Neew chapter. Phew, it wasn't easy. Still, I hope you enjoy it. :) All yours!

V.

Bright sunlight shone over the state of Vos. Even the mood was light, now that the brunt of the work had been done and all systems were running. The worksite had been cleared away at the periphery of the state and test runs had been made. Making Vos' new spaceport, under direction of the Astronomical Division and linked to the geostationary orbit of their - now officially - own and independent space bridge, finally ready for the launch of the first official expedition.

Excited chatter ruled the launch complex when Slipstream arrived. She transformed mid-air just before she landed at the end of the runway where a familiar space shuttle was getting ready for the journey. Three Seekers stood beside him, one, a tall, graceful mech painted in glistening gold was already getting inside but looked up when he heard the unmistakable sound of transformation and felt the greeting wave through their trine bond.

Sunstorm stepped back and straightened up with a smile when he saw the young medic. Most flyers nearby who noticed Slipstream's arrival stopped and sent her a nod in greeting, some even bowed slightly - after all, she was the sister of their senator -, but the femme did not seem to notice them. She made her way straight to her trine leader and melted into his embrace. She offlined her optics and pressed her face into Sunstorm's neck cables to further close out the world for a moment as she relaxed in the older Seeker's arms.

::Missed you.::

A chuckle vibrated along Sunstorm's plates, ::I haven't even left yet.::

::So?::

::Stream, Skyfire will be here soon.::

::So?!:: Slipstream frowned, quelling the slight anger that threatened to flare up in her.

::Your intended...::

With a sigh, Slipstream broke the embrace. In reality, only a klick had passed while they had their conversation through their link and nothing could be seen on the outside. Slipstream reluctantly stepped back and offered a weak smile. Thundercracker had been her intended for mega-cycles by then, Starscream wanted it and honestly, Slipstream agreed because she couldn't find anything wrong with the blue Seeker - he was a strong and intelligent mech, an agile flyer and of noble origins. He had always been attentive to the young femme and took her in with seemingly everything he had.

There was just one problem; she didn't love him - not like she should have. Couldn't as long as she had Sunstorm.

"I thought you couldn't come." Sunstorm finally said out loud in a casual, cheerful tone, a bright smile on his sparkling faceplate. Slipstream played along and couldn't help laugh at the sight - this mech was the sun itself, always bringing light into her saddened state.

"I literally had to beg Bombshell to give me a break so I can say goodbye."

A chuckle vibrated through the space shuttle this time, sending it into the air around them as another voice joined them, "I hope he doesn't push you too hard."

"Nah, he's a good teacher. Just... stern. A tiny bit." Slipstream rolled her optics, to which the shuttle answered with another chuckle. Of course, all of them knew Bombshell - when Slipstream volunteered to enter medical fellowship in neurology under Bombshell, she expected strictness, but wasn't ready for such a heavy demand that the jet came with. But now, after studying with the head neurosurgeon for stellar cycles, she was quite used to him.

"And where have you left Acidstorm?" Sunstorm asked again, swinging an arm around his trine mate's shoulders.

"Well, he couldn't come." she replied with a huff, "Seems General Dreadwing is even worse than Bombshell."

"Yeesh."

At that moment, the sound of engines, loud in comparison to the almost soundless flight of Seekers, told of the arrival of another shuttle. Sunlight twinkled on the clean white of the large frame and the lines of red and blue revealed it to be Skyfire even before he transformed. He strode forward to the gathered flyers, everyone giving him the same greeting Slipstream received. The femme forced a smile on her face as her brother's intended came up to them with a smile matching Sunstorm's in brightness. His EM field was slightly trembling in barely contained excitement.

"We are ready to depart, Director Skyfire." the space shuttle beside them said and Slipstream saw Skyfire could hardly keep himself from grinning.

"Alright, Shrapnel, you have my trust."

"Director Skyfire, Fellow Slipstream," one of the workers, a young, shorter jet came up to them, "please, stand back. We are getting ready for countdown."

