserbeak chirred softly.
Not fixed. Not okay.
But not alone either.
Laserbeak would search again tomorrow.
x
Soundwave continued petting his servo across Laserbeak's helm as he fell into recharge. He watched as the mini-con's wings drooped from exhaustion. Soundwave could feel the mini-con's scanner still running idly in the background. And Soundwave… Soundwave felt his field pulse faintly, heavy with something too close to guilt.
Laserbeak had searched again today. Soundwave had told him not to worry; he had told him, over and over, that Danny was safe. But it didn't stop Laserbeak.
The little flier had scoured the halls of the Nemesis from top to bottom at least three times by now, scanners working themselves raw in desperate search of a signal that simply wasn't there. His determination was both admirable and spark-breaking.
Soundwave knew exactly what would happen if Laserbeak ever found out the truth. That Danny wasn't just lost. He wasn't wandering the ship or hiding out in one of his usual places. No, Danny was with the Autobots. With the enemies…
If Laserbeak knew that, he would stop at nothing to find Danny, terrified for what would happen to him and the danger that he would be in. Soundwave knew that the Autobots don't harm humans and that Danny would be safe.
But Laserbeak wouldn't see it that way. Wouldn't be able to. Not when every instinct in his little frame screamed that Danny belonged here, with him, with them. Laserbeak wouldn't understand that Danny being here, being on the Nemesis, being within Megatron's reach... That was the danger now.
He couldn't show Laserbeak the footage. Soundwave had hidden it away the second he saw it. He couldn't let Laserbeak have even so much as a chance of seeing that footage, footage that almost broke Soundwave. The footage that almost caused Soundwave to rush in there and steal Danny away to safety before Megatron could hurt him more. Danny was hurt and left with Starscream while almost being killed by Megatron multiple times. Barely making it out alive…
His cries as he begged Starscream to stay alive… no, Laserbeak wouldn't stop, he wouldn't rest, wouldn't give himself even a moment of recharge until he either found Danny or burned himself out trying. The sounds of Danny's cries would be burned into Laserbeak's processor as they were Soundwave's.
Yet…Soundwave can't bring himself to lie to the mini-con. Soundwave couldn't. He wouldn't. It would only hurt him more when the truth inevitably surfaced.
So for now… Danny is safe. That was the only truth Soundwave could offer. The only thing Laserbeak needed to know. The only thing Soundwave could cling to himself.
Danny was safe with the Autobots. Safer than he would ever be on the Nemesis now that Megatron knows about him. And maybe that meant… Soundwave's visor flickered faintly. Maybe that meant Laserbeak would not get to see Danny again. Maybe neither of them would.
And that hurt. It hurt in a way Soundwave had not felt in a long, long time. The thought of losing another minicon—another piece of his family—it sat in his spark like lead.
But at least Danny would be safe. At least Danny would live. And that was what mattered. That was what had to matter… it wouldn't be like… them.
Soundwave shook his helm slightly.
Danny was safe.
He was okay.
Without Soundwave.
And… Soundwave would need to keep telling himself that.
Until he believed it.
Authors Notes:
"MY BABIES! AHHH!"
(I say as I'm actively doing this to them.)
Thanks all! Please leave a comment! And I hope you have a good rest of your day.
