[FoF] Scars of Yesterday 3/???

[dracoqueen22]

Scars of Yesterday
Chapter Three

It happened so quickly, Soundwave didn’t have time to reason with them, only react. The moment the harpy came around the corner, and Laserbeak squawked in his ear, he tried for diplomacy, but the attack came too quickly, too desperately.

He’d had no choice but to put the gold smol down, listening to Laserbeak’s whispers to keep track of him. Her surprise when a second had appeared, only to be intercepted by Mirage, rang in his ears.

And then they were both down, unconscious but alive.

“They’re twins,” Laserbeak murmured with an excited scuttle back and forth along his shoulder. “Brother, they are so beautiful, too. Bloody, but beautiful.”

“They are twins,” Mirage said. The shape of him crouched next to their unconscious bodies, confusion and apology rising from his body in waves. “Slaves, too. The red one was in a match yesterday. He won against a bara half-again his height. It was quite impressive.”

“Assistance appreciated,” Soundwave said.

Mirage sighed. “Liege Megatron asked me to look after his Speaker. It’s what I do. I only wish we didn’t have to hurt them.”

“I do not think they know what kindness is. I know all too well the tortures humans can inflict on us,” Soundwave said. He brushed his throat for emphasis while Laserbeak hummed and pressed closer to his head. “We can’t leave them here.”

“No. We need to get them home.”

“And where is home?” Soundwave moved closer so Laserbeak could get a better look at them.

“Pretty,” she murmured. “And not like any harpy I’ve ever seen. Not like any back at Kaon. Very different.”

Soundwave crouched, elbows on his knees. “They didn’t seem to understand us.”

“If the humans have had them since hatching, they probably don’t know any of our languages.” Mirage’s voice took on a regretful tone, a bit of anger hiding in the back of his words. “I will kill them.”

“No. I need to find Frenzy. Stay with them.”

Soundwave stood as Laserbeak shifted on his shoulder, making a sound of agreement. They’d already checked one building and found nothing but humans with their throats slit and an eerie silence.

Someone had beaten them here, and Soundwave didn’t know if that someone was on their side or not.

“If that’s what you wish of me,” Mirage said.

“It is.”

"Then it's what I shall do."

It was refreshing to work with someone who did not unnecessarily argue. Soundwave nodded and left Mirage to look after the two harpies.

"Twins," Laserbeak chirped excitedly. "More twins!"

"They have had a hard life, twitterling. You and your siblings will have to look out for them," Soundwave murmured as he moved back to the corner of the building and let Laserbeak have a look.

"It's clear," she said. "And I know. Buzz won't be much help, but I will. Promise!" She nipped his ear. "We have to help them like you helped us."

"Buzzsaw has his moments."

The eerie stillness lingered. Occasional gusts of wind whistled through the eaves of the buildings and rattled shingles. Far, far in the distance, the rumble of cars on the highway was faintly audible. There should be more noise, for a place where humans had been enslaving creatures.

It bothered Soundwave that there wasn't.

They'd already investigated a smaller building with a holding pen, one that smelled thickly of blood and other bodily fluids. There'd been a harsh chemical odor as well, one that made Soundwave's eyes water and his nose burn. Laserbeak had made a mournful sound and wouldn't elaborate on the details, no matter how much he prodded.

"Bad place," she'd said, shivering and huddling close to his neck. "Nothing living is here. We need to go."

"There's a building across the way, and a door that leads into the building we're leaning against. Which one do you want to explore?" Laserbeak asked.

"Frenzy and Rodimus are not in this building."

Soundwave blinked. Laserbeak gave a little chirrup of delight and scuttled around on his shoulder in a little dance.

"Rav! There you are!"

Soundwave oriented to the voice, the very, very faint whisper of movement as the eldest of his siblings approached. Probably melted out of the shadows, as Ravage was known to do. Pitch black from head to foot, according to Buzzsaw, he was almost impossible to see at night, even with the moonlight beaming down.

"Yes. Announce it louder, flitterbug." Ravage's dry tone was edged with humor.

"I announced it for brother's sake," Laserbeak grumbled hotly.

Soundwave looked in Ravage's direction, barely spotting the slight flare of buried anger and frustration. "Frenzy? Rodimus?"

"There are others in the building behind you, none of whom we're looking for. The building across the way is the best bet. I saw them bring our kin into there," Ravage said, a growl echoing behind the last words, and a flare of dangerous intent fluttering around him.

"Then we go," Soundwave said.

Laserbeak bumped his cheek. "The door is ajar, brother. I can see light of some kind. Isn't that weird?"

