Hurt: A Symbiote Droid Tale

Chapter 12

"Actions: unwise." Soundwave said, glaring at Megatron with his arms folded.

Megatron ex-vented heavily from where he sat, knowing his old friend was right. He had come clean to the cassette host. By the time he finished, Megatron was exhausted. However, the weight he felt had lifted, relieving his spark some.

"I know." Megatron grumbled, checking over his fusion cannon. The one Starscream made. He couldn't help but think. It twisted his spark. He looked away from the cannon and back at Soundwave. The cassette host had tilted his helm.

"Soundwave: knowledgeable on subject." Soundwave continued. "Soundwave: has experience. Roller being a droid: irrelevant. Soundwave," Here Megatron heard the hurt in his friend's voice, "could have helped Megatronus."

Megatron hung his helm. His optics locked onto the fusion cannon. "I regret not telling you. Not only because your experience could have helped Roller, but because you are my friend, Soundwave." Megatron looked up again.

"I've realized... some things. I'm still trying to wrap my processor around it all. But I've come to understand that I am not the same mech I was when I started this war." A huff escaped Megatron. He carefully unlatched the fusion cannon, holding it in his servos. "I just wish I realized before I tore off my friend and his trinemate's wings off."

Soundwave stayed silent for a moment, processing. His shoulders suddenly slumped. "Soundwave: saw decline." The cassette host confessed. "Megatron: not entirely at fault. Soundwave: unsure when tipping point came. Soundwave: knows realization came too late."

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Megatron said, feeling the guilt in his friend's field. "I was too busy having a yelling match with Starscream half the time to consider the world collapsing around us." Megatron looked back down at his cannon. "How did everything go so wrong so fast? I used to share a berth with that Seeker!"

Soundwave turned his helm sharply to look at Megatron in alarm. The cassette host then cringed, glancing away again. "Quoting Frenzy: 'tmi, my mech!'" Soundwave played a voice clip, his cassette sounding disgusted and panicked.

Megatron couldn't help but huff in amusement. He quickly tucked the memories of Starscream and himself interfacing back in the file where they belonged. The telepath seemed very thankful, brushing his field against Megatron's.

The amusement Megatron felt quickly dwindled as he caught sight of his cannon. He sighed, fondly stroking the weaponry as if it was a beloved pet. "A once great friend now looks at me with more hatred than he has for our enemies. The honor and justice that the Decepticons stood for was twisted into pride and rage."

Shaking his helm, Megatron glanced over at Soundwave. "Change is needed, obviously. But I don't even know where to start. The moment he onlines, Starscream is going to continue his plots against me. Our troops will keep backstabbing each other- literally- all for a promotion. Not to mention we are actively at war. We lose more and more territory and resources by the vorn. How can we change are entire functioning after thousands of decavorns practicing these heinous ways?"

Soundwave stayed silent a moment, before playing another sound clip. "... I know it seems impossible. The Senate has us under their servos, doing their bidding. And they've had decavorns of practice. Functionalism grips us with its powerful claws. But together, my fellow Cybertronians, we can break these awful chains. Together, equality can win. Justice can be served. We can all become one!"

The sound clip ended. Megatron couldn't help the dour chuckle that escaped him.

"If I didn't have that exact memory file, I'd say you'd edited the Prime's voice to sound like my own." He said, the small smile on his face plates falling. He groaned, letting his helm fall into his servos. "Optimus spews my very ideals back at me. His Autobots used to represent tyranny while we focused on equality. Such... hypocrisy." Megatron spat.