Years now, perhaps a decade.
That was how long Soundwave traveled through this barren planet, both starved and tired. War had ended, yet he was still a prisoner of it as a result. He watched it all happen before his eyes.
The defeat of the Decepticons.
The return of his lord.
The sacrifice of the last Prime.
And finally, the foundation of the new age of Cybertron.
He was but a ghost, simply there yet non-existent. He tried to call out, for anyone, any help that he could get. As the years went by he grew delirious and desperate.
He stalked all of team Prime. He called out, and screamed, even after he damaged his own voice synthesizer. Yet no one listened and no one heard.
Ever since the restoration of his planet, Soundwave attended every opening of any business. He followed Autobots and Decepticons around the newly built city of Iacon. There were some rare moments when he could feel the warmth of others as he loomed over them. Sometimes he swore that this new generation of Cybertronians could see him in certain lights.
But perhaps that's just a sense of hope within him.
He often followed a certain Autobot that caught his interest. At first, he simply stalked her with a dash of curiosity. A shadow with no voice or body.
He watched the Autobot and her every move. With nothing better to do, Soundwave took notes of everything about her and all the daily activities she did. For the next few years, he followed this Autobot. For the next few years, he started to lose any sanity he had left in him.
As he continued with his only life in this new world, Soundwave realized that this was his destiny. To be nothing but a damn memory.
But... He swore that this Autobot somehow kept him sane. He knew not how, but he only believed. He wanted it to be that way.
One day his sanity lowered to the point he started to converse with this Autobot. He started to believe that she could see him. Heck, he even thought that they lived together as friends.
If Megatron could see him now.
Another day passed in this world, another moment of suffering. Gone were the days he'd serve Megatron, all he could do was be with his friend no matter where she goes.
But that fateful day was different. The Autobot whose name escaped him was visiting the museum. A new historical piece had been added and all were excited about this event. The Autobot spoke to Soundwave, she told him that she was excited to see what the museum had placed on their display.
He told her that he felt the same.
And after waiting in line along with others, Soundwave and his friend finally saw the newest addition to this museum, and the Decepticon couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity with it. It was a warship, one used during Megatron's reign. He didn't catch what the name was, only the fact that it was important.
He and his friend would've continued elsewhere, but something caught Soundwave's attention. A Vosian snuck into the warship.
He pointed it out to his friend but she waved him off and said it was a staff busy with something. Against her better judgment, Soundwave went to investigate.
These halls were familiar to him, Soundwave traversed the ship as if he was home. He didn't realize it, but Soundwave knew where this Vosian was. He and this ship were connected somehow. He knew where they were, and soon enough Soundwave was by their side.
This Vosian tinkered with some device, muttering something to themselves.
Soundwave called out to them, yet the seeker did not acknowledge him. He took a step forward to confront them closely. But as he did so, something flashed before him and for a moment he was blind.
Once he regained his vision, the seeker was there with arms open wide and a smile that would've split his face open.
"Soundwave!"
For once he could see color after so long. He was honestly speechless as he stood there in the halls of the Nemesis. Wait, Nemesis?
...
Soundwave stared at the unconscious bodies of Shatter and Knockout. The lights returned and the shadows were chased away. The only issue was that his identity was revealed by these two Deceptions. If only he had time, then this little problem would have been solved. Sadly it won't be long before others will come to find these two.
Starscream will not be pleased.
With his objective in hand, Soundwave made haste for the exit. He owed the seeker everything for freeing him from that damn prison. And as his honor dictated, he must repay his debt.
Starscream flew past every guard he came across. He had no time to be distracted and none of these Vehicons could even match him in a fight. So his priorities are to save Arcee and the others as well as put a wrench into Nickel's plans.
Easier said than done.
They were most likely too late and Nickel had alerted Tarn of their location. A terrible time to be alive. That just meant time wasn't on his side. He had originally planned to stick around Earth until he had the resources to fight Tarn and his army of Decepticons. Starscream needed his own army if he wanted to stay alive.
That meant he'd need all the help he could get.
His patience was rewarded.
Just straight ahead was Arcee and the others. They were locked in a one-sided battle with a goliath of a Decepticon. Brawl, the muscle of the Combaticons.
