/A continuation of One is Company, Two is a Shadow\

         "You're really going back?" Sari hung at the edge of the railing, following Blastwave as best she could. The little mech nodded with a grin, his visor off for the time being.

         "You didn't see him, but Russel is the cutest little human mech I've seen!" he squished his servos together to emphasize what he meant by 'little'. "Don't worry, you and Alexis will forever be the cutest of all humans!" 

     Sari just grinned, more excited about getting a new friend then her rank as 'cutest human'.

         "Blastwave, what about your parental units?" Alexis, the older of the two children, jogged towards her friends. The small dog they had adopted limped behind, having lost a leg as a puppy. "Shouldn't you tell them about seeing the Autobots again?"

         "I'm not going to see the Autobots." Blastwave informed matter-of-factly. "I'm going to kidnap Russel! We'll have so much fun together he won't ever want to leave!"

     The mech and the younger girl cheered, the more cautious of the group humming in distaste for the idea. She did her best to explain that Russel had a dad, and likely a mom that loved him very much. With a worried look she asked the sparkling what his own parental units would think if he was taken by the Autobots and never returned. What would they do? How would they feel?

     Sari seemed to get the picture. Despite her unfortunate fate of being abused by her adoptive father, she had begun to look up to both Soundwave and (Y/N) as parental figures, and on numerous occasions pleaded to be turned Cybertronian just like (Y/N). The two always refused, explaining that the young, human femme didn't have any form of Cybertronian energy within her body, like (Y/N) did all those years ago. The young human was still a little sour on the subject but she didn't press the matter further. 

     Blastwave didn't share the same understanding as Sari.

         "If I were taken by the Autobots, my parental units would come to help me." He shrugged. "That is, if I need the help in the end. The Autobots are inferior to us and will forever be. Besides," he grinned mischievously, "who could resist a face like this?"

     The mechling became wide-opticed and pouty, Sari giggling as Alexis' warnings were forgotten. The older girl sighed, shaking her head as she looked to the small dog between her feet.

         "Do whatever you want, but I will have no part in it. If (Y/N) and Soundwave come back before you do, then I'm telling them where you went." She stated, arms folding over her chest. "Come on, Frenzy, let's find your prosthetic leg."

     The dog yapped at the girl, falling once before steadying himself and hobbling to catch up.

         "Can I come with you?" Sari burst after a moment of content silence. 

         "Sure!" Blastwave nodded after a moment of thought. "You can be bait. I've been watching the Autobot's movements for a while, and it looks like Prime is back."

         "Prime?" The girl tilted her head curiously. "Isn't that the big red and blue guy that looks like he's gone through ten mid-life crises?" 

     Blastwave nodded, giving a very brief history of who Optimus Prime was, and that he was actively looking for his parental units as they spoke. Optimus was a lean, mean, Decepticon hunting machine who had also claimed to want to know more about Blastwave's existence after a short tussle with (Y/N) at an abandoned energon mine. The mechling described him as energon-thirsty and ancient, a force not to be reckoned with.

         "Until I'm older one day!" He grinned. "With the combined power of the best Decepticons in the universe, I'll beat him to a metallic pile of scrap for imprisoning my Carrier and Sire." He punched an invisible Optimus Prime that was somehow his size in the mechling's imagination.

         "Don't they consider themselves neutral?" Sari questioned, sitting on the railing and rocking back and forth dangerously.

         "Well, yeah," her mechanical friend sat down on the cave floor, looking up at her, "but when I'm old enough, I want to bring the Decepticons back! Carrier explained what she didn't like about them, mostly of Megatron, but Sire told me about what they stood for at the very beginning. I want to bring that back, without all the tyrant-ee stuff."

     The two had continued to talk about Blastwave's dream of being the leader of the Decepticons. Bringing together those who wanted peace amongst everyone and no form of hierarchy, not even a counsel. He promised Sari the role of Second in Command (a hypocritical offer), earning hidden smiles from his parental units as they returned. Blastwave jumped when Soundwave pat his helm gently, the mechling realizing how late it had become just from talking with his friend. 

