Pain and Servitude

Chapter 7

Bumblebee vented softly as he opened the door to his suite, making sure that his pedesteps were loud enough to be heard from the other room when he entered. The first few times he'd come in in his usual silent stride of a trained scout, he'd startled his unwilling captive, in one instance even causing a mild panic attack. Whatever they'd done to Soundwave back in Iacon prison, it must've been terrible if it rendered his current state.

Absentmindedly wiping his pedes on a mat in a fashion he'd picked up on Earth, the scout cautiously entered the living room.

The living room was probably the largest room in the whole suite and an apparent favorite of Soundwave's. Though the 'con was not a seeker, he preferred large and spacious areas as they probably vaguely reminded him of the Nemesis's bridge where he usually remained during the war. But although Soundwave liked it, Bumblebee, on the contrary, hated it.

The grandness of the room with it's elaborate decorations and expensive furniture disgusted him as he was reminded of the first time he'd been presented with it. A 'small reward for the savior of Cybertron' they called it. Pah! The very thought made him want to purge.

Bumblebee didn't deserve this. He didn't help win the war for this. He fought for the freedom of all, he fought against all the oppression and injustice the council represented, against the violent, murderous ideals of decepticons. And for what? Only to return to the exact same system he'd been fighting against.

Optimus and the others's betrayal still hurt. And it hurt even more when he realized that some part of him understood their actions. Bulkhead and Wheeljack has lost many friends at the servos of their current slaves, be torturing Breakdown and Dreadwing, they were avenging the deaths of so many Wreckers. Arcee was much the same, avenging the death of her partner. Ultra Magnus followed Optimus and Optimus...

Throughout the entire war Optimus held himself back in an effort to not lose his original objective like Megatron had. But despite his best efforts, he did. After witnessing all the death and destruction his former friend had wrought on countless worlds, he must've lost all hope of ever redeeming the warlord. The Prime was far from emotionless and eventually the resentment built up until it spiraled out of control and he no longer saw a better way to make Megatron repent for his sins.

Bumblebee could only speculate why he and Ratchet hadn't resorted to such horrendous acts themselves. They had all lost dear friends to the war, Bumblebee even lost his voice for Primus's sake and yet.. Shaking his helm, the scout turned around the corner and walked into the small kitchen area and came to an abrupt halt.

Soundwave stood behind the counter, nimble digits placing energon goodies on an ornate metal plate in an elaborate design with extreme precision. His brilliant, violet were focused on the task and he didn't even twitch as the yellow bot slowly approached him.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Bumblebee reset his vocalizer and the former spy reacted immediately, posture straightening as if he were asked to stand at attention. Bumblebee mentally sighed at the behavior. He'd tried talking to the captive before, explaining that he only wanted to help the captive in any way possible without expecting anything in return, but Soundwave seemed to be firmly convinced of a catch.

"What are you doing, Soundwave?" The scout asked curiously as he looked down at the plate. Silence met his words and he looked up at the taller mech's face. To anyone else, Soundwave's faceplate would seem emotionless, as if the visor were still concealing his feelings even thought it was invisible to others, but to Bumblebee, who spent several deca-cycles in his presence, the emotions were quite clear. The way those violet eyes narrowed just slightly, the way his lip plates became a thin line and the way Soundwave's frame stilled told the scout that he was severely unimpressed. Basically it was Soundwave's equivalent of a 'Are you serious?' look.