"I wish you all a successful journey." Skyfire told the three Seekers and Shrapnel before they moved out of the way, "We are awaiting your return."

With that, all three scientists finally boarded Shrapnel's cabin and Skyfire put a hand on Slipstream's shoulder to gently pull her away. She let him and watched, with everyone else, the space shuttle's doors close and his engines start with the same low sound Skyfire's had made. All flyers around watched as Shrapnel's thrusters lit up and the countdown started. Everything had been set for the coordinates, Shrapnel would be heading straight to the space bridge in orbit - which had already been set and powered up to receive the four explorers with their first destination as a small planet of a yellow dwarf star.

Now Skyfire couldn't help the grin spreading to his face as Shrapnel started moving and he let his EM-field fluctuate. However, the smile faded from his lips when at that klick, Slipstream tensed under his arm. Skyfire frowned slightly at her neutral expression whereas before her optics shone brightly and smile played on her lips as they stood beside Shrapnel with Sunstorm. What could have changed?

"What is it?" he asked quietly.

"What?" Slipstream whispered back.

"You're uneasy. Is everything alright?"

The femme Seeker sighed, "Yes, yes, just... I've got to go back to the Center and I have to take the night shift next cycle. I'm just a bit tired."

A small smile came to life on her face when she heard Sunstorm's goodbye through her comm. link and she waved, too, as Shrapnel took to the glistening sky. They would soon be gone from sight and would only return at the start of the next decacycle if all went well.

"You know you can tell me anything." Skyfire's gentle voice floated to her audios now that the sound of engines had died down.

"Of course." Slipstream murmured and smiled up at the space shuttle. After all, she was just worried about her trine leader. Even though on previous expeditions they - along with other scientific teams - mapped and explored the organic planet, there were still plenty of things that needed discovering and this was the first time such a small team was sent on its own.

That primitive, yet biologically so complex world was a frequent destination of theirs long ago, at the time even Starscream was part of the team. Skyfire smiled a little. Back when they went on expeditions together, both astrobiologists, young scientists just making their doctorate, before Starscream turned to politics and the space shuttle was appointed director of the division. Back when their biggest problem was deciding what kind of equipment to take on the journey. Now Starscream couldn't even be there to see their own flyers' first launch to the space bridge that he managed to keep out of the Senate's hands. Skyfire couldn't deny that he missed those times, but they couldn't dwell on the past.

After all, they had the future to live for.

"I have to go back." Slipstream's voice brought him back to reality.

"Take care, 'Stream."

The femme laughed at that, "Don't worry about me, Skyfire." and with that, she transformed and took off to the direction of the Vosian Medical Center. Her movements were now graceful, devoid of the previous tension, yet Skyfire could see the problem hadn't left her. It wasn't like a simple worry for the explorers, he had seen that enough whenever she came to bid her brother farewell before their journeys. Skyfire sighed. It was apparent his intended's sister was keeping something from him, but he didn't want to ask Starscream. After all, they all had their own lives.

And he had so many other things to worry about.

Soundwave stretched slightly, feeling the cables in his arms and around his backstrut straighten with tiny pops. His cooling fans had stopped whirring as his temperature was back to normal now, but he was still pleasantly tired from their training session with Megatron. He had come to appreciate the time they could spend by themselves and talk. The topics of their conversations were insignificant things, discussions about moves, techniques, the other gladiators. Even though Soundwave could see it flicker from time to time at the edge of his mind, the urge to ask him how he had decided, Megatron never once brought up out loud his planned rebellion.

However, that did not mean Soundwave stopped thinking about it. It never left him, the thoughts stayed all day and night, every klick of the solar cycles. And thus, slowly but surely, he became more and more comfortable with these thoughts swirling across his mind. He had calculated, considered, pondered on what he could help with, and he had talked about it all with his creations. He did not want to leave them out of the decision, encouraged them to think, too, and make their own stand. But until now, they just pushed it. Next cycle, always next cycle...

Soundwave settled down, after this meeting with Megatron, that it was finally time for them to come to a decision.