"Lead the way, flitterbird."

She giggled. "Rav is already gone."

Of course he was. And without a whisper of sound to indicate his movement. Soundwave had nothing to follow but Laserbeak's murmured directions, and the thin flare of light from the open doorway, which was a slim blur to him.

Soundwave darted across the open space between the two buildings, and slid along the wall, approaching the door. The acrid smell of chemicals wafted to his nose, and beneath it, a mustier scent, like that of unwashed living creatures.

"The way is clear. The light is very bright," Laserbeak whispered as she peeked in ahead of him. "It's a crude hallway. No stone or tiling. It's just a barn."

So their operation was not very advanced. Or perhaps they didn't want to waste technological facilities on their enslavement program.

Disgusting things.

Soundwave slipped inside, pulling the door shut behind him so it was only a narrow crack of light into the evening, as it had been before. The stench of must and excrement was stronger now, and the bitter tang of blood started to creep in around the edges. Something crunched beneath his feet, dirt and hay, he thought.

"There's a body at the end of the hallway. Human. Bleeding. Dead." Laserbeak hissed the last, her delight palpable. "Not brother's work. Dunno who killed it."

That explained some of the smell.

Soundwave knelt to examine it. The body was still warm, the blood caked around the throat wound fresh. This was a recent kill, minutes before he and the team arrived. Definitely not Ravage's work. Too messy.

Ravage would not have left a body where it could easily be found.

"It's a big room," Laserbeak said, though Soundwave's sense of space told him that much. "There are tables and cages of various sizes. Lots of medical instruments. Stuff I don't recognize." She huddled in closer to Soundwave's head. "I don't like it here, brother."

“Soundwave!”

Ravage’s voice pierced the odd quiet. Soundwave turned, pinpointing the call in a corebeat.

“Did you find Frenzy?” Laserbeak asked, her talons pricking Soundwave’s shoulder as she leaned away from him, in Ravage’s direction. “Brother, come on. This way. Mind the table.”

“No. Not Frenzy.” Ravage said as Soundwave deftly avoided a table, his nose stinging at all of the artificial scents and overwhelming odor of many harpies, some of the scents old, but others fresh and current.

“It’s Rodimus,” Laserbeak squawked, and she abruptly alit from Soundwave’s shoulder, leaving him to track her worried flight in Ravage’s direction.

Soundwave nearly tripped on a chair, but avoided it at the last moment. The rattling of metal informed him of a cage, one that Ravage was yanking open. The bright flare of disoriented fear had to be Rodimus, and Soundwave lowered himself so as not to be so large.

“Frenzy isn’t here,” Laserbeak announced from somewhere above, her wings flitting through the air. “Most of the cages are empty. There aren’t any humans either. Where is everyone?”

“Dead or gone.” Ravage’s tone was flat. Disinterested. Soundwave felt the weight of his gaze. “Someone got here before Mirage and me. We settled in to observe, not act, like we were taught.”

“Who?” Soundwave asked.

A low groan distracted him. His head swiveled toward the cage as the door swung open with a creak. A pained whimper floated to Soundwave’s ear, barely audible.

“Leave me alone.” Rodimus’ voice was raspy, as if he’d been screaming or shouting, and he flickered with bursts of fear.

“Shhh.” Soundwave offered a hand toward the dark mass of terror. “Your captors are dead. Your family has come.”

Laserbeak landed on his shoulder opposite, scuttling in close to his ear. “He’s pressed into the back of the cage, brother. He looks hazy.”

“Drugged,” Ravage confirmed. “I can smell it.” He spat on the ground, made a disgusted sound. “I’m going to look around.”

He scuttled into the dark, a bare whisper of noise. Soundwave shifted to better fit in the cell opening.

“Rodimus,” he murmured, careful to keep his tone gentle and cajoling, like when he’d first convinced Laserbeak and Buzzsaw they could find safety with him. “Come, flitterling. Let me take you home. Megatron misses you.”

“M-Megatron?” Recognition rang in Rodimus’ voice, piercing the veil of terror surrounding him with the thinnest ray of hope.

“Keep talking,” Laserbeak urged. “He’s trying to focus on you. He reacts better when he hears you.”

Soundwave fought to swallow his anger, which bubbled and boiled inside of him like a pot left over a fire too long. These humans, these monsters, had no right to treat their kind like this, like chattel.

If they weren’t already dead, Soundwave would have killed them himself.

"Rodimus, come to me, fledgeling. It is time to go home."

