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Finding a sparkling in a dumpster was a simple happenstance. But turning coincidence into opportunity was something Shockwave was adept at. So it was only logic that made him pick up the tiny yellow sparkling and bring him to Longarm’s home- B-127 was the little one’s designation. Autobots are simple in that they could never conceive of a Decepticon caring for anything, having a sparkling would strengthen his disguise and allow him to get away unquestioned to contact Megatron whenever need be.
B-127 had not protested when Longarm had picked it up by the handle and had not protested when the older bot held him in his arms. Barely the size of his forearm the thing curled up even smaller.
“A sparkling, here? How cruel to leave you be. Do you have any caretaker nearby?” Longarm spoke hushed like he cared, even when he had already calculated that the chance of the sparkling having such a thing slim to none. The neglect showed clear on his scratched plating and the way the little bot hadn’t so much as attempted to call for aid.
Those huge blue optics kept staring at Longarm even when the small sparkling shook its head. Longarm turned the corner of his mouth down to an expression of sorrow. “Ah, I see. Well then young bot, would you like to come with me?”
B-127 blinked once, twice, then grinned and bonked his head against Shockwave’s chestplate with his little horns. Longarm laughed, “I take that as a yes then?”
The sparkling answered by nodding enthusiastically- consequently leaving scratch marks on him as it did so. How destructive. If Shockwave wasn’t planning to use it to win the trust of Autobots it has the potential to be a Decepticon- however as small as it was now a pawn would be all it would amount to be.
Like Shockwave had calculated it was easy to gain custody, B-127 turned out to have imprinted on him; it was only noble of Longarm to accept the sparkling as his own. What was a miscalculation was how one was to take care of such a creature.
The sparkling was quiet and still in the beginning. Not saying a word but looking around at everything around them as Shockwave took it to the washroom to rub off the grease and dirt that had gotten stuck. He fixed up the scratches with no trouble at all, it was only surface damage not close to the damage he’s been used to fixing up. All this led him into a false sense of security, like he could expect what taking care of a sparkling would be like.
How wrong he’d been.
When B-127 had sufficiently explored its new home and assured itself Shockwave wasn’t about to throw it out, that's when it began to act up. Like a switch had been pressed the little thing wouldn’t shut up. Babbling and crawling up and around the walls. If the Decepticon even let the little sparkling out of sight for a minute he’d suddenly find it missing, on the sealing, in the trash compartment, spilling motor oil everywhere as it tried to stick its whole body into the can.
More than once Shockwave thought of crushing the thing so it may not annoy him any longer, but he’d sealed his fate when he registered B-127 as his own. To lose it now would only rouse suspicion. What Shockwave had to do was adapt . Let go of the frustration and learn how to make it stop .
He learned that he needed to play with it to run its energy dry enough to enter stasis. He learned to put things out of reach. He learned its expressions and mannerisms, how it stomped its foot and crossed its arms when displeased, how it threw its head back and smiled when it was proud, how when his tone went cold with frustration it shrunk and made itself seem even smaller.
It all distracted Shockwave long enough for Megatron to notice. “ Shockwave, come in, ” rumbled inside his private comlink while Longarm was doing the sparkling’s favorite game of ‘throw as high as he can without going through the ceiling and then catching it’. Immediately Shockwave stopped, letting the sparkling on the ground.
“Hey! We’d only just started,” B-127 pouted, jumping up on Longarm’s leg as if he-it could force Shockwave to resume if it just reached his servos again.
“I have a call I need to take, stay here and don’t make a fuss, ok?” Longarm said, patting the sparkling’s head more forcefully to get the thing off him. Seeing B-127’s cheeks puff up Longarm added: “It won’t be very long.”
“Okaaay, but you’ll have to come back!” B-127 said, reluctantly letting go.
Longarm gave a smile before leaving and locking the door. His apartment had a special soundproofed room allowing full freedom of communication, no need to worry if his troublesome sparkling would overhear something it shouldn’t have (for Shockwave knew now if he gave it the chance it would).
He stretched out his limbs, transforming into his true form before answering the com. “Is there anything you require, my liege?”
“Your reports have decreased in frequency, Shockwave, explain yourself,” Megatron did not seem irritated but there was no forgiveness in his voice.
“The process to gain the Autobots' trust has been accelerated, however the method has left me little time alone. I have gained a sparkling in my custody.”
“A sparkling?” Megatron narrowed his eyes, “what use is a dependant for your mission?”