He sat down on his berth next to Frenzy and gathered his other creations around him. Frenzy had been lying even before he left, and his presence in their bond was fainter than usual. He was weak, Soundwave could see, his optics dull and his intakes slow and deep - the dual-spark frowned slightly in worry, fearing it was the forerunner of another attack. Though he could call medics now, the ward was close and they wouldn't send them away because they had no credits to pay for the treatment, the worry and anxiety were by then reflex for Soundwave whenever he saw Frenzy unwell.

How long had he been going without proper treatment...? Soundwave put a hand on the black twin's chest, attempting to feel his temperature and the thrum of his spark. His spark was the source of the disease, every problem was caused by its irregular oscillations that either didn't radiate enough energy pulses or fluctuated too much. That caused his transformation cog to cease functioning, that caused problems with his processor and fuel pump, vitally linked to the spark chamber and the first receivers of the pulses, and if those malfunctioned, other system malfunctioned as well.

The most tragic thing was that it was curable. A spark surgery and then a short therapy - all too expensive for Soundwave. And that was just the beginning of their problems...

Soundwave dragged his mind back to reality. He would have enough credits now, and they had medics who wouldn't dare refuse to treat them. They had Megatron by their side. Soundwave's optics met his son's small, tired ones. If they could bring down the system that did this to them... Soundwave would do his best to help.

"What is it, creator?" Rumble asked, curiosity winning him over.

::Megatron and his rebellion?:: Ravage spoke in his head, a quiet question that he already knew the answer to.

Soundwave nodded, "Yes. I have come to my decision. I would like to know yours."

Neither of his creations spoke for a long moment, just looked around each other. They knew, they could feel how their creator had decided. It was Rumble again who broke the silence, "You're... so calm about this."

"Because I can help him. I feel that we can make a change."

::You're calm since we met Megatron. Steadier.:: It was Laserbeak this time, she leant close to him from his shoulder, ::It's like he's an anchor for you.::

Soundwave thought about it. He had not even realized it until now, but he did feel that way - and of course, his creations would be quick to pick up on it. "He's a stillpoint. Not like those other terrorists out there. He planned, he had gathered robots and information. I do believe he has the potential to lead the people to freedom. He understands and he genuinely wishes for Cybertron to be ruled by equality. A true Golden Age. He's... strong."

"You do know it will turn to fights sooner or later." Ravage spoke out loud, "Destruction and killing."

"The old system needs to be destroyed." Soundwave replied and added quietly, "There is no victory without risk, Ravage. I want to know if you would be willing to–"

He felt Frenzy fidget under his hand and he let go of him. The mini-mech climbed down from the berth hurriedly and made his way to their small wash racks, a hand clasped over his mouth. The dual-spark sighed when the door closed behind him, the siblings all looked after their sick brother with worry.

"If we can make it," Soundwave continued in a silent tone, "we'll wipe away the corruption and oppression that reduced us to paupers. We'll shatter it and no one will be denied after that."

::I'll go wherever you go.:: Laserbeak brushed her head to his face, ::For Frenzy.::

"For Frenzy," Rumble agreed and stood up, his voice growing louder, "an' everybody! Those slaggers will pay!"

Soundwave gave a small smile and looked at Ravage. The feline mini-con was sitting perfectly still in his place, his red optics locked with the dual-spark's. It took a moment before he spoke, quietly, yet full of trust towards his creator, ::For all of Cybertron.::

Rumble helped his trembling twin out of the wash racks while Soundwave fetched him a cube of low-grade energon they had received from the medics. The dual-spark expected to fight a battle to make Frenzy drink, but his creation accepted the cube without a word this time. He leant down into his creator's lap and now Soundwave could feel how tense his whole frame was, his trembling refused to cease. His spark was fluctuating again, the irregular electric currents gripped his cables in small spasms and the energon loss certainly didn't help.

"Try to relax, Frenzy." Soundwave whispered to him softly, a hand stroked the mini-mech's helm, "Should I call Flatline?"