Soundwave kept talking, despite the soreness in his throat and the crackle in his voice. He held out his hand, unmoving, making no sudden gestures. He wanted Rodimus to come to him, rather than snatching the Liege Consort from the cage.

Metal rattled and clanked. Feathers whispered together in the faintest of movements. Rodimus shifted, wavering from a thick, choking fear, to a dawning realization.

"Soundwave?"

"Yes, Rodimus. We've come."

There was a moment, a thin, high sound he could only describe as a whimper, and then the cage rattled noisily as Rodimus all but launched himself out of it and against Soundwave. He rocked on his knees as Rodimus burrowed into him, face tucking in against his throat, not unlike Rumble had done when Trailbreaker brought him home.

"It's all right," Laserbeak cooed, petting the top of Rodimus' head. "You're safe now."

Rodimus trembled, and he smelled of human chemicals. It was thick and dizzying, but Soundwave endured because comfort was more important. He closed his arms around Rodimus, petting him gently down the back, setting off a low purr in his chest. His siblings had always drawn comfort from it, and he suspected Rodimus wouldn't be much different.

"T-tell me Rumble found you," Rodimus said, voice muffled by Soundwave's feathers, his talons clutching handfuls of feathers and clinging tight. "Tell me you've found Frenzy. He's not here. They took him somewhere else. I'm sorry, Soundwave. I tried to stop them, but they hit me with something, a dart, I don't know, and everything got gray and slow and--"

"Shhh. It's all right."

Rodimus hiccuped and shook. "I'm sorry," he repeated with a flicker of misery before he fell silent, burrowing into Soundwave's arms.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Soundwave murmured. He settled into a light rock, like he had when Frenzy and Rumble were newly hatched. “Rumble made it home. We will find Frenzy. You will all come home.”

Laserbeak suddenly took off from Soundwave’s shoulder. In his arms, Rodimus tensed, clinging tight enough for his talons to prick Soundwave’s skin beneath his feathers.

“What is it?” Soundwave asked.

“Someone is coming.”

Rodimus went deathly silent, which was a good thing. It allowed Soundwave to focus, to listen beyond Rodimus and the twirling fear and anger and shame crowding the Liege Consort.

It was a single individual with heavy, measured steps, like that of a soldier or someone trained for battle. They moved with purpose, and they were coming from the same hall Soundwave and his siblings had used to enter the building. Soundwave oriented toward them, waiting, and a dark shape filled the brightly lit corridor, anger and relief lighting up in bursts around it.

Soundwave knew this shape.

“Megatron!” Laserbeak said with glee, and Soundwave tracked her flight across the room as she met him at the door. “You found Frenzy!”

“I did, little one,” Megatron rumbled, and Soundwave straightened, angling into Megatron’s view so he could be spotted, along with the package in his arms. “And I see you found my missing consort.”

Rodimus startled in Soundwave’s arms and looked up, finally noticing Megatron’s presence as he approached. He trembled with a maelstrom of emotions, too quick for Soundwave to identify.

Soundwave stood, drawing Rodimus with him, allowing the Liege Consort to lean on him. His attention, however, focused on the small bundle of pain and exhaustion in Megatron’s arms, limp and wan as the shape was.

Laserbeak flitted overhead and landed on Soundwave’s shoulder, her feathers ruffling. “Frenzy isn’t awake, brother,” she said, her tone long and mournful. “They hurt him.”

“And if they were not already dead, I would have finished the job,” Megatron rumbled, now close enough to offer Frenzy to Soundwave.

It was just in time because no sooner had Soundwave taken his younger brother, cradling Frenzy against his chest, did Rodimus dart into Megatron’s arms, burying his face in Megatron’s feathers.

“You came,” he said, muffled though Soundwave heard him clearly.

“For you, always,” Megatron murmured in return, and the deep love and affection in his voice was too raw for Soundwave to bear. It made him ache as much as he smiled for his Liege.

Megatron deserved this happiness.

Soundwave wondered if ever he would find such a thing for himself. And then he let that wonder slip by, burying it deep, deep down where it belonged. He had enough, here in Kaon with his family and his friends, a respected position, and a life he could choose for himself.

Frenzy’s talons dug into Soundwave’s feathers, in much the same way Rumble had. “R-Rum?” he asked, his voice barely louder than a croak, the thick stench of fear and anxiety clinging to him.

"He is safe at home, do not worry," Soundwave murmured. He stroked the back of Frenzy's head, just above his neck, a place Frenzy had always found comforting. "I'll take you to him."

"Knew you'd come." Frenzy gave a soft sigh, the trembles easing from his small body.

