Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“And here, since you’ve requested one yourself, are all the mechs who applied to be your bodyguard, sir.” The mech speaking, a frame just barely taller than Soundwave and yet twice as wide, is smiling all the while. She makes small talk, basically thoughtless chatter, as much as she can before they finally enter a room. It’s bare, with nothing but the strongest of shiny metal alloys inside. A screen made of transparent quartz separates Soundwave and his guide from a line of mechs, some more intimidating than others, all looking in front of themselves, not one chatting or indulging in meaningless pleasantries.

Soundwave doesn’t really want a bodyguard, but over the small time he’s been a new member of the Senate, elected mostly by ex-Decepticons and a couple of neutrals statistics say, all these years after the dreaded war finally ended, have been more than enough to prove him he needs one.

Attacks, riots directed directly at the Senate are the talk of the day, but the final straw’s been a particular strain on his security system, from someone who wanted real bad to get into his apartment and probably kill him.

Luckily, years upon years of fighting against the best spies and saboteurs prepared him for it, even if the fast moments and quick, dangerous thinking took a toll on him. He wasn’t used to it anymore.

So he’s decided he’s going to get a bodyguard. Other members of the Senate have it already, and so there’s a particularly straightforward way to get one. The head of security publishes a notice, and who wants to become one can apply. Then there’s a thorough background check of each and every candidate, part of which is done directly by Soundwave himself, and the people who survive all of that as well as a pressuring interview to see how they deal under extreme pressure, are now on the other side of the screen.

No more than five have managed to get through. They’re of different sizes and all hold unique skills.

Many people Soundwave confronted with are of the idea that a bodyguard should be as big as possible, possibly huge, to intimidate whoever thinks getting too close is a good idea and one who can physically parry any bodily harm coming the protected’s way. Should he follow such a train of thought, there’s someone clearly bigger than the rest, but he won’t be so easily blinded by something as brute as size.

“Here they are!” The mech to his side says, with her coquettish smile and too high-pitched voice. “Allow me to present them. The one to the far right is Tailfume. He’s a war veteran, quite like you! He’s pretty big as you can see, and I heard he is quite strong and well suited for protecting. He works solo, and is quiet, which I think is exactly who you may be looking for! Specific abilities include a creating various smokescreens at will, ideal to hide someone while he takes care of an assailant…” Soundwave rolls his eyes behind his lenses and grimaces under his mask, staying perfectly still. Tailfume is the biggest out of the bunch, of course.

The other Cybetronian keeps talking about the candidates and giving her own unsolicited comments on each one, until they come to the introduction of a rather small mech, white and blue, looking focused yet relaxed, staring at nothing and stealing glances their way from the corners of his eye every time Soundwave isn’t looking.

“The fourth, you see, is Nightshade…”

“Who is he?” Soundwave asks, not bothering to look at the girl even when she squeaks at hearing his voice.

“Oh, my apologies! You simply startled me! I… uh, who would you be talking about, my liege?”

Cringing at the title, Soundwave raises an arm to point to the one individual in the middle of the room.

“Oh! I didn’t bother presenting him to you, it’s obvious he wouldn’t be really suited for this job…!”

“Why? He survived all of the background checks and the interview and all the rest, did he not?” Soundwave questions sternly. The other one flinches, but then flips through the pages on her digital datapad to answer.

“I, well… uh, ah! There he is. He’s yet another war veteran. Quiet, too, but this one was part of the Autobot faction, and a noble before this. Crazy, right? I wonder why he stayed here and never went to some obscure, peaceful neutral colony! Suspicious… oh, but I can see how having him by your side would upset you, so let’s just get back on track…”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“You… what question, sir?”

“His name.” He huffs.

“His- oh! Oh. Right.” She clears her vocalizer before continuing, scanning her data all the while. “Mirage of the Towers, apparently. Yikes, this one must have been one quite high up on the social scale when the caste system was still a thing…” The coquettish voice continues her rambling, but Soundwave is now transfixed on the ex-spy and ex-noble before him.

He knows he’s familiar, but now he’s able to say why he couldn’t focus on him immediately, why his name kept eluding him. No Decepticon has ever seen Mirage this close, completely uncloaked, and lived to tell the tale. He was one of the Autobot’s best soldiers, their best spy. His status had changed multiple times during the war, ranging from ‘capture and interrogate immediately’ to ‘kill on sight’ and back and forth.

“Oh, sir, I know. I knew he would be upsetting you from the get-go, but he scored perfectly on everything we put him through so we had to give him a chance! But, I’ll have you know not even those who were Autobots during the Great war were willing to accept him as a bodyguard! And I can see why, I’d never feel safe with someone who can literally turn invisible right besides me. Someone who used to be so rich his family owned an entire part of Iacon, and we all know what happened to them! Really, it’s eerie how he’s probably the only one left… I’ll have him be taken outside immediately.”

She takes a step forward, touching a bright green button on the console in front of them. She gets closer to a microphone mounted on it, and without receiving any confirmation of her suppositions, she’s going to show Mirage the door.

Not if Soundwave can help it. He’s too curious, a part of him wants really bad to learn more about this spy – to see him work, fight, understand his near-silent thought process. They’re too far for Soundwave to read anything into his mind, but even closer, he suspects it would appear completely blank even while working at maximum power.

So, when the mech opens the line to speak, Soundwave instead takes over, and his voice booms in the entire room out of the crystal screen, causing quite a few to jump.

Not Mirage.

“I am Soundwave. The one who requested a bodyguard. I will ask for a confirmation of your abilities.” He says, giving another command to open the door to the side of the screen, and steps out as soon as he can. He mutes the microphone and the mech shouting behind him, slamming the door in her face.

Some of the five mechs bow, other watch in awe, and Mirage bents down elegantly, in an old Towers greeting turned on its head and twisted to appear like the one they use in the Senate. Soundwave stares at him.

“Frenzy, Rumble, Ravage, Laserbeak: eject.” He says, in the complete silence enveloping the room. The compartment on his chest opens and all his minicons dutifully jump out. Even Rumble and Frenzy appeared subdued for once. “Each of you will try to protect me from an attack from my minicons. Non-lethal combat only. You will be equipped with a precision burner, and you may touch my minicons with that and only that. Your mission is to leave a mark on each of them before they reach me.”

“All four at once? Will that even be a challenge?” The big mech asks, with no shortage of distaste for the creatures. Soundwave notes mentally his immediate failure of the test.

The minicons appear surprised too, just letting him know through their bond, and then scatter to the corners of the room. Laserbeak flies from his shoulder above the lights, cloaked in the darkness. Rumble and Frenzy stay close, but ready to pounce at the same time. Ravage walks silently and after no more than a moment most of the contestants have lost sight of her.

Soundwave turns to Mirage, looking as serious as ever.

“You start.”

“Acknowledged.”

Mirage is given his precision burner, a slim and tiny thing he can easily keep in his servo. Soundwave watches as he turns it a couple of times in his hand, moving it sinuously through his fingers.

::Attack while he’s still distracted.:: Soundwave orders through the bond, and no more than a klick later Laserbeak is making a dive for him, right above his head. Soundwave doesn’t flinch. He’ll stay still, and if Mirage can’t intercept hi-

“Apologies.” The noble whispers, turning around and grabbing Soundwave’s shoulder with little grace. He then uses his grip as leverage to jump higher than the ex-Decepticon was expecting and reach Laserbeak with his burner, lightly marking the bird-like minicon’s underbelly well before he could have had the time to hit him.

Soundwave lets just a tiny bit of awe slip through the bond, but he’s very quickly pushing it down when he hears the silent steps of Ravage creeping right behind him.

Mirage doesn’t lose another moment, either. From the apex of his jump, he completely overtakes Soundwave, diving back down from his shoulder as he dashes right past him, his burner still bared, to circle a still hidden Ravage before she can start sprinting and leave a straight shallow line right under her throat. Someone in the audience sputters, some gasp, and Frenzy and Rumble take the distraction in stride.

They don’t even make a single step, because Mirage turns invisible and soon they’re both marked on the back of their necks, letting out indignant squawks and complaining already.

Less than another klick later, Mirage materializes exactly where he was, in the exact same position. As if he hasn’t even moved, as if he’s just been here this whole time.

The other mechs freeze, appalled, baffled. Mirage keeps his frigid attitude on.

“I suppose this is enough?” He asks, in a whisper, eyes still shining with the thrill of the fight, keeping the minicons in his line of sight should they make another run for Soundwave.

He asks a damage report to his minicons. They’re not hurt, Ravage has a thin line right under her chin, at the base of her neck – her weak point – while Laserbeak lands softly on his shoulder, his belly barely scraped.

Rumble and Frenzy tread closer, unhappy. But they simply have matching marks on the back of their necks, nothing more and nothing else. Those superficial welds will come away with some cleaning.

Soundwave nods, satisfied.

Mirage steps away from his side, his footsteps unheard even in complete silence.

“Does anyone else want to try?” Soundwave asks, even if the choice is his, and he’s almost certain he’s made it. People groan, some are still sputtering, and the big mech looks down and to the side, crossing his arms. Nobody speaks. “Then, I’ve made my choice. You’ll be my bodyguard.”

His minicons look mildly surprised.

Mirage isn’t expected to work alone, of course. Soundwave knows too well how an individual’s attention span starts to lag after a certain amount of time without rest. He can’t be asked to keep watch on someone else all day, every day, so Mirage is actually the second guard. The first one is Lifeshine, a newer Cybetronian and yet just as attentive and careful as a hardened war veteran, if more sympathetic.

“I’m glad to meet you!” Lifeshine squeaks happily when Soundwave leads Mirage to his apartment, right in the middle of a tall block of flats. Lifeshine likes to play with Rumble and Frenzy, and the two wave at her immediately, but after that response she’s quick to get to her feet. She offers a hand, and Mirage greets her with a firm handshake, even if his expression doesn’t change.

“This will be your colleague, Lifeshine. Mirage, this is my other bodyguard.” Soundwave explains.

“I see. It’s my pleasure to meet you, then.”

Lifeshine giggles lightly at the ancient manners, yet a moment later she’s diligently showing Mirage around: the best spot to check out of the window while staying seated. She explains what his job will be while in this building (which is the easiest part, just look outside and make sure nobody dangerous gets in) or when Soundwave will have to be somewhere else:

“In that case, walk in front of him but keep him within arm range. That way you should be able to intercept anything coming your way. Oh! And constantly keep an eye on everything. I know it might sound hard, but I believe you can do it!”

“I think so too.”

“Perfect! And… I’m sorry it’s all so sudden, but Soundwave will have to go to the Senate tomorrow, during your shift! It sucks that you only have today to get the feel of things before diving straight into the action… but I can switch with you if you need!” She says, wearing a smile, but Soundwave suspects she’d really rather not.

“That way, you’d have two shifts in a row,” Mirage says calmly, shaking his head. “I do not think that’s fair. If Senator Soundwave doesn’t have any objections, I’ll be escorting him tomorrow.”

Rumble and Frenzy squint at the ex-noble, and even Laserbeak leans from his perch in curiosity. Ravage opens an eye to look at him, sprawled on the curtain of light coming from the outside like she is.

Soundwave nods. “You’ll be adequate.”

Lifeshine smiles encouragingly, moving around to show Mirage how to pet Ravage properly next (a very important skill to know. Soundwave would have told him himself if Lifeshine hadn’t).

“Oh! And do not worry about Soundwave looking… a bit distant most of the time. It’s just how he is!” He hears her say after some more time, when he’s already seated down at his desk and is pretending to work as he watches the other get acquainted. “But he said ‘you’ll be adequate’, which is basically his way of saying he trusts you! I think you’ll do great. It’s been quiet lately, so maybe the attacks to the senate are over for now.”

“Yes. Let’s hope so.” Agrees Mirage.

“So that’s the end of our little tour! I’ll give you my frequency in case you have something else to ask me, but I really gotta go now. So! Bye Rumble, bye Frenzy! Bye Ravage! Bye Laserbeak. Goodbye, Soundwave! And you too, Mirage. Stay safe y’all!”

“Bye!!” The two twins sing in unison, as the rest of the minicons give their goodbyes in their own ways.

With one final great wave, the door closes behind her, and with a skip in her step she starts walking down the corridor and happily descending the stairs. There are moments in which even Soundwave is a bit envious of her constantly buoyant attitude. This is one of those moments.

Mirage doesn’t say anything next. He goes to sit in the spot Lifeshine has indicated, looking out the window, probably counting and making a first estimate of how much time he might have to evacuate Soundwave in case of an attack or of a suspicious someone breaching through the main gate.

The silence continues and Soundwave finally gets to work. Although someone tugs at his side of the bond, and without any movement he raises his gaze behind his visor.

Frenzy is rocking on his pedes, and Rumble besides him is doing the same thing, alternated. They stare at each other for a moment.

“So…” Rumble begins, stepping in his direction. “I suppose Breakdown won’t be coming anymore?”

“He finally went on his honeymoon??” Frenzy asks not a nanosecond later, querying exactly what all the cassettes have really been wondering.

Mirage barely raises an optic ridge.

“Yes.” Soundwave says, just to satisfy the other’s need for gossip before they inevitably turn to Mirage (and, well, that was how they had learned Breakdown was hoping to propose to his soon-to-be conjux endura, so in the end it had been for the better). “They are already on their way to Velocitron.”

“Aw! And we never even got to see Knock Out!!” Rumble complains.

“No.”

“So can we get a photo of them??” His twin asks excitedly. “Please??”

“No.”

“Come on!”

Soundwave ignores the rest of the complaints and begging coming from his minicons, both in words by Rumble and Frenzy’s doing, but also from the other sides of the bond, where Ravage and Laserbeak are doing the equivalent of puppy-dog eyes directly into his spark. He’s lucky he’s been living with them for a long time and has long learned how to say no to those faces.