Frenzy shook his head against his thigh and curled up even more. He felt Rumble rest his head on his arm, his chin dug a bit into his plate, but Frenzy ignored that minor pain. His twin and creator's closeness, the physical contact helped him calm down a little. Enough to gather his strength to speak.

"Soundwave, I... I've been thinking, too–" a cough interrupted his words, it took the mini-con a long moment to continue, "Don't think this fragging sickness will stop me." Soundwave frowned slightly at the swear-word, but let it go this time; Frenzy turned his head upwards and a weak grin graced his faceplate, "I will be with you. Ya ain't... getting rid of me so easily."

"I know." the dual-spark smiled, proud of his son's strength, "Let's wash down and recharge. Next cycle, I will speak with Megatron."

Soundwave didn't know at first what woke him in the middle of the night - later with clearer mind he assumed it must have been the disoriented waves coming from his creation, but as he blearily onlined his optics in the dark room, lit only by the faint yellow lights of nearby street lamps, the first thing that registered in his processor was that he was alone in his berth.

He bolted upright and for a moment, just stared at the empty space where Frenzy was supposed to be, trying to figure out whether it was a flux or reality. He looked around the room wildly; his other creations were all snuggled on the other berth, all had wanted to recharge outside that night, but Frenzy was nowhere to be seen.

::Frenzy?::

No answer came - Soundwave was at the wash racks by then, but that was also empty. Panic started to take over the dual-spark feeling that the waves from the black mini-mech were coming from a distance and among his frantic thoughts, his optics caught something out of ordinary in the quiet room.

The door to their quarters was open...

"Creator?" Soundwave almost jumped when Rumble's sleepy question reached his audios. He looked upon three pairs of small, crimson optics staring at him, "What are you–"

"Stay here." Soundwave's tone was quiet but stern, and a klick later, he ran out of the room. The three siblings looked at each other in confusion, but when they saw that Frenzy was missing, too, they understood their creator's rush, but decided to obey. That was perhaps the best they could do to help.

Soundwave put his full attention on his mini-mech, concentrating solely on his thoughts and presence in their bond to determine the direction he went. He followed his signal, even though the thoughts he received were flickers, a faint jumble that made Soundwave guess the cassette probably wasn't fully awake. Soundwave let down his visor to switch on his night vision as he ran down the corridor, sensing that he was getting closer to Frenzy. The further he had to run, the more fear and guilt wrapped themselves around Soundwave's spark. He should have noticed sooner when Frenzy got up from beside him, but he just recharged peacefully while his son got Primus knew how far–

He found him.

Frenzy was swaying slightly as he walked ever so slowly towards the entrance of the building. When Soundwave finally reached him and grabbed his shoulders, he could feel from up close the erratic pulses in their spark bond and the scorching hot temperature of his frame. Now he could see that Frenzy was really in a daze, he did not even seem to notice his creator's presence; his optics were so light in colour they were almost white and faint, he hardly vented despite the overheating and there was a thin line of energon down his chin and chest plates.

"Frenzy!" Soundwave shook him gently and when he got nothing in response, he quickly opened Frenzy's panel to manually activate his cooling fans, then, picking up his cassette, he hurried back to their room, already feeling the anxiety of the other three seeping through the bond.

Maybe it were the sudden movements or the closeness of his creator, but by the time they had arrived, Frenzy seemed to have come to his senses somewhat. His optics gained some of their colour back and he was finally intaking, deep and laboured, but it was nevertheless helping his fans in cooling him down. His processor could not regulate his temperature now and the information from his sensors it couldn't analyze, leaving Frenzy unable to determine his own temperature or fluid levels. It was a common symptom, yet highly dangerous; Soundwave knew he needed to cool Frenzy down quickly before–

"W-window..." the mumbled word made Soundwave stop when he finally stepped into the room. Yes, he thought, the night was cold there...

"Rumble, please, open the window." he silently asked the purple twin and Rumble did as he was told without hesitation. They gathered around Soundwave as he helped Frenzy lean out to the cool air that blew softly into their room. He was taking deep vents and the erratic waves coming from him seemed to be smoothing out. Now Soundwave wished he could calm down as well, but he managed to restrain his running emotions in order to concentrate.

