Second part of "His entire world". Based on my headcanon of how Soundwave lost his voice
———

Gunshots rang around Soundwave as he pressed his back against a wall, his spark practically pounding out of his chassis. He had lost sight of Frenzy and Rumble not too long ago and was extremely worried for their safety. Ravage was nowhere to be found and Laserbeak was searching from the sky with Buzzsaw.

Once the gunfire died down, Soundwave made a break for it and slid behind a partially destroyed building, tightly gripping his blaster in his hand. His breaths came in heavy and hard as he peered around the corner, searching for any sign of the twins anywhere. 'I knew I shouldn't have brought them... they aren't ready for this!' His mind yelled at him, though he ignored it.

Megatron had insisted on bringing them into battle for a tactical advantage. He had no idea what they truly meant to Soundwave.

Soundwave ducked and covered his head when an explosion rocked the ground, sending bits of debris raining upon him. He needed to find them. Now.

The Communications Officer looked up when he heard a familiar screech, watching Laserbeak pass overhead. She flapped her wings several times, signaling for him to follow. He nodded and obliged, breaking from his cover as soon as it was clear.

Laserbeak led him over to where Buzzsaw was already perched above Frenzy and Rumble, who were clinging to one another for dear life. As soon as he reached them, a wave of relief washed over him and he reassuringly hugged them. "Primus... you two scared me.." He mumbled, flinching when he heard someone's scream echoing across the battlefield.

"W-We wanna go back... it's scary here...." Frenzy whimpered, now clinging to both his brother and Soundwave.

Soundwave shushed him gently and kissed him on the helm. "I wish we could, darling. But we have to help everyone fight. They're counting on us. Megatron is counting on us. We don't have a say in the matter."

"Why not? He can't make us fight! We're too young and small!" Rumble whined, burying his head in Soundwave's chassis.

"He's the only thing protecting us from them." Soundwave murmured, hissing softly at the mentioning of the Autobots. They were causing all the pain and suffering in this battle, not the Decepticons. This was just a mining expedition gone terribly wrong. "We must do our part. I don't like it anymore than you do, but we don't have a choice."

He froze when he heard a noise nearby, his hand immediately tightening around his blaster again. He slowly stood, motioning for the twins to stay down. A trio of Autobots stood in the distance, blasters raised and fingers on the trigger. They had him pinned.

"Freeze, Decepticon!" One of them snarled, hatred burning in their icy blue optics. "Drop the weapon!"

Soundwave stayed still. He refused to drop his weapon or move. That would risk exposing Frenzy and Rumble. "I don't want to hurt you." He called out to them, a twinge of regret burning in his spark. "So don't hurt me. Be the bigger mech and walk away."

"I said drop the weapon!"

And then it happened. The gunshot. Faster than he could even react, a flying bolt of energy collided with his neckcables and sent him hurtling backwards. His life flashed before his optics as he gasped and began choking as energon rushed into his throat and poured out of his mouth. He couldn't say anything. He couldn't do anything. He could only just watch Frenzy and Rumble scream soundlessly at him, tears in their optics. Everything was a blur.

And then it all went dark.

———

It had been months since the incident on the battlefield. Soundwave had managed to survive against all odds and was slowly making a recovery. He felt himself coming online and his optics fluttered open, immediately met with the sight of Frenzy and Rumble staring hopefully at him.

Once they saw he was alive, they cried and carefully hugged him, mumbling broken strands of worries and sadness to him. He embraced them as well and opened his mouth to say something. However, when he did so, only static came out. It was painful, like someone put a million needles in his throat. He tried again. Static. Frenzy and Rumble watched him sadly as he frantically tried to speak. They already knew.

Soundwave eventually put himself through so much pain while trying to speak that he was forced to stop, tears welling up in his optics. He stared at the twins in disbelief, unsure of what was happening.

That was the day he learned that he would never speak properly again.

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