Even if, when he looks up, the twins have climbed on his desk and are standing on top of each other, and Ravage has climbed on his lap to ask for pets and Laserbeak has glided on top of the second twin, and they are all staring at him with those big eyes that make him weak.

…

So he sighs and puts up the photo Breakdown sent of him and his red racer conjux, and all the minicons cheer, commenting this or that or pointing out a detail or another. Soundwave makes an estimate, that for the next few minutes he won’t be able to work or move with how they’re clinging to him, so he looks at the rest of the room.

Mirage is baffled, eyes locked on the scene in front of him. He notices and in less than a second his head moves back outside, acting somewhat flustered. Soundwave shrugs mentally (as he can’t do it physically, Laserbeak is on his shoulder and he’d never dare disrupt his perch) and figures he’ll have to get used to it.

When the minicons are almost done with their gossip, Soundwave shoos them away.

“I have work to do.”

“Ohh, but come on!”

“You’ll have more time to look at them later.”

“It’s not a problem! I took an image capture!” Frenzy exclaims, content. The minicons then settle around him, on the floor. Thankfully away from his desk.

The day proceeds normally, in the safety of his habsuite. It’s very improbable someone will come here directly to try and kill him now, considering the number of cameras and the security he added after that single idiot.

But they were mostly an odd one out. People are not too angry with singular senators (also because he can’t choose whether he’d be at the top of people’s hit-lists or at the bottom) but with the recreation of the Senate in general.

So why try to hit one, who will be just as easily replaced, when you can hit them all at once?

So, yeah, this place is safe now.

When Soundwave resurfaces from his terminal, from his work and from the grid for a break, he finds Ravage being cautiously pet by Mirage. Laserbeak, still a bit wary, cleanses his wings on a perch above him, while the twins are making as much noise as they can in his face.

“So, why are you here?”

“How’d you know about the job?”

“Doesn’t it creep you out to work with the boss?”

“Not with, for the boss!”

“Right, that must be even worse for you! How do we know you won’t hit him in the back when he’s distracted, huh?”

“Oh, he totally will! He’s a spy! He turns invisible! We won’t even see him coming, heh, get it?”

Soundwave turns to look at said spy. His hands stop petting Ravage, with particular discontent emanating from her after a while, but externally nothing else seems to change.

Soundwave thinks being so blatantly insulted to his face would affect Mirage more. On his first day on the job, no less.

Regardless of that. Mirage stands still, looking out the window, at the gate.

Even pushing his senses to try and feel what's happening inside of his brain, Soundwave can’t make much out of some minor irritation. And a feeling of… familiarity, almost? Not particularly fond, either. Just. Something he’s used to receive.

Soundwave files this for later reference.

He’s about to tell his minicons to quit it when Mirage finally redirects his gaze back into the room.

Rumble and Frenzy stop their rapid fire, all giddy at finally receiving a reaction.

“You are distracting me. For your own safety, I suggest you stop.”

The twins majorly deflate. They quit their questioning, completely surprised. Soundwave can feel the stunning wave of did not see this coming even from here. And it doesn’t quite stop.

After saying his words, he looks out again. He doesn’t resume petting Ravage, thought, which eventually causes her to jump out of his lap and trudge back to her room to the side. The door silently parts just to let her through and she’s gone, soon followed by Laserbeak.

“Traitors!”

“You can’t leave us alone like this!” Rumble and Frenzy’s side of the bond fills with indignation and a pout too huge to fit on their faces (although they try), but their siblings ignore it.

“Come back here!” Frenzy shouts, power walking to the door the others disappeared behind. Rumble turns around a moment, pointing to Mirage.

“Don’t you think you’re off the hook! We’ll be back.” He shouts, before following his brother in kind.

Mirage doesn’t even hum, just keeps doing his job like a drone.

Soundwave fully raises his gaze to watch as Rumble and Frenzy walk away, dejected but with enough of a glint in their optics to let him know they will try to breach through the new bodyguard soon enough. Mirage doesn’t let a single part of his body move, nothing slouches or vents or relaxes in relief. Yet Soundwave can read people a different way, and this close the calm electricity he can feel in the ex-noble’s brain module are compatible with ones depicting relief and calmness.

He takes the moment in stride to walk closer. The bodyguard turns to him, and yet his attention is still partly to the outside, to the entrance, still making sure nobody suspicious gets in or out.

“Can I help you, Senator Soundwave?” The noble asks softly, subtle traces of annoyance and superiority slipping in his tone, despite the title. Definitely from his mood, from the last exchange with his minicons. Soundwave has been treated worse, so he decides he’ll simply shrug it off.

“You needn’t call me Senator when we are here. But, to answer your question, yes,” he says while extending him a datapad. “I was filling part of your paperwork. There’s a problem with your address.”

Mirage appears mildly surprised, but he takes the object and turns it on. He scowls.

“I see no problem. It’s written correctly.”

“That is not it.” Soundwave says, tapping the side of the screen to open another tab. It shows a detailed map of Cybetron, and a question mark right in the middle of it. “This address does not exist.”

Mirage stays still, looking up. If Soundwave couldn’t hear the thoughts in his head, he’d say Mirage is completely unfazed.

But the electricity quickly zapping from one side of the other, with patterns he has usually identified with scrambling from an excuse speak of another mood entirely.

“I see.” The ex-noble says, calmly. “I should have seen this coming. However, I must ask you write it anyway.”

The first thing Soundwave can think, is how perhaps Mirage has no safe place to crash in after a tiring day of work. And, despite his better judgment, his spark clenches.

Then he thinks better of it. Maybe it’s a safehouse. Something he doesn’t want too many people to know. He hopes it’s that, despite something deep in his spark saying something else.

“If I may be so bold, could I ask you a question about the contract instead?” Mirage continues, not giving Soundwave quite enough time to work out his emotions on the matter, offering the datapad back.

“Mh? Yes?”

“The contract only says I have to protect your life. What about the ones of your minicons?” He adds, gravely.

Soundwave’s grip tightens. It’s one of the things he wishes he could change. But the Senate insists on having a bodyguard exclusively for his person, not for the rest of him. Someone dared say to his face that he should just keep them stashed in his chest at all times, and then they’d be protected too, as if keeping one’s minicons constantly bound and transformed is a good thing. But bias against smaller mechanisms is still strong, so there’s not much he can do.

Still, it doesn’t mean he can force that on Mirage.

“Your contract is the same as every other bodyguard’s. Your job is to protect me. Regretfully, my minicons, by Senate standards, are not included in this definition. I won’t force you to do more than that.”

There’s a glint in Mirage’s eyes, for a moment. He wonders if he ever had minicons, if he can understand how it feels to lose one, one you are bonded to. He wonders if he understands how Soundwave feels, living in the fear they may be taken away forever the moment they step out of this apartment because they’re not protected.

“I see.” Mirage says instead, and resumes his staring at the outside world.

Chapter Text

Soundwave runs. It helps that his chest compartment is empty, even if his spark feels so much heavier.

All the sides of the bond, the ones who managed to survive the war, are all intact, but they are wary. He didn’t mean to let his minicons get separated, or for him to get separated from them, but the attack to the Senate was unforeseeable.

They were discussing ideas from the cities, thinking of how they might apply to the population of one ex-city state or the other, when a bomb went off somewhere in the palace of the Senate. Everyone was evacuated quickly, and Mirage was invisible (but had made himself promptly known) and by his side in a second.

Yet Ravage, Laserbeak and the twins usually grew tired of the boring discussions they had in the main room. So, after a failed attempt at leaving them alone in the habsuite which had ended in Soundwave coming back to Ravage taped to the wall and Frenzy hanging upside down by a foot as Rumble and Laserbeak had a shouting match, he’d decided they couldn’t be left there. But he couldn’t find someone worthy enough to keep them in check either, so bringing them out to work it was.

Now he wishes he’d simply made the tape disappear.

::All minicons. Repor—:: He tries to say, but another explosion catches him off guard. It must have been close: the shock travels through the ground like force from Rumble’s pile drivers, but it’s regretfully not him, and Soundwave loses his footing.

When he looks up, he finds someone with a dangerous smile pointing a blaster at his head. They open their mouth, probably to say something, but they never do.

Their expression morphs to one of bafflement, then goes neutral too quickly and unreadable a moment later.

All the thoughts in their brain have stopped.

Mirage appears, right behind the assailant, shoving them away quickly so they won’t fall on Soundwave, pocketing what looks like a tiny knife in the same movement. Then he offers a hand.

“I’ve cleaned the road ahead. It looks like just I missed this one.” He pulls Soundwave to his feet, scanning him with his eyes. “Are you hurt, sir?”

Sir. Just hearing it makes him want to laugh, but he composes himself. “No, I’m fine. We have to get out.”

::Boss! Are you okay?:: Laserbeak asks, his voice panicked. Soundwave resumes his run, this time behind Mirage, who sprints ahead and waits for him to catch up, looking for threats all the while.

::Yes. I had a hiccup, but I’m fine. Where are the others?::

::I’m out.:: Ravage says, whispering. She may have gotten out, but it sounds like she may be hurt by the way she’s heaving.

::And I’m fine! I flew out of a window.:: Laserbeak adds.

For some more time, his heavy venting is the only sound he can hear.

::What about the twins? Do you have any news?::

::They were behind me,:: Ravage answers, ::but I think something fell down and we were separated.::

Soundwave’s spark skips a beat, enough of a liability for him to stumble, causing Mirage to have to sprint back to him in order to keep him on his pedes.

“Come on. We’re almost out.”

“Rumble… Frenzy…” Is everything Soundwave can get himself to say, as he’s picked back up and hesitantly resumes his run, heavier than he’d be even with all his minicons in his compartment.

“We have to go!” Mirage urges. Sadly, Soundwave knows too well what safe windows of opportunity are, so he forces himself to keep going while keeping a worried glance at the states of the bond all the while.

It’s still active. Which means they are all still alive. But for how long? Can the twins even get out by themselves?

Finally, they reach the door. Mirage opens it with his shoulder, and even if it’s large and heavy he has enough force with his sprint and Soundwave’s mass to slam it open.

Outside, the smell of smoke and a particularly uninviting gray hue greet them. Then there’s the blasting sounds, the police siren, a bunch of mechs trying to contain the flames and stabilize the structure before it falls down on any more people. There’s a few other mechs too, a bit further away: medics, flanked by armed police officers on all sides.

Mirage redirects them there.

A blue, broad medic comes to meet them halfway.

“This is Senator Soundwave,” Mirage explains quickly, “he wasn’t caught in the explosion, but I need him in a protected space.”

The doctor nods.

“I’m Velocity, a medic. This is the most protected place at the moment, but I think most of the people who attacked the senate have been arrested.” She explains, pointing to a blue and white police bot, looking around and yet showing off a brand which Soundwave hasn’t seen in a long while: a Rescue Bot. The medic doesn’t let him stare for long, taking Soundwave from the bodyguard’s arms instead.

He reaches back, looking at a column of fire that’s slowly engorging a side of the Senate. What if they’re right there?

Laserbeak glides down to land on his shoulder, and Ravage zig zags through the legs of taller Cybetronians to purr against his. He’s glad they’re there, but…

Velocity yelps, almost losing her grip on him.

“Don’t worry.” Mirage says, and when Soundwave looks at him he finds his battle protocols winding down after a particularly high spike of electricity in his processor. He barely has time to get out of a battle pose. “They’re just his minicons. I’m leaving him in your hands.”

With that, he turns around and disappears.

“Wait—!” Velocity tries to call him, but he’s already gone. He’s so deep in his stealth mods that Soundwave can’t pick up the energy signals from his body either, not with so many distractions around him. He gives up on his endeavor soon enough as Velocity jostles him up on a medberth with surprising strength and starts to ask usual triage questions.

Soundwave himself wasn’t hurt, he just got a scare (and he’s been in much more terrifying situations) so now his number one priority is trying to find Rumble and Frenzy.

Logically, he knows they’re tougher than this. They didn’t survive a whole war just to be done in by some fire. But they still aren’t replying to his hails, and he doesn’t know what to think. They’re online, thankfully, but what if they’re unconscious, trapped under some pieces of rubble while their sparks slowly extinguish like when he met them for the first time?

It’s a horrible scenario, and yet it’s everything his head can come up with. Laserbeak and Ravage nuzzle him, try to comfort him, but they can’t fully hide their own worry either.

“Everything’s in working order.” Velocity says, after watching their scene. “Do you want me to take a look at them, too?” She points to the two minicons.

After a quick inquiry to them, he nods. Velocity seems mindful of the need they all share to be together. She does her quick examination on Ravage while letting her stay in Soundwave’s lap, and the same goes for Laserbeak. She deems them healthy and unscathed, they just need some fresh air after inhaling all that smoke.

Soundwave’s eyes haven’t left the building all this time. Just as the flames start to die down and the commotion also calms, after a green Rescue Bot deems the building to be safe and not in danger of collapsing on itself anymore, he thinks it’s over.

Mirage isn’t back, but he’s smarter than dying in a fire to find two minicons who he holds no responsibility for. He’s probably hidden somewhere, still protecting him, and Rumble and Frenzy may just as well be done for. He expects a fire-fighter Rescue Bot to come out with their limp bodies in tow.

Instead he hears one of them shout.

“What the?! Hey, you— you weren’t supposed to be in there!” A red Rescue Bot, previously spraying water from his knuckles, turns to try and grab a slippery figure, but said figure just disappears into thin air.

A few hurried steps later, Mirage reappears in front of Soundwave, smelling of smoke and with an aura of feverishly hot air around him, arms crossed in front of himself holding two tiny mincons. One red and one blue.

“They’re alive.” He breathes, before turning to give them immediately to Velocity, who starts fussing over them in the blink of an eye.

