Shockwave walked with Soundwave in tow, the two didn't speak and he was perfectly fine by that. Soundwave was a good friend, one he found a breath of fresh air compared to loud Starscream and prideful Knockout.
Just then, they both paused as they heard screaming. Lo and behold, the dynamic duo in question were running like they were about to die. It wasn't until another form, one he recognized vaguely as Breakdown, chased them did he exchange looks with Soundwave. Breakdown...Cylas...as the creature now called himself...was a surprise. How those two managed to screw up that bad and release him was far beyond him.
"Strange," Shockwave muttered.
A growl alerted both of them and they turned to the origin. A few Vehicons stumbled into view but something was wrong with them, something neither mech could place. It wasn't until their abnormal tongues whipped out that Shockwave grew on edge.
"That's illogical."
Shockwave didn't hesitate to activate his weapon and shoot them down once they tried to lunge at him. In mere seconds, the Vehicons were nothing but scrap. Soundwave nodded at his feat and walked off presumably to alert Megatron. That left Shockwave alone, not that it bothered him.
As soon as he got the announcement from Megatron about it being a plague of sorts, a mutated infection, and to kill all infected on sight, he navigated the halls on edge with his weapon at the ready. When he heard more gunfire, he made his way to the direction of the noise only to see a swarm of infected facing away from him. They were moving in on someone and he was tempted to help when he suddenly saw each of the infected shot down like they were merely whimsy dummies. A huge hole formed in the chest of the last one standing and fell over lifelessly.
To his amazement and his inner relief, there stood The Matriarch and a group of Vehicons at her command with smoke pouring from her weapon. She growled, "Try to get the jump on me? I think not."
When she noticed Shockwave as the mech approached, she shook her helm like it was his fault.
"What in the Pits is going on here?! What did you do?"
"I did nothing," Shockwave assured. "A virus or infection has plagued the ship."
"You're the scientist aboard this vessel, are you not?" Immediately, she pointed her weapon at him and he froze up like a deer in the headlights. "You're the only one knowledgeable enough other than Megatron to know how to create plagues and mutations. So, how can I trust your word? If you cost me my troops' lives and the damnation of this ship, I'll blast out your spark!"
Shockwave knew her suspicions were logical as he did know how to create such things but proving to her that he wasn't the instigator was almost impossible, so he did the one thing he could say.
"If you believe I did it, take your shot. I won't stop you."
It was a bold move to let a tempered Vehicon commander have his life in her servos but if it was the one way he could win her trust, it was through said offering, his life be damned. The Matriarch seemed to contemplate his offer and there was a brief fear deep down he couldn't stop that she would do it as he looked into her optic visor. Seeing his own mortality in the reflection was chilling, even to him.
To his slight surprise and unnerve, she put her blaster down. "If you're truthful, then you are going to help me hunt down the source of it and destroy it."
"Wouldn't agree with anything less," he said. Then he remembered watching Starscream and Knockout being chased by Cylas and something clicked. "And I think I know where to start."
They ran through the ship in pursuit of the two Decepticons who did know what was going on. Along the way, they encountered more infected but did that stop The Matriarch? Shockwave expected it would hardly inconvenience her and he was right. To see her in action for the very first time, real strategy and firepower at its finest, made his spark pulse bright.
She banked off the wall over the infected before doing a flip and realigning her weapon facing the ground as she came down between the horde. As soon as she brought her blaster to touch the floor and fired, it created a loud emp burst along with a wave of energy that made every infected in range lose mobility in their legs, buckling helpless to the ground. She gestured for her troops to shoot their sparks through their backs, stepping over them like they were nothing but a speed bump in her way.
Once every infected in the hall was dead, she placed a servo on her hip and looked back at Shockwave who was trying not to cave in at the look she was giving him. "And that's how it's done. A trick I learned when we went to Alpha Centauri trying to track the Autobots."
"You performed admirably," he admitted, unable to stop himself.
"You're complimenting now? What happened to stubborn insults? You're not going soft on me, are you?"
Shockwave immediately pushed passed her to make himself look arrogant and emotionless, like he always was seen as. "The compliment was temporary as I was saving the best regards for actual skill. We should get moving and not waste any more time."