“It will allow me to elude detection much more efficiently than before. Autobots care about protoforms more than their lives and so believe the care of sparklings is a position exclusive to fellow Autobots. I use this fallacy to build connections as Longarm. Do not worry, while taking care of one is time consuming it will be not long before the sparkling is no longer dependent on me. The mission will continue uncompromised.”
Shockwave could not read Megatron’s expression, calculating, yes, but in anger or consideration? “Will you raise it to be a future Decepticon?”
“No, it shall be raised as an Autobot. Sparklings have a tendency to mimic their caretakers, do they not? A paladin of the rotten Autobot faith should have an equally rotten child- as well as I do not trust B-127 to be able to lie. He shall know me as Longarm and Longarm only.”
“And if it stands in your way?”
“I shall kill him when he is no use to me,” Shockwave’s eye slit narrowed, for he spoke the truth in this moment. In a way he almost looked forward to it, the despair as everything crumbled around them.
The answer also seemed satisfactory to Megatron as the Decepticon leader dropped the subject afterwards. Moving to what Shockwave had learned since last they spoke until it was time to say goodbye.
When Longarm came out again he saw B-127 in stasis on the couch, curled up in its nook like if he just squeezed himself in enough it could encase all of him. Shockwave sighed, carefully extracting the young bot from his sleeping place. If the sparkling slept there and developed a stuck neck plate he wouldn’t hear the end of it.
Gently so it wouldn’t wake up, Shockwave carried B-127 to his berth. It was an uncomfortable arrangement, the sparkling had its own newly installed berth to lay in, however it caused a ruckus everytime it woke up and didn’t spot Longarm that this was the best he could do to spare his audio processors.
In his mind Shockwave calculated the amount of free time he’d have before the sparkling would wake up. Not enough to find anything significant but enough to spread his influence further. One does not disappoint Megatron and live.
-
The academy was almost effortless. Sentinel Prime was a fool with nothing but ego inside his head, never even taking a double take on the soft spoken Longarm who did as he was told and didn’t complain. His fellow academy comrades were much the same, he was insignificant, below notice, just as he wanted.
No, the difficult part was before the day started.
“Take with you!” B-127 screamed as he clung to Longarm’s leg as Shockwave yet again attempted to leave the sparkling at school.
“I can’t, it is much too dangerous for you,” Longarm responded softly, “my spark wouldn’t be able to bear if you got hurt.”
B-127 looked chastised and for a moment Shockwave could almost believe he’d won before the sparkling puffed up his cheek and clung tighter. “I’m not a newly formed protoform! I can take it, I just wanna see the academy, pleaseeee. Pretty please, if you take me I will promise I will never ask again!”
… How tempting. “I’ll have to see if Sentinel Prime allows it, but I make no promises!” At Longarm’s words B-127 grinned with his full face. Without thinking much about it, Shockwave returned the smile, the little bot had learned how to bargain after all.
After a few clicks Prime answered Longarm’s call. “Longarm speaking, I wish to ask permission to bring-”
“Yeah, yeah just get here on time,” Sentinel Prime said before shutting off the comlink. Hardly permission but… B-127’s optics shined as it stared up at Longarm, having heard every word.
“So I can?” The sparkling asked like the answer was already yes .
Shockwave sighed and Longarm shrugged with a half smile. “Perhaps it will teach Sentinel Prime to hear someone out before agreeing. Though you will have to keep your word that this is the last time you ask.”
B-127 let go and started jumping around hitting the air, “yes! I mean-” he stopped and coughed, putting his servos down and put on his best dead-pan face, “Yes. I will not do that.” It didn’t take long for him to break his poker face again giggling.
Longarm kneeled down to look B-127 in the eyes, putting a hand on its shoulders. “You have to be good, my sparkling, no making trouble, alright? That means staying with me and not going off alone.” B-127 rolled its eyes so Shockwave tightened his grip making the young bot squirm. “Understood?”
“Understood,” with that Longarm let go to grab its servo. Praying that his impulsive sparkling kept its word this once.
When they arrived B-127 could hardly keep still. Only by an iron grip did the little thing not slip away to look at every corner. It was still early so Longarm indulged the sparkling, showing the different areas of the place in all its grey and dull glory. A delicate balance making it disinterested from exploring further but not as bored as to make itself a nuisance seeking stimulation.
“And this is where we do field exercises,” Longarm showed off the labyrinthian-like barricade made of metal and dirt.
“Cool! So this where you like, beat up Decepticons?” B-127 asked excitedly. It was a mercy that Longarm’s face did not emote easily if he did not will it so.
