Chapter Text
Longarm had insisted on a home forging. Blurr had agreed, knowing it was better to stay out of the public eye with something so fragile, but now he saw he had an ulterior motive.
"He's beautiful," Longarm cooed from behind him.
"Indeed," Blurr whispered. "Butwhydoeshelooklike... Shockwave?" He had seen the files on the infamous Decepticon, he knew what he looked like. He turned around and squeaked, optics widening in fear.
Shockwave himself stood behind him. "It's alright, darling," he said, in Longarm's voice. "It's me."
Blurr pulled away, frame trembling. "Shockwave?! WhatdidyoudotoLongarm? Howdareyouusehisvoice!"
Shockwave's lone optic softened. "I haven't done anything to him. Don't you see, my dear? I am him."
"N-no! You c-can'tbehim!"
Shockwave gently picked up the struggling Autobot, carrying him into a back room. "You'll understand soon enough, darling." He lay him in a stasis chamber, released his clutch from their sparkling, and shut the door before he could protest.
The sparkling stared up at him with wide, purple optics.
"It will be alright, Lightspeed," Shockwave said tenderly, using the designation he and Blurr had chosen weeks before. " I'll make sure you grow up in a world that will accept you." He placed him in a second stasis chamber, hovering over the twin pods for several minutes before sweeping out, turning out the light, and locking the door.
The stasis pod slowly opened, and Blurr gasped for air. His optics widened at the strangers -Decepticons- lined up at the far end of the room. He bolted upright, desperately searching for an exit. He felt a strong hand on his shoulder, and his spark slowed its erratic pulsing slightly at the sound of a familiar voice. But he refused to let it calm him, the owner was a traitor. The owner never even existed.
"Blurr, calm down," Shockwave said, once again using Longarm's voice. "We won't harm you."
Blurr tried to pull away, but Shockwave tightened his grip, preventing escape. "Letmego!"
"Please. If no one else, trust me."
"NotafterwhatIknowaboutyou."
Shockwave sighed.
A large grey helicopter approached, and Blurr's intakes hitched in fear. He knew this mech; everyone knew this mech. He tried to wriggle away as Megatron, the warlord of the Decepticons himself, knelt down to his level, but Shockwave's iron grip on his shoulder kept him in place. "I know you find this hard to accept, Blurr," Megatron said, optics showing no malevolence, but Blurr still refused to believe he was safe. "Shockwave may have been undercover, but his feelings for you are genuine."
Blurr shook his head frantically, optics darting around the room. Megatron nodded, and the grip on his shoulder released. He was on his feet in a second, dashing around the room, searching for an open exit. He found none, and skidded to a stop in the middle of the room. "Letmeout! TheAutobotswillbelookingforme, youcan'tkeepmehereforever!"
The Decepticons just watched him, making no move to capture him again. The crushing realization that he had nowhere to go crashed down on him, sucking the energy from his frame and making him collapse to his knees.
"Actually," Shockwave began quietly. Blurr shook his head.
"Please. Don'ttellme. Iknowwhatyou'regoingtosay, andIdon'twanttohearit." Blurr wrapped his arms around himself, frame trembling uncontrollably. "Justtellmewhatyouwantfromme."
"I just want you to be happy."
"Thenletmegohome!"
"I can't do that, Blurr." Shockwave took a step forward, but froze when Blurr flinched away. "You're not safe there."
"TheCouncilwillkeepmesafe, youknowthat."
"The Council are liars."
"TheCouncilraisedme!"
"I know. I knew your parents too."
"Wha- That'simpossible! EvenIneverknewmyparents."
"That's what they want you to think."
"Whatdoyoumean?"
Shockwave slowly walked forward; this time Blurr let him. He knelt down in front of the smaller bot, taking his face in his hands. "Your parents were Decepticons, darling."
Blurr stared at him. "I-impossible."
"They were good bots, loyal to the cause and two of the kindest sparks I've ever met. When I found out you were their youngling, I knew I had made a good decision befriending you."
Blurr's intakes grew ragged. "...Whathappenedtothem, then?"
Shockwave's optic narrowed. "The Council executed them. That's Why they raised you. They didn't want you following in their footsteps when you could be so useful to them."
Blurr twitched, then narrowed his optics. "AndwhatifIdon'tbelieveyou? Idon'trememberanyofthis!"
"They don't want you to. They blocked the memories from your processor; they tricked you into thinking this is how your life was always supposed to be."
"How? I've never seen anything like that in our scientific records, it's impossible!"
"It's called Shadowplay. Have you ever heard of processorwashing in movies?"
"T-Theywouldn'tdothat," Blurr insisted.
"It's a secret weapon. We've lost many good mecha to it."
Blurr shook himself; the conversation was starting to give him a processorache. "Whywouldtheydothattome?"
"Because you're a weapon. They want to use you and the only way to do that is reprogram you."
Blurr shuddered. "Isitmyspeed? AretheyafraidofwhatwouldhappeniftherewasasuperfastDecepticon?"
"That is likely one of the reasons."
"...Proveit. IfyouwantmetobelieveI'vebeen...Shadowplayed...proveit."
Shockwave stood, and helped Blurr to his feet. "Follow me, Bypass."
Blurr flinched. "Who?"
"That was your name, before the Council got you."
"M-myname?" Blurr pressed a hand to the side of his helm.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah, it'sjustabitofaprocessorache, isall."
Megatron keyed open a door, optics narrow. "He's breaking free of the reprogramming."
Blurr's knees buckled, and Shockwave swept him up into his arms before he could fall. He whimpered, clutching into Shockwave's chestplates. "What'swrongwithme?"
"Nothing is wrong, darling," Shockwave said. "You're breaking their shadowplay."
"Ithurts." Blurr hissed in pain, clawing at his helm.
"I know, dear, I know." Shockwave pulled the smaller mech's hands away from his helm. "It will be alright, trust me."
Blurr nodded slowly, burying his faceplate into the Decepticon's chestplate.
Shockwave carried him into the medbay and gently laid him on a berth.
A cherry red bot hurried over, scanning his optics over Blurr's frame, searching for injuries. He paused over the Elite Guard insignia displayed proudly on his chest.
"Knock Out," Shockwave said. "He's been Shadowplayed."
Knock Out's optics widened, and he jumped into action.
Blurr curled up on the berth as Knock Out hooked cables to the back of his helm.
"Just stay calm, little one," Knock Out said soothingly, as the machines behind him started beeping rhythmically, displaying columns of info Blurr couldn't decode through the fog in his mind. "Everything's gonna be okay."