Chapter 1
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Shockwave's Caretaker

Chapter 1

Shockwave had wished to go offline.

For that moment, that insignificant moment in the human city, he thought he had when Optimus Prime ripped his optic out of his head and left him dead to bleed his energon out. But he had awoken in the facility once more; a prisoner to them and unable to see his captors. He could hear their voices; the voices of those miniscule animals talking about how they could take him apart, bit by bit. Some of the remaining Autobots even discussed cutting him down as well.

Shockwave wasn't afraid of anything, but he truly hated how useless he; how he was blind to everything. His weapons though still attached were offline and he couldn't move his body. His arms were bound to the wall behind him and his legs were locked in something. It was almost like when he had been imprisoned in that Russian Facility so long ago.

It was weak. It was pathetic.

But why give them any joy? Why give them any hope in seeing his suffering?

Shockwave was silent to it all. Silent to their mockery, their threats and their vows to end his life.

But then heard voices outside of his prison; Optimus was speaking to someone. Shockwave leaned his head back to listen better. Optimus was greeting names that he hadn't heard of before or cared enough to remember.

He heard the group entering his prison. He recognized an aged, annoyed voice that sounded familiar.

"Well let's have his head and be done with it, Prime!"

It was Sidedagger. Shockwave hadn't heard of the old Autobot in such a long time, he was surprised that the old mech was still alive.

"No," Optimus said, "He has no power anymore. No Decepticons. No Leader. Nothing."

Shockwave heard them exiting though he did hear Sidedagger utter something.

"Being in the same room with that mech makes me want to take my cannon to someone's face."

'Likewise, Autobot.' Shockwave thought as he stared at nothing once more.

'I must be close.' Shockwave thought as he worked on turning his weapons back online. He worked for what appeared to be hours, but he cocked his head up he heard someone approaching him.

They did not speak and there was no noise save for the clicking of bases against the metal floor. They moved to the left of the room. Shockwave did not lift his head completely and tuned into every sound and movement in the room. Whoever it was, was alone.

"Hello, buttercup," Sidedagger voice spoke out causing Shockwave to growl. "How are we doing today?"

'A lot better if you were scrapped.' Shockwave thought as he could hear the Autobot walking around him.

"How the mighty have fallen," Sidedagger spoke from his left. "You know personally, I want you scrapped."

'Feeling's mutual.'

"But Optimus doesn't like to kill injured mechs."

Shockwave turned his head completely towards the sound of his voice.

"What if you escaped, though? What if I had to scrap you in self-defense?"

'So that's your goal.' Shockwave thought as he suddenly felt the restraints on him come off.

"Pick up your weapon so I can scrap you."

Shockwave checked his systems and would have smiled but didn't.

'Main weapon online.'

"Your weapons are offline, though right?"

Shockwave didn't say anything as stared in the direction of the voice he thought it was coming from.

"Prepared to be scrapped?"

Shockwave didn't speak but instead raised his right arm with his weapon glowing. "What..."

That was all Sidedagger was able to say as he was hit in the spark by three bullets. Shockwave couldn't see what he hit, but the sound of the thud let him know and the sirens blaring.

'Need to escape.' Shockwave thought as he could feel he was blacking out. He quickly scanned to see if his Space Bridged Portal was opening only to growl a little as he noticed that it would work, but it was basically a one-way trip.

He made his choice as he heard thuds of footsteps coming. He pressed the button causing a portal to open. He immediately jumped in not paying attention to the sounds of shouting and fire. He wasn't sure where he planned he was going, but he could feel himself slipping into to recharge. He felt his feet land on the ground as he staggered back and forth. He lifted his hand feeling something that he could lean against. He slowly lowered himself down to the ground then leaned against something. He slowly felt himself slip into recharge stasis with thought of how to repair himself.

“No, come back!” Fluttershy whined breathlessly. Twigs and leaves were tangled in her usually neat and tidy feathers, and a smear of dirt ran up the side of her right forehoof.

One of her chickens, the last of the escapees, was fleeing through the underbrush in front of her, evading her every desperate swipe and grab, determined to meet an early demise at the claws of one of the denizens of the Everfree Forest.

“S-stop running away from me!” Fluttershy panted raggedly, her steps faltering as she tried to catch her breath.

It had been an extremely long afternoon, chasing chickens this way and that after the Cutie Mark Crusaders crashed a hang glider into her chicken coop, scattering the denizens to the four winds in terror.

Fluttershy had even found one in her attic, and now all that remained was this lone chicken heading for the ‘freedom’ of the depths of the Everfree.

“You’ll get eaten!” Fluttershy warned the chicken, leaning heavily against a tree, chest heaving as she tried to even out her breathing. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the chicken’s tail feathers disappearing beneath a bush.

“I swear, if you keep running away from me, I won’t preen your feathers for an entire week! Do you even know how much they will itch!?” Fluttershy threatened, stalking through the brush after the chicken, pushing the bushes aside angrily.

The chicken was standing at the edge of a cave entrance, strutting back and forth, head bobbing. Cluckensworth looked at her over his shoulder, clucked once, and then leaped forwards into the inky blackness of the cave.

“You get back here right this instant!” Fluttershy snarled, bounding forwards to the edge of the cave, staring into the darkness with narrowed eyes.

The smug cluck of a chicken echoed from somewhere inside.

“I won’t preen your feathers for a month!” Fluttershy growled, stalking into the cave fearlessly.

There was a rustle of movement somewhere above, and she paused, an ear perking upwards.

“...Hello? Is something in here?” Fluttershy called timidly.

There was another rustle of movement, and then a loud series of shrieks and called. Fluttershy recoiled, wings lifting to cover her face as a horde of bats swirled through the air around her. Wings buffeted her on all sides as the trail of bats rushed past her and out of the cave, shrieking and calling out to the sky as they all dispersed into the treetops.

An angry cluck nearby made her turn and glower into the darkness. She stamped her hoof on the ground firmly. “Get out here right now or I’m leaving!”

The chicken clucked at her again, before sheepishly mincing towards the shaft of light still entering the cave from the entrance.

“Bad chicken, very bad chicken!” Fluttershy scolded, picking up the chicken and holding him tight to her chest as she turned and stalked back out of the cave only to bump into something.

"Ow!" Fluttershy rubbed her head with a hoof letting the chicken run off back to her cot.

"No! Come back!" She shouted after the chicken but stopped.

Turning towards what she bumped into her eyes widened at what she saw. Leaning against a tree was a giant thing made out of metal.

"Eeeep!" Fluttershy dropped to the ground covering her eyes shaking in fear. After a minute of nothing happening she peeked from behind her hoofs to see it still laying still. She slowly rose to her hoofs and slowly walked towards it. She got closer and gasped at it's missing an eye. She looked down to its side and saw a giant hole.

"It's hurt!" Fluttershy thought as she continued to stare at this thing with concern and slight fear.