"What happened?" Laserbeak asked, her voice tender to Soundwave's audios against Frenzy's hard intakes.

"His temperature had risen up." the dual-spark whispered back and sighed, "He must have been trying to get out..."

Neither of them said any more and didn't move until it was sure Frenzy had come out of that delirious state. He soon started shivering in the cold air and Soundwave quickly switched off his fans and closed the window before retreating to their berth. He told the others to get back to recharge, too, and he lay down as well with Frenzy in his lap. He never let go of the black mini-con, didn't dare do so after this, even though his son was now fully aware of the world and left too weak to go anywhere - the fear in his spark hadn't left him just yet.

"Creator..." he looked down to see Frenzy's optics, now back to their normal colour, tired and frightened at the same time, "I'm sorry..."

"Try to recharge." Soundwave told him and he could feel the mini-mech lean his head to his chest, a small hand came up to caress the glass of his compartment where they resided in alt mode.

"I wish I could go inside... Feel your spark."

Soundwave couldn't help hug him closer, a frown made its way onto his faceplate. "It will be over soon, Frenzy." he whispered, "I will do everything in my power to make sure of it."

That promise lingered in his mind, and Soundwave had all intentions to make it true. It was now one of the things that gave him the confidence to go through with his decision - the other was currently at the center of the stadium, hands gripping into his opponent's armor.

Soundwave focused on the fight, he succeeded not to let his attention wander. The robots around him cheered as Megatron managed to throw the other mech to the ground. Soundwave had his visor and mask covering his whole face, giving him a sense of security among the crowd. It was easier to close them out when he was down there, Megatron opposite him, and he was the one thing he needed - and managed - to concentrate on. It was easy with the gladiator, and the crowd was just a murmur around him, an irritating buzz that did not bother him further than a slight annoyance.

Now that he was a spectator, too, it was somewhat harder. He never liked being in a crowd, even at the InfoCore he preferred to work alone, only meeting his colleagues and superiors if necessary, but even though he felt uncomfortable sitting there within the audience, it was far from as bad as it used to. Megatron told him to go down and watch fights, to learn and get to know the other combatants' moves and styles. After all, they were, in a sense, fighting to entertain the people, to "whore themselves out to those energon-thirsty slaggers" as a gladiator named Hydrau once phrased it.

How fitting, Soundwave thought with a mute huff as the crowd again exploded in shouts and applause when the two mechs slammed into each other once more and a hellish scream sliced through the air as Megatron's hand dug deep into the other's abdominal plates, tearing out cables and wires as it left him. Energon burst from the hole and spilled onto Megatron's armor, almost fully covering him. In his hand, he still held the torn lines, dripping from energon and coolant, other hand crushing the mech's neck cables and esophageal tubing. The cries died down and gave place to choking gags and static as the other gladiator was forced to his knees. He was still trying to pry Megatron's hand off his neck, but everyone could see that his efforts were in vain, already too weak to do anything against his opponent.

It seemed the champion triumphed again.

Soundwave's features hardened behind his mask, his dentae gritting and digits curling into fists as he felt the gladiator's mind numb, quiet down and his emotions and thoughts slowly dying away. He felt the life leave the unfortunate mech as Megatron tossed the dead frame to the ground and raised up a bloodied arm in victory. Soundwave hardly knew the robot and it was not the first deactivation he had witnessed and felt through in the arena - but it still swayed him a little all the same. He fought to get it under control and he managed to keep it away more as time went by, but he had yet to experience it when it would be him killing an opponent.

That one thing was inevitable in his new life. Kill or be killed. That one rule seemed to be common and eternal among all the fighters there.

Soundwave got up from his seat and hurried out of the stadium. He knew Megatron would go to the medical ward, after all, he sustained injuries as well and he wanted to talk to him as soon as possible. And he now had an excuse to get away from this crazily shouting mess of an audience–

A presence, colourful and so full of life...