The Matriarch didn't look convinced and crossed her arms with a degree of amusement. She then whispered to one of her Vehicons which Shockwave caught this time. "And here I thought scientists were subtle."
"What?" He barked in his usual monotone, looking back.
She simply strode past him, not before placing a servo under his chin in mockery. "Nothing. Maybe you should learn that words mean things for a reason and we have a mental structure called filters. You would be wise to use them unless you want to be burned by your own failure to create an insult worth my time."
Shockwave merely glared at her, but it turned out she was the least of his problems. As Soundwave reportedly had no choice but to send off the reawakened Airachnid and the Insecticons, half their military might to be stressed, via space bridge because of Cylas and Cylas being the origin of the mutation by Starscream and Knockout as he theorized, Megatron was pissed at everyone.
Starscream and Knockout had their punishments but then the warlord turned to Shockwave and beside him stood The Matriarch among some of the remaining troops. He had already gotten a notification about the situation when he went down to check on his lab after the infection was dealt with, but to be within his master's presence allowed a whole different take on the incident.
"Shockwave, yet again I have to tell you to stop getting distracted by certain...peers," he scowled, then looking at The Matriarch. The latter was hardly fazed by the glare, sending one right back with a tilt of her helm. "Since you cannot seem to pry yourself from your chains, I will set them elsewhere. You are now restricted to your offsite lab. Failure to heed my warning one more time and someone will pay."
Shockwave was about to argue that he had only ran into her by accident but the words needed escaped him. He wasn't supposed to look like a failure and yet, here he was.
"I need to speak, Lord Megatron," The Matriarch's voice resonated around the room as commanding as her title. "I was killing the infected and Shockwave merely ran into me. I would rather have a living being for company in a hostile environment than an undead one."
The fact that she stood up for him was endearing but he became a spectator as Megatron approached her with a sneer. "You were warned too, don't you dare challenge my word."
"Then maybe make your words mean something because right now, we have little military might and to point blame at everyone after you scolded the real instigators does nothing but expose your pettiness. Personally, I find such finger pointing at irrelevant things childish," The Matriarch said, standing her ground.
Megatron growled but said nothing at first, impressive if Shockwave ever saw it. He finally snarled, "Get back to your duty and stay there, Matriarch. That's an order."
The Matriarch puffed out her chest but only turned away, pushing an Vehicon in path to the side to let herself through. Shockwave could tell this wasn't their only clash but why Megatron kept her around for so long was the same question as to why he kept Starscream. Usefulness. But he had to wonder, just how long that would be.
Then Megatron turned back to Shockwave, "Understand this, I am at my wits end with all the setbacks we've had thus far. If I'm pushed any farther, there will be consequences. Do your job."
He was afraid to admit he no longer had the gall to stand up to Megatron at the moment. He knew legitimate anger when he saw it, and Megatron was close to killing someone. There was no need to anger him further.
Shockwave retreated to his Project Predacon, sealing himself in his offsite lab as he promised. The Predacon clones were large embryos in their CNA chambers. They would grow huge within a week due to accelerated cloning he enforced. The only side effect possible from it was slightly more susceptibility to gunfire as armor took a while to grow in strong after full body maturity with cloning and Megatron was running out of patience from his setbacks. Still, the numbers outweighed the weakness enough to provide a huge challenge for the Autobots.
After dealing with the outbreak on the ship and The Matriarch almost challenging Megatron over Strascream's mess up, the days weren't kind to Shockwave admittedly. He was stressed. He rushed to finish the clones but on occasion, his processor slid from his research to the haunting figure of The Matriarch. Sometimes, the Vehicon commander would prevent him from focusing entirely. He wanted to kill her for her outburst, humiliating him in front of the crew and his superior.
At the same time, he recalled her scarred form, seeing her bouts of strength in his memory files, her fighting the horde of infected head on and remembering the context of her beating another Vehicon to death for accidentally stealing from her Energon vault after being tricked by Starscream to do so. He could only envision what she was in battle against the Autobots. The stories of her seemed truer than ever.
As he typed up a few key information points on the progress of the Predacon clones, his body seemed to tense as his mind roamed to a bloody scene of his design where he pictured his Predacon army alongside the Decepticons, Autobot and human corpses across the land, and there in front among him leading was The Matriarch with her Vehicon troops rallying behind her. She raised her servo and shouted something indistinguishable, her troops marching forward. She was covered in blood, her scars leaking Energon and she didn't care.
