Captured Lullaby (Soundwave x Reader)

Part 3

*warning- extreme description of starvation*

Y/n lay sprawled out near the entrance, gazing up at the ceiling, pondering what life was like outside her confinement. It's been almost two weeks, so she knew her family would be worried sick and restlessly searching for her. A pang of grief flashed through her as she thought of her three siblings returning to the picnic blanket only to find her missing. They would've run home, crying to their parents that their eldest was gone.

She groaned, rolling over onto her side as her next thought was of school. Y/n attended a local community college in her city and was planning to earn enough credits to transfer to a State level university. A breathless laugh escaped her, "So much for that plan." All those free credits she could be earning? All gone. Stay for two years and then transfer? Nope.

Those bitter thoughts vanished when her stomach tightened in hunger. Y/n gritted her teeth until it passed, gazing at her small food storage. Soundwave hadn't been delivering food as usual, and when he remembered, it would only last for a day. Because of this occurrence, the female started to ration out her food by eating more slowly and shredding her food to look like a bigger meal. She had gotten thinner to where she could feel all her ribs, and her skin was turning into an unhealthy shade of white. Without any muscle or fat, Y/n always felt cold and weak. Her h/l h/c hair was now matted and oily, her e/c eyes framed with dark bags. Her body wasn't appreciative of the lack of nutrients, which resulted in her body flushing itself. 'This isn't healthy,' she stressed. 'This isn't healthy,' she stressed. For the beginning week, Y/n had been calling out to Soundwave, telling him that he was slowly killing her. Starvation wasn't healthy for anyone, forced or otherwise. She knew of girls starving themselves to lose weight and skipping meals. 'How could anyone do this to themselves?' she wondered.

The panels shifted, and Y/n lept away, pressing herself flush against the soft walls. Her chest heaved as she fought to breathe, staring in fright at the open doorway. Slowly, the human peeled herself away from the wall and crept toward the opening. Her mind wondering off as she crawled, thinking of the breathtaking meadow and all its treasures. Unaware of her surroundings, Y/n's hand met air instead of a solid surface. A scream ripped from her throat as she tumbled out, staring in horror at the growing metal floor.

She grunted when Soundwave's open palm caught her, pain blossoming throughout her body. Y/n rolled onto her back, glaring daggers at the black screen reflecting her. "You did that on purpose!" she yelled. Anger burned in her chest as the alien innocently tilted his head in question. "You could've killed me!" Unable to handle her emotions, Y/n screamed as she flailed in his hand, pounding her feet and balled up fists, almost like a toddler throwing a tantrum when they didn't understand. Soundwave patiently waited it out, watching as the human calmed herself. Chest rapidly rising and falling, Y/n gaped around curiously before looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. "What happened?"

~~~~~~

After Soundwave stuffed her back into the compartment, Y/n began humming one of her favorite choir pieces, Psallam Deo. It was calming and an easy pattern that she could follow. She realized that she would forget words and become unaware of her actions. One moment she was eating her pile of bread crumbs, and the next, fiddling with a loose button on her jacket. Another example was when she would reread the same comic strip and not understand what the words meant.

Two loud thumps interrupted her meanless thoughts causing Y/n to straighten up and bring her arms weakly in front of her face. Nothing happened after that, but she was still alert to the perceived threat. It wasn't long before Y/n continued humming, oblivious to why she was startled in the first place.

~~~~~~

Knockout vented in relief as Megatron left the bridge, leaving the medic alone. His crimson optics traveled to the main computer with no pilot at the helm. It didn't surprise him. Since the day Lazerbeak had gone missing after an encounter with the Autobots, Soundwave scarcely left his dorm. 'Speak of the devil,' he mused as he watched the slim TIC walk toward his terminal.

The red medic's audio receptors tuned in to a faint humming. The sound grew more audible as Soundwave passed by him and faded as he continued walking. Knockout observed him from the back, lifting a 'brow' as the silent mech tapped a digit against his spark chamber. He was even more confused when the music abruptly stopped.

His attention snapped to his pinging comm unit. Knockout acknowledged the call before leaving Soundwave to his work. It seemed that Breakdown wanted to talk with him.

~~~~~~

Knockout entered the medbay, staring at the blue mech questioningly. "I got your message. What have you been noticing?"

Breakdown turned away from his project, "So you've been noticing too, huh? It was only a matter of time."

The medic sat on a crate across from him, "Actually, I think this is the first time I've seen him all week. He was acting strange and tense when he walked on the bridge. I also heard a faint beautiful humming that seemed to follow him. It stopped when he tapped against his spark chamber." Knockout demonstrated by hovering a digit over his chest, being mindful of his finish.

Breakdown leaned forward, "That's interesting, 'cause, a few days back, when I was in the energon storage room finishing off a cube, Soundwave entered. I don't think he expected me in there cause he just stood at the door, staring at me. After a moment, he walked past me, but this strange odor filled the whole room. What's more? A song, but broken pieces of it. Something about a secret tunnel."

"Secret tunnel?" Knockout chuckled, leaning against a medical slab. "Almost seems like something a human would think of."

The soldier laughed alongside him, "It does."

"Back to our topic, you said an odor. What kind of odor?"

Breakdown shrugged, "Don't know, but it wasn't good, let me tell you. Almost like something from the Pits. Maybe he's not taking care of himself?"

"It could be," Knockout mused, placing his chin in his servo. "After all, he did lose Lazerbeak. Poor mech's probably in a state of depression."

They both sat in silence, mulling over their latest findings, before Knockout spoke up, "If it gets worse, we'll confront him. Whatever this is, it's not healthy."

Breakdown nodded in agreement, "I say give it three days."

"Why three?"

"Cause, if he's getting worse, then we have a reasonable cause of concern. It could just be that he was too overworked that day."

Knockout frowned, "Fair point, but that doesn't explain the singing."

"Maybe it's an audio recording," the blue mech offered, earning an amused looked from the medic.

"Are you suggesting that Soundwave plays lullabies to himself?"

Breakdown only grinned, "Like you said, just a suggestion."

"Fine, three days it is then."