“No, little one, Decepticons haven’t been seen since the war. This is simply to keep our reflexes sharp dodging paint-fire from the turrets there,” Longarm pointed at where the machinery was hidden, his third optic keeping a careful eye on the small bot.
Like expected B-127 gave a disappointed sigh however the twinkle in its eye was taken note of. “But no more time for the tour, we have to go to roll call now,” he added to hopefully kill that thought.
“Ok, I guess,” B-127 kicked a pebble before reaching up to Longarm, “carry me?” An easy request. Shockwave held him in his arms as he took position among the others and waited for Sentinel Prime.
The Prime came late as always, perhaps he enjoyed watching them squirm for him. Not that Shockwave ever gave him the privilege. “Listen up everybody! Now just because you’ve gotten the ‘hang’ of things doesn’t mean I want to see anyone not putting their 100% into this! Today’s lesson will be maneuvering while under fire! Now I want to hear a ‘Yes, sir!’”
“Yes, sir!” Everyone responded including…
“Wait, Longarm, what’s that you’re holding?” Sentinel pointed at the offending yellow thing.
“My sparkling,” Longarm said like he had no idea why Sentinel was asking this.
“Yes and why is he here? You know very well this goes against protocole-”
“I called you earlier for permission and you said yes,” Longarm interrupted.
“Ah- oh, I mean it is great to have the future generations see the greatness that is this academy and be inspired to join the high guard as well!” Sentinel coughed, “oh well where was I? Oh right-”
They all were moved to the bot made ditch but as the cadets one by one transformed into their vehicle form Longarm was stopped. “The sparkling stays here,” Sentinel commanded.
Shockwave’s pupils narrowed, “It'd be better if my sparkling stayed with me. My tank form is enough to protect against the paint.” And he knew if he let B-127 go there would be no accounting for what it’d do.
“Are you refusing a direct order?” Sentinel growled, leaning in uncaring that his face was in Shockwave’s- and by extension B-127’s- space.
“No, sir, I was suggesting-”
“Give me that!” Sentinel ripped B-127 from his arms, dangling him by his handle, “I assure you I can very well do something as simple as proton-sitting. Go on before I write on your record disrespectful of superiors .”
Shockwave’s claws clenched around empty air. It felt like he was burning on the inside as he forced himself to be passive. “Understood,” he said emotionless before gently saying to B-127, “behave, ok?”
His sparkling nodded and Shockwave turned, joining the others in the pit. He was used to hating Autobots, but the Prime was by far the most loathsome and pathetic of them. Yet even he had not before awakened this itchy hate that Shockwave longed to just claw out of his spark. An itchiness that just got worse seeing the sparkling be let go without a concern and for it to hunch down so small.
Shockwave let his fans cool him down as he shifted to tank mode. There were few times Shockwave wished he’d been something else but in this moment he cursed that he was made for power and not speed. He had no doubt he would get through the exercise with no hiccups, yet it would take time .
He shut out the thoughts of B-127. It would do no good to get distracted. His fans stopped buzzing and when the turrets started and Sentinel said “Go!” it was blessedly easy to get his head in the game. The turrets were not as quick as real Decepticon firing but it was a close enough replication that the cadets might be fooled as to trust is as accurate. One can only hope the bad habit sticks.
The race continued as expected. Longarm was not last nor first, the admirable good but not great. Perfect position for a spy. He could not lose focus on the bigger picture of the mission.
Even if the hushed “Hey, what are you doing! Get back here .” from Sentinel made it close.
Shockwave ignored it. He didn’t listen to the chase. He did not look up to see B-127 trying to climb on the turret with his little stingers. But the paint shots changing to live rounds? An acceptable thing to react to, transforming into robot form as the race stalled.
B-127 clung to the turret with all its limbs as the thing buckled and tried to shoot haphazardly at everyone. Sentinel had his shield out but everytime he tried to grab the sparkling the turret would spasm and shoot him instead. “Turn the turret off now!” Sentinel ordered.
“I don’t know how!” B-127 said distressed. It was stupid to even ask the sparkling to do it in the first place with the risk that the second it let go it would go flying away and get shot.
Shockwave jumped up to face the fire, dodging the blasts and reaching out his arms to simultaneously grab B-127 by the handle and reaching the off switch. Pulling the little one back to him as everyone took a second to vent. Looking at the turret it was clear to Shockwave that B-127 likely had wanted a better, more exciting view of the race but accidentally hitting the switch as it climbed up.