He paused, head fins moving curious at his body's reaction to such a scene. He liked what he saw a bit too much. He tried to resume only to wince when he shifted his leg and the tension built beneath his interface panel. Trying again, he almost slammed his weaponized arm into the rock walls beside him in disgust and anger.
The heat began overriding his circuits and needs as he drifted back to imagining The Matriarch coming up to him, a servo going beneath his chin. She had Energon blood on her servos, probably from some unfortunate Autobot and it was dripping down onto his chassis. Before it went any farther, he pushed the thought from his mind.
"Illogical," he muttered.
His interface panel retracted and he felt the pressure lift briefly but stared down at his hard member. He hated whatever this weakness was, an emotion he wasn't used to feeling at all, but the more he saw of her in his visions, the more desire built within until he touched his spike. A flare of pleasure rode through his senses.
"What did you do to me?" Shockwave whispered, placing his arm cannon on the console and wrapping his servo around his spike.
He moaned when he started moving. It had been so many years since he did anything like this. There was never a need over his work, but The Matriarch had changed all that. He refused at first to believe a Vehicon could do this to him. He tried picturing someone else but his mind always returned to the same person.
As he stroked himself to abandon, the pressure was coming undone slowly but surely. It felt good certainly but to him, it was not normal. Whatever his obsession was up to this moment wasn't normal either. His red optic pulsed bright as he moved faster. Then he saw something new in his mind.
The Matriarch was above him, holding him down and riding him. The exotic visuals made him put his helm near the console edge, resting on part of his weapon arm to steady himself from tipping forward. He could see her, demanding him to take her, not letting him touch her while she took control. His body seemed to take it well, his charge building faster and stronger than he anticipated.
It was like experiencing a forbidden morsel of pleasure, something he could never truly have. As much as he wanted to believe it was just him malfunctioning, it wasn't and he knew it. He knew exactly what this was. His visions were speculation but his lust was not.
As quick as the sight of The Matriarch coming was, his own overload rippled through him and he got transfluid on his servo and on the console floor base. He stared down at the mess he made panting. If that was what it felt with just his imagination at play, he wondered what the real thing would be.
Shockwave didn't move for roughly a minute thinking about what he had just done aside from leaving a considerable amount of physical evidence of his shame beneath his work station. He had it hard thinking this was something he was going to have to deal with in the future. But for now, he could be alone with his thoughts and not face many repercussions of his obvious problem.
Project Predacon was over, kaput. All the wasted energy and materials needed to do it in the first place was gone as well. He hated using his time like that, but it was necessary when the Predacon revealed the hidden ability to transform and the ever-growing intelligence he possessed. Maybe Shockwave would continue another clone project later on but not at the moment.
Predaking was just one type of problem but not Shockwave's only problem in general. He had gotten word Megatron wanted to know all of Predaking's abilities and strengths, most likely to use it against the huge Predacon later on. Out of all the bots assigned to test him, it was The Matriarch. Shockwave found it a little offensive he wasn't asked to report his own creation's data, but The Matriarch had always been in charge of military training and functionalities of each enrolled individual. It was logical but that didn't mean the scientist was any less peeved by it.
Since there were no more projects left, except figuring out the newly discovered CNA and Synthetic Energon mixture found in the remains of his offsite laboratory which he had plenty of time to do, he figured it was time to check on the femme that was becoming the archnemesis he swore he would overrun eventually in superiority. Of course, with Predaking in training, he couldn't approach her directly without turning himself into a walking target with her influence over his status and Predaking's trust.
But there were the feelings he was having again in regards to The Matriarch that he had experienced when he last saw her and of the invisible spectacle he made of himself in his own lab. Knockout's words still resonated deep within his processor and were right to his dismay. He did like her. All the solitude on Project Predacons, during breaks, he missed her snarky comments and interactions. Whether it was just the hype his body experienced when she took him down talking or his processor so focused on the take-charge behavior, he assumed it was a delusion but more than several instances when he tried to deny his feelings did he finally come to the conclusion he indeed fell for her.
