THE SHOW MUST GO ON [open]

[inferiordude]

WHO: Soundwave & OPEN
WHERE: Medbay
WHEN Some hours after Barricade & Driller find him/repair him.
WHAT: Eventually, Soundwave wakes up from repairs in a very unfortunate location for him. Visitations, anyone?
WARNINGS: Trauma, mention of robotgore/robotdeath.



Dreaming is a difficult thing for him.

Usually, Soundwave is in the company of someone, and adopts their memories, their dreams into his own. It's sort of nice, because he feels as though in that way he can improve his techniques as the Decepticon Army's Morale Officer. He knows how to help his fellow soldiers, help his friends keep upbeat. Not just with sing-a-longs with Dead End or Bombshell's therapy sessions, but he himself needs to help the others find a will to carry on.

Here in the medbay, when he's resting, he gets flashes. Some dreams his own, some not. A mix of what he's taken, and what he trembles in the wake of.

There's a sharp smile, a cheerful giggle, and a laser scalpel digging into his face as it's removed, torn from his head You just look so much more interesting this way! and how his mind burns when he knows the truth that he failed one of his adopted kids he's dead he should have rescued him red eyes burning at him This doesn't concern you, Decepticon and he hears Rodimus screaming and he's too late and the black sucks him down and he's never been able to escape it and in his arms it's cold metal just so cold and
he remembers
something new to all of it
this isn't what I want stop stop stop stop and the tired sigh of it's not as if you will remember this, Soundwave, your struggling is getting tiresome and stop stop stop don't open that there's just no choice.

The dust kicks up under his feet, the expansive desert, and Soundwave stares in confusion. Twin stones twisting around each other, a fierce glow, and it screams in his head.
MAKE US WHOLE


Soundwave jerks awake from recharge, his intakes gasping to vent out hot, anxious air, trying to cool himself off. Looking around in a panic, he almost doesn't remember being here.

The medbay.

Frag, he hates being in medbays.

"Ugh, so bogus," he groans to himself, rubbing his helm. Glad he has hands to use again.

It's rare to dream something for himself. Not all of it his, but enough of it was, and that bothers him. Soundwave shudders to himself, shaking his head. No, no. He's okay, he just needs to roll it off his shoulders. He can deal with it.

It's okay. It's okay.

Soundwave folds his arms over his midsection, hugging himself.

Right. He'll be okay.

Comments

[inferiordude]

"I'll just be lighter on m'feet... and a little more willing." Soundwave looks at his own hands.

"Sorry, Cliff. Don't like makin' more work for you, but I joined the 'Cons so I wouldn't have to change my morals."

[cliffjumper]

"That's not about morals, Soundwave, just, ya know--" Cliffjumper tosses his hands up in the air again, and then points sharply at his companion. "Not getting your spark ripped out 'cause ya went and made nice with someone who had a lot less than your comfort an' fragging well being in mind!" There's more of a groan and frustration underlying those words than any actual anger.

Sure, if Soundwave acted in any other way he wouldn't be him, and the same could be said about Cliffjumper. Either way, some amount of suspicion or at least caution could be useful.

[inferiordude]

The Decepticon's head dips a little. He really doesn't mean to make this upsetting for his friend, he truly doesn't, but he'd like to try to make him see things from his point of view.

"I know that's gonna be a possibility," Soundwave agrees reluctantly. "But, um. Look, jus' picture this. And I know it's gonna sound real unbelievable, but before you came along in Axiom, there was a dude who was callin' himself Rod. Everyone kinda thought he was suspicious." And they had every right to. "But I decided to trust 'im. We hung out, I got him repaired, we got energon -- kind of a neat drinkin' bud. We were friends. He ended up getting snatched up by Optimus. You know, one from my world."

Soundwave looks down at the floor, giving a low hum of consideration before he continues. "Yeah. Turned out it was Rodimus, just with a new paint job or whatever. Optimus made him tell me, and killed him. But I think, before he died, I really think I made an impact on him, Cliffdude. I really do. So I guess it's just hard to turn my back when I think there's a chance I can do somethin' right by someone."