“You incompetent bumbler! That’s it, your name will be Bumblebee for your clumsy puny little troublemaker ways!” Sentinel hissed, deactivating his shield and jamming his finger against B-127’s, now Bumblebee , head. Shockwave pulled back from the Prime, servos trembling with rage. Did the Autobot not realize that the names he gave would be their permanent designation? “And you,” Sentinel turned his anger to Longarm, “I do not ever want to see your sparkling here again, got that?”
“... Understood,” Longarm said.
“Now everyone get down and give me 20 transformations!” Sentinel said, making everyone groan.
Reluctantly Shockwave put… Bumblebee down. The little bot had his knees to his chest and didn’t dare look up at Longarm. “We’ll leave right after this, alright?” Longarm said with the gentlest voice he could muster. Bumblebee just nodded, hugging himself tighter.
Like Shockwave figured after the punishment class was dismissed. His fellow cadets seemed a mixture of put off and confused that Longarm had been the one to get them into trouble this time but with Bumblebee disallowed from coming here again Shockwave wasn’t worried it would be a permanent stain on his reputation.
When he came back Bumblebee was right as he left him. Though instead of trembling he kept his eyes on the ground as Shockwave approached, picking him up again as they went on their way home.
After a little while Bumblebee broke his silence. “Are you mad at me?” he asked, quietly. It made Shockwave stop.
“No,” Shockwave said and realized with a startle that it was true. He was angry, yes, but not at his sparkling. It was strange because logically he should be furious, Bumblebee broke his promise even after being repeatedly told. To expect punishment was logical. “It’s in a sparkling’s nature to be curious, it’s my failure for not teaching you well enough to avoid getting hurt,” Longarm explained though it did not feel right either.
Bumblebee was quiet for a moment as they resumed the walk. “Will you get punished because of me?”
“... It is hard to say with Sentinel Prime.”
“I’m sorry,” Bumblebee sniffled, “I’m so sorry for breaking my promise and causing trouble. I just wanted to see how cool you were in action. I promise I didn’t mean to make a mess of things, you can trust me on that.”
“I know, Bumblebee, I know,” an impulse grabbed Shockwave then, bringing his faceplate to the top of Bumblebee’s head. “It’s alright, even the best bot makes mistakes sometimes.”
The sparkling sniffed before encircling Longarm’s neck, hugging him. “Ok.” It felt warm.
-
After that things got easier to handle. Bumblebee followed the expected development of an Autobot sparkling, though still very small compared to other peers. They’d gained an understanding of sorts that Shockwave did and asked what he thought best- even if Bumblebee didn’t necessarily agree he would still listen if Longarm explained the importance.
And Shockwave himself didn’t find himself… irritated with the young Autobot. No, he almost looked forward to their time together? A strange irrational feeling that served no purpose to the mission. To be attached more than need be for the cover story was a liability. Especially since as Bumblebee grew he no longer relied on Shockwave the way he did when he was young.
Longarm got bestowed the title Prime as foreseen, head of the spy network. Whatever information Megatron needed he could now provide and the foolish Autobots would be none the wiser that they fed their enemy. Yet the memory that rose up when he thought of his title was little Bumblebee with his shining eyes, bragging on the street to anyone who could hear that his caretaker was a Prime.
Shockwave did not understand what was happening to him. It was like he felt what Bumblebee felt. A flaw, a weakness that had buried itself in his core. If only he had made the sparkling a Decepticon, if he only could have seen- he cut off the thought. Illogical. It was best to nip this in the bud and be done with it.
Bumblebee followed Longarm’s footsteps. Joining the academy in hopes of graduating to the High Guard. As a good loyal Autobot Longarm couldn’t dissuade him too much but Bumblebee had already made up his mind about it. If he got offlined in the line of duty he would no longer be Shockwave’s responsibility, so he let it pass with clenched fists.
Strangely when Bumblebee held off on talking about how the academy was the first day Shockwave couldn’t help but needle. “Is something wrong?” he asked his sparkling on the comlink- Longarm was far too busy with work to come in person.
“No! No I mean nothing’s wrong,” Bumblebee waved his hands like he could shove the question away, optics darting around anywhere but Shockwave. Lies.
Longarm put on an expression of concern. “Bee, you know I am the head of subterfuge, right? I know when someone speaks mistruths.”
