xxxsoundwavexxx:

Without the knowledge of why they are on the planet or what they are now looking for, Soundwave does not know how to be helpful and so simply stays quiet as he follows from place to place.

Are they seeking out the Autobots?  He’s aware that this timeline suffered the defeat at their servos.  Perhaps they’re looking for where a new colony might be?

It goes against his personal wishes to allow Megatron to continue fighting the war on this place after it has already ended, but he has a duty to himself and his minicons – and to an extent, serving Starscream and making sure he’s alive long enough to end Shockwave when the time comes.  He can’t do that if he’s caught out for refusing to play along.

Trying to match his recollection of his own planet with where they are on this one (and hoping that they are not too different), Soundwave manages to bring up several nearby spots that used to lead to the lower levels of the city.

Choosing one, he mentally passes the coordinates along.

[[There.]]

It is all that he dares say that way for now.

The entrance is close enough, a familiar descent into Cybertron’s underbelly. It could be dangerous enough before the war, but now that it had been left abandoned for so long, there was no telling what vermin had taken refuge in the darkness. 

“Stay close, and listen for foreign movement,” he orders, mostly for Xander’s benefit. The only light comes from Megatron’s optics, his companion’s biolights, and a few cracks in the floor from which the faintest shine of fluorescent blue can be seen. Megatron removes the hood of his cloak, finding it unnecessary down here. Once they have gotten a good distance from the entrance, the warlord turns to his mate with a concerned glance.

What is wrong, he thinks, assuming that Soundwave is listening. 

*How anonymous messages reach his audials even here, he’ll never know. Do you think he’s unaware that Soundwave is tense? He will comfort him as soon as they are alone, human.

…Although, their current company is blind.

But they must remain focused on the task at hand.*

xxxsoundwavexxx:

What little glimpse he gets of Megatron’s face confirms what his audials and records told him, and for one long moment he fears that he has done wrong – that those optics are not just staring at him, but burning through him to see the mismatched consciousness hidden inside.

The relief he should feel at the reassuring touch of Megatron’s field and the accompanying knowledge that he is safe for just a bit longer never comes.

Instead, his unease only takes deeper root, tank twisting at the subtle display.

Careful to note the names of the others – and suppressing a shiver at the realization that one of them is the notably violent phase sixer who would probably be more than happy to crush him if he were to be found out – Soundwave simply nods in response to the orders and tags along after.

He can’t remember ever hearing his alternate talk during his stay on the Nemesis.  Maybe he’s supposed to broadcast instead of communicate visually…

Making a mental note to tend to Soundwave’s nerves once they had a moment alone, the warlord presses on. It doesn’t take long to reach the first complex, but it’s soon evident that no living thing has resided in the structure for quite some time. The next three yield the same disappointing result. Megatron growls, cold optics scanning the ground for any sign…

Ah yes. There were tunnels in this area. If his soldiers were in hiding, that would be a perfect way to escape the aerial view from the Nemesis and perhaps even provide shielding if they were far enough down. 

“Where is the nearest entrance to the underground?”

xxxsoundwavexxx:

If he’d had a spark instead of a horrible nothingness where one should have been, it would have frozen at the sound of the cloaked one’s voice.

He knows it for what it is before it even finishes speaking his name.  Even so, he runs a comparison just to be sure.  When nothing comes up to mark it as being a clever impersonation, it is all he can do to stop himself from visibly trembling.

Too much more of a delay would be unacceptable.

Soundwave quickly checks their surroundings, listening for any bits of noise that might give someone away – a creaking bit of floor, a crumbling wall – and checking for life signs.

He starts to respond only to realize he does not know how his alternate communicates.  Deciding to play it safe, he simply marks a negative on his screen next to the scan results.

Primus might hear a prayer for personal safety filtering up from this one’s mind.

Megatron is alive.

He turns and raises an optic ridge at the visual display, but writes it off as Soundwave being nervous to return to a living Cybertron. Perfectly understandable in his case. He lets his EM field brush reassuringly against the tightly coiled field of his companion before continuing. 

“They may be using shielding to conceal their location. It may be best to divide our efforts. Overlord, take the medic and search the Eastern ruins. Xander, follow Soundwave and I. We will head South. Stay in contact.”

With that, Megatron does his best to keep the mesh closed around his frame as they continue out of cover, moving towards a group of buildings complete enough to potentially hide others.