Then he comes back around, heads for Soundwave again and opens his mouth to say something, before being body blocked by an orange mech, who, from the giant propeller on his back, can only be a helicopter and also a very twitchy medic right now.

“What were you thinking?” He says, words not really angry, mostly very concerned. “What you did was extremely dangerous! My team leader thought you vanished from the heat! Come here, ouch!”

He shouts he very moment he touches Mirage, and that’s saying something because even the bodyguard looks in pain from excessive heat. The helicopter decides to spray him with some foam, that for anything seem to make Mirage even more uncomfortable, but Soundwave can feel an air of chilliness traveling all around him too. Only now he notices how his whites were leaning towards pink by how heated he was.

He manages to send a single thank you through his comms, one Mirage can only acknowledge as he’s directed to another small moving medbay nearby by the orange medic.

Then he looks at Rumble, while Frenzy is being cared for.

“Sorry,” he murmurs, “something fell on us and busted our comms. But eventually… Mirage dug us out.”

Soundwave looks over at where he was redirected. The orange medic is fussing over him, scolding him for being so reckless. Yet Mirage stands still and lets himself be healed with some hasty first aid.

They all reunite some time later under the protection of the forces of order. Lifeshine comes in as soon as she can, in a hurry, apologizing profusely to Mirage, whose prognosis is no use of his engine until they’re sure everything has cooled down properly and all the delicate, tiny pieces are working correctly.

Remembering their earlier conversation about Mirage’s abitation, Soundwave offers him a place to stay, trying to sell it by saying that his habsuite is the closest one, and he doesn’t want him walking all the way to his home.

“I appreciate the offer, but it’s not necessary. Besides, I believe I’m late already.”

He makes a show of walking a few paces as they watch him.

Then he turns invisible, and Soundwave can clearly hear the burning of rubber.

When Lifeshine leaves, and Mirage steps into the room the next day, he doesn’t look too alright. Despite that, Soundwave can’t for the life of him point out what’s wrong. He has his usual calm attitude, the frigid and detached mask he always wears, and yet there’s something making him appear… more tired than usual, at least.

He nods, polite as always, and goes to stand near the window. Rumble and Frenzy are working on their next prank, in the middle of coming up with something that will make the ex-noble spill some delicious secrets – and even they stop, right as they’re stepping through the door connecting the main chamber to their room, worried.

Soundwave has never really been one to understand the emotions that plague one’s other mind. He can use his powers, and understand how the electricity flows in one’s brain module and body, but he lacks the rest of the physical cues, and with Mirage keeping himself so shut in and quiet, it’s hard for Soundwave to understand anything.

He’s not alone, at least. He looks over to the twins, inquiring them through the bond.

::I don’t really know.:: Frenzy replies, shrugging and nodding at Mirage’s polite if curt greeting. ::But you feel it too, right? There’s just something wrong.::

::I think it’s like how people in the pits used to look.:: Rumble says after one more moment. ::Looks like he’d need a lot more rest. Or something different to do.::

Ravage, unheard, walks in. Acting like a true feline, and if Soundwave didn’t know any better very interested in Mirage and in the detached but lovely pets, she heads right for the bodyguard. Mirage, without flinching, lets her climb in his open arms, sitting by the windowsill when Soundwave gives him a gesture.

There’s something wrong in the way he sits.

Mirage is usually poised, his movements practiced and perfect. Yet this time he almost stumbles, falling with a bit less grace than what Soundwave has become used to. Ravage, quickly sitting on him, abruptly retracts a paw.

::He flinched.:: She explains, putting it back down more carefully, this time not completely on his lap. Mirage tries to distract her with a couple of scratches right on her head, behind her ears, and even if they work really well Ravage keeps on high alert, ready to tell Soundwave if there’s something else that’s weird.

Laserbeak flies around the room, quietly as Soundwave resumes his work and Mirage continues observing the outside world. He stops on a perch near the window.

“Would you like to go outside?” Mirage asks, calmly, in a hushed whisper in order not to bother Soundwave.

Laserbeak observes him for a moment, but then he shakes his head and wings. A no, which Mirage seems to understand as he looks back down.

::Why not?:: Soundwave asks through the bond, working inefficiently.

::I have a vantage point.:: Laserbeak explains, in his high-pitched internal voice Soundwave can understand. ::I see his paint flickering.::

::A trick of the light?::

::Probably something connected to his ability instead.::

Soundwave frowns. ::What do you mean?::

::He turns invisible, does he not? I think he’s using that ability to hide something he doesn’t want us to see.::

Ravage sniffs, content under the pets. Then her nose scrunches at some point, stopping her purring. Then, she continues, although the movements and noises feel slightly off. Her vibrations are off too, and Soundwave looks pointedly at her.

::Laserbeak’s right,:: she says after a while, ::I’m smelling energon on him. Fresh.::

::A leaking wound?:: Soundwave asks, rather surprised. As far as he could see, Mirage wasn’t that hurt yesterday.

::Not right now, but there surely was more. He’s still covered in it, I can smell it under some cheap solvent.::

::Oh! That’s what was off!:: Rumble says, starting to move to the other side of the room and dragging his brother along when he realizes they’ve been staring at the bodyguard for quite a while. ::I think he was limping.::

::True!:: Frenzy chimes in after him, following his brother. ::His left leg! Or… uh, our left? But still his leg. Point is, that one. That leg, it’s not legging right.::

::Perhaps from the last attack on the senate?:: Soundwave inquiries.

::But that helicopter medic had it covered!:: Rumble exclaims.

::Yeah, but Mirage also ran away in a rush. Maybe he got in a car crash on his way home? He said he was late for something.:: Laserbeak continues.

::Unlikely,:: Soundwave sentences, ::he would be in a lot more pain if so. I don’t think he would have been able to come here, he’s a light frame. He either evades what’s coming at him or he breaks.::

::Then it must be something the medic missed.:: Frenzy points out.

::But that’s even weirder. He wasn’t limping yesterday,:: Rumble frowns, ::and he was running fine when he rescued us too. No, it’s simply too weird.::

::But if you look at him now, he’s calm. He doesn’t look in any pain at all.:: Laserbeak says.

::Until I try to get comfortable.:: Ravage huffs, barely stretching. Mirage winces mutely again. ::Case and point.::

::Then there is only one option. Something happened after he left us, and that got him hurt.:: Soundwave switches back to watching Mirage, still petting Ravage. Most of the minicon’s weight is put on one leg, and not the other, and Mirage has externalized discomfort when the minicon tried to sit there.

The ex-noble, his gaze still looking out of the window, to the entrance, asks in the dead silence:

“Is there something you’d like to ask?”

It’s not particularly threatening, but Soundwave wouldn’t say it lacks any bite either. They were obvious, they didn’t try to hide their internal monologuing and conversations at all. Not like they did in the war.

“Are you alright?” He decides to ask. Mirage looks mildly surprised for a moment. Maybe he didn’t expect something so straightforward. Maybe he hadn’t anticipated him being the center of their conversation (even if Soundwave deems it rather unlikely). The quick zaps of electricity in his brain take roughly a second to settle back down.

“I’m well enough to do my job, sir.”

“That is not what I asked.”

“I am fine.”

“Your leg is hurt.”

Mirage stutters his complaint, snapping his head to Soundwave.

“You limped when you came in.” The fingers caressing Ravage’s back get stiffer, but Mirage understand quickly that if he tries to lie, it’ll be very hard to be convincing with the minicon right on top of him. So he sighs. “What happened?”

“Your inquiries regarding my well being are… appreciated.” He says, speaking in a perfect vorn-old accent, his original and commanding one from the Towers. It almost makes Soundwave flinch, certainly some minicons hide their reaction better than others, and yet it feels more like a defensive mechanism, a distraction. A deflection. “However, they are personal matters. I promise you they will not hinder my job here today.”

“I was not implying that.” Soundwave replies.

“I imagined so and was simply stating my view. In any case, please do refrain from asking questions about my life outside work.”

Soundwave fights his gaze, but Mirage’s yellow optics are as cold as they can be. He resumes petting Ravage, yet this time the movement is more mechanical than anything, and little by little his optics fly back to the main gate, taciturn.

They don’t speak one more word until the end of Mirage’s shift. Mirage sees Lifeshine come through the gate, so he graciously pushes Ravage away and begins to stand up, helping himself with his hands in order not to put weight on his injured leg.

“Mirage.”

“Mh?” He asks, still somewhat unreadable.

“It’s payment day.” Soundwave explains, going to meet him halfway through the door. He holds shanix in his hand, ready to be given. He usually gives Lifeshine hers by putting them on her account, but Mirage hasn’t provided coordinates for his.

The ex-noble looks aghast, as if he’s surprised by the prospect of being paid after doing this little, but he nods. Soundwave counts the money in front of him, so they’re both sure it’s what they agreed on, and Mirage takes them in his hand and puts them in his subspace with a curt thanks, before continuing on his way.

When the ex-noble leaves, still limping and this time it’s not something Soundwave can choose to ignore, the twins still look worried and baffled, maybe slightly guilty under all the other emotions, even if it’s not their fault.

Soundwave should have foreseen Mirage’s closed door, considering the conversation they had about his residence. He decides it’s time to do something about it, as Mirage walks past the main gate and Lifeshine waves happily to the rest of the room, not missing Rumble and Frenzy’s pensive mood. Soundwave looks at Ravage.

::You can say no, if you don’t wish to go. I can send Laserbeak.::

::I’ll follow him.:: His most trusted minicon replies, stretching her body. She starts unused and old stealth mods, and springs out of the window the moment Soundwave opens it, followed closely by Laserbeak. The bird-like minicon likes to take long soaring flights as it’s turning into night, but he suspects there is something more behind it by the way Laserbeak flies so close to his sister.

::Be careful. Stay away so not both of you will be caught.:: Soundwave advises.

He watches as they disappear into the sunset, following a bright blue sports car running down the road.

Chapter Text

Ravage follows Mirage through a maze of buildings, shady pathways and gloomy staircases, leading to the bottoms of Iacon. This place already smells of rancid. Everyone living in the city, but this was true before and after the war alike, always paints it like a clean, safe space. She knows even the smallest, most inconspicuous things can hold a dark secret, but she didn’t expect it to be this big. Like a whole other, shadier city hiding just under Iacon.

The slick racer slips in between two other mechs, already looking very drunk, who spare no more than a second at trying to grip him. When they turn to try and finish the job Ravage herself has lost sight of him and ends up relying on smell to figure which of the dark doors he’s opened and walked into.

::Be careful. I don’t like these places.:: Laserbeak whispers through the bond.

::There isn’t any open air here. Go back up, don’t follow me so deep.:: She scolds.

::I’m not leaving you here! Besides, you should know better than think I can’t fly in cramped spaces. At least there isn’t anyone up here.::

Ravage snorts kindheartedly, following the next person sliding into the same battered door.

It smells of rancid energon inside, and yet it appears to be kind of a bar. At least, there’s a counter and a few rusty tables around, a few which were broken and repaired with some duck tape, contaminated energon in more than one spot on the dusty ground, and more than a few untrustworthy Cybetronians. Starting from the one managing the bar, cleaning a cube of energon with a stained rag.

Ravage feels a shiver just by looking at him.

::How is it inside?:: Laserbeak asks, wary.

::Not enough space for you to come through. Are there any windows?::

::Not connecting to the chamber you walked into,:: he huffs, ::but there are a few for some rooms above. Peeking into them now, there are… oh.::

The panther feels a quick wave of embarrassment and shame emanating from Laserbeak.

::What?::

::Uhm… it’s rooms with just a low-quality berth? And… I think some mechs waiting for someone else. The windows can be closed and… I think people are interfacing inside. They’re offering each other’s ports.::

Ravage shivers again, this time for a different reason. Absolute disgust.

::In hindsight, I probably didn’t want to know that.::

::Yeah, me neither. What’s Mirage doing?::

Ravage ducks under a table, unseen, moving between the shadows of other people passing by, and elegantly weaving through their legs. He comes closer to the bar, where Mirage is, looking at a list of paired names, with two small numbers under each one.

It reminds her of a crude version of leader boards mixed with something from a tournament, or something more akin to the Pits of Kaon that have long been abandoned and repurposed. She slips under a stool very close to Mirage as the barman advances towards him, with a coy grin.

“Oh, look who decided to show his face around here. I thought you were going to be late again?”

Mirage ignores him, his gaze even icier than when he shut down the twins the first time. “When’s my match?”

“In a bit, the other contestant will arrive soon. Can I offer you some energon in the meanwhile?”

“Last time you tried to poison me.” He counters, frigid.

“I’m sure it was just different from usual. A personal brew of mine, surely.”

A beat passes, in which Mirage doesn’t comment. “I’m booking him for the night.”

“Who?”

“You know who.” He lets the tiniest bit of irritation slip into his voice, before smoothing it with more ice. He slams some shanix on the counter, but Ravage can’t count how many from her position. “The deluxe treatment.”

“I see.” The barman picks the money up and starts counting it, lazily. “You already have the money on hand, but I’m pretty sure you were broke yesterday, so why is that?”

“None of your business. Which room?”

The barman stares at him suspiciously. “Thirteen.”

“It’s always a different one.” He huffs.

“I can’t let someone get too cozy with one of my mechs, can I?”

“He’s not yo—” Mirage goes to snarl, but then the door slams open again.

People quiet down, as a mech twice the size of a normal one, Megatron or Optimus Prime kind of deal, walks into the room. They’re black and purple, showing off a fake Decepticon insignia. There’s an aura of reverence around them, but Ravage can tell very easily they’re a flop.

Both she and Mirage make a ‘tsk’ sound at the same time. But he doesn’t have enough time to look under the stool and check, because the mech makes their way to Mirage with heavy steps and confronts him immediately.

