Rubbing Salt

Megatron found himself unable to sleep despite having filmed something for an upcoming public announcement earlier. He looked over at Soundwave’s form, silent and unmoving as ever.  Laserbeak slept docked in his chest, which rose and fell in incredibly minute intervals that may easily be missed if one didn’t stare. Nothing was improving, and if those readings were accurate, Singer was having to give him higher doses of medication. He would have to ask about that.

As it did often now, Megatron’s mind wandered. Perhaps something in his archived files would keep him occupied, some memory that would give insight into a solution here. Instead, a datapacket titled “Personal Guidelines, Subject: Atonement” sat unopened at the forefront of his archives, sent from Soundwave’s alternate. He thought he had deleted it… He may as well listen to what the defector had to say.

Moments later, Megatron was bent over himself, optics wide in agony. He deleted the file, but he’d seen it all, every tortured swing, every cry of despair as Soundwave blamed himself. The warlord was shaking. Immediately, Singer was at his side, concerned with the disturbing spikes in his read-outs, attempting to scan Megatron’s frame. Before he could get very far, the vehicon was lifted by his shoulder, made to stare into searing optics through red battle filters.

“Call in a bridge. There is someone I need to tear apart.”

Within minutes, leaving a poor frightened medic in his wake, Megatron stood in air that would have obliterated him mere months ago. Despite his appearance, there was no trace of Unicron left within him, and therefore nothing for the barrier here to react to. 

The inhabitants however were another story. 

He had arrived just outside of Dancitron, in full view of twenty or so minibots. The sheer volume of their alert shrieks forced Megatron to dampen his audial receptors, but neither the noise nor the error warnings his frame was giving him dissuaded him from his purpose. He opened up a crackling comm channel, growling across the airwaves.

::You and I have unfinished business to discuss.::