He had never needed any company prior, never found anyone worth his attention, but she proved a great deal just how worthy she was. He felt he was out of his league a few times but maybe that was the point of his desire. Her intelligence was another factor. She put most Vehicons to shame and even rivaled most of the officers including himself.
There was no arguing now that the mad scientist had fallen for a Vehicon commander. Oh, the scandal. Then again, it was hardly anything he cared about. Logical. An archnemesis could be a soulmate. Who else was he ever going to experience the same connection with again? He would have her; he needed her and it had been far too long since they were together...near each other at least.
He entered the Drilling Dungeon, consisting of The Matriarch's chambers and a plethora of challenge rooms designed to test every bot who entered, and saw Predaking battling automaton sentries programmed to mimic Autobot tactics. He was impressed when the Predacon did a kick flip and severed one of the sentries before destroying another effortlessly.
The Matriarch, who sat on the side, leaned against the wall with what appeared to be an unimpressed posture. Shockwave couldn't tell if it was for Predaking directly, him being there, or something with the training program itself. He got his answer when she deactivated the simulation.
Predaking growled, "Why did you stop it?"
The Matriarch huffed and picked up one of the sentry's severed arms. She studied it before tossing it over her head where it made a loud crashing noise somewhere behind her. "I always hated these things."
"You stopped because you disliked your own training?"
"No, I stopped because this junk isn't designed to go against someone your caliber. Hate to say it, big guy, but this is baby level for someone of your strength. Besides, this is only supposed to be used for new Vehicons and it's not my choice to put them up to it anyway. I have orders to start with this always, then the weapons testing, and after that I get to do whatever I feel like for as long as I deem anybody needing it."
Predaking gave an amused smirk, "So, I am too powerful for those machines. What do you recommend?"
The Matriarch shrugged, "Well, once the simulation is finished and weapons testing is completed, I tend to give most of my trainees hand-to-hand combat exercises as well as practice using a mixture of weapon and physical moves to get them used to both, utilizing fast judgement on what is appropriate among certain Autobot tactics and how to apply it to real life combat. No matter what I teach though, one thing is clear and one thing I emphasize to all trainees regardless of rank is that nothing you learn here will ever be exact to a real-life scenario."
"Really?"
"Yes. I can only show what may be possible. How you react to direct offensive and defensive tactics is up to you. Versing someone like Optimus Prime in theory is only by what we know. When you go out and face him in real life, there is no telling what he will do. No pattern, no predictability. How you engage that depends on what happens to you, your opponent and what you do in the limited moment you have to make a decision. Unfortunately, not many Vehicons get that through their thick heads before I am forced to let them go early to keep up with military supply and demand for combat ready soldiers per Lord Megatron's request. As you can imagine, not many of the newbies last very long, only by sheer dumb luck just to die another day."
"As I can vouch," Shockwave began, "she is correct. Though 'dumb luck' might not be the proper term."
The Matriarch huffed, "Long time, no see, cyclops. I feared you forgot about me."
"Hardly," he hissed, though it came out more as a groan in his audio receptors. "I see you still have attitude."
Predaking looked between the two with a neutral expression. "I take it you two have something you need to talk about. I'll, uh, come back for more training tomorrow. You are an excellent teacher, Matriarch. I will use your advice wisely."
Neither bot said anything nor broke eye contact as the Predacon awkwardly left them together.
The Matriarch shook her helm, "I wouldn't be me with my charming personality. And you're one to talk, Shockwave, coming up in here in my turf and criticizing me?"
"I never said that your attitude was a problem, did I? You came to that conclusion on your own and put words out I didn't state at all. Now who's criticizing?" Shockwave snapped back.
She almost looked as if she was going to punch him. "Do you have a death wish or something?"
"Just wanted to see if you missed the banter or not."
After a moment of pause, she then laughed, "That's good! The scientist has a sense of humor after all! When I said mech up, I didn't think you would use your time away to change a bit, definitely not as boring as you were when we first met. I respect that."
Shockwave gave a nod, "And you're much less difficult to get along with since I first met you. You wouldn't happen to miss me too while I was away?"
"In your dreams, cannon fodder. I only missed the bland personality I could make fun of. The actual mech though? I don't think there's much to miss. That weapon of yours isn't impressing me still," she scoffed.