“So, you’d be the squirt that’s supposed to take me on?” Mirage doesn’t react, staying still. Not even squaring his shoulders, not appearing threatening at all. Almost disappearing despite being perfectly visible.

The other one laugh, a croaking sound grating on Ravage’s sensible ears. She hates this one already.

“You see this? Not even bothering to answer! Knows he’s cooked! Yo, mech, what’s the catch with this one?” They ask, as people start moving tables around, creating an empty space right in the middle of the room.

::Something’s happening.:: She whispers through the bond, receiving an affirmative ping from Laserbeak after a beat.

::Think they’ll see you?::

::No, they’re busy with something else. But I don’t like the look of things.::

::Get out if they get too close.::

::I know.:: She huffs.

The barman shrugs, with an air of superiority and when he speaks next Ravage can individuate a note of mad glee and smugness in his voice.

“Odds are you win against him by 25%.”

“Oh? Just 25?” The other mech says, sounding mildly surprised and laughing it off again. “You all hear this? Just 25! And to think I have yet to lose one of these matches!”

They turn around, addressing the audience. Some of them hold their breath, others raise stained and chipped glasses in their direction and cheer.

“You can’t lose, Junkpunch!”

“Yeah! Show us what you’re made of!”

“I can’t wait to see them crush this other mech into the ground!”

“Fight! Fight!”

Junkpunch turns around, smugly, and Ravage anticipates something. That something is not for them to stumble and take a rushed step back when they find Mirage much closer than he was previously.

“Then let’s start.” The ex-noble whispers, flashes a sharp knife in his hand, and promptly disappears.

Ravage remains captivated. This looks just like the old fights in the gladiator pits, but everything is worse. The audience is too close, the contestants don’t have any means of protections and as far as she can tell there are no rules. These two are just going to be at each other’s throats soon.

Junkpunch looks around, then shrugs.

“Guess he left, hu-rk!” They fall to the ground after a flash of metal against metal right under their neck. They recover quickly, bouncing up on their feet and aiming right for the spot where Mirage used to be, but Ravage can hear how the spy moves this close (and without that horrendous laugh straining her senses). He steps to the side, yet he’s not quite as fast as he hoped and the other’s fingers grace him, giving them an idea of where he is.

Ravage frowns. She’s seen, or better heard, the spy make more complex maneuvers than these. He should be able to evade the next blows easily.

And yet, still, Mirage is hit on his shoulder next. It sparks weakly as he loses concentration and reappears.

Favoring a lot more one leg than the other, Ravage notices. Of course, he’s still hurt, probably was hurt in another of these crazy illegal fights. Was it yesterday? Does Mirage come here every night to do this?

Then why? Just to have a good night with one mech he likes a bit too much? She knows she shouldn’t judge these things, but really? Megatron at least worked his way through the gladiator pits to try and convince the masses of his ideas, to prove a point, and succeeded. He certainly didn’t do it for something this petty.

People start chanting Junkpunch’s name again, and they dive for Mirage once more. This time Mirage manages to elude their hands, sliding his injured leg to make quick room and shoving their body to the side. But, being visible, Junkpunch reacts quickly and goes for his arm instead, which Mirage has kept fanned out to maintain balance, and in a quick movement swings the bodyguard over his head and slams him hard into the ground.

Mirage’s face contorts in pain, but no sounds escape his mouth. If Ravage has to guess, it’s probably because some of his stealth protocols are still online.

Junkpunch then raises their foot and lands it neatly on Mirage’s chest, with so much force some metal bends, leaving only metallic creaking to be heard.

Ravage peeks out of her hiding spot, trying to look at Mirage’s eyes and finding them flickering under the crushing weight.

Is this fight to the death?

“So? Do you guys want more?” They ask the audience, their flashy and fake smug smile back on their face. “Or do I just finish him now?”

“Go! Finish him!”

“No! Show us your great moves again!”

“Fight on!!”

“I love you, JP!!”

Junkpunch huffs another toothy laugh. “See? I think I’m getting a clear message here.”

Ravage is not, but she can’t do much from under here. Getting into the fight will just make her another target, and one single stomp from that oversized pede may be her undoing. So she stays put, but this doesn’t mean she doesn’t fret.

Although when she looks down, Mirage has grabbed their leg. With one powerful thrust, he gets the leg out from above him, with the ear-grating noise of metal screeching against metal. When he does this, Junkpunch over him loses their balance and falls to the side. Mirage takes that moment in stride to kick their other leg, sending them further apart.

In the end, Junkpunch has one pede very much in front of them, the other a long way back behind, and Mirage bounces up to his feet, takes their shoulders and pushes them down, essentially making them do a split with the sound of a tendril snapping.

The undignified yelp as they then fall to the side, vocalizer muted and yet with their eyes spelling pain, their hands flying down to their legs to try and push them together to no avail, is the only noise heard as the rest of the crow goes eerily quiet, too.

Mirage, heaving, kicks them to the side for good measure. Junkpunch doesn’t react.

The barman, when Ravage shifts her neck to take a good look at him, looks wholly unhappy. Mirage’s expression stills into one of complete neutrality when he steps in front of the bar.

“I suppose I won.”

“Mh.” The barman replies. Mirage’s gaze gets sharper, and he still only has half a klick to turn around and see Junkpunch back on their feet, with their hands already around Mirage’s head.

Ravage jumps back on instinct. Not even she heard them coming!

They tumble back down, in a deadly tangle of limbs and choking constrictions. Mirage is stuck to the ground, flattened under the other’s superior mass. Small gasps and groans and growls escape their vocalizers as they fight.

Ravage frets once more. If Mirage can’t find a quick end to this, the bigger body, with bigger stamina, will crush him and his metal is already starting to bend under the struggle.

She thinks that the single moment before she sees Mirage’s nimble fingers making their way under their neck plating. She can even the see the very moment Junkpunch’s eyes go wide.

Then completely black.

Mirage huffs, shoving a heavy hand away from his face. Then, with a final endeavor, the heavy body rolls off him. Some people cheer as he stands up, not bothering to look up anymore.

The barman groans, recognizing the end of the match. He goes behind the counter to grab a different stack of money, probably from the bets, and handing it over to Mirage along with a key. The noble ignores most of the boos and complaints being sent his way and heads for a hidden and gloomy staircase, ascending it.

::Are you still okay?:: Laserbeak asks through the bond.

::Yes.:: Ravage replies, although she finds herself to be still somewhat shaken from what she saw. ::There was a match. Something coming straight out of Kaon. Just… worse in every way.::

::And Mirage was watching it?:: Laserbeak asks, surprised.

Ravage huffs. ::No. He was one of the participants.::

::What?? Really?:: He squawks into the bond.

::Yeah. And now I need your help.::

::Find an extraction point, got it.::

::No, no! I can get out fine. I need you to find Mirage – he went in a room up somewhere. I heard a number before, thirteen. Supposedly he’s meeting with somebody, but I don’t know who.::

There’s an obvious wave of discomfort and unpleasantness over the bond.

::In those rooms…?::

::Yes. I know, I just need you to find where he’s going. I can get out and follow him from there, you don’t even have to keep watch.::

::Yeah, that sounds better. After all, there are a few other known faces in here.::

Ravage starts to slip out the same way she came in, moving from one side to the other as two other contestants find their way in the middle of room and people begin cheering again. ::Who?::

::I think there’s the two twins that usually gave our brothers a run for their money… both start with S, I think.::

::…In a bed?:: Ravage questions, baffled and a bit disgusted.

::I don’t think so? They are in those rooms, they just seem to be talking though. Have been for as long as I’ve been looking at them. And then there’s also… ah!::

::What happened?!:: Ravage questions, alarmed.

::It’s Mirage! Mirage is getting to him!::

::Him who?:: Ravage says, finally getting out and trying to find an easy way to climb up the wall when Laserbeak sends her his relative position.

::A tracker. The green tracker who loved that planet made of mud when we were there. I can’t remember his name, but I think he made holograms?::

::Keep an audial out, maybe they’ll say his name. I’m about to get there.::

Ravage has to take a couple of tours around the rusted building to find the easiest and safest way to get up. She jumps, using her back legs as power and her front ones for direction, moving from one windowsill from another, with the help of a couple of open or closed shutters as extra steps.

As she springs, she can’t help but think. At what she saw earlier, at the way that match played out so similarly to one straight out of the Pits of Kaon. And she can’t help but wonder, with a bit of envy and sourness, just how could the Autobots win the war.

They are now the same, apparently. They fight one against the other, trying nothing else than to take each other’s life. To be fair, that mech’s eyes started shining in a booting sequence again just as she was making her way out, but that is besides the point! Mirage has always been an odd Autobot, despising war and wondering whether there could be an easier way to finish this, so of course he wouldn’t kill but just incapacitate or something.

Still, other Autobots killed Decepticons. Because they hated them. And Decepticons killed the Autobots because they hated them. So what was different between them, she can’t tell.

Decepticons also fought for their life, and long before the privileged Autobots, or even more privileged mechs like the ex-noble Mirage, did. They did it because they hated the system, killed for it! And so, Autobots did that to. If they were and are so similar, then why couldn’t the Decepticons win? Was it some cruel twist of fate? Was it really the help of those tiny, insignificant humans their undoing?

She shakes her head and continues her climb. She can’t quite believe it, but she also has to admit it’s a forgotten and dull pain now. Soundwave is working for peace. They’ve never been so relaxed in their entire functioning.

It’s just that it still burns, sometimes.

Finally Laserbeak comes into view. He helps Ravage take the last leap somewhat more safely and lands her on a comfortable perch, the same one he’s been standing on. But now he can’t, so he rests ontop of Ravage’s head instead, between her ears. The panther gives him a sour look, but decides it’s fine in the end. They’re both dark, they won’t be very visible.

Besides, it looks like Mirage and the other mech have something else on their mind.

“‘Raj!” The green one shouts, seeing the other come in. Mirage looks even worse for wear, honestly, and he doesn’t try to hide his injuries anymore. He takes a long vent, leaning on the doorway. Nothing like a sultry act, it just looks like he’s exhausted.

“Hi.”

The other mech is up on his feet immediately, helping Mirage stay up and then lovingly, tenderly, chastely guiding him to the berth. He caresses his cheek once Mirage is properly seated.

Ravage finally has a good angle to see how he’s fairing, actually. His chest is scuffed completely, various areas turning a dull and painful gray that could very well be the last strand of protection before bare protoform. His shoulder sparks when he tries to move it, and he could barely walk up here by himself.

The green figure takes him in the same way.

“Mirage… what happened to you…?” he asks, concerned.

“A fight,” the ex-noble replies curtly. “But I’m fine, Hound.”

“Fine?” The other doesn’t shout, but he looks absolutely distraught. Possibly desperate. “You look one step away from falling apart!”

“At least I’m not burning hot this time?” Mirage tries to say, to lighten the mood.

Yet the other is having none of it. “I— don’t make jokes like that! So many things could have gone wrong yesterday, and you know it! I was lucky to have coolant on hand.”

“That’s an overstatement,” Mirage huffs, “I would have been fine eventually.”

“Yes, after a few days in a cryo-chamber we don’t have.” Hound replies dryly, then turns around to open one small cabinet to the side and carefully pick out a few first aid tools. Like a buffer, a small welder, a couple of tiny pieces of iron. He lines them carefully over the covers, close to Mirage. “You don’t have to keep going this. You have a job now.”

“I do, but it won’t be—”

“No. Mirage, that is enough. I mean it. You don’t have to keep fighting now that you have a steady source of income. You’re already using all your money on me, and you shouldn’t have to!”

“And you shouldn’t have to be in this slaghole, Hound. But you are,” the noble replies curtly. “I don’t want you in here for any more time than is strictly necessary, least of all I want to you to do something you hate, and you’ve made it very clear you don’t want to offer your ports like this, so that’s not a way we can use to make money either. But more money means I can pay off your debt faster, while making sure you don’t have to force yourself on anybody else.”

“That is true.” Hound replies, starting to buff out the worst of the dents on Mirage’s chest, in a gesture that feels so… intimate, Ravage can’t quite wrap her head around it. “I don’t want to stay here a moment longer, but you’re doing all you can for me. I… simply don’t want you to stretch yourself so thin. I can handle staying here, spending the nights with you just like we always hoped we would, for as long as it takes. You… don’t have to hurt yourself! Look at your poor shoulder. How are you going to bodyguard someone this way?”

Mirage smiles softly. “My leg’s what I’m most worried about.”

“I’ll take a look at that too. Still…”

Mirage resists no more than a few moments under Hound’s intense gaze. “…I know you have a point. But I can’t rest until I have you out of here.”

“Promise me you’ll take good care of yourself, at least!” Hound pleads, “one more fight like this, and…” His hands stops, as he looks down.

Mirage leans down, caressing his cheek.

“Hound…”

The green one doesn’t turn.

“Hound.” Mirage tries again. Finally Hound looks up. Despite the creaky complaints of Mirage’s joints, he gets down to the floor, right besides the other. The green mech helps him come down, although he initially tries to push Mirage back up on the berth. But it’s useless, and soon the bodyguard is right in front of him. “Please look at me.”

Hound raises his gaze. Then he puts a servo right over the one on his cheek and sighs softly in it, leaving a chaste kiss to Mirage’s palm. They start to whisper to each other, and Laserbeak goes very still in order not to disturb Ravage’s hearing.

“I… I’m afraid one of these days, you won’t be able to come back. I fear I’ll lose you.”

Mirage’s eyes widen, and his expression shows a lot of emotion, much more than Ravage has ever seen on his face. He’s the one to look down this time, his eyes darken a bit, shifting from a bright festive yellow to the colors of the sun at dawn. His shoulders slouch and his mouth curves downwards.