Even though he was alone, the three were overwhelmed by Brawl's size and superior strength. Not to mention that he was armored with plates thick enough to shrug off attacks. All they could do was scratch him. Wheeljack's blades barely left a cut. The combined power of Arcee and Flamewar was nothing to Brawl.
Starscream also noted that there was an Autobot heavy unit lodged into the wall. If he was in the fight then Arcee and her group would've won by now.
Looks like it is up to the greatest leader of the Decepticons to save the day.
The jet slowed himself and prepared a rocket. Once the others split apart and gave him a clear shot, Starscream launched both missiles. The result was expected as Brawl propelled backward with the result of a massive explosion.
He transformed in the air and slammed his feet against the floor. Sparks erupted as he skidded to a halt. With a prideful strut, he launched one last missile at Brawl to make sure that he was down for the count.
"Rejoice! For I, Starscream, have come to save you!"
"Can't say I'm not happy to see you, 'Scream," Wheeljack smirked before he went to help Warpath.
Arcee sighed with relief, her body ached from that skirmish with Brawl. "Just glad you got here, I was beginning to feel tired."
"A lesson for next time you battle someone like Brawl, always bring explosives."
"Shut it, the next time we infiltrate this place, I'd be sure to pack some anti-armor missiles." She said as the group collected themselves. "Glad you made short work, now we just need to get out of here."
"Smokescreen is still on his way to Knockout for extraction. Sadly the jammer they deployed prevents any outside communication channels. If we were to escape, we'd need to group up with Blitzwing outside."
"And I can't let Smokescreen wander this ship alone, especially with all this heat." Arcee said. "Best to find him as soon as-"
The lights died on them.
Plunged Into darkness, the group prepared for the worst. Like Knockout and Shatter, their vision was limited by the lights they could create. All were unsure of what would happen next.
One thing they do know was that they weren't alone.
Something was wrong, yet they were clueless about what that is. Suddenly Flamewar tensed up, a deep growl escaped her as she snapped around. A look of fear and dread upon her face. Panic and paranoia consumed her soon enough
"He's here, I can smell him!"
"Who?" Arcee questioned as fear slowly seeped into their hearts and minds.
"Megatron?" It was more of a question, Flamewar doubted herself as she is just as confused as the others. "No... This stench reeks of death. Who... Who is it!?"
Starscream clamped his hands onto her shoulders. "Calm yourself, Flamewar!"
In turn, Flamewar wrapped her hands around Starscream's throat. "You! You're fault! It was you all along!"
The others quickly went to separate the two. It was a struggle as Flamewar was determined to crush Starscream's neck.
Suddenly the lights came back.
As did Flamewar's sanity. She turned docile the moment the lights returned and acted as if she hadn't tried to kill Starscream.
"I- Damn you Flamewar, I have half the mind to peel your exterior for that!"
"You'd want that don't you, Soundwave!?" She snapped at Starscream. "Yes, you'd take the plates off my face and wear them!"
Starscream was taken aback by her response, he was honestly conflicted to either keep her alive or simply end her there. But she mentioned Soundwave, which confused him greatly. So were the others. Only team Prime knew of Soundwave's fate, or so they believed.
A murderous look appeared in Starscream's eyes. "Blast that..." He muttered something under his breath. "We must hurry and find Smokescreen before they surround us. It is only a matter of time before Slipstream finds out that Blitzwing is only a distraction."
Dropkick crumbled onto the floor.
Smokescreen had finally managed to land a hit after a very long dance. He was lucky that he was short of stature and Dropkick was bulky and large.
With his obstacle out of the picture, Smokescreen rushed through the ship for Knockout. Quickly and stealthily, he dodged every sign of a threat.
"Oh no, it's Smokescreen!"
Smokescreen stopped in his tracks as he came across Swindle and Astrotrain.
"Swindle!?"
He feigned cowardice before the Autobot. "We surely cannot stand a chance against one of the heroes of Cybertron!"
Astrotrain stared at him strangely. "Can't we beat him up? He's just one guy."
"Are you willing to put in the effort to fight? I know I'm not, besides, I'm just a lowly arms dealer who doesn't like getting his hands dirty."
"You do realize that if Tarn finds out we just ignored an Autobot, he'd eat our sparks, right?" He argued.
"Who says he's gonna find out? We were just out gathering Nickel's order." Astrotrain tried to form an argument but found that he couldn't. "Well, Smokescreen, if you're looking for Knockout he's down that way. Just be warned, Shatter was sent out to retrieve him."