         "What's wrong, Blastwave?" (Y/N) asked him, noting his frown was quite peculiar since he usually was ecstatic when she and Soundwave returned. She picked him up from the floor, to which the youngling grinned as he hugged around her neck cables.

         "You were gone for so long; I still miss you!" He fibbed. 

     The statement made the parental figures smile, their bond thrumming with adoration toward their miracle of life, who returned the bond-sent feeling. (Y/N) informed Blastwave that she and Soundwave needed to talk in private, so set him down to play with Sari some more before they disappeared in to the confines of their own quarters. 

     The scheming mechling smirked as he glanced to Sari.

         "I have a better plan than my first plan." He informed, earning the young girl's undivided attention. "We'll leave tonight, when everyone is in recharge, then we will kidnap Russel while the Autobots are in recharge too!"

     The two giggled at his genius, shushing each other to avoid suspicion. The only one who would be the voice of reason was too far to hear them scheme, so the two knew their plan would be nearly flawless. If Blastwave thought of it, chances are, it was going to be a success, having the combined genius of (Y/N) (L/N) and Soundwave. He was already a formidable force himself at such a young age, and his creators knew that.

     When the sun was but a mere memory, Sari bolted from her bed, having kept her clothes on without her roommate's knowledge. She gave Frenzy a bone to avoid his barking before slipping out the door, closing it slowly. Not a single hinge creaked thanks to the constant care of the two adults. The girl guessed the well cared for living quarters was so well kept because the two Cybertronians were obsessed with silence. Not even the catwalk creaked as she passed over it to join Blastwave at the cave entrance. 

         "Are we bridging there or-" She asked vaguely.

         "Flight won't leave me drained," he informed, placing his visor over his red optics, "and since I have to make two groundbridges for this plan to work, I already had extra energon for supper."

         "What was your excuse." Sari grinned, curious. Blastwave displayed a smirking face on his visor.

         "You and I groundbridged to prank your scrapheap of an adoptive Sire."

     Stifling a fit of giggles, the human jumped off the railing, being caught by the mechling as he hovered in his Laserbeak form. Only when they were several miles away from their cavernous home did she finally start whooping and hollering for her friend to fly faster. She loved the thrill, and so did the young Cybertronian as they dodged trees and ducked under branches. Blastwave had memorized the way to the Autobot base and the fallen Alchemore, only needing his visor to point the way with little orange dots that popped when he reached them, like a fun, colorful videogame. 

         "Is that it?" Sari pointed at a lit junkyard.

         "Sure is!" Blastwave answered through the earpiece she was wearing. "That little camper is Russel's living quarters. He showed me when I was here."

     The two landed in the middle of the junkyard, Sari poking at a clown statue and nearly making it fall, but Blastwave caught it with a tentacle. They both looked up as a search light scanned over them. The camera connected to it didn't register the two, since they were in the Shadow Zone, and not even their shadows appeared. The mechling displayed a smiley face on his visor as he and his human friend trekked through the maze of stuff.

     Their attention was swayed only twice before coming to Russel's camper. There weren't any lights on inside, but their goal was to catch him when he was sleepy anyway.

         "You're sure this is going to work?" Sari asked, not worrying about how loud she was speaking. Being in the Shadow Zone for three years, she had gotten used to its perks.

         "Have any of my plans failed?" Blastwave giggled, to which Sari shook her head with a grin.

     Holding a hand out, the human femme pressed a button on the bracelet she wore, activating a groundbridge. Blastwave did the same and the familiar purple glow appeared between them. They moved the unstable bridges to be just in front of Russel's door before Sari knocked on it through the portal, rushing back to the Shadow Zone as the light came on. 

     The light from the Shadow Bridge also attracted other attentions as a tired Grimlock muttered something. He raised his giant metal head, eyeing the strange glow on the other side of the restaurant. 

         "Uh-" he wondered if Danny was doing something, but he spotted the man recharging on a sofa with a wrench in his hand, Fixit leaning on whatever they were working on, also in recharge mode.