“Shoot, I mean-” he looked up at the ceiling like it’d come up with a better explanation before dropping his head, “it’s not anything important. I just don’t feel like anyone likes me, that's all. Except that big guy Bulkhead but he just doesn’t get the memo I don’t want to be his friend- ANYWAY what I meant to say is… I just, they all seem to judge me for being small and that my caretaker is a bigshot and I’m just not and I get so frustrated because; hello! I haven’t even got the chance to prove myself yet, just because I happen to miss this time doesn’t mean I’ll always do it!”
Ah, perhaps it’d be easier to get Bumblebee to quit than he’d assumed. “As you said they do not know you yet, with time I’m sure they’ll grow to appreciate you and your talents,” Longarm said despite knowing full well Autobots are judgemental and obtuse to true greatness.
“Maybe… but maybe if you’d trained me when I was little I’d be able to show off how cool I am instead of being a total newbie,” Bumblebee huffed, still not meeting his eyes.
“You know why I didn’t. I didn’t want to raise you to be like me,” Shockwave- Longarm stated. An old tired argument.
“Yeah and how did that work out for you?” even Bumblebee cringed at his own words before going quiet again, “you believe that I’ll make it to the High Guard, don’t you?”
“Bumblebee I-”
“Nevermind I don’t want to hear it,” Bumblebee met Longarm’s eyes, “instead I’ll prove it to you! To everyone!” He hit his chest with a forced look of determination, “you’ll just have to watch me.”
That he will.
Despite Bumblebee’s confident words. His situation did not improve, Sentinel Prime did not exceed his expectations and used the same old tricks of collective punishment for individual mistakes. Further isolating his sparkling from his peers as he became the scapegoat for their frustrations with Prime.
To get Bumblebee to drop out would be as easy as letting the Autobots themselves crush his spirit. Shockwave should just let nature run its course and disengage until Bumblebee comes back to cry. What he shouldn’t do is hack the security cameras to watch his sparkling in action. Continuing to poke at the strange unpleasant feedback he gained when he saw the mistreatment of what was his.
An indulgence he shouldn’t do unless he wanted to fall for impulse as his rage built. Sentinel Prime he could do nothing about, his incompetence made him an asset to the Decepticons, but the powerless cadets…
In the end it was something insignificant and meaningless that pushed Shockwave to act. The simple fact of Bumblebee started avoiding his calls. Cause likely some misguided form of shame .
“Bumblebee? Come in,” Longarm spoke through their private comlink.
It took a second too long for Shockwave’s liking for his sparkling to respond. “Yeah? What is it?”
“First you have to promise me that the content of this call will stay private. I am calling on… ‘official’ business.”
That made Bumblebee perk up, “official? What does official business have to do with me?”
“Ah-ah, promise me first that you will speak nothing of this to anyone else.”
“I promise! Now tell me!” His smile made Shockwave’s rash decision to begin this call seem almost worth it.
“I have reason to suspect there is a Decepticon spy in your group.”
“Woah, really?! I mean… Yes I understand what you mean, I also have had my suspicions,” his poker face only lasted a moment before he gave a sheepish smile, “um, may I ask who the spy is?”
“Wasp,” Shockwave’s voice had an undercurrent of static as he spoke.
Bumblebee’s optics widened like the implications had really sunk in. “Are- are you sure? Like both that it’s him and that you want me to uncover him.”
“I always knew that you were capable of so much more, Bee,” Shockwave’s voice was hushed with intensity. “I have full confidence that you will find the necessary evidence of his treachery.”
“I.. ok, ok. I won’t let you down, Longarm!”
“I’m sure you won’t,” Shockwave closed the comlink, satisfied.
Through the audioless cameras Shockwave watched as Bumblebee regained his drive. Instead of a nebulous hope of proving himself now when he had a mission to conquer his focus sharpened and his actions became motivated. However Bumblebee’s sting of ‘if you had trained me’ was felt even more keenly as his sparkling went on spying as clumsily as if he was a newly formed protoform.
Even that Bulkhead noticed Bumblebee’s odd behavior. Yet it did not matter- the large Autobot’s expertise hardly lied in his processor and his… Misconception that Bumblebee was his ‘friend’ at least allowed his sparkling to gain aid while Longarm was occupied. The memory of Wasp and his lackeys unscrewing Bumblebee’s legs kept replaying without his command.
The others just saw Bumblebee as an outcast already worthy of ridicule, his strange behavior dismissed and just another reason to poke and pick at him. The realization would be sweet when Bumblebee turned their cruelty into evidence of Decepticon infiltration; why else would they treat a Prime’s sparkling so poorly?