"Wait!"

Soundwave froze and turned around to come face to face with a familiar red mech. Once he got to know an electrical pattern of thoughts, a signal of a robot, it was much easier to recognize them later, even after a long time. Though it hadn't been such a long time since he last felt this signal, it was still unique and stood out with its brightness from the crowd. Blaster was smiling at him, blue optics shining like a pair of stars and EM-field vibrating in poorly contained excitement. He must have been worked up by the fight, like everybody else, Soundwave guessed, deciding not to enter the other dual-spark's processor. Everything was written on that silver faceplate like a story waiting to be read...

"Blaster." Soundwave acknowledged. The mask gave his voice a monotone, overly electric tone and he retracted it. His expression was neutral under it as he turned fully to the other mech just at the bottom of the stairs, "Why are you here?"

"Why, to watch the match." Blaster shrugged, "And... well, I hoped to see you, too."

"Why are you so curious about me?" Soundwave's features hardened again, "Mechs with your job should not even be allowed into the arena."

Blaster sighed, his shoulders sagging a little, "Well... I guess it was evident you would find out sooner or later what I am. At first, I really came here to make a report about one of the four legal gladiatorial arenas of Cybertron, but I soon had to realize it would not be that easy. My partner Reflector made a recording of your match with Megatron, but when we re-watched it, it was a big jumble."

"That is because recording devices are blocked in this area." Soundwave said and added in a harder tone, "For a reason. Now I know who you are - I have heard you on radio a few times and according to DataNet, you're a newswriter of the Iacon Newsfeed. Is this why you wanted to talk to me? To make a report?"

Blaster cocked his head to the side, his posture still relaxed, it seemed he was completely at ease in the other's presence, "What if I'm not here as a journalist now?"

"Then what is your purpose with me?"

To his surprise, Blaster chuckled, "First, thanks for not sneaking around in my processor. You would surely know the answer then, but I thank you for the respect. And my purpose is, just... as I told you the first time, you got me curious. I just want to get to know you."

Soundwave's optical ridges rose in surprise behind his visor, "That is... your sole purpose?"

"Mech, yes!" Blaster laughed, "Why would I have come down to meet you? I have no bad intentions, really... it's not the journalist you're talking to now. Just robot to robot. Is that okay with you?"

Soundwave did not answer - didn't know what to answer. Never had anybody taken a personal interest in him, he sincerely didn't know how to react when he finally entered the other dual-spark's mind and saw the honesty of his words. Blaster held out his arms, the smile on his face had grown a tad more careful, his expression expectant.

"So? Ya saw it all?"

That mind was blossoming with emotions, so many colours dancing around it almost made Soundwave giddy. He retreated with a deep intake, succeeding to erase any shakiness from it. In other cases he would have found such a mind unstable, erratic, unable to decide what to think or feel, but Blaster's had a certain steadiness and direction. He knew what he wanted, even though the emotions were running and vibrating - because they were so rich it would now be strange if it all weren't plastered on his faceplate like it was still at the moment. Hope, careful and accepting, ready for whatever answer Soundwave would give.

"I..." once again he found the same uncertainty overtake him as the first time, "have never been in a similar situation."

Blaster chuckled softly, "Okay, I got it. Don't wanna rush you. I'd just like to know if you'd want to meet another time?"

Soundwave's head moved, the movement so tiny it was hard to detect, yet it caused a bright smile to burst onto Blaster's lips and the sky blue optics shone up, "Great! Um... are you gladiators allowed out of the arena? Go to places?"

"I believe so." Soundwave answered quietly, "I haven't asked Master Onslaught yet."

"Right. Just cause... I know a small bar here at Kaon that I wanted to try and all, and if you want to, we could go there. Just hang out... it must be depressing being confined to this place and having to fight all the time. Are you in?"

