Chapter Text
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Soundwave was...very very confused.
Before zir, was William Lennox leaned back in his chair, fueling with that organic liquid called coffee. It was like engex, but for humans. And not charged and glowing blue.
Hexbolt's gargoyle frame was lifeless as it laid on another table, its organiclike optics was rolled back, limbs limp and dead as wires trailed from its head to the data rig in front of William Lennox.
Instead of the human's usual exasperated gestures and annoyance, he calmly sipped at his fuel as he scrolled through the holo-screen before him. Lennox’ organic digits tapped at the keyboard plugged into the data rig.
His blue eyes flicked over to Soundwave and then back to the screen before him.
Around William Lennox, a small swarm of drones looked at the human inquisitively, its legs were shaped like the human fuel known as french fries and they looked disconcertingly similar to insecticons, just much smaller.
Each drone was the size of a human helm and the swarm skittered away as Soundwave strode closer. Ze hunched over in the mess hall, the building being meant for sparkling-sized humans, the high ceiling made it doable to go through for a mech zir size.
The wide spaces between tables made the whole experience tolerable.
"William Lennox: Status?" Soundwave rumbled out of zir speakers.
The little french fry swarm started to crawl under the table uttering small cries of "fryder fryder."
"M fine. Nothing much to note, Soundwave." William Lennox said, voice entirely too calm for the human. Behind zir mask, Soundwave's optics narrowed.
Ze pointed to Hexbolt's gargoyle frame. "Hexbolt: Status? Hurt?"
William Lennox shook his head.
"Nope, the opposite of it!"
The swarm all skittered close to the human, one drone threatened to dip its leg into the fuel and Will jerked back his coffee as fuel sprayed everywhere. "No! No, I'm not telling zir. You can tell zir yourself!"
The drones silently leered at William Lennox in contempt with little beady eyes.
"I'm not getting involved in your family drama! Bad enough you already made me their psuedo-trine member! Nope, nope, nope!"
William Lennox stuck his organic digits into his audials and turned around. "La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!!"
The swarm's french fry legs flopped down.
Soundwave crouched down on all fours and tilted zir helm at William Lennox. "William Lennox: explain."
The human did not heed him and continued to shout LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA but unstuck one digit out of his ear to grab his mug.
He just continued to sip his coffee in between his LA LA LA LA LAs.
"Can't touch me! That'll count as man-handling and violating the treaties!!!" William Lennox said in a sing-song voice.
"Hexbolt: my child. STATUS?" Soundwave boomed.
The human sighed and put his mug down.
The swarm looked very put upon.
"Christ, I guess I would be demanding the same, if I came across Anna's body like-" William Lennox waved across at Hexbolt's lifeless frame.
Primus.
The drone swarm that backed away from Soundwave, the gargoyle body that was plugged into the data rig. The realization smashed into Soundwave like asteroids hitting the Nemesis.
"Yeah, human frame is part of a drone swarm-" Soundwave replayed Hexbolt's words from days earlier.
"French fry insecticons." Soundwave said.
"Hexbolt: French fry insecticons."
"Congrats, Hex. You broke Soundwave's processors. You two have fun dealing with this."
William Lennox chugged back his organic fuel, slammed down the ceramic mug, and jogged out of the mess hall.
"What?! You can't leave me like this! Don't leave me with Soundwave alone!!"
The little swarm of french fry insecticons chittered and ran after William Lennox.
Soundwave's data cable whipped out and shut the door before the food swarm could scamper out.
"No. Hexbolt: Explain."
The little beady eyes all glared at zir.
"Kinda bug, kinda snack. Not much to say, really."
If Soundwave was organic, zir optics would be twitching at this point.
"Form: irrational."
"I'm human: it comes with the species."
"No one forced you to adopt humans."
"Little ones: in need."
The swarm said nothing and just crept on the walls. The little beady eyes eyed the vent above them. Soundwave's other data cable blocked it.
Ze noted that their gargoyle frame wasn't plugged into any power source and the data rig wasn't either. Soundwave kneeled down. Power was at 85 percent. Acceptable.
Soundwave noticed the swarm became very still as ze examined their lifeless frame and rig.
"Hey, what are you doing?!"
Time to get answers the usual way.
Ze gently lifted up the gargoyle body and the data rig in zir digits, careful not to tangle any of the cables.
"What! No! That's mine! Give it back!" The swarm skittered closer, though cautious of being stepped on. Soundwave merely cradled the body and rig closer to zir chassis.
"Frame: Needs to be watched over."
In the voice of many little bodies, "THIS WHOLE BASE IS WIRED TO MY NERVOUS SYSTEM, I'M FINE!"
Soundwave checked zir wave-detection. Interesting, there was a radio signal coming from the data rig, amplifying the consciousness from the gargoyle frame that was plugged into the rig.
Ze could track all the little bodies Hexbolt was currently controlling.
"Hexbolt: Signal-tethered to frame and rig in my grip. Follow."
And with that the french fry insecticons angrily chirped as Soundwave strode out of the mess hall.
-end-