Transformers Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Tides Saga ❯ Secrets of the Universe ( Chapter 3 )

Dark Tides Saga

Chapter 3 - Secrets of the Universe

** Amidst the small colony where she had been created, Twilight sat next to a slightly smaller masculine robot.

"The war has begun!"

The android smiled brightly to her. His body would forever remain the same, but in his innocent stare and clueless mentality it was easy to see that he was newly built. In his young mind, war apparently was associated with honor, heroism and glory.

Don't speak of war.

Twilight felt a strong connection to the small robot. He had been built with the same blueprints as she, and both by the Constructeons*. It showed, as he looked like a male version of her, with a crimson color scheme as opposed to pearl.

"I'm gonna join the Autobot army!"

Hush, you're too inexperienced.

"I mean, once I get older and more experienced!"

The war won't last that long.

"Longhaul thinks it will!"

Longhaul's wrong.

"Scrapper thinks it will last forever."

They're all wrong.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to tremble. The stars sprinkling the midnight sky were clouded by thick, black smoke. Missiles began to rain from the air.

War brings only death.

Twilight could only watch as everything erupted into chaos. Her sibling disappeared into the smoke. In her mind she called his name, reached for him. In reality she sat frozen as the world exploded around her. The scent of smoke and death and circulated energon was overwhelming.

Suddenly, as quickly as it had begun, it was over. She found herself standing amidst a decimated colony. Broken husks and pools of energon were all what was left of the small area. Her brother laid shattered at her feet, dead before he even had a chance to live.

Yet, she was not the only one who stood among the wreckage. There was one other, so far that she could barely make out his features, yet close enough to see his outline. The massive body and odd posture would stick in her mind for eternities to come. But nothing burned into her mind as deeply as the monster's fiery eyes.

**

"Awaken, Twilight. You are experiencing a temporary lapse of logic."

Suddenly, Twilight was roused from her chaotic slumber by a hard shake of her shoulder. She darted her head up, gears speeding up in alarm. A mixture of relief and surprise came over her when she realized it was the elusive Soundwave that had awoken her.

The pearl femme glanced around to see that she was in the lab. Apparently she must have fallen asleep during her studies. The room was empty except for her and Soundwave, Ratchet must have gone off somewhere. It was no surprise, as he tended to go off without a word and tend to his own devices outside of the confinements of the lab. Shaking her head to rid her senses of the nightmare, she finally looked back up at the navy blue robot. Soundwave had one hand on the desk, the other on her slender shoulder. His visor was slightly brighter than usual, indicating confusion and perhaps concern. Twilight wasn't sure.

"Sorry…I uh, didn't mean to disturb you…" she said meekly, raising one hand behind her head. He released his grip on her shoulder and stepped back.

"Apology unnecessary," Soundwave responded in his usual monotone. Yet…his voice sounded slightly more tired, his posture just a bit more weary. An untrained eye would never have noticed a thing. Ever since his correct diagnosis not even a week before, the young female began to harbor a growing fondness for her azure companion. While always keeping to her studies, she couldn't help but watch him at times. He was so intense, so focused, he had a discipline unlike any she had seen before. During these watches, she noticed that his body language and the brightness of his eye band would change ever so slightly in accordance to his mood. Now, actually being able to tell his mood simply through observation was still quite a feat, one that she had not been able to accomplish.

"So-uh…how's your project going along?" Twilight asked, wondering if that may be the cause of her lab partner's weariness. Never had he told her anything about his project, but as time elapsed she noticed pieces of electronic equipment being constructed individually and at times linked together through wires. She had no idea what in the world he could be making, but whatever it was, it must have been incredibly important to Soundwave for him to work on it so relentlessly.

"Stagnant." The navy blue robot answered. The femme waited for him to continue, but after a moment she realized that he had no intentions of explaining.

"Well, um, apparently our projects aren't going anywhere…want to, uh, go outside? Maybe the change of scenery will inspire us?" She suggested. To Twilight's surprise and delight, Soundwave nodded in agreement…

"Aren't the stars beautiful, Soundwave?" Twilight asked, in awe of the breathtaking sight of the stars and the full moon. There was no response, but she had not expected one. Not even a mile away from the building that housed all of the laboratories was another, massive one connected to others by a series of bridges. On the roof of that large building the two robots sat. Soundwave was leaning back on the palms of his hands with his knees slightly bent. Twilight was sitting in a loose fetal position. "What do you think they could be? Just some shining lights in the sky? Other planets that can glow-"

"Silence," Soundwave suddenly interrupted. "Listen."

She immediately quieted. Tense, listening for an invisible enemy, her gears sped up in anticipation. But nothing came. After a moment, she looked at him, perplexed.

"I don't hear anything…" the femme whispered.

"You're not listening," he replied mechanically. Soundwave didn't look the least bit alarmed, perhaps it was not some unseen enemy he was referring to. With a soft sigh, she closed her eyes and concentrated. After a moment, she could hear the faint inner workings of the mechanical buildings, the roar of the engines of Cybertronians built with the gift of flight, and other, unidentifiable sounds. Individually they were nothing more than background noise, but together they merged into a harmonic orchestra. In a strange, unnatural way, it was almost…beautiful. Twilight opened her eyes to look back at her companion, who was now staring at her with surprising intensity. "Understand?"

