After decacycles of being missing, Shockwave is back. Shockwave is back, and everything should be back to normal, back to being okay again.

But it's not. Nothing is normal or okay anymore. The rising tensions between the Senate and the Decepticons are showing no signs of stopping, and the pain in your spark seems to be amplified tenfold every time you look in Shockwave's direction.

Everything about him is wrong. His faceplate, which used to hold so much mirth, has been replaced with a featureless mask that barely resembles a helm, housing only a singular yellow optic, his servos that used to hold you, are now only claws and his frame, which used to be painted brightly with a changed colour scheme every other chord, is now painted a dull and dark purple. His vocaliser which used to tremble with emotion, is now flat, with no trace of the warmth that used to curl around his every word.

No trace remains of the emotional and impulsive Senator you fell in love with, no matter how hard you look. There's no love in his yellow gaze when he looks at you, no empathy when he sees the suffering of others, no wonder when he speaks about organic life on other planets.

Just... Logic. Cold, hard facts and logic.

Shockwave sits in silence in his laboratory, staring at the dusty equipment with detachment. His helm doesn't move as you enter, nor does he speak when you set down an Energon cube in front of him.

He simply sits there for what feels like an eternity, before finally acknowledging your presence. "Is there a reason for your loitering?"

Loitering. He really called it Loitering. You want to yell, scream at him that these changes aren't as great as he seems to think, that he has to snap back to normal, that you're the logical voice of reason, and he's the impulsive one.

You hold your glossa though, because something tells you that he'll just wait for you to finish and explain for the hundredth time that being liberated from emotions is the best thing that's ever happened to him.