"Always."

Frenzy laughed, though it sounded as though it was heavy with a sob. "There are more harpies here. Others. They sell them. They were going to sell me."

"They'll be selling no one anymore," Soundwave said. He might have growled, judging by the anger broiling in his chest. It took all he had not to squeeze Frenzy out of a desperate urge to protect him forever.

"They're dead," Laserbeak agreed fiercely. "Most of them anyway. Dead, dead, dead. Like they should be." She huffed and shifted closer to Soundwave's head. "Shouldn't trust humans. Ever."

"Not all are bad," Soundwave said.

He continued to stroke Frenzy, trying to calm the frenetic whirl of fear. He looked up, seeking Megatron, finding twin pillars of relief and anxiety nearby.

"There are others."

"I am aware. We will bring all home who wish to do so. Kaon's doors are open," Megatron rumbled, his tone hinting of barely restrained violence.

Laserbeak went abruptly still on Soundwave's shoulder, drawing his attention. "What is it, flitterling?" he asked.

"More coming." Laserbeak leapt from his shoulder, and Soundwave tracked her path as she flew to one of the doors they had not yet explored.

Megatron fell silent at Laserbeak's movement, and even Rodimus and Frenzy knew to be quiet as well, immediately falling into a defensive mode. The immediate silence gave rise to footsteps, two sets, not heavy treads like humans and their loud footwear, but soft with a backdrop of talon-click.

Harpies. Soundwave was sure of it. One gait was sure and sturdy, the other dragged a bit as though someone were injured or lame.

He stood, keeping Frenzy in his arms, his sibling twisting as though to see where Soundwave could not. He was tense, gripping tight to Soundwave. The trembles began anew.

The door opened with an ominous creak. Shapes appeared in the opening, backlit by whatever glowed in the hallway behind them. They were blobs to Soundwave, blobs of pain and determination and relief.

"They're harpies," Frenzy said. "One's Lockdown. I don't know the other one. Probably another prisoner."

Megatron growled, low and angry. "Lockdown. What are you doing here?"

"Giving a bunch of human slavers what they deserve," Lockdown said as Laserbeak circled back to Soundwave, landing gently on his shoulder.

"He reeks of blood," she said. "There's not an injury on him though. The stranger with him looks very thin and wan, and he's missing a lot of feathers, but he's not bleeding."

There had been a lot of slain humans scattered around the area. Such a thing was not beyond Lockdown's skillset, Soundwave knew. He was as skilled at slipping into the night and hiding himself in shadows as Ravage was. Soundwave had long suspected he had been trained in some kind of martial or military art.

"--too many of our kin here," Lockdown was saying as Soundwave returned his attention to the other harpy and the one he supported. "Buying. Selling. Slaving. Forcing them to fight, to breed. Treating us as chattel." He spat the last, and then spat on the floor with a disgusted huff, the fury rising around him in steady waves. "They intended to do the same to your consort, and to Soundwave's brother there. I don't regret it."

Frenzy made a small sound and Soundwave unconsciously held him closer. "Where are the rest of the humans?" Soundwave demanded.

"He's looking at you now," Laserbeak whispered. "He's helping the other harpy, too. He doesn't look angry, brother. He looks sad. Maybe he knows the stranger?"

"They were either gone for the day or they fled," Lockdown said. A billow of self-righteous pride rose around him, burgeoning the satisfaction simmering at his core. "It's why I waited until night to strike, same as you."

"And your companion?" Megatron asked.

"Someone who needed our help," Lockdown answered as another voice rose from beside him, this one unfamiliar to Soundwave.

"Skids," he rasped, coughed, and then spoke again, more clearer this time. "The name's Skids, and Lockdown here pulled me out of quite the pickle, so I hope you're not planning on punishing him for that."

"He's pretty," Laserbeak murmured. "Or he would be if we fed him a dozen meals and cleaned him up."

"Of course not. There's merely some confusion as to his actions," Megatron said, perhaps out of conciliation. "It will be a discussion to be had later. But for now, you are welcome to return to our aerie if you like."

Skids laughed, and through the raspiness, he had a pleasant voice. Charming even. "I do like. I mean, this place is nice, but the service is terrible and we won't even talk about the food."

Frenzy chuckled in Soundwave's hold. "I like 'im," he said.

In the distance, a shrill whine grew louder. Closer. Soundwave turned toward the sound, not that he could see it through the thick walls of the building. It was a familiar sound, though he struggled to place it among his memories.