"That's not a logical conclusion as you haven't even seen what I can do with it yet," Shockwave said with a dark tone as he stepped closer to her.
The Matriarch gave him a side glance. "Are we still talking about your arm or...?"
There was dead silence between them, dense as could be, and Shockwave began leaning toward her. Neither of them had mouths but the gesture was instinctive. He couldn't tell if she was doing the same.
His view changed quick as his leg was once again pulled out from under him and he toppled backwards. Grunting, he found himself staring at the ceiling. Instead of walking over or past him like last time, he saw The Matriarch stand over him before crouching right over his interface panel with her arms posed on her legs in a cocky manner. It was almost similar to his vision when he indulged himself...except she wasn't doing it for pleasure, that was for certain.
"Nice try but it's not that easy. Then again, you seem to never quit. I guess the rumors are true, flattering actually. When I first heard about you liking me, I didn't think it was this bad. Is it my untamed behavior? My strength? The challenge? What made you fall in love with me after all I did to you?"
Shockwave stared at her, longing for her. "Everything."
The Matriarch seemed to be contemplating his confession. It wasn't until she leaned forward, bracing herself by one servo on the ground next to his helm, did Shockwave grow nervous about what she may do. But to his surprise, she pressed her forehead against the edge of the outline of his optic as a makeshift gesture of nuzzling or a kiss. His spark raced faster than ever. He tried to return the gesture, but as fast as it came, it left him cold and wanton when she was back on her feet looking over him. He almost whined from the lack of her presence but refrained.
"As similar as we are, we cannot be together. I'm a mere Vehicon. You're a high-ranking scientist. There's no place for us in this war and if we continue, we may lose everything. It's a huge risk, one that I'm not completely convinced you want to take."
Before he had a chance to tell her how he felt, The Matriarch seemed to sprint away like she was embarrassed or afraid of what they were becoming. He sat up with a sense of dread pooling over him and he lowered his vision to look at the ground with a heavy sigh.
Maybe he had moved a bit too fast on his feelings or maybe The Matriarch was right. In war, love was not commonplace and many bots sometimes did foolish things while in love that cost them in war or worse, killed themselves or killed their loved ones. Would he give up his purpose for her?
Shockwave couldn't answer his own question much less think of any logical ways of integrating his newfound love into the years of solitude, uncaring and desolate, he was so used to. As he glanced around the Drilling Dungeon, all he could see was a false battleground. War was hell, and he knew it just as much as she did.
Shockwave never got over that moment with The Matriarch. It was constantly replaying in his processor. A part of him want to tell her the truth about how he felt, the real details. But Soundwave's capture by the Autobots strained things a little with the work load, and he assume The Matriarch got slammed with a few ground bridge duties to make up for it as she was seldom seen aside from brief distant appearances. It was probably Megatron's way of punishing them without pushing the need to get rid of either of them.
Admittedly, he sucked a little at communications which he had to get some advice from Knockout of all mechs. As bad as he was, he expected The Matriarch to turn up and scold him on his terrible sense of judgement, maybe an insult or two. But her seldom appearances, even with all the access to the security system he could have, became even more unusual as they turned from varied to virtually nonexistent.
He grew curious as to why this was. Did she not want him to find her? Was she that desperate to prove her point that they weren't meant to be? Illogical, unacceptable. If she could be stubborn, he could be just as pushy.
But The Matriarch finally couldn't be found after a few days. The Vehicons talked like she was around yet he never saw her. Shockwave grew worried. Maybe he pushed too far and one of them alerted her.
When Soundwave returned with Ratchet, he expected her to perhaps instruct the awaiting guards on how to lock up their prisoner. Everyone was present when Ratchet was forced through the ground bridge, everyone...except The Matriarch. His spark grew heavy with a sense of dread as all the lines of Vehicons present held not one scarred form among them. He was so desperate to search for her that he didn't even hear his name called by Megatron.
In total, he didn't see her around for weeks. He regained his stoic personality again when faced with overlooking the Autobot prisoner, Ratchet, and managing Predaking's temper tantrums wanting to tear said Autobot apart. However, deep down he did miss her but he kept that side to himself among both his prisoner and his peers.
Ratchet was good company, but it wasn't lost on him how he was still an enemy and kept his distance. He pitied the Autobot more so as a brilliant mind such as Ratchet's shouldn't go to waste...like The Matriarch's.