[cliffjumper]

Cliffjumper stared, quietly, optics going from narrow, to wide, to narrow again and he sort of seemed to vibrate in place... though he stayed quiet through all of it. When Soundwave was finished, there was a loud, explosive noise... something between a grunt and Cliffjumper's engine popping and he scrubbed his faceplates with the heels of his hands.

"Okay, that's... Let's say you actually did have some impacts, an' I'm gonna believe it, 'cause places like this... and Axiom in particular can do that I suppose, but..." There was another low, frustrated noise and Cliffjumper waved one hand in the air while still clamping the other over his face.

"Look. I'm pretty sure I'm from further down the timeline or whatever than either you or Megatron, unless you were suprised by seein' Megatron, an' not 'cause he was here just because... it was Megatron." Straightening, Cliffjumper crossed his arms over his chestplates and kicked the floor between him and the berth Soundwave was on.

"And from my point? He's not just alive, he's just as much as a glitch as bhe's always been, so unless every time someone gets sent into one of these places mean you create... an alternate reality where they do disappear and scrap..." He cut himself off, frustrated. He doesn't want to say that 'it didn't matter', because then nothing any one of them did here or there mattered, and that wasn't true.

That wasn't... exactly... the point he wanted to make, but slag if he knew how to express what he actually meant.

"Rrr---! What I mean is--- Well... uh. Even if ya got him to listen in Axiom 'cause he was isolated, an' frag, Rodimus ain't stupid and he's a mercenary so of course he adapted---" Getting distracted. Cliffjumper groaned and scrubbed at his faceplates again.

"What I mean is, you got him to listen in a place where things're completely slaggin' different, but that doesn't mean he still ain't a right rusted-over scrapheap!"

... That wasn't completely right either. Optics on a low, dull (dare one say "sullen"?) glow, Cliffjumper finally just snapped his vocalizer off with an audible noise and jerkily crossed his arms again, looking away.

[inferiordude]

There's a fierce glow in Soundwave's visor. "I'm right 'bout him. I get it, better than you! I get what he did! He-- they made a bet about Rumble and Roddy laughed when he was--"

Melted down, eventually.

He braces his hands against his forehead for a moment before he gets back on track. "But I'm not wrong. He did a lot of things." Soundwave isn't really sure how to address that alternative... stuff. That's getting onto a subject he's not well adapted to discussing. He's good on this emotion stuff. Get more scientific and he's a bit lost. "But I know the end where he stood. Even before him, we took a chance on Sideswipe -- and on you."

Soundwave turns his head away. "Do whatever works for ya, Cliffy. I gotta judge individually to be fair. Most people deserve a chance. Ain't sayin' all. Some, you just... gotta deal with accordingly." He can name a few. "But I would'a thought you'd get that makin' a call based on faction..." He taps his own Decepticon symbol. "...doesn't mean a thing."

Most often, he's an agreeable mech. Not on this. All he can do is promise he'll be more careful, but he has friends on both sides. He can work with them, help them.

They can't fight forever, after all.

[cliffjumper]

"And he was gonna--- or is goin' to, from your point of view, I suppose, let Ratchet and Wheeljack vivisect Sephie!" Cliffjumper tossed his hands up in the air and then clamped silent again, if only to let Soundwave actually speak.

And Cliffjumper's the same when it comes to alternate reality things, but he still occasionally wanders into questions like that, mostly because he's confused by it.

"Gonna do that," he grunted, staring - honestly more like glaring - at the ground, and then looked up again, a grimace somehow softening the narrow line his lips had pressed into. "Just like you're gonna do. Just... be more careful, okay? An' I keep being suspicious and disapproving enough for both of us."