“I don’t know when or if you’ll ever come back from those fights, because I can’t leave this damned building.” Hound keeps saying, softly, something getting stuck in his vocalizer. “Every time you leave I wonder I may never see you again. Every time you fight, and I see your wounds, I can’t help but think what would be left of you if the blow had struck you just a bit stronger. Just a bit higher.”

He brings his other hand to the wound on Mirage’s chest, the ones he’s been trying to fix. With his wording, Ravage realizes how close those were to his spark.

Soundwave’s words resonate into her mind.

He’s a light frame. He either evades what’s coming at him or he breaks.

“I understand,” Mirage breathes out in the end. “I’m sorry I’m making you feel this way, I take no pride in it. But I beg you to trust me. We survived a whole war together, I’m not letting any of this separate us.”

“During the war, you were never fighting this much.”

“True, but I was never in a safe position either. I can’t wait until all this fighting is over, but I’ll do what I must until I can hold you safely in my arms, away from here. So, this is going to be hard to say but… getting you out by any means necessary is my priority. Albeit, I can promise you I will take better care of myself.”

Hound huffs, dejected. “And how? How about by not fighting?”

“The money I make from the bets is too easy. People still haven’t figured out I’m an ex-spy yet, so no.” Hound looks gloomy, and Mirage stutters. “But I will limit them. I won’t fight every night. One every two, or- or once a week will do. And when I do, it’ll be just one fight per night. How about that?”

“I suppose it’s better than nothing,” the matte green one murmurs. “Starting now?”

Mirage grimaces. “I did have one more fight scheduled…”

The other startles. “And you want to go there… like this?”

“It’s just Sideswipe,” Mirage says, plainly. “I let him have the last match, so this one’s mine to win. And, after you got Sunstreaker that gift the other day, he promised to fix us both any scuffs we will cause each other. He’ll hide everything nicely. Nothing more than that, it’ll be something easy, I swear.”

“You got him those paints…”

“But I can’t deliver those to him without booking a room with him. And I’d never take away what little time they have together. They’re spark-brothers, keeping them apart is a torture on its own.”

Looking to the side, Hound grabs two cubes of energon, and offers one to Mirage. It looks awful, and it’s not just the wrong shade of pink. Hound speaks again after Mirage has taken a few sips.

“Do you know if Sideswipe found a job?”

“He didn’t, I think he likes the fighter’s life more. But I’ll still keep an eye out for anything I can see that might interest him, I promise.”

“…Okay. I’ll trust you.” Hound relents in the end, making space for Mirage to fit on his lap, his back against Hound’s front. From that moment, he continues looking at his wounds. Specifically by inspecting his shoulders, finding the damage and attempting to fix it. “Remember that I love you.”

“I love you too, Hound. I won’t let any harm come to you. We’ve been through enough.”

Ravage rethinks her previous statement, as she watches them kiss tenderly. Laserbeak turns on his talons to look the other way, grumbling all the while.

Then, maybe, if Mirage is doing all of this for love, Autobots and Decepticons were not the same thing.

Chapter Text

::So, I think this Hound is kept in that building against his will.:: Ravage explains when she gets back, purring in Soundwave’s lap as he works and Lifeshine entertains the twins while always keeping an eye outside. They’re playing some game of ball, they have to keep it in the air for as long as possible, but she can’t move. What she has going for herself is that she’s large, which lets her reach basically everywhere – only for the really tiny ball to slip right trough her fingers a few times.

::As a slave.:: Soundwave says.

::Most likely. I’m sure Laserbeak already told you how he felt about what people were doing in there.::

::Affirmative.::

::And I don’t want to do it ever again!:: Comes the squawk from the other side of the room.

Soundwave is quick to reassure him: ::And you won’t, don’t worry. Continue, Ravage.::

::Mirage talked about a debt, and money was a pretty reoccurring theme. Hound has a debt to pay off, and Mirage is aiding him. I think they’re conjuxed, or not quite there yet, but you get the idea.::

::And Mirage’s injuries?:: He inquiries next.

::Just got worse with the fights. He had someone aid him in hiding them, as much as I could gather, and the other mech applied some basic first aid. It’s not even close to what he’d actually need, but he refused to stop fighting outright to get Hound out faster.::

::I know that system pretty well. The mech in charge will add interest bit by bit – making a lot of money off a poor mech’s life all the while. I can get why Mirage would rather have more money immediately, it’ll make paying off the debt easier. But at the cost of his health.::

::Quite a conundrum,:: Ravage agrees, ::you could always give him a raise?::

::No, that won’t be enough. I know too many people who once lived as slaves to not be affected. I’m taking matters into my own servos. Do you remember yesterday's route?::

Ravage blinks, surprised.

::You want to go there?::

Soundwave nods, before looking up. Lifeshine barely stops the ball from falling out of the open window. She juggles it awkwardly between her hands and almost falls on her back while trying to keep it steady.

“Lifeshine.”

“Uh… yeah?” She asks, with a sheepish smile while Rumble and Frenzy cover their mouths in order not to erupt in laughter. Soundwave decides to let it go, he’s past his time as a military executive.

“I need you to escort me to a place.”

Just like Ravage said, the place is niffy and as dirty and unpleasant as one can be. He at least goes there during daytime, so there aren’t as many people as Ravage claims to have been yesterday night. He feels a tiny bit sorry for Lifeshine, who looks really out of her element, but ready to strike and bodyblock whoever dares getting too close. Soundwave chose her for a reason, and it’s that she works well under pressure.

Ravage silently meows and then slips into a door. Soundwave points at it, and Lifeshine opens it. Inside is even worse, with a few broken tables, stains everywhere and really weird eerie dim lighting. It’s a bar, where a mech is cleaning something with a rag that smells of dirt and decomposed parts. He raises his brow, unconvinced.

“Think you’re in the wrong place buddy.”

“I’m exactly where I want to be.” Soundwave says behind Lifeshine. She steps to the side, letting him walk to the counter. “I know you have slaves here.”

“Pff, slaves?” The other mech says, twirling the rag through his fingers. “I don’t know who gave you your information, but it’s wrong.”

Lifeshine gets one of her batons and twirls it in her hand. Soundwave raises a hand, and she stops. She doesn’t need to intimidate the mech, although it might become a good tactic later on.

::You’re too close to the government, thinks he’s gonna get caught,:: Ravage advises, ::try to ask for services instead.::

“You’re mistaken. I have this information from a first-hand source. That established, I’m looking for… a personal service.”

“Oh?” The barman suddenly looks interested. “Well, depending on the type of service, I may be able to help you out.”

“I’m looking for a peculiar type. Just one, in fact. His name is Hound, and I know he’s here.”

The barmech raises his optic ridge again.

::Say for what.::

“I want him for myself.”

Lifeshine flinches, but nothing more than that.

“Oh, my friend, you should have started with that! Well, I can’t promise I’ll be able to let you have him all to yourself, it’s a bit of a rough case that one…”

Soundwave slams the shanix on the table.

A lot of shanix, by the way the mech’s eyes sparkle just by looking at it. But before he can lean over and try and grasp them, Soundwave curls his hand around them.

“You’d sell me something without seeing it first?”

“Oh! I mean… I mean of course not! There’s all kinds of mechs here, many unsavory types I’ll tell you, but I’m not one of those, you can trust me! Just a business mech doing what he’s gotta do, that’s all!” He keeps rambling, eyes cast on his prize.

“The mech.” Soundwave stresses.

“Of course, of course! You, over there! Go and get the green one with the steady appointment, yeah?”

Someone else moves, disappears behind a few walls and another door, but soon enough there’s the noise of steps descending down the stairs in a steady rhythm.

Soundwave recognizes him immediately. He shifted through his old military-worthy memory to find the one whose designation was Hound before coming here, as they were walking.

Hound recognizes him too. Soundwave was quite high-ranking, so he’s not surprised. He doesn’t speak, but the barmech leans over to get a new glimpse of the money shining between Soundwave’s digits.

“As you can see, he’s in good health! What do you need me to do, huh? Book him for a night?”

“I want to bring him with me.”

“Uh?!”

::Good. Throw him off balance.:: Ravage comments, with a bit too much glee.

“I want to take him away, permanently. I want him to be with me. How much is he?”

He may have been a bit too much, because Hound flinches, and hard. The barista is still looking.

“Well, it depends on how much you’re meaning to offer.”

“Name a price.” He says, tightening his grip.

“Ah, I… uhm… I think… a couple million shanix could work…”

Soundwave has never been more thankful for his mask. It’s a high price, but not impossible. He can see how Mirage would be having problems at gathering such a sum, though.

Soundwave hasn’t been doing much, cooped up in his habsuite like he is, and even if his minicons would like more they’ve long learned to just live with the essentials. He still buys them a few things every now and then, like Rumble and Frenzy’s tiny ball that will soon be Ravage’s plaything, but it has not become a reoccurring custom.

So he has the money. He could also try to lower the price. But the panther minicon shakes her head through the bond, deeming it too risky, and so he simply lets his hand hover over the money, and adds a few extra from his subspace. The avid barmech all but dives on it, tallying it eagerly.

“Come with me.” He commands to Hound.

“I- wh- hey! No, y- you… you can’t do that!” The green one staggers, moving to shout at the barmech.

“I don’t care.” He replies, all the money having swiftly being pushed into his subspace.

“We- we had a deal! You have a deal with somebody. You can’t do this!”

The barmech smirks, a convoluted and toothy thing even Soundwave would like to punch it off his face.

“Well, he never quite offered me this much money, did he? So shoo, take him away, he’s yours.”

Hound looks distraught. Words die in his vocalizer, and Soundwave can feel clearly the panic and desperation creeping into his thoughts as he clenches his hand, as he looks around, as his world crumbles down underneath him.

Soundwave steps in, calmly tapping his forearm. Hound flinches.

“I promise it’ll be alright.” Soundwave whispers to his audial. “I plan to release you as soon as we’re out of here, and you’ll be reunited with Mirage.”

“How do you—”

“Later.” He shuts him off. At least, now hesitantly reassured, Hound starts to follow him like a cyberduckling, and just as scared of the outside world as one. Lifeshine looks very dubious, and confused, but at Soundwave’s gesture she leads the way again. Then Hounds follows them and, mostly unseen except by the tracker right behind him, Ravage closes their formation.

They transform once they’re out of the shady area, with Ravage lingering behind. She has something to do, she claims, and so Soundwave lets her do her thing. He trusts her not to get in trouble she can’t get out of.

All the way they spend on the road, going at the speed Hound’s misused t-cog and engine can endure, Soundwave quickly explains things: Mirage is working for him, he’ll be coming over shortly for his shift, Soundwave knows of their situation because after Mirage wound up hurt at his apartment he got suspicious and so he took matters into his hands. He also has a direct line of contact to the head of police right now, a certain Praxian named Bluestreak, and so they will have the rest of the slaves covered soon enough.

He can’t help but feel a bit of glee at his idea. He pictures Mirage finally wearing a smile when he comes in, like the ones Rumble and Frenzy have on their faces when they get a new videogame to best each other at, or when Ravage gets a new toy that suspiciously disappears after no more than a few klicks. Or how Laserbeak soars the room in joy whenever the air feels fresh or Soundwave himself leads him outside for a walk or to observe the new city together.

Who doesn’t like surprises? He figures Mirage will be ecstatic, and he’ll finally see a real emotion on his face. They reach his habsuite, and he leads Hound in.

Rumble and Frenzy pause their game of wrestling each other on the floor when the door opens.

“We’re back.” Soundwave says, nodding.

“Hello!” The two reply in unison. Then, as all the members part, and Hound comes into view, still disheveled but somewhat more sure now, their eyes glint and they step up, just like they did when Mirage first came in.

But, seeing Hound now, he probably won’t be able to handle the twins without frying a circuit.

“No. Go to your rooms to play.” He says preemptively.

“Aww… Really?”

“Not even a question or two?” The two pout, putting up identical poses.

Soundwave has to be strong, or to be quick enough not to be fooled by their spell. Gently, he shoos the two away, leading them towards their room instead.

“Not now. Later, maybe.”

“But I wanted to know a thing!!”

“Hey, hey, Green one!” Frenzy shouts, even as he’s being led away. “What’s your favorite color?!”

That’s their opener to get someone to lower their guard, so Soundwave shuts the door in their face. At least they weren’t as hands-on as when Mirage came in and left with minimal fuss.

“…Thanks.” Hound ends up murmuring. Soundwave nods, knowing too well how intense they can get. “So… what now?”

“I’ll be filing your documents right now. After these are processed, you’ll be free.” He explains, getting to work already while Lifeshine gets to her usual spot by the window.

“Oh. How long will that take…? More or less.”

“I can do this myself. I hold the power to do this, so I’ll need just as long as I can gather your necessary data.”

He asks a few quick questions, the bare minimum he has to before he can figure out the rest, and sets to typing, halfway linked into the terminal to speed up the process. He can’t let himself be completely drained in the system, or who knows what will happen when Rumble and Frenzy inevitably want to come out and play.

“Laserbeak hasn’t come back yet.” Lifeshine says, after a moment. Soundwave pays half a mind to her. He looks at his symbiolites, and notices that his spark is alright through the bond.

“He’s fine. He’s probably caught up with something.” He says, whispering into the room. He really wants to get this done before Mirage gets here. It’ll be like a delightful surprise, and he wants it to be the best it can.

When he pays attention to the outside world again, it’s because Lifeshine is gently tapping on his desk.

“I… know I should wait until Mirage comes here, but I do have something else after this. Think you can handle yourself until he comes?” She asks, flustered.

Soundwave remembers something about this. Another mech, one Lifeshine has been seeing for a while, and for whom she’s been falling. He doesn’t know the details, but supposedly her crush likes her back. They could become a really cute couple, and he can’t wait until Rumble and Frenzy get to know her. They’ve taken quite a liking to Lifeshine, they’ll be delighted to meet her girlfriend if she ever comes over.

Besides, he’s safe in his habsuite. He nods.