The similarities between Shockwave and The Matriarch now reflected through Ratchet though the latter was of a medical expertise, not technically science or combat but he did try better than Knockout. Still, the reminder of it pulled at his spark. He refused to let either doctor see him growing disheartened with each passing day.
When he was relieved of watching over Ratchet, Shockwave tried a few times to contact her through Soundwave but she never answered. At one point, he feared Megatron may have made good on his threat, especially since at this particular moment, it seemed his science expertise was needed alongside Ratchet for the reanimation of the Omega Lock more so than a combat expert in training troops. With the limited numbers they had remaining...and no more Vehicon production currently, he had to think of the harsh reality that The Matriarch was no longer required for her services.
He opted not to think on the possibility of her being gone. It wasn't like her to go without some sort of scene or scuffle in the process which given her booming voice and power, the still decently populated warship would have at least heard it or heard about it from someone. He had hope she was around, maybe just keeping away from him until Decepticon victory was guaranteed.
"Shockwave, you seem quiet today," Ratchet said.
"There's nothing to talk about at the moment so minimal communication is fitting. We don't need distractions in our work," he replied monotone.
He could sense when he peered at Ratchet the other mech was uncertain but it wasn't like the medic had the gall to question Shockwave's response without being put down. He didn't realize his audial fins were pressed down completely on his helm until Ratchet's optics flicked over his line of vision, giving away his feelings enough to deduce there was something wrong.
He growled, not loud enough for Ratchet to hear and turned his back on the medic to keep the peace. When he heard Knockout come in, Ratchet immediately asked to talk to him privately. It wasn't hard to figure out just what it was about or if it was a part of a span of questions Ratchet wanted answered alongside the Synthetic Energon formula. But it seemed Knockout wanted to talk to Shockwave first, to his surprise.
When Knockout spoke, it came as a whisper but to him, it was the loudest thing when Energon rushed to his head upon hearing it. "She wants to talk to you. Soundwave said she is awaiting you near your chambers. Best hurry before she gets bored and breaks into your room manually."
Shockwave damn near clocked Knockout with his shoulder armor turning around as fast as he did. While Ratchet looked at the two from behind Knockout, the Decepticon medic gave a wink at the scientist.
"I will return in an hour or so, watch our guest," Shockwave forced out quickly.
Knockout smirked as he stormed out.
"What was that about?" Ratchet asked.
Knockout pretended not to know turning back to the Autobot and shrugged. "Soundwave just directed me into telling Shockwave Megatron was looking for him. I have no clue what for. I'm never informed much about these things."
The Autobot bought the lie and Knockout still held amusement over the whole ordeal.
Meanwhile, Shockwave was almost sprinting through the halls of the warship, ignoring the angry shouts of Vehicons he maneuvered around. Whether Soundwave was watching him and getting a kick out of his determination, he didn't know but he assumed the mech would be just as amused as Knockout.
When he made it to the outskirts of his room, the halls were empty. No noise whatsoever. Hopefully, this wasn't some cruel trick. He waited a minute to see if anybody would pass by but no one did. He growled and instead turned toward the access panel to his room only to note one of the buttons was pressed in hard and broken from brute force.
He perked up immediately. Only one person was known for her impatience and brutal nature. His spark was racing again and he contacted Soundwave to bypass the system before sending a technician over to fix the panel. When he got in, he immediately scanned the first part that was essentially his work room and then rushed over to his berth area...
"You want to know something funny? I always thought you would have an empty room with just a berth in here. Didn't think you would decorate with blueprints and edgy pseudo body parts from people you've experimented on; I like it."
Shockwave would have retorted with some banter, maybe even flirtatious but not only was he fixated on the fact that The Matriarch was standing in his chambers, he was drawn to the unusual sight that she had some Energon blood on her arms and chest. At first, he thought she was injured but looking closely did he realize it was someone else's.
"Matriarch, what happened?"
"What happened as in where did I go or why I have blood on me? They are kind of related so I'll answer both," she laughed. "Starscream sent me back to Cybertron in a 'secret recovery mission' to see if we missed any parts from the transfer of the Omega Lock. Well, my group was attacked by some interesting rogue Decepticons that followed the signal back and there was a scuffle. Won't be seeing them anymore. Soundwave had to be convinced to let us back on the ship. Three guesses why."