"Better late than never," Megatron muttered, a hint of annoyance spiking through the overwhelming relief clustered around him.

Ah. So it was the human authorities. That was the sound he couldn't recall. That of their sirens.

Soundwave settled Frenzy on his feet, confident in his sibling's ability to stand on his own now. Frenzy stayed close, however. Not that Soundwave could blame him.

"We should step out to meet them," Soundwave said. He didn't want to linger in this place anyway. The stench was nauseating, and the despair and terror clinging to the walls made his head spin.

"Agreed."

They moved toward the same entrance they had used, careful to avoid the chairs and tables and evidence of foul misdeeds. Soundwave judged the horror of it all by the nearly subtonal growls in Megatron's chest as they passed.

If not for the human authorities, Soundwave had no doubt this place would burn by morning.

They exited, Soundwave bringing up the rear to ensure everyone left. He kept Frenzy beside him, one hand on his sibling’s shoulder, and Frenzy’s hand covered his, perhaps seeking comfort.

Ravage waited for them outside, where the channel between the two buildings dumped into an open space and the nearby dirt road. Lights flashed on the edges of Soundwave’s perception -- blue and red in sharp succession. The sirens grew louder, and the crunch of tires on gravel announced the arrival of the human law enforcement.

Megatron strode forward to meet them, Lockdown assisting Skids trailing behind, and Soundwave hurrying to catch up.

“Laserbeak, see how Mirage is faring with the twins,” Soundwave quietly asked as he patted Frenzy on the shoulder. “Your brother will be my eyes.”

“There are twins, Frenzy!” Laserbeak chittered excitedly, leaping down from Soundwave’s shoulder onto Frenzy’s and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “There are more of us!”

“That’s great, ‘Beak. I’ll meet them later.” Amusement colored Frenzy’s tone. He patted Soundwave’s hand.

Laserbeak laughed and left Frenzy’s shoulder, flitting off into the sky as one of the vehicles came to a grinding stop nearby. The sirens went silent, though the lights kept flashing.

The door clicked open, a human stepping out, a ripple of anger and curiosity and exhaustion wavering around their frame.

“It’s Detective Mikaela,” Frenzy informed him. “Megatron must have been furious.”

“We all were,” Soundwave murmured.

Detective Mikaela Banes was their first and only liaison to the human enforcement services. A graduate of Kaon University, she'd minored in Avian Studies, which was their fancy term for an education in what little knowledge humans had of Harpies.

She was one of the few humans the Kaon aerie and flock considered a friend.

"Well," Mikaela said, her words clipped. A cloud of distaste rose around her, not directed at the harpies, Soundwave was certain. "I'm sorry, Megatron. If I'd known these assholes were out here, I'd have cleaned them out a lot sooner."

"The fault is not yours, Detective." Megatron's tone was carefully polite, guarded. "And those who hurt my kin have paid for their transgressions."

Mikaela sighed. "So you left me a mess." She moved closer, her heavy boots crunching through the gravel and grass. More vehicles arrived behind her, no doubt disgorging more humans than Soundwave cared to meet.

Frenzy tucked himself in under Soundwave’s right wing. “She's rubbing her forehead. She looks tired. She's not getting enough sleep. She needs care. We should bring her home."

Laserbeak, especially, had a fondness for the human female. She would no doubt agree with her sibling.

"It doesn't work that way, little one," Soundwave murmured.

"If they had not taken what was theirs, they would not have met such an end. A mess is the kindest thing I could have left you." Megatron ended the statement with a low growl.

Irritation spiked above Mikaela in a bright burst. "Don't get snappy with me. I'm here to help. It would've been nice, though, if you'd left any alive for me to interrogate. These kinds of people are usually part of a network."

Megatron huffed, and the flutter of his feathers was an audible whisper to Soundwave. But there was apology in the soft hues of amber floating around him. "For what it's worth, most were dead when we arrived."

"How?"

"I have my suspicions."

“He doesn’t have suspicions, he knows exactly what happened,” Frenzy said with a snort.

Soundwave hummed his agreement.

"Well, come on then, let's get this mess sorted." Mikaela clomped over the thick grass and cracked her knuckles. "I brought transport for you and your kin, Megatron, along with medical assistance though I'm sure you're going to deny it. But let's just see what we got."

Megatron's wild strings of agitation and outrage settled into a low simmer. "Very well. Lead the way."

Soundwave, Frenzy under his arm and Ravage beside him, followed as well. Where Megatron went, his Speaker would go. Besides, he was worried for the twins. They would need a voice as well, and Soundwave was determined to be it.

****