“Of course. Enjoy your date.”

Lifeshine squeals, then covers it with a cough and nods.

“T-thank you! Please don’t tell the twins anything yet? I don’t think I could handle it!”

Soundwave nods sympathetically again. Then Lifeshine says her final goodbyes to Hound too and leaves.

Hound watches as she slips past the gate, unperturbed and happy.

Soundwave takes the distraction in stride to look at the clock. The sun has yet to set, but it is late for Laserbeak. He should be going out on a second flight by now, but he’s not even back from his first.

::Laserbeak? Where are you?:: He asks through the bond. He waits a couple of beats for his response, he’s definitely the most responsive and he holds the strongest connection to Soundwave, but nothing comes. He frowns. He completes his work just to get his mind off of things, it’s just a small final checklist, but even when he’s done there’s nothing.

Just complete silence through the bond.

Having finished his paperwork, he devotes himself fully to trying to contact him.

::Laserbeak. Status report.:: He says, a bit more commanding. But it there’s still nothing.

::Ravage, do you know where Laserbeak is?:: He tries next. As the oldest one, she’s usually the one to check on the others before Soundwave or while he can’t.

Again. Complete silence.

Now he lets himself fret. Their sparks are okay, but they can’t communicate. He forces himself to think of something that could be hindering their communication. Usually it just happens when one minicon or Soundwave is in a place well shielded, with walls too thick even for Soundwave’s powerful communication system to go through.

But they weren’t stopped when they were under the surface, either, so what could be happening?

Another thing, one that terrorizes him, is that they may be unable to answer. Unconscious, or worse.

He doesn’t want to think about it. And right when he doesn’t have a bodyguard, because Mirage still hasn’t arrived. Why couldn’t he ask Lifeshine to stay here? He could always comm her back in… Actually he could comm Mirage. He should, he’s late and he hasn’t been since he started working here. So he does, but the signal gets sucked into a void. Mirage is completely unreachable.

What if it’s some ploy against him, specifically? But he can’t worry for Mirage too. He’s tough, he knows plenty of tricks to get out of whatever situation he’s in, and he’s very, very preoccupied with thinking about his two missing minicons right now.

Still, he shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions. Surely there’s a perfectly logical answer to this. Their sparks are still fine, they are all okay. At least Rumble and Frenzy are here.

… He freezes.

::Rumble, Frenzy. Come in.::

To his deepest horror, they don’t answer either.

Soundwave jolts up. Hound looks surprised, having almost fallen asleep on the seat he’s snatched from the small dining table. He follows him, probably asks something, but Soundwave is too focused and panicked to look at him. He steps quickly to the twins’ door.

They didn’t even peek out to say goodbye to Lifeshine.

“Rumble, Frenz—” He says, opening it, but the rest of the words die in his vocalizer as he takes in the sight before him.

The room is unperturbed. Their beds are unmade as usual, their toys are scattered around the floor, and the console in the corner is still playing some kind of gloomy defeat music. In the middle of the chamber, devoid of any minicon, stands Mirage.

His body is still, frozen in a position so much so he looks dead. Like a chilling statue.

His eyes bear holes in Soundwave’s chassis. Only a piece of his body moves, his left wrist. A polished blade eerily glints in the light from the sunset behind him. His whole body looks darker, Soundwave can only bring himself to focus on those eyes.

They look like the ones of a murderer.

Then Mirage sprints towards him, as light as a leaf falling on a ground full of snow with barely any noise at all despite the creak coming from his leg. But he’s right in front of Soundwave before he can notice it. He takes a step back, yet Mirage has jumped up. Their eyes still lock, Soundwave finds himself transfixed. It’s like looking at death straight in the eyes.

Then the blade of the knife graces his neck. Not enough to be threatening, truly. Too precise to linger on any major energon line although it passes over all of them. It trails a specific port at the base of his neck. He’s too caught up with his closeness to notice until the port has already been pried open, and opposes no resistance.

Then a cable is plugging inside it, and Mirage is voraciously engorging his processor.

Soundwave was never an agent in the field. He was far more likely to do the hacking than to be hacked, he never knew how it felt like to be hacked. For a moment he registers nothing, as if Mirage himself is taking a breather.

Then, with one powerful shove, he finds himself flat on his back, straight in the room he started in, in front of Hound. Mirage mouths something.

You’ll pay for what you did.

Then a sucking, all powerful force drags Soundwave back into his processor. He tries to hold onto something, his body convulses with powerful electrical shocks in all the right places to make him lose consciousness. It’s like trying to hold onto something as one is being dragged into quicksand. He tries to hold onto something to save himself, he doesn’t know what to do to try and buy himself a bit more time, when another shock makes him wail and lose his grip with reality.

“Mirage!” Hound shouts, from behind him. “Stop!!”

Soundwave’s too far gone already, falling into the abyss, yet the thousands arms dragging him there seem to relent.

Still, he’s falling. Hound says something else but his systems are shutting down one after the other, so he can’t make out a word.

But he gets a hold of one of those hands, and in a desperate final act, he pulls.

What he has experience in, is turning tables. Plenty of prisoners he interrogated, especially Jazz himself and all his subordinates, tried to use Soundwave’s hack against him. After all, a hardline can go both ways. But he has his own tricks too, so it takes little effort to turn Mirage’s powerful hack against him and, rather than having to accommodate him into his mind, he barges unannounced in Mirage’s own.

Chapter Text

Once inside Mirage’s processor, he’s greeted by a wave of emotions. He treads through it easily, it’s far from the vicious defenses he had to deal with back in the days.

He walks confidently through his mind. Mirage’s firewalls come up too late, both by surprise, emotional vulnerability and a handful of other variables. When they close, keeping everything that’s inside in and everything that’s outside out, Soundwave has the entirety of Mirage’s processor at his fingertips. Memories, sensations, systems needed for life support.

He shakes his head and retrieves the servo that traveled in their direction, opting to take in Mirage’s memories in instead.

His memory system is surprisingly tidy. He pictures it like plenty of little towers scattered around an old-looking, perfectly organized and exquisitely decorated library. A lot of his memories are stored here, with a couple of screens around depicting what’s more important to him in this moment. Right now, they’re displaying blank static, so he decides to let them be.

Instead, he dives into the memories. He goes for the first miniature tower he can see. He’s still at the edge of the processor, so he’s got access to the freshest memories. If Mirage had something to do with the minicons, which Soundwave has all the reasons he needs to believe, they will be here.

And so he finds them. The first, in anti-chronological order so actually the last, is of Rumble and Frenzy.

Seeing it all from Mirage’s own first perspective gets dizzying immediately, but Soundwave pushes through.

Mirage climbed the outside of the building, unseen and unheard. Quickly, quietly, he reached the outside wall of the correct floor. He peeked into the room. Rumble and Frenzy were playing a game, fighting against each other.

He opened the window and slid through. The two minicons perked up, but Rumble was captivated by the screen soon after because his character died, at the hands of a movement from the other side of the screen, Frenzy’s half, and he turned to that hastily.

“Hey! No fair!”

“It was you who stopped paying attention!” His brother sing-songed. Mirage moved behind them with a single step. He had perfect access to both their back ports. If one noticed something, he’d have time to alarm Soundwave and he couldn’t let that happen. So he plugged into both of them at the same time and with one quick virus emanating from his fingers their bodies went limp.

Frenzy’s character died after from the lack of input, and his side of the screen started playing the same sad song as the other. He hid their bodies, already having a place in mind. There was enough space under the berth for them all to fit. He pushed Rumble under one and Frenzy under the other. Then, from his subspace he extracted Laserbeak, and then Ravage’s curled up form. He put the former with Frenzy and the latter with Rumble, adjusting them so they wouldn’t be obvious to anyone coming in.

Not like he was planning to give Soundwave much time to react.

Lazily, waiting for the right moment, he uploaded his internal log: Mission succeeded. Total time: twelve breems.

Soundwave vents hard after that memory. Not only did Mirage catch all his minicons, maybe killed them although he’ll have to look at that virus later on and then get ready to jump at his throat, but he also did all of that in a terribly short time.

Trembling slightly, at least Soundwave doesn’t have to look much further to find the next memory.

Laserbeak soared into the lifeless bar. Mirage spent no more than three breems finding him. His plan had worked better than intended, this would speed the process up quite nicely.

The bird landed on the counter without a care in the world, looking around curiously for Ravage, just like Mirage had set up. Then he turned, chirping something lighthearted to the world around.

He believed they were playing. Good.

Mirage dived on him from behind. He held his wings against his body and reached under his belly to get a better grip. He could curl his hand more and probably break something that could be useful to Soundwave. Before he could think about it a scratching sound let him know he’d probably left a mark. His communication system was right on the underbelly though, not enough to damage it beyond repair but something that his nanites would take at least a few hours to fix.

Then he had to physically restrain himself. He couldn’t do any more, not when he didn’t know what exactly had happened to Hound, the condition he was in. He needed more information.

Then he’d do that exact same thing to Soundwave’s minicons, and wrongs would be righted. He’d suffer like Mirage did.

Laserbeak’s head was stuck between Mirage’s fingers, but he was chirping vehemently, trying to grab someone’s attention. Mirage finally managed to find his port – tricky little thing – and plugged in without much fanfare. The bird stopped near-instantly his struggling at the venom sprouting from his hardline. Mirage got up and put him in his subspace.

Now for, hopefully, the easiest part. He simply had to get there.

He folded into his altmode and ran in a familiar direction, updating his mission log.

Two out of four.

Soundwave has to distance himself again. It’s making him sick. Someone he trusted with his life, so much so to make him his very bodyguard, did that. Mirage sought out his minicons to hurt him by hurting them, and he has the proof right in front of his eyes.

Full of anger, he’s not as careful as in the beginning when he selects the next memory. He stomps to another tower, rattling some part of Mirage’s processor, scattering data in all directions and making a tower flicker. It doesn’t do any real damage, but it’s enough to shake the host, physically and mentally.

He can share the thought from the memory, though. He’ll have to see what Mirage did to Ravage before he can do something else to his mind.

The final memory is linked to a bigger piece.

Mirage walked in. The place was still old, still smelling awfully, but he had to tell Hound he’d had a change in turns. Lifeshine was so flustered in asking him, so he had a good idea of what she may be about to do. He hoped everything went well for the two of them.

He sincerely wished she’d never have to find herself in the same situation he and Hound were in.

The barmech looked at him with the usual coy smile that made him want to tear his face away. He came near the bar, leaning on it.

“What room?” He asked, curtly. This pitspawed mech didn’t deserve anything more than the bare minimum, and less than that if it could be done, too.

But he just smiled devilishly.

“For whom, sorry?”

“Don’t make me tell you twice.”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to. I can’t tell who you may be possibly talking about.” Mirage was already about to lose his composure, but he dug a little deeper within himself to find it. Old Towers manners were called forth, despite his continuous disgust.

“Hound. In which room is he?”

“Oh, Hound…” The barmech mused, chuckling and smirking. “I sold him.”

“WHAT?!” Mirage’s reaction was instant. He was at the barmech’s throat. He didn’t see it coming, but it was all for the best.

If he didn’t hold Hound anymore, he didn’t hold any power over Mirage either. He could be killed right here for all he cared, but he could still be useful for something.

The other kept chuckling, more nervous now, and Mirage fished expertly into his subspace to come up with the first blade Jazz had gifted him, his first ever knife. It’d taken a thousand lives already, what was one more?

“Talk. Now.” He said, flashing the knife right by the other’s throat.

“I… uh, what would you like to know—”

Mirage slammed the mech’s head on the counter. They were basically alone. It was still daytime. Nobody would be coming for quite a while and he didn’t have any protection.

“Who. Who did you sell him to? Where is he now? Why did you do it?”

“It was…” The barmech squealed out of his broken lip. “It was one of those high-members, you know? Came here with a flashy bodyguard and everything.”

“Who were they?!” Mirage bellowed. He was quickly losing his cool, manners long forgotten and flung into the deepest part of his processor, with battle protocols flashing right in Mirage’s mind instead. Hound’s life was on the line. Who knew what could be happening to him right now, while he was losing time with this idiot?!

“I… I don’t know! They were blue, unreadable and covered in shanix!”

Something settled deep into Mirage’s spark. A thought, one he hated.

It couldn’t be.

“What color were their eyes?”

“I… I don’t know! I couldn’t see them!”

“Did he have a visor?”

“Y… yes! A-and it was… red! I couldn’t understand half of the words he said! Probably because he spoke in a really weird voice! Like… like multi-layered! Yes, yes it must have been that!”

The sense of wrongness settling into his spark exploded and took control of his body. He’d hoped his hunch was wrong, but the description of that voice settled it in. It could only be one mech.

Soundwave.

Deep betrayal and horror settled into his spark. Soundwave had seemed reasonable. Soundwave had seemed like a decent mech, coming back around, being able to work his way into being a functioning member of society. And to think Mirage had respected him for the work he’d done while in the Senate, and even on a much smaller scale, how well he treated his minicons despite all the prejudices and biases still against them!

Mirage felt like an ice-cold dagger was tearing his spark in half.

Soundwave. That Soundwave, his protected, had just bought Hound. Had bought a living mech! It was crazy, how was he supposed to trust a mech who bought others like his family did, which had sprouted the whole war they had both suffered through for millions of years?!

No, Mirage couldn’t. It felt painful, but he let the pain wash over him for the time being. He’d have the time to mourn the good person he thought Soundwave was in the future. Now, he needed to rescue Hound and get the hell out of Iacon.

The barmech was still talking when he reemerged from his thoughts. He simply turned around, let him fall to the ground, and in one quick movement a single drop of energon was spilled.