Smokescreen said nothing, he thanked Swindle with a smile and a thumbs up.
"Is it smart to just let him go like that?"
Swindle waved a dismissive hand at his partner. "Astro, when have I ever been wrong with my judgment?"
"The mafia tried to sink me in the toxic ocean." Astrotrain reminded Swindle.
The door to the medbay opened, and Smokescreen dashed in with his taser drawn. But much to his surprise, he was greeted with two unconscious Deceptions. One of which was the bot he was looking for.
What exactly happened is a mystery to Smokescreen, all that mattered was to get Knockout back to the base before anyone could discover them.
"As expected, you're here."
Smokescreen turned around to see Starscream at the door. He walked in and scanned the room. Smokescreen thought it was strange of him, but chose not to question it.
The seeker scowled at the other Decepticons. Smokescreen was clueless to the fact that Shatter and Knockout had encountered Soundwave. But Starscream knew.
"I'll grab Shatter, you go handle Knockout."
Smokescreen was confused yet he did as he was told. The Autobot hoisted Knockout up to his feet as Starscream picked Shatter up.
"Arcee and the others are holding back the vehicons, we must regroup and call Shockwave for an exfil."
"Got it, but why do you need Shatter?"
"She can benefit us?" Smokescreen could clearly see that it was a question. Whatever Starscream was planning on would be best to be vigilant. "Yes, she can give us the information we will need to fight back."
He didn't question that logic. Sounded reasonable enough for Smokescreen to drop the subject.
The two and their cargo hurried back to Arcee and her group. It wasn't long before they reached a skirmish between Arcee's gang and a horde of vehicons. They were not faring well. From what Smokescreen could tell, the drones were armed with superior firepower. Must've been Swindle who armed them.
All this happened just outside the ship.
"Shockwave, we need a Bridge now!" Starscream ordered. Thankfully the jammers were only effective within the ship. "Lock on Arcee's location, we will return to base soon! Blitzwing! Get your scrap back here!"
"Jawohl!"
The plan was to regroup on Arcee's location, the only issue was that Blitzwing would carry with him Nickel's air support.
Luckily Shockwave thought ahead.
The portal ripped open and out came the scientist himself. Before Arcee could thank Shockwave, he pushed a massive weapon into her arms. Hound's Gatling guns.
She smirked the moment her hands took hold of the weapon.
"I'm coming in hot! Slipstream and her seekers are right on my tail!" They heard Blitzwing call out.
With new-found fortitude, Arcee let loose a storm of lead. The seekers that pursued Blitzwing had to abort, or else they would fall prey to Acree's wrath. With the power of destruction in her hands, she paved a way through the horde of vehicons. With a path cleared of any obstacles, Starscream and Smokescreen carried their cargo toward the Bridge.
Nickel seethed as she watched them all escape with not only the prisoners but two of her officers as well. It was disappointing enough that they had trouble with such a small number of bots. Now the others in the DJD would never let her forget this blunder.
Defeated, the Decepticons had nothing better to do than regroup whatever is left with their forces.
No problem, it would only be a matter of time before Tarn arrives. Then Starscream would wish he had hid instead of attacking.
For now, Nickel needed to attend to the injured.
"Is that so?" Thundercracker said bemused. "So Tarn is leaving to retrieve Starscream. But what of the riots he is causing?"
Barricade sighed. "From what I can tell, the Decepticons won't just give up. Tarn made sure that they see the council as the enemy and it'll take a miracle to calm them down now."
Thundercracker relaxed into his throne. "Right, who is he taking for this journey?"
"Everyone stationed in the Peaceful Tyranny, a smaller transport ship will accompany them as well. They're taking the rest of the Rainmakers and the Coneheads. They're also bringing in Devastator."
"All that to capture Starscream and Shockwave?" He rose to his feet, a scowl adorned on his face. "Tarn must be desperate."
"Careful in my opinion." Barricade believed. "Starscream was always the slippery one."
"Where is Acid Storm? I will speak to him before he departs."
"Better hurry then, they're leaving in a few hours. He's holed up in the Drunken Stork." Barricade stood as well. "Whatever it is you're planning, it better be good."
"If I play my cards right then perhaps we can avoid any more bloodshed in our home. Maybe even avoid the impending war."