         "Grimlock, what's that light?" Strongarm questioned with tired optics, rubbing the exhaustion from one while the other squinted.

         "I don't-" He was interrupted by Russel's shriek and the light suddenly died.

     Now completely awake, the two rushed to find Russel's camper door ajar and a human sized USB drive on the step, the boy having gone missing. Strongarm picked it up before waking the whole junkyard. Once everyone was awake, either begrudgingly or not, the two quickly explained what they saw, heard and found. Bumblebee was the first to take the USB, only to hand it to Danny, who gave it to Fixit. The Minicon frowned as he placed it in a port at the head of the Alchemor, the screen glowing to show a cartoon version of Blastwave with his visor on, jumping into view with a glowing, winking face behind him.

         "You've been infiltrated!" His childish voice announced gleefully. "Goodbye."

     The USB erupted in smoke, forcing Fixit to take it out as it melted.

         "Hold up-" Sideswipe started, "the crazy creation of Soundwave and what's-her-faceplate from a month ago just kidnapped Russel?"

         "Blastwave," Bumblebee nodded, "and we have to find them."

         "How?" Strongarm huffed. "Those two live in the Shadow Zone!"

         "Then we must go there." Optimus stated, earning a nod from Bumblebee, who had the same idea. "I will admit, I have been curious of this Blastwave since his existence was told to me. Clearly he is as intelligent as his creators."

         "And just as much of a nuisance." Drift hummed from beside the Prime.

     Meanwhile, a group of four youth were playing tag in the woods, joined by a yapping canine. Once the two had returned through a groundbridge, Alexis was just waking up for a glass of water. She heard a commotion and went out to find Blastwave and Sari, the smaller of the two asking the strange boy far too many questions for him to keep up with. 

         "This is Russel!" Blastwave whispered to his other human pet, who waved cautiously at the human mech being held up like a cat beneath his armpits. The boy waved back, chuckling nervously.

     The initial shock of being kidnapped left the boy when he understood the tall metal child wanted to play. They all had left the confines of the cave to play in the woods, Russel amazed at Frenzy's Cybertronian prosthetic leg. When they were all tired, Blastwave brought out a plethora of snacks from his subspace, watching the stars and moon above while the others ate.

         "So have you been to Cybertron?" Russel asked his new friend, who shook his helm.

         "Negative. My parental units say I can't go until I'm old enough to hack into Cybertronian security systems."

         "You can do that?" Russel marveled.

         "Not yet, but I can hack into the human organization called the Pentagon, now." He answered, the visor covering his features showing a winking face.

     The group played Twenty Questions, Two Truths and a Lie as well as Go Fish before Sari and Alexis yawned, forcing Russel to feel the weight of sleep as well. None of them knew if Blastwave yawned, but he picked each of them up and curled around them in the moss of the Earth, waiting for each one to go to sleep before he himself fell into recharge. The group felt safe with each other, cuddled in the middle of nowhere with a Cybertronian and a dog to protect them. The Shadow Zone kept insects and other animals from crawling over them, so the two girls had no reason to freak out as a spider crawled through them.

     The scene was an adorable sight, one Laserbeak took a picture of to save. (Y/N) and Soundwave held each other's servos lovingly as they watched from their avian friend's recording. They had sent the Minicon once Blastwave had left, knowing full well of his plan to kidnap Russel. He wouldn't stop talking about it for a whole month, and despite the fact he was being taught everything they knew, the parental figures didn't teach him how to shut their own surveillance out. 

     They didn't care that he had just kidnapped a young boy. Blastwave loved his human pets and he had no mech in his collection yet, but this boy would have to go back.

         "I will carry the humans," (Y/N) hummed, "I think being grounded for a day will be proper enough punishment for sneaking off without our permission." 

     Soundwave nodded as they both stood in perfect unison, exiting their shared room and finding the huddled figures in the woods. (Y/N) gave a silent order to Laserbeak through their master and servant bond, created years ago, to watch over the likely frantic Autobots. She picked up each human, Soundwave gently scooping up their miracle before making the short walk to the cave. There they set Blastwave in his room, and (Y/N) used her human form to put Alexis and Sari in their beds.