"They never knew what hit them," he said dearly. "I missed you. I don't care what the cost is to admit I love you."
The Matriarch turned her helm to the side, "About that, I thought on what we said, what I said mainly, and life's a bit too short to be playing the rank card on what we can or can't do."
Shockwave walked closer, never breaking eye contact. "And?"
She rotated her shoulders...before lunging at him and toppling him onto the floor again.
He snarled, "Will you stop doing that?!"
His anger, however, was immediately lost when this time she straddled him completely, sitting on his interface panel and placing her servos on his chest plate. The Matriarch giggled, "Where would the fun be in that?"
"There's...my berth just a few feet away-"
"Well, I like it down here, especially from the view I have," she purred sweetly, looking down at him. "That's not a problem, is it?"
"No," Shockwave stated, becoming aroused by her taking control.
His body was melting and his processor was doing no favors for him by making him focus on The Matriarch as the only thing that mattered. Forget the Synth-En project and the Autobot medic, this was what he wanted badly. Her domineering posture and personality were some things he hated prior, but now he could officially say he was hooked on this side of her.
The scientist moved his servo to caress her hip and inner thigh while using his arm cannon to rub her side. She bent over to lean against his frame, resting her arms crossed on his chest and her helm propped on them.
"You are quite daring, much more than the mech I met the first time. I can go for hours, built to be insatiable and have high stamina; can you keep up?"
Shockwave's fins twitched before he activated his comm. "Knockout, I will be unavailable longer than anticipated, give or take the next six hours. See to it our guest is relieved of duty for a while and put back into his cell. If Lord Megatron asks...tell him I was just sluggish and needed rest."
The Matriarch shook her head, "And here I thought you never lied."
"Considering the end result we are going to come to, I'm technically not."
That seemed to make her purr. Then he felt her servo reach behind tug at his interface cover.
"Shockwave's...tired? Is that right?" Megatron asked, staring at Knockout as he looked over the incomplete formula.
"Yes, my liege," the medic said, trying not to tap nervously at his side. "He felt drained, maybe being around the formula had ill effects on him. The prisoner is secured as he ordered and he'll get back to this in a few hours once he's recharged off whatever came over him."
Knockout could easily tell Megatron wasn't buying it. Hopefully, he didn't go to the Autobot and get a second story that wouldn't match Knockout's own. However, Soundwave stepped up surprisingly and nodded, vouching for Knockout. Given Soundwave had a fling with a Vehicon named Frostbite himself, it was likely he understood the scientist's love enough to cover for him. Whether Megatron knew about Soundwave's endeavors whereas Knockout did was unknown...but Megatron knew at least about Shockwave's.
"So, Shockwave took a break. Understandable but let me ask this, where is The Matriarch?"
Both Knockout and Soundwave stared at each other before Knockout gave a shrug, "I...I haven't heard about her for over a week. I feared you got rid of our brilliant Vehicon commander. Not that I would have anything against your decisions, my lord."
"Shockwave's expertise is certainly needed more as he no doubts remembers me once threaten him with deciding who lives, but I am not a fool to have gotten rid of either of them, especially the only commander on this ship that can train an army into submission for me. But I have not seen or heard much from Matriarch so if you don't know where she is, there's only a few places she could be lingering."
"But Shockwave doesn't know where she is either. That's why he's been moody lately as well; he misses her. If she's still on the warship, she apparently doesn't want to see him or be bothered by any of us. She must have taken your threat to spark once she was notified. All I know is Shockwave was really tired, maybe the misery didn't help and it caused a massive headache for him. He'll get over it soon. My advice, as the warship's primary physician, is to maybe not mention it to him if we want him to cope quicker and get back to work as soon as possible."
This time, Megatron seemed a bit more convinced and nodded, "Be sure to check on him then when he awakes...just to make absolute his mind won't be preoccupied with his loss."
Knockout bowed as Megatron turned to leave. "Don't worry, my liege, I'm sure Shockwave is going to be the same old cruel self he is when he returns. He's probably dying to get back as soon as possible."