Cliffjumper huffed, then and glanced from his own - usually darkened all the time now, but not less there because of it - red Autobrand to the Decepticon insignia Soundwave wore. Which, you know... also was red.

"Except it does. Usually anyway since I dunno... some other realities seem..." He scowled, shaking his helm and reached out to tap Soundwave's insignia.

"Red, both of 'em, see? Even if ya get traitors in all places, that ain't what counts." That was, of course, somewhat simplistic, but when the colour had been what linked the "good" faction in both realities Cliffjumper had been to - disregarding places like this - why shouldn't he use that as his basis?

"... Also, uh. Sorry for... ya know. Coming in here yelling at you when you're still injured."

It hadn't at all been what he'd planned to do.

[inferiordude]

At that, he lowers his helm. He doesn't know about that. What does that mean? Is he himself separate from his own reality now or...? Ugh, this is getting confusing. It doesn't mean he wouldn't keep his friends safe, but it means he can't give up either.

"I'll be more careful, dude," Soundwave assures gently.

True, maybe the color is some kind of sign, but Soundwave's been able to make friends on both sides no matter what. To him, the symbol and color matters less.

Giving people a chance does.

"Heh, s'all right. Yelling is your way of showin' you care," Soundwave muses.

[cliffjumper]

"That's all I'm gonna ask for---" It had been hard enough to say "sorry" for just barging in and essentially starting to shout the moment he got there and get into an argument bceause, yes, he cared, but to have Soundwave point that out?

Yeah, he'd managed to be reasonably smooth while apologising in his own awkward way, but now Cliffjumper sputtered, crossed his arms and looked away. The glow from his optics was a bit too bright.

"Yeah I... uh. Rrr." Why was it just so hard to admit? "Suppose so." Still not looking at Soundwave, rather glaring at a spot on another wall.

[inferiordude]

There's a gentle laugh from Soundwave at the way Cliffjumper becomes so flustered. The Decepticon leans back onto his hands as he watches the Autobot, tilting his head.

"No big, I'll keep it to myself," he promises. Oh, you can hear the grin in his voice.

"Thanks for seein' me, CJ."

[cliffjumper]

Saying sorry was hard enough, being partly "found out" and admitting it's correct? Not particularly easier. Cliffjumper huffed at the laughter, but couldn't really stop his own grin even if he ended up glancing up at the ceiling in exasperation.

"Yeah, you better. Secrets and everything, can't have that get out," Cliffjumper said, shaking his helm. Then he gave Soundwave a light punch on the nearest bit of metal. Hardly anything more than a gentle whack.

"'Course I came. Would have to be outta range and trapped somewhere for me to not come!" Not that he thought Soundwave was in any way disparaging his loyalty to friends, and the tiny grin should reveal that easily enough.

[inferiordude]

The light punch just earns a hearty chuckle from the Decepticon; he shrugs his shoulders and accepts it. True, they may not always agree, but Soundwave has long since accepted that sometimes? You and your friends will disagree. And it's at the point you need to agree to disagree.

"Aw, now that's real dedication," Soundwave comments with a slightly teasing voice. "Thanks, CJ."

[cliffjumper]

Cliffjumper, to be honest, probably has only come partway for such a realisation, but he's also learned when to put things aside and not say anything more. Even if you want to. The confrontation with Rick when he wanted to go after Sephie was a prime example, and he'd been more honestly and uncomplicatedly annoyed then, at the implication that what he didn't know didn't match up, when it did.

"Nah, that's just what you do." Cliffjumper huffed and looked away, trying to take the teasing for what it was since any of the negative polarity Decepticons would do the same. It was just that he didn't particularly see it as dedication beyond and above what was needed, just... what you should do.

"So, uh... Should I stay--" Cliffjumper nods at a chair nearby, shifting awkwardly on his feet and actually pausing there for a moment or two before continuing. "-- or leave? May wanna power down some and slag."

If he didn't say something, even if they had capable medics all over the place around here, Hook and Scrapper would probably be very disappointed.