All Shockwave needed to do was wait for Bumblebee to find the planted evidence. Not something to be noticed by Wasp but for someone as desperate and alert as Bumble was it would take little more than the idea to enter his mind before he found the ‘secret’ compartment in Wasp’s belongings. If his sparkling needed assistance a nudge would suffice.
With apathy Shockwave noted that Bulkhead had gotten in trouble with Sentinel Prime again, a note that if it was one thing Sentinel loathed almost as much as being undermined was bots who got in his way.
It did not matter. It shouldn’t have mattered.
So why when his plan was at the finish line, as Wasp was sent away screaming, as Bumblebee stood there receiving his accolades- why did Sentinel have to open his mouth and demand someone be punished for his suffering. And that someone had to have been Bulkhead .
Shockwave realized the moment Bumblebee had made his choice. Too loyal, he should have seen it; he should have prevented Bumblebee from ever forming a connection to that bot. Helpless he watched Bumblebee throw the opportunity handed on him on a silver platter back in his face and be expelled .
Perhaps if he showed Ultra Magnus his sparkling’s potential, if he could just pull the right strings-
“I’m sorry if I disappointed you, Longarm, it just… didn’t feel right,” Bumblebee said when Longarm had proposed reverting his expulsion. “It was your finding anyway, without you I’d have no clue there was a spy let alone be able to catch Wasp.” He smiled then, resigned. Shockwave let him go.
Perhaps it was better this way. Stuck on a nothing rock in the middle of nowhere would assure him far and away from Autobots or Decepticons. Shockwave didn’t need Bumblebee by his side anyway. The plan had just been to dissuade suspicion if anyone were to find his tail they would just assume it was remnants of Wasp’s influence.
The disappointment he felt was just the anger of a plan going off track. Bumblebee was no spy, the impulse to instate Bumblebee into a position near him was just to exploit Autobots’ proclivity to overlook nepotism.
In the end his systems no longer burned with constant anger, and boredom made Bumblebee more inclined to contact Shockwave (Even when Shockwave knew logically that as a fully fledged Autobot there was no need for Caretakers to stay in touch. He had done his duty and yet…) It was nice, to talk again. Even when the subject was how tedious blowing up rocks were.
Longarm never supplied him with confidential information but seeing Bumblebee’s optics light up listening to stories of other worlds was worth the occasional sharing of trivialities. Though never long before either Optimus Prime or Ratchet put an end to it for using too much unnecessary power and holding up Longarm from his duties.
Hacking the ship’s cameras was to simply keep an eye on Omega Supreme, even in an offline state more information about the Autobots’ once weapon never hurt. Despite lodging that as his reason Shockwave hadn’t expected them to be of use .
Bumblebee was supposed to be safe. So why did his bug pick up an SOS signal about a Decepticon ship trailing after them after they dug up the Allspark?
They’re in the way of Megatron.
“And if it stands in your way?”
“I shall kill him when he is no use to me.”
Bumblebee has long served his purpose. He is not needed anymore. Shockwave promised he would get rid of him when the deed was done.
From the coms he could hear explosions as the Decepticon ship came bearing down. See as it jostled the Autobots, Bumblebee.
Autobots do not live in the future the Decepticons have in store. No place. Bumblebee-
Bumblebee had no future with the Decepticons.
Megatron attacked the Autobots.
The ship was crashing.
To keep Bumblebee was to betray his mission, his life’s work.
Bumblebee was his . His sparkling, his happiness, his everything .
He couldn’t have both!
The pain in his head and spark felt like his cables were being ripped asunder. Directive- mission- allspark- his sparkling- his Bumblebee-
It all went dark as his systems shut down due to the strain.
When he rebooted he was met with silence. The communications had been cut, the ship marked as lost with the Allspark, his link with Megatron dead. No way to contact his sparkling. Like his joints had been cut, Shockwave could not move.
He could no longer keep two loyalties, in doing so they had both destroyed each other. What drove him to follow his directive was cut with the sharpest of loss and what was his had been lost. He had nothing.
No, Shockwave could not accept it. His Bumblebee had to make it because a reality without his spark no longer made sense. Slowly he rose from the floor, gripping the communication control for balance. Megatron had been ejected from the ship- there was still hope for his sparkling yet.
But this war would not spare his Bumblebee, a bot unused to combat, schemes nor conflict. He had to make the world fit in their image. Remove the threats that threaten their happiness.
Shockwave was a Decepticon no longer, but his deception had only just begun.