The disgusting individual fell down behind the counter, not dead and yet not quite alive, quickly understanding there wasn’t anything left for him to do as the light started leaving his eyes. Mirage sent a minuscule message to Sideswipe, telling him things were going to get ugly quickly, and that he should grab his split spark brother and run as fast as he could right now.

He needed a plan. What could he do to find Hound? Well, he most likely knew where to find him. He had the address to Soundwave’s habsuite easy to access in his memory. But then? Would he just confront him? Ask him why?

No. No, his body needed something else. He quickly went invisible. There was someone he’d heard come in.

No more than a moment later Ravage stepped into the room, silently. Mirage observed her without moving a single muscle, his blade still open and in his grasp.

He could take the minicons. Make them suffer, and through their bond make Soundwave suffer. He could torture them. Maybe kill one off, one of the twins. Possibly the other wouldn’t survive. Two for the price of a single kill. With his thumb, he soundlessly brushed the handle of his knife.

Then he shook his head. No, no he wasn’t that desperate for energon. It made no sense if he wouldn’t at least try to be fair. It would turn into an all-out war, and all of them had had enough of that for more than one lifetime. That wasn’t his goal. He pocketed his knife with a precise movement.

But Hound had been bought and it hurt. He couldn’t buy the minicons, but he reasoned what hurt him most had been coming in and finding Hound missing. He also didn’t know if he was hurt, which held his spark in a tight fist regardless, but he couldn’t hurt the minicons because, in the desperate hope he was still holding, maybe Soundwave hadn’t hurt him yet. And if he was fast enough, he could arrive and do whatever he needed to do before Soundwave could think of getting frisky.

So he’d make the minicons disappear, then confront Soundwave, possibly neutralize him, grab Hound and his papers, make their escape and never be seen around Iacon again even if all their friends were here.

It pinged more pain into his mind. But he could not let it drag him down. Ravage was there, and she climbed elegantly on the counter, looking down at the almost-dead mech. She meowed in a strange way.

But Mirage was right onto her before she felt him coming. Maybe this close she could have put up a fight, but she wasn’t ready.

They weren’t constantly ready anymore, he’d noticed. Soundwave needed a bodyguard now, Soundwave! Whom they’d captured only once during the war. He’d willingly put himself into stasis rather than being interrogated, and then his minicons had sneaked aboard the Ark and jump-started him.

The tools aboard the Ark had never worked the same from that day.

That Soundwave needed a bodyguard? Part of him was content that at least the new senator didn’t feel like he was at war constantly anymore.

But this, what he’d done, changed everything. Mirage found his way under her neck immediately and Ravage went stiff, and then limp with her eyes offline, without a single noise. An old virus, meant to incapacitate and neutralize someone, without damaging their neural net or any of the information they held. It had been one of his favorite tools at his disposal during the war, regardless of how little he actually used it. They’d come back online as soon as Mirage would send a particular signal.

It would buy him all the time he needed.

He could guess where to find the twins, so it left one more target, the hardest one to locate.

But, carefully rummaging through Ravage’s inert processor revealed a very useful connection. Mirage used it to send a signal to Laserbeak, then put Ravage in his subspace, turned invisible and waited, motionless.

He used the idle time to update his log, creating a mission and putting various stakes (bright and big at the top: Hound’s freedom, possibly life and mental sanity), as well as checkpoints. He’d already reached one.

One out of four.

Soundwave pulls out, lets his mind have enough time to resettle. He calms himself down. His minicons are fine. Momentarily offline, but that’s good. Mirage has a command, somewhere in here, he can use to let them free. He just has to find it.

And, maybe he overreacted a little bit. Seeing how Mirage was cataloging the words in his memories, he thought his minicons were dead, possibly poisoned and on a time limit. But it turns out, they’re not.

The memories and processor still their functioning when Soundwave starts to move inside it again. Things are hastily back into place, rattling all the while, and nothing besides the barest of systems move around. Things Mirage himself can’t really stop.

He starts searching for the command, this time more careful. He traverses long alleyways that remind him of noble houses, looking like a place in Mirage’s processor where he would hold his memories in the Towers. When they still existed. He keeps going, leaving them untouched.

Eventually, digging a little deeper, he finds protocols of old have activated. Both of them look like messages, letters, and are right in the part of Mirage’s processor that handles communication and external drives, like comms or motor systems to an extent. Commands, too. So maybe he can find something of use here.

Both communications are unsent.

He wouldn’t pry this much into his mind, but they are awfully fresh. Both have activated around a few breems ago, when Mirage attacked him. He figures maybe he can take a look at those, to understand if he’s stable enough or if he’s preparing an attack the moment Soundwave gets out of his system.

The first is a longer, written in the heat of a moment, small love letter to Hound. Soundwave scans over it before closing it quickly. It’s too personal, and despite the slight annoyance at Mirage’s actions he wouldn’t intrude so much. He still has standards.

The second is more alarming. The system is trying to send it to Jazz.

It reads:

I’ve been compromised. All my life and all I know is now within the Decepticons grasp, I couldn’t destroy it in time.

It was an honor serving with you, even if I hoped I could see the end of this war.

Farewell, my dear friend.

They’re both death messages.

Soundwave flinches, blinking at the unsent pieces of data for a moment longer. It makes no sense.

A protocol from before the war ended? Why is it still active? Peace was declared a long time ago, a couple of hundred years. Mirage can’t possibly have protocols still hailing from it!

And yet, looking behind him, finding the tidy, almost military tidy-adjacent processor, Soundwave sees the unsettling picture painting before his very eyes.

Gazing at the ready to intervene fight protocols, to the high defenses, even if those couldn’t keep him out in time, he understands.

The war never ended for Mirage. When things settled down Hound was enslaved. He started fighting to free him. He then got a job as a bodyguard and someone planted a bomb into the Senate the very day after he started working.

And then, according to Mirage, the one he’d been protecting bought his special someone. Which is a whole other kind of wrong.

Soundwave leaves the letters. The system still tries to get them out, a fruitless endeavor. They’re not being sent, he realizes, because Mirage and his processor don’t have access to the outside.

Something else is preventing him from communicating. That something else is actually someone else and, in a dreadful moment of clarity, he realizes it’s Soundwave himself. Part of his old protocols are online too, from routines of when he was interrogating prisoners. Divide et impera, get them to feel alone against him, overwhelm them, and everything crumbles.

Some part of it disgusts him now. His spark twists and clenches. No, it’s not simple disgust. It’s terrible.

Which also means those messages were supposed to be sent out not when Mirage attacked him, but when he was attacked. When Soundwave started roaming his mind.

Mirage is completely, helplessly, utterly alone against him.

Another terrible doubt settles in his spark. Where is Mirage’s very being? He should be here, trying his hardest to fight Soundwave from the inside. He should be trying to protect his memories in a fight of processors. He should be shielding himself using bytes of data he can use and won’t care if they get corrupt, but he’s not. Which is a huge red flag on its own.

He leaves the peripheral section of his processor. He has to find Mirage. If he’s shielding himself with what little fighting force he has left, Soundwave is sure to find him in its deepest part. Then he has to figure out how to get to him without upsetting Mirage more.

He takes one last glance at the screens. They ought to give him insight on how Mirage is fairing right now.

There’s still static. Which translates to numbness, or panic so strong Mirage can’t even think.

Neither of those options is good.

Soundwave treads carefully yet quickly, pushing deeper. He still encounters little to no resistance. Diving so deep, he starts to feel emotions and sensations Mirage can’t quite control envelop him.

Misery.

Soundwave grimaces, but pushes through that feeling too. He’s glad he’s got control over his powers, or his own circuits would be getting fried with the power of that emotion alone.

Then a memory hits him. Being this close, it must be everything Mirage can think about. It strikes him as a whirlwind, scrambling his processor momentarily.

“You’re a spy.” It’s Jazz’s voice, Soundwave recognizes it. “If you’re caught, in this time of war, they will try to interrogate you. And, as you unfortunately already know, it will be painful. It will hurt. But you have to stay strong, you can’t let any of them get inside. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, Mirage. They get in, and you’re dead. We’re all dead. Never let them in.”

Then there’s something else. Fear, for Hound. Terror of Soundwave himself, his connection with the minicons shining brightly and eerily.

The fact Mirage kidnapped them. The fact Soundwave will be mad. The fact he’s inside Mirage’s mind right now and he can’t do anything to stop him.

Followed by another, fresh, starkly clear wave of absolute horror and deafening panic.

Then nothing. Death of the mind, of all thoughts as Soundwave makes his way closer, through the memories and emotions.

It twist his spark in a bad way. It’s too much. Mirage shouldn’t be feeling this threatened. He was relatively good, all things considered. Soundwave is not thinking of hurting him anymore. It was him who chose to do things immediately and didn’t tell the other anything.

But it doesn’t change anything in the dark way Mirage’s processor is spinning.

That’s wrong. All of this is wrong!

“Mirage!” He calls. He can see him, hunched over himself, his hands on his face, unresponsive, covered by a flimsy shield of light that might be what Mirage sees when he turns invisible. It’s hard to get to him, but Soundwave can’t let him reduce himself like this. “I do not wish to harm you. I am sorry, I didn’t mean any of this! I thought—”

The hunched ball of Mirage coils up more, and another wave of emotions, full of go away and I don’t want to die and Hound is shoved right in Soundwave’s face.

He erred. Inside Mirage’s mind, he can see it so clearly. He thinks Soundwave got Hound to hurt him. And he fought back, getting his minicons as revenge. Only to lose, and now he’s convinced he’s being interrogated like in times of war. He believes he won’t get out alive because Soundwave is in his systems. The pain and guilt from spilling the entirety of his faction’s secrets, from condemning all of those lives, bleeds out of Mirage like a deep wound.

That would have been understandable, once. But the war is over. Has been for a long time. Soundwave speaks the truth but Mirage can’t listen. How can he get his point across?

“Mirage, please! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you! Come out with me, lower your defenses, I promise you’ll be okay.”

Still no response, but the force of his raw emotions is enough to send Soundwave toppling behind. Pain, numbness, self-deprecation, regret, hate all crash into Soundwave. He can’t reach Mirage. His panic is too great, Soundwave is seen as an executioner right now. Mirage needs someone he can trust. Someone like Jazz, but he’s not readily available.

Someone else, then.

Soundwave backs up. He stays close enough to see Mirage, but no longer directly involved in the internal turmoil he accidentally caused.

There is also another crucial aspect of this. Mirage can’t feel anything, he can’t contact the outside world. Soundwave has to change that. He runs back to the edge of the processor, careful not to change anything, gets out, once he manages to get through Mirage’s firewalls disengages the protocols locking them both from the outside world.

Mirage doesn’t escape the panic bubble in his processor by himself, which is unfortunate, but foreseeable. Soundwave exits their shared mind, opting to re-engage with the real world and not some jargon made of increasingly complex data and sensations.

When his optics come back online, he finds himself still with his back to the ground, looking a the ceiling. Mirage has been removed from over him, but he still feels the connection in the form of a slightly heated port under his neck. When his audials come back online, he can hear someone keening softly. Rotating his head as much as he can to the side, he finds Hound.

He’s holding one of Mirage’s servos like his life depends on it. He has brought it to his mouth, and his optics are semi-offline. Mirage’s other hand is still close to Soundwave’s neck, and the cable connecting them sprouts from his wrist.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” Hound whispers. Soundwave’s vocalizer finally comes back online, he forgot how tiring it is to dig into a mech’s processor, and he calls Hound with a static-filled creak.

The other flinches, holding Mirage’s servo tighter, enough to show his tensed cables underneath the plating.

Objectively, Soundwave can bring himself to sympathize. Hound saw Mirage diving on him, ready to kill him if necessary, and Soundwave remembers him calling out. It probably distracted the bodyguard and Soundwave used that moment to infiltrate his processor.

So they both fell unconscious in front of Hound’s eyes, and they’ve been frozen on the ground as if dead for a while. Careful not to jostle the cable, Soundwave pushes back into a seating position.

His calling of Mirage’s name while in his mind didn’t do anything. It’s obvious is voice has no power. But Mirage’s peripherals should be slowly coming back online, so he ought to feel Hound holding his hand at some point. He can’t do anything consciously because he’s still caught in his panic, but Soundwave hopes to change that soon enough.

“Hound.” He says, more clearly. “I need you to call Mirage.”

With eyes shining and sparking from the fear and pain, Hound winces.

“W… what?”

“He’s trapped in his mind. I can’t pull him out without hurting him. More than I already did.” He adds, not feeling proud. But he’s also not going to deceive Hound on what happened either. “Yet, if you try to call him, I think he’ll get out on his own.”

“I’ve been calling him. The both of you. You never replied. And I’ve just received his death message, I…” He counters, his voice still a hoarse whisper.

“We couldn’t hear you before. But he can now. I beg you, please try.”

Hound looks dubious. It doesn’t last for a lot, he shakes his head. Still trembling, still worn out, he calls.

“Mirage?”

The room stands completely still for a beat, both Soundwave and Hound watch Mirage intently, hoping to see a movement. A reaction.

A full breem passes. When the bodyguard hasn’t moved a single muscle, Hound squeezes his hand so hard he may even hear the metal creak under his fingers, mourning him. “Oh, Mirage…”

The noble’s eyes, lazily, slowly, come back online.

He looks up at the ceiling with a dazed face. Soundwave, relived, silently leans away. He doesn’t want to be the first thing Mirage sees when he wakes up. He stays calm in his processor too, since they’re still connected and something too strong may catch his attention.

Luckily, Mirage is more interested in his held servo, and he raises his gaze in Hound’s direction.

His vents hitch.

“Mirage!” Hound shouts, relieved, kissing Mirage’s back of the servo softly. “For Primus’ sake, Mirage!”

The bodyguard’s eyes spark too. He’s still feeling the blunt of his emotions, and Soundwave can perceive it clearly through the hardline, without his powers: spark-deep relief, joy, vulnerability and a lot of other complex sensations emanating from his very spark and settling in the hardline and on his features. Mirage slowly pushes himself up as well.