         "Shall we return the human boy?" (Y/N) looked to her lover, still holding the one called Russel.

         "We shall." Soundwave nodded.

     So, they groundbridged in the midst of the junkyard, watching for a moment as Fixit attempted to create two groundbridges at one time. The duo smirked behind their visors, knowing their technique was far superior to whatever accident they might drum up. However, amusing as their enemy's struggles might be, the two knew they couldn't stay long. The sun was peaking over the horizon, and Blastwave always woke up at 7 O'Clock on the dot, no matter how late he stayed up beforehand. 

     Stepping outside of the base, (Y/N) and Soundwave transformed, activating their human forms inside the walls where they left Russel on a sofa. (Y/N) picked him up gently, hearing the soft and content sigh from the boy. It made her think of Blastwave as Soundwave opened the door to his little camper quietly, watching for anyone who might notice the door moving on its own. They created two small bridges within the camper, stepping through to place Russel on his own bed in the normal realm. (Y/N) hummed softly as she tucked him in, turning off the light that had been forgotten when he was kidnapped. 

         "Why have you decided to return him?" Soundwave asked as they stepped through the Shadow Bridge once more, the two groundbridges they created disappearing. They watched the child's breathing for a moment, both mesmerized by the idea of breath and the need for air. 

         "Mostly a consequence for Blastwave's sneaking out." She admitted. "But also, because I was once human too, with parents who loved me." 

     The duo peered through the window as Optimus Prime walked past Russel's little camper, unknowing of his return.

         "Danny is a worried father. I'm at peace with my actions, which had led to my parent's death, because it was I who chose my path. Russel had not chosen to go with Blastwave like Sari and Alexis."

     Soundwave nodded, their human forms disappearing and their real forms standing tall, looking over the junk yard. They watched as Optimus checked the perimeter, staring straight through his enemies. Soundwave ordered for Laserbeak to remain, and sabotage any work the Autobots may complete towards making a Shadow Bridge. (Y/N) added the order for him to record the reunion between Russel and his found family before they transformed and flew back to their cavernous home.

     It was well towards noon, and Blastwave had received a short scolding, as well as Sari and Alexis (though Alexis received the lesser of it). This was when Soundwave and (Y/N) received a live feed of Russel stumbling out of his camper. He grumbled a 'good morning' to Fixit, who waved back before pausing. The entire group still working on making a Shadow Bridge all stared at him, tired boyish eyes glancing to each Autobot.

         "What?" He asked, before the group rushed towards him, Danny picking him up in a bear hug.

     Many questions were asked, but all Russel could say was he thought it was a dream. The melted USB showed that it definitely was not, so the boy gave his account of the wonderful time he had with Blastwave and the two other humans called Alexis and Sari.

         "Where is their base, do you remember?" Bumblebee asked him.

         "No." Russel sighed. "Blastwave took me through a groundbridge, and I guess I was returned after we fell asleep in the woods."

         "I was hoping Blastwave was at least more reckless than his creators." Drift hummed. "His intelligence in the field is dangerous."

         "Come on guys, they aren't hurting anything or anyone!" Russel defended the neutrals. "They're just- living."

         "Russel," Optimus started, "(Y/N) is wanted for crimes both here on Earth and on Cybertron. Both her and Soundwave are wanted for war crimes, and should be trialed."

         "Well- yeah," Russel fidgeted, "but what about Blastwave? Sari and Alexis have lived with them for several years already, what about them?"

         "The two humans will likely go into your government's custody." Strongarm explained, kneeling beside the boy. "As for Blastwave, he'll probably come to Cybertron with his creators, but for examination. We don't produce like humans, so he's an anomaly."

         "An interesting one at that!" Fixit nodded. 

     The synchronized Decepticons frowned deeply. They would not allow their child to be picked apart by some Autobot scientist. 

     They ordered Laserbeak to return, to which the avian obliged, just as livid as they were. 

         "They must never reach the Shadow Zone." Their voices declared in unison, visors glinting in the sunlight dangerously.