Shockwave had to force her against the wall to gain control, their power play of course being consensual. She only laughed and tried to take back any leverage to flip them again. His spike was deep inside her valve, pushing to the hilt with as many thrusts as he could bring before she regained power.
At first, he had been reluctant as he was afraid he wouldn't be as fun as she wanted him to be. But one thing she did teach him was some of the best things in life can occur when he lets go of his strict nature for once. Ramming inside her valve was pure bliss combined with taking her as she tried to be playfully difficult. He was never one for roleplay but he could make an exception or two. Interfacing like a ravenous Predacon was certainly ironic.
"Is that the best you can do?" The Matriarch snarked.
She coaxed Shockwave to force himself deeper. Her servos were lovingly clawing his upper neck like she was going to lure him close, one leg hitched over his hip and the other keeping balance.
Shockwave pulled out before roughly turning her so her back was against his chest, pushing her down on furniture that was going to sustain some damage and pressing in harshly to her delight. He began picking up a brutal pace and grunted as his weaponized arm hit the nearest flat area he could reach. His servo dug into her waist to keep her locked in the position face first on table they were leaning against.
"Hardly," he answered.
Shockwave drilled her, refraining from making noise until she did first. The Vehicon Commander seemed to let out a moan suddenly when he hit far into her valve and then he echoed with his own noise of approval.
"Matriarch, you're wonderful," he whispered.
The Matriarch gave a giggle before it melted to another moan with one particular thrust, "Not bad...for a scientist."
"I'll make sure you won't forget this scientist any time soon. You're mine."
"We'll see."
Shockwave's spike swelled from the threat of overload as his charge built. Pounding into the tightness of The Matriarch was certainly a dream come true and he relished the feeling of also having the rare opportunity to keep his dominance over her for longer than a minute. It was only a matter of time before that would change.
Transfluid mixed with her discharge was leaking over his crotch plate and down her legs. He grunted again like a bull trying to keep himself from overloading too early. He wanted to try and impress her by at least matching her stamina, but it was getting harder as it had been what seemed like forever since his last rut with anyone.
Suddenly, The Matriarch scratched his table and let out a cry and he watched her contorting to buck back as orgasm hit hard. The sight was beautiful, almost angelic. Now that he had officially brought her over the edge first, he let himself go too. With a hiss, he clutched her side and slammed his weapon down beside her on the table, arching a little as he released his load into her. She whimpered from the warm fluid but it was a good sound as far as he could tell.
"Damn, you can keep up," she purred. "First one tonight."
Shockwave stood up straight but refused to leave her for two reasons. One, he was still recovering and two, he was unsure if she would use the opportunity to take control again. Given her bravado, the latter was a definite must.
"This time we take it to the berth," he said.
"Oh?" The Matriarch laughed, turning her helm to face him. "And how exactly do you plan on getting me there?"
His spike pressurized in an instant which earned him a soft breath from her. His servo traced the scars along her backside, studying each one and guessing in the back of his mind just what she endured to earn them. Certainly not interface but if he was lucky, he would make a mark upon her body to add to her exquisite collection.
"By any means necessary," Shockwave growled.
When he tried to lift her off the table, she demonstrated her flexibility to maneuver around to face him in his hold. Gripping his chassis, she leaned against him. "Then start trying. I dare you."
Shockwave grew to love these challenges of hers. There was a chance they could make it to the berth if he tried but a huge percentage of his attempts would probably just land them on the floor, wall, or wherever they laid to go at it. Personally, he kind of liked the illogical aspect of it.
As he guessed when he took a few steps toward the berth room, she used his weight against him and toppled them into rolling over one another.
Throughout the supposedly few hours he claimed he only needed with her, they found a way to interface in multiple different positions and he couldn't remember a grand majority of them by the end. They had almost broken a few things in their scuffles and there were some instances where they were certain any Vehicons passing by probably heard them loud and clear. It was fun.
The very last place they played on was, coincidentally, the berth though it was more of a cuddling session than actual interface. At that point, Shockwave could care less. He had The Matriarch where he wanted her in the end...at least for the moment. A small accomplishment in an overall victory for the both of them. It was safe to say though, he wasn't going back to work for quite a while.
AN: They make a good couple certainly. Now I added the fun parts...but in return, you're going to have to deal with something worse next chapter.