“H-” His vocalizer creaks, so he waits a moment to reset it. “Hound. My dear Hound, you’re still alright.”

Then Mirage raises his other hand, tries to get it to touch Hound’s face. Only to encounter more resistance as the cable still connected to Soundwave’s port tenses.

Emotions travel at lightning speed through the bond. Mirage turns, realizes he’s here, and his spark is flooded with terror and fear for his life and Hound’s all over again, even as his wrist remains up in the air. His eyes widen with terror, the plug goes to disengage.

But Soundwave gently raises his hand to keep it firmly in place. They haven’t been communicating efficiently, and although ports are used for anything this days, from plug and play, to medical examinations, or for the devious hacking they’re both proficient in by this point, they are made for much simpler, transparent communication at their core.

They were made to let two people interact with each other, not to make one be forced on the other. This time Soundwave stands quietly on his side of the connection, and Mirage tries to slowly back away, even if he can’t nullify it completely.

Soundwave projects his feeling calm. He shows it plainly, attaching notes of not mad and understanding. Mirage flinches minutely, but when he finds it’s nothing even remotely similar to any virus he’s ever encountered, he lets it hesitantly slip through.

A moment later, Soundwave is offered bafflement, deep embarrassment and sorrow.

“I never meant to hurt Hound.” He says, after he’s digested those emotions. “I thought you would like a surprise.” To make his point, he sends over a few brief memories of his cassettes receiving gifts, being happy, beaming with smiles as powerful as the sun itself. But then he stops, projecting instead what he learned from Mirage’s point of view, the fear and deep betrayal he felt instead. “That was a fatal mistake on my part.”

“No, it wasn’t… I… Hound told me what you meant to do when I… a-attacked you.” Mirage fumbles with his words, sending hasty acceptance, still coated in that embarrassment and a flick of self-deprecation. “I overreacted.”

“I think you were more civil than me.” Soundwave replies instead, communicating relief at knowing his cassettes are alright.

“That’s not true.” Mirage continues, serious, squeezing Hound’s servo to get rid of the lingering anxiety, that Soundwave still feels dripping through the bond. “You freed him for me. And I attacked you in return. Even if…” He goes to say, but then he falls quiet. There’s more deprecating thoughts swirling in Mirage’s mind.

“It was an understandable response,” Soundwave reassures, “I think I would have done the same.”

Mirage nods, tugging Hound’s hand closer.

“When will they be…?” Soundwave asks, a bit wary, sending over the image of his sparkbond with the minicons. Mirage looks up.

“They should be coming here shortly.”

Through the connections comes a line of code and a time string attached. Mirage sent the command to wake them up as soon as he noticed Soundwave attached to his system.

It’s harder to tell at this length, but there is something else, something deep, still bothering Mirage. He opens his mouth behind the mask to ask what it is, but the query signal isn’t even queued for the bond that the door opens again and the four minicons come rushing in.

Rumble and Frenzy set themselves on the left and right side of Soundwave respectively. Laserbeak flies through the room, assessing the situation, fighting protocols abound, and Ravage, with one fierce pounce, breaks the connection by jumping on the cable.

Soundwave and Mirage don’t have time to officially disengage and both hiss out in pain when the plug slides out of the port in a small flurry of sparks.

“Okay, we have no idea what happened but get away from Soundwave!” Frenzy shouts, putting himself in a fighting stance.

“Now!” Rumble reinforces.

“Wait.” Soundwave scolds them, hoping to stop Mirage before he can do something else because he’s tensed again, and his eyes are darting from one side to the other, his hand dangerously close to his subspace.

::Boss,:: Ravage snarls, ::I don’t know why or how but he neutralized all of us. Used us against each other probably, I don’t think we can trust him anymore.::

::It’s bigger than that,:: he shuts her off. ::I’ll explain it eventually. Just know this is not the whole picture.::

Mirage looks around, unsure.

“We should probably leave.” He says in the end, careful, with a vocalizer that feels obstructed.

Soundwave nods. Yes, they can all use some time to think about this, to figure something out with a clearer mind.

Hound’s face goes gloomy all of a sudden. Mirage squeezes his hand, caressing it softly as his cable slowly rolls back into his wrist.

“It’s fine. We… I’ll figure something out.” He murmurs.

Soundwave’s processor lights up. Mirage used to spend his time with Hound in that building at night, so they don’t have a place to rest.

The two slowly rise to their feet, with the minicons looking at them threateningly all the while.

“The apartment upstairs.” Soundwave says when they’re in the near proximity of the door, getting up with Frenzy’s aid. They turn towards him.

“What about it?” Hound asks.

“It’s empty. The passcode is 240625. You can spend the dark cycle there.” He explains. Mirage’s eyes widen.

“We… we don’t mean to—” He says, weakly. Hound interrupts him.

“Thank you. We’ll use it.” Then he leads Mirage out, and the door slides neatly behind them.

Soundwave falls back down on his knees, the interaction having drained him more than he thought, and in a moment all the minicons are right besides him, showering him in concern and love and affection and worry.

“What did he do to ya, boss?” Rumble asks. His vision is getting blurry, he wishes for nothing else than to recharge right now.

::Are you hurt? We can call Lifeshine.:: Laserbeak is next. Soundwave shakes his helm at him in reply. He feels safe right now. There’s still some things to clear out, but he’ll be okay.

He scoops up all of his minicons in his arms, and then raises back up to his feet. Some of them complain, other squawk in indignation, Ravage meows ferociously before she can help it. But he doesn’t care. Today has been exhausting, he wants to curl up with his cassettes and sleep and nothing more. He can think about everything else tomorrow.

So he lands on the berth, looks up at the ceiling and holds his minicons close. Some of them say he’s squeezing them too tight, but they don’t move when he loosens his embrace. He falls in soft recharge almost immediately, knowing they are safe and they are close, letting his memory open before them in case any they want to know the full extent of the story. He thinks they will do good things with the power they’ll hold.

Chapter Text

When Soundwave wakes up, his minicons are sprawled all around the bed. Rumble and Frenzy are snoring softly, tangled in his legs. Laserbeak has moved, and has found a stable perch over Soundwave’s chest.

Ravage has fallen asleep curled up in an elegant doughnut directly on his face, but that’s old news by now.

He carefully removes them from his person, still leaving a handful of small covers over their tiny bodies in case they’ll be cold and prepares himself to go outside.

Well, not properly outside, just a few steps out of his habsuite, to the apartment above. He’ll wait until Mirage is awake, he wouldn’t disturb their privacy, but he wants to be found outside when he gets out so they can talk first thing in the morning. They’ve had time to replenish their energies, it’s important they keep going from where they set off last time.

He hears a few silent footsteps on the same staircase right as he’s about to go up, raises his gaze and sees Mirage coming down, stopping to look at him in the same way.

“Ah.”

“Mirage.”

“Soundwave.”

“I was coming up to see you.”

“I was coming down to do the same.”

“We had the same idea.”

“I see.”

“Indeed.”

A moment of awkward silence settles between them.

“It’s not really my place but… would you like to come up? I must ask you to be quiet. Hound hasn’t rested on a comfortable berth in quite a while.”

Soundwave would like to retort that Mirage hasn’t either, but instead he just nods and keeps walking up.

Mirage can’t offer him much besides a chair in an empty kitchen, but it’s enough for the two to settle down and talk.

“I… apologize.” He begins, after a moment.

“I do too,” Soundwave replies in kind. “I didn’t fully consider what it would entail for you.”

Mirage taps his fingers on the table, in the rhythm of a familiar tune Soundwave can’t quite remember the name of.

“I’ll be leaving my post starting today.” He says in the end. Soundwave flinches.

“Why?”

Mirage blinks at him, baffled. “Why? I… aren’t you going to fire me?”

Soundwave shakes his head. “It was not my intention.”

“I haven’t even worked for a week. You don’t need to do any bureaucracy.”

“I don’t wish to fire you.” He says as clearly as possible.

“But I kidnapped your minicons!”

“After I did the same to the one you hold dear the most. Really, Mirage, I wish we could leave that behind us.” Mirage lingers in the silence for a moment.

“I’d love to, but it won’t be the same for them,” he shakes his head. “You saw them yesterday. They’re right to fear me, I hurt them.”

“They were surprised and tense,” Soundwave retorts, “and scared. Hound was too when I dragged him out. He worried the most about you. And if I dare say, I believe he’s concerned right now as well, about the future, about your lives. I’d argue that despite this hiccup, you’ve served me well, Mirage. If anything this proves you can still be compassionate and you can be trusted with my minicons. You did not hurt them, even when you had the chance.”

“You were in my head. You know I thought about it.” He counters, looking down.

“But you did not.”

Mirage huffs. “Still. You can’t ask them to accept me out of the blue. What if they hinder me instead? Won’t they think I won’t be good enough by your side?”

“That is a very real possibility,” Soundwave admits, “but, as the contract says, you are my personal bodyguard. Not theirs.”

“Now you’re just grasping at straws!” Mirage comments. Some more time passes as he sighs, shuttering his optics, clearly conflicted. His gaze travels to another room, the one that in Soundwave’s apartment is Rumble and Frenzy’s. Hound is probably resting there. Then he finally looks up. “Do you really think they’ll trust me again, at some point?”

“I do.” Soundwave answers, serious and certain.

“And are you sure you will be alright with me watching your back?”

“I am.”

Mirage vents deeply.

“Okay,” he murmurs in the end. “If that is your wish, I’ll still be your bodyguard.”

“That’s just what I hoped to hear.” Soundwave says, nodding. “I’m glad we cleared that out. In the interest of our mutual partnership, I vow to communicate better with you from now on, as not to cause you any distress.”

“I do too.” He confirms. Some more time passes, and finally, Soundwave sees Mirage smile softly. A minute and tiny thing, yet sparkling brightly like a luxurious diamond on a ring. “Thank you. It means a lot to me. To me and Hound.”

Soundwave nods, using his powers to convey his own gratitude directly in Mirage’s system. He flinches for a nanoklik, before noticing it’s just another communication, like an ethereal hardline with Soundwave staying on his side of the bond.

“Lifeshine will be coming for her shift in a while. Would you like to join me downstairs, then? Maybe you should let Hound know where you are, this time.”

Mirage snorts softly, a musical and refined sound Soundwave didn’t even think he could make.

“Why ‘this time’?”

“He didn’t know you were working for me,” Soundwave explains, “it would have saved him the scare, at least.” The other hums.

“You’re correct. I will leave him a message.” Mirage brings his servo to the side of this head, sending a low-priority comm to Hound as not to disturb him while he’s still in recharge. Then he sends Soundwave another playful look, letting him plainly peek into his mind where an ancient memory of his former commander has been fetched, telling Mirage he should leave a message for Hound next time he comes back from a mission. “Since when are you and Jazz so alike?”

Soundwave’s eyes shine, hiding a little mirth. Mirage, though, seems to see right through him, mimicking the expression.

“We have more in common than you probably believe.”

They descend the stairs. Mirage opens the door as it is protocol, and finds four pairs of eyes snapping to him.

He lingers on the door, which Soundwave thinks it’s natural. So he steps in front of the bodyguard himself, putting a hand on his shoulder and entering the apartment.

A few gazes are still wary, but they take in Soundwave first. He calms them, using the bond.

::Mirage will be still working as my bodyguard,:: he explains through it, ::unless any of you have objections.::

He fully intends to learn their fears and soothe them, but surprisingly nobody opposes. Not even the twins, who Soundwave inquires personally.

::It was messed up.:: Rumble says, after sharing a look with his brother. ::But he didn’t hurt any of us.::

::He just scratched Laserbeak. Which is okay I guess, could have been worse,:: Frenzy continues, ::it was just… unexpected.::

Soundwave looks at Ravage next. She was the one the most openly against Mirage yesterday.

::He’s fine,:: she replies, ::we would have done the same thing for you. But we wouldn’t have restrained ourselves.::

::We would have killed him immediately. Then found you.:: Laserbeak agrees.

Satisfied, Soundwave goes towards his desk, to sit and start working. Still somewhat unconvinced, Mirage takes his elegant yet stiff steps to the window. Ravage leaves him alone for a moment. Then, completely unprompted, jumps on Mirage’s lap and requests ear scratches. If Mirage’s surprised and muted grunt is something he can go for, the bodyguard wasn’t expecting it either. He looks down tentatively, unsure of what to do.

But Ravage stays there, her tail lazily swishing in the air, waiting for him to start. So Mirage goes for it, first a bit mechanically, as if scared, but melting more and more into the touch as time passes by.

Laserbeak joins them on his perch. Mirage looks up, making a gesture towards the outside. The minicon shakes his body with a chirp, keeping him company as they watch the sun slowly raise together over the gate. Then the twins sit in front of him and start their usual flurry of questions: hushed whisper edition.

“So… what’s your favorite color?” Frenzy asks.

“…blue.”

To Soundwave’s surprise, Mirage starts answering them. He raises his gaze just in time to see the twins’ eyes twinkle.

“And what did you do before coming here?”

“How did you and that green mech meet?”

“One question at a time, will you?” He says, modulating his answer. “…I fought in a lurid pit under Iacon while looking for this job.”

Laserbeak asks for more with a chirp. Incredibly, Mirage understands exactly what the minicon wants to know.

“Don’t you think that second question is a bit too personal?”

“Not at all!”

“Spill it!” The twins reply, undeterred. Mirage chuckles softly, shaking his head.

“Alright, then. You see, when I first joined the Autobots…”

Soundwave picks up Mirage’s old paperwork, lending half an ear to his story. He looks at the documents with a content smile, adding Hound’s on another tab so he can look at them at the same time. To both, he changes their residence, writing his own address.

And the number of the apartment right above his.