'Come again?!' - Megatron spoke slowly and in deceptively soft voice but it would be better if he yelled. Soundwave tensed and made himself not to retaliate when the next moment Megatron's big hand closed on his neck cabling, squeezing with enough force to clog energon circulation. The warlord surged forward, and crushed Soundwave's back against the rampart they were so peacefully sitting upon a breem back. Soundwave made no attempt to free himself.

'What makes you think for a moment that you can feed me such a feeble lie?!' - the steely gladiator hissed dangerously, looming over his subject.

Soundwave's optics dimmed a little and he answered via comm and even that appeared strained as his processor registered malfunction in energon supply /Soundwave: loyal. This: truth/

'Prove it!' - the warlord growled.

Slowly, as un-threatening as he could in face of the steel grip that was crushing his fueling system, Soundwave brought up a servo and tapped his digit lightly against the back of Megatron's hand. Megatron eyed him intently before his palm relaxed and let go. He sat back. The spy sat up.

'Soundwave's story as told at first meeting: incredible, no proof given. Proving: never required. Your faith in me: why?'

'Your story was too useful, it didn't matter if it was a lie' - Megatron said reluctantly. It wasn't exactly true. He did believe Soundwave.

'False. Your belief: essential for the uprising. Your faith: driving them... drives us still. Your trust in me: from the spark. Your spark recognized me when you didn't. How many times have you trusted without any reason to?'

Megatron scowled at him but he felt more relaxed. Whatever this was, it didn't look like treason. He would hear this nonsense out and then decide. If Soundwave wanted to betray him, was plotting against him, he would have come up with a far more credible story. The warlord looked for his cube and found it surprisingly whole on the floor. He reached for it and took a sip.

'What's your point?'

Soundwave was less lucky - his booze was now a brightly colored pool on the tiles. The spy sighed softly before saying 'A space jet in the mines? illogical. Underground flyer: functional, useful? Reasons for elaborate battle protocols in a miner: non-existent. Joints: flexible and durable beyond requirements. Threat assessment: extensive. Quantum processors: sufficient for commanding armies. This for mines? Overkill. Megatron: old'

Megatron snorted 'that is hardly news!'

'False. Megatron: older than you believe. This: not your first war'

Megatron was refraining from any reaction, and that cued Soundwave to continue talking. The warlord's face plates shifted into an expression of neutral attention and doubt and that looked uncharacteristic on a warlord known to never hesitate.

'Mines: not your function. Spark: never adjusted, sought to reclaim it's fate. Megatron's choice of designation: not by chance.'

'I chose it. I chose the name of a past hero Prime because I sensed my destiny was as great' - To his dismay, Megatron found that he was trying to defend against Soundwave's incredible theory, and that meant that he was starting to take it seriously.

'Designation 'Megatron': not in the Covenant of the Primes. Your choice: your own name. Hero of the past: significance of the past, true. Before-the-wipe-Megatron: earned to be called that'. Megatron grunted and took a sip.

'What is your version of my function then?'

'Soundwave's: not a version. Soundwave: first acquainted with Megatron in the space program. Megatron's function: mission security, navigation, survival. Megatron then: already a war veteran. Rumored to survive the quintesson capture. Commissioned to space program. Space program shut down, space mecha disappeared. Presumed deactivated at the time. Assessment: deemed wrong upon meeting Megatron at the Arena. Meeting: unexpected. Signs of recognition: absent. Personality: changed. ' Soundwave hesitated a split click before admitting: 'Signs of personality wipe: discovered by telepathy'.

Megatron's optics narrowed. He suspected being scanned, he resented being scanned, he had made his feelings very clear about that.

'It was once only' - Soundwave added hastily, reading his expression correctly, -'at the very beginning. Ensuring: essential at the time'

Megatron decided to leave it for now. 'Suppose it is true... Has it never occurred to you to tell me this? If there was something that can be used against me, I had to know.'

'This information: of no significance to the Cause. Distress: it's only gain. Life lost: impossible to recover' - with the last phrase the spy's optics flashed brighter, face plates twisted slightly. Megatron realised, it wasn't just his life he was talking about.

Soundwave's gaze shifted to his ruined energon on the floor, then back to the warlord. The spy was trembling ever so lightly and that, Megatron knew by experience, meant that he was on a verge of loosing control over his emotions. Megatron wanted this to happen tonight for his sheer entertainment, but now it wouldn't be his accomplishment and given the source of emotional charge, it would hardly be pretty.

Regardless, if what Soundwave was telling him was true or not, the spy sure took it very seriously. It had been true to him. He needed to get him drunk now for therapeutic reasons - dumb his emotional net, purge the overflown stacks, switch his mind to something else.

Acting out the first idea that flashed through his mind, the warlord finished his cube in one gulp and quickly leaned into Soundwave's personal space to crush their mouths together. The spy was caught off-guard as he started to say something right this very moment and Megatron poured his last gulp of high-grade into his open mouth. Steel hands closed on navy wing and the back of the navy helm, securing the mech in place as the ex-gladiator force fed him the high-grade mixed with his own processing fluids.
After the first shock passed, Soundwave whimpered softly and returned the kiss eagerly, optics offline and the whole chassis starting to noticeably shake now. The high-grade was consumed quickly, it's charge adding to wild emotions that already scrambled the telepath's emotional processor. Soundwave spasmed, arching back, optics flashing and offlining again, as the mech overloaded.

Megatron held him through this, petting the chest armor soothingly.

It took the spy a few moments to recover and online all of his periphery. As he assessed his position and the hands that were still petting him absentmindedly, he straightened in a flash of shocked realisation of what he just did.

'Apologies, my lord. Soundwave's actions: inappropriate' - in control once more, he meant to move back, put a safe distance between them, but Megatron didn't relinquish his grip, holding his back with his left hand while drawing lazy circles on the navy plating and along Laserbeak's docking ports on the TICs chest with his right.

As the sensory net restored, Soundwave leaned into this caress, savoring the affection he so desperately yearned and so rarely received. He could write it off on high-grade later.

'Make them bring more of the stuff', - Megatron ordered and it was clear without clarifying what he meant by 'stuff', - 'I want to hear all of it'

'Why?' - Soundwave asked, even as he was already passing the order via comm to his cassettes - it was better if no one other would see them here, - 'This information..'

'... is of no significance to the Cause. I know' - Megatron finished for him.