Soundwave couldn't take his optics off the display of emotions on Blaster's face. Every movement of his features was a thought, clear and all there to read, there was no need for telepathy for him to know what the other mech was thinking. Everything was on his face, giving it all to the world with utter sincerity. It was giddying, yet calming at the same time - Soundwave did not neet to put any effort into reading him. Did not require him to do anything, just watch and let himself flow with it. Like this mech had enough emotions for the both of them.

He nodded without a word, causing another explosion of colours around Blaster, "Alright! We'll then... talk about it after your match next cycle. Just try not to get killed until then, okay?"

Soundwave's lips twitched upward without him knowing it. Only when Blaster chuckled did he realized it, "Good to finally see ya smiling."

The smile was gone in an instant, his expression freezing back to neutrality and Blaster frowned slightly, "Hey, no need to hide it. Just let it come out. Ya gotta live out your emotions as long as you can." the journalist grinned widely, "And that smile looked stunning on your face."

Another pause, Soundwave felt his faceplate heat up. He looked down, readjusting his weight from one leg to the other without being able to control it. Why was it that this mech could make him lose this firm control with mere words? "I will... take that in mind."

Blaster laughed, "Okay, I won't torture you any more. I'll... see ya in your match. And ya better win." he winked and walked away, out of the stadium. Soundwave let out a shaky vent that he didn't know he was holding. He quickly gathered himself and turned around, too, to leave the dispersing crowd and make his way to the medical ward, after all, he still had a confession to make - but it was with a unique buzz, a different flutter going with him that he didn't want to shake away this time.

The medical ward was quieter than he expected, which meant Megatron's injuries were not so serious as to require surgery. He soon found him on one of the berths, partly cleaned of the energon, and one of the construction mechs was working on his shoulder plates. The champion of the arena seemed to be deep in thoughts, but looked up at seeing Soundwave stop by his side and he offered a small nod in greeting that the dual-spark returned.

"So?" Megatron asked quietly, "How did you like the match?"

"It was wild and brutal." Soundwave answered, "Just as the people like it. But this is not what I came to talk about... Lord Megatron. Or should I say D-16?"

The mech who was repairing him looked up in shock at Soundwave, but Megatron waved his hand calmly, "It is alright, Hook. He knows."

Hook cast a glance at Soundwave warily before turning back to his work, "Yes, Lord Megatron."

With that, Megatron looked back up at Soundwave, expression remaining calm still, "Before you ask, no, I did not demand them to call me lord. One started and it spread like a disease, didn't it?"

"That's correct." Flatline said from another berth, glancing up at the trio, "And there's no cure, it seems." he chuckled.

Megatron turned back to Soundwave, the remains of the small, amused smile still on his lips as he stated, "Though, I wasn't aware you knew that much."

"I needed to sort out the files and after comparing them to memory files from the InfoCore, I came to realize you are the same person who wrote those samizdats. However, D-16 was an energon miner who died when the mine collapsed at Outpost C-12 in Tagan Heights nine stellar cycles ago."

Megatron chuckled quietly, "No, he didn't die... it's just what everyone else thinks. He came to Kaon, found the arena and joined in hope to have a place to live in and energon to fuel. Gave himself a name, and... came up with these world-shattering plans that you now know enough about. That is what you wanted to talk about?"

Soundwave nodded quietly, "I came to tell you my and my creations' decision. We all came to the same conclusion regarding your unborn rebellion."

Megatron waited patiently for him to continue, and Soundwave did, finally speaking the words with full confidence and the strength he needed,

"We will join you. If you can bring down this lie the Golden Age turned into... I will be there by your side."

Yes.

Hope it wasn't too boring... I just wanted a little character developement. As if this whole story weren't about that... Apologies for errors, I tried to edit, but it's... 4.42 in the morning. I'm lucky it's Saturday.

I also hoped to clear Rossum's disease a little, what it's like, though of course, a full explanation will also come in time. And I think everyone knows what planet Shrapnel and co. are heading to. ;) It will have a little more significance later, but not what you think. Eer... it will all be revealed, nah.

Neurology - I don't know the robotic equivalent, so when I write about medics, I will use these "human" terms.

Hope you liked it. :)