In the crimson depths the femme noticed a passion that was rarely found in the stoic robot. It was deep and strong and yet even in its intensity was almost impossible to detect, as Soundwave hid his emotions so incredibly. At that moment, she realized why he spoke so little, he was always listening.

"The secrets of the universe reveal themselves to those who listen," he explained, looking back up into the starlit sky. "Most do not care to understand. I experience an illogical desire to share this experience, this insight, with another…"

He's…referring to me…! Twilight realized, her internal mechanics whirling at the thought. In a strange, scientific way it was romantic.

"…so I began to construct an offspring. A sentient being, capable of his own thoughts and personality yet one whom I could pass on my knowledge to…"

Reality punched her in the face as she realized that Soundwave was referring to his project, not her.

"…Unfortunately, I have reached stagnation. Multiple attempts of overcoming it have failed. I am…at a loss."

The navy blue robot's tone was -slightly- agitated as he tried to find the correct verbal articulation to describe his situation. The femme quickly recovered and placed one hand on his shoulder.

"Well, maybe I can help!" Twilight piped in. "What is it that you're having such trouble with?"

"Attempts to create an original, sentient personality have proved futile. All trials have resulted in copies of my own or other's personalities," Soundwave explained.

"So…you're trying to program a personality into him, and at the same time try to make the personality his own?" the pearl femme repeated in her own words, not entirely certain if she understood the dilemma. Her companion nodded in response. She thought about it for a moment. "Well, it is said that creators often put a part of their spark* into their creations. Perhaps you are…um…being too logical about it, if that makes any sense. Instead of trying to implant an entire personality into him, why don't you try just a small part of yourself? If you put just enough to start, if you give him the ability to grow and learn, his personality will develop along with his experiences?"

There was a long moment of silence, as Soundwave considered her words. "You may be correct. Perhaps we should return to the lab. I wish to renew my efforts."

Twilight nodded in agreement.

Soundwave and Twilight entered their lab to find an unidentifiable robot speaking with Ratchet. The stranger was massive in size, and his posture indicated powerful strength and status. The pearl femme was immediately intimidated and stepped back, partially behind Soundwave.

"Hey, there you guys are!" Ratchet said, turning to face them. "Soundwave, Twilight, this is the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. Prime, these are my lab partners, Soundwave and Twilight."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," the large robot said kindly. His voice was strong, but soft, the tone immediately putting Twilight at ease. However, Soundwave's defensive posture didn't change, and he stared at the larger robot with acute intensity. "You must be Soundwave…I've heard a lot about you. It's quite an honor to me-"

"State your intentions," the navy blue android stated bluntly. Twilight couldn't help but be surprised at her friend's downright rude response.

Optimus Prime sighed. "As you probably already know, many honorable Autobots have been slain by the greedy hands of the Decepticons, including our former leader Sentinel Prime. I, as the new leader of the Autobots, am seeking new recruits for our organization. Soundwave, your accomplishments are widely recognized, and your skills could be put to great use with us."

Soundwave didn't reply. The room was enveloped in an uncomfortable silence.

"He…just needs some time to think about it, I'm sure!" Ratchet piped in after a moment, breaking the tension. Optimus Prime looked over at him.

"Yes…well, please respond with an answer as soon as possible," the Autobot leader said politely. "I understand that this would be a tough decision, but time is of the essence. I await your answer."

With that said, the large robot walked past Soundwave and Arsenal, and out the door to speak with other scientists in other sections of the building. Once he was gone, Ratchet glared at his navy blue lab partner.

"I can't believe you did that! That was the leader of the Autobots, and you just snuffed him as if he was just some Decepticon drone!" the brightly colored robot cried.

"Your bias is evident," Soundwave responded. "I will hear both sides of the argument before I decide. Rash decisions are unwise."

Twilight listened to their argument in increasing aggravation.

Why do we have to join either faction?!

"Rash?!" Ratchet shook his head vigorously. "Have you paid any attention to the news monitor? The Decepticons have destroyed four cities. Four -entire- cities. Four entire -neutral- cities! That's despicable!"

Why can't we just end this pointless war? Doesn't anybody see that it is destroying our world?!!

Her lips moved, but no sound would come.

"It is unwise to believe everything you hear," Soundwave replied mechanically. "However, if you harbor such illogical sentiments against the Decepticons, then why don't you join the Autobots?"

Twilight's energon circulated in a dangerously rapid increase of speed. She began shaking in anger.

"I am!" Ratchet said with a nod. "I already told Prime. Tomorrow I'm moving out of here and into the Autobot labs."

Why does everyone wish to throw their lives away so recklessly?! Why do soldiers fight for a meaningless cause?! Why does no one care that the world that sustains them will become nothing more than a wasteland if this continues?! WHY?!

Soundwave and Ratchet's argument was quickly halted as Twilight collapsed on the floor with a resounding thud and clank of metal…

*Constructeons - Constructicons before they joined the Decepticons.

*Spark - I didn't necessarily want to say 'soul' since Transformers may not see things that way. Beast Wars and Beast Machines tend to refer to sparks as if they were souls, so I basically used that.

Author's Notes: Finally Chapter 3 is complete! Woohoo! Sorry it took so long, I was having a bit of a hard time with this one. Right now I think I know what I want to do for the next chapter, so it shouldn't take quite as long. It was leading up to the next chapter's events that was proving difficult. I hope the wait wasn't too long and that you liked the chapter! =)