Disclaimer: I own nothing – at least nothing Transformers related.
AN: There are never too many ways to interpret a prompt. *eg*
Thanks to mdnytryder for correcting this chapter.
16/28 Dominant (G1 AU)
If you searched for a peaceful and quiet place in Decepticon Headquarters, you certainly wouldn't find it in Soundwave's quarters.
As strange as it sounded, the home of the dark blue mech, who was in equal parts famous and infamous for his silence, were one of the loudest and messy rooms of the Nemesis.
It wasn't Soundwave's fault, he even tried to tidy up now and then – but his Creations always managed to undo in five seconds what he had cleaned up only a minute before.
Right now Rumble and Frenzy sat in front of giant plasma screen (after human standards) playing some sort of Ego Shooter while Ravage lay on top of a mound of shabby pillows and watched them out of dim red optics.
Their shouting and insults alongside the explosions from the game echoed in the relatively large room to almost unbearable decibels, but neither their Creator nor their siblings really cared, having long grown accustomed to just deactivating audios while in their presence.
Ratbat hung from crack in the wall, sleeping soundly and swinging softly back and forth with every colorful explosion on the screen and even more colorful insults out of a little mech's mouth.
Laserbeak busied herself with some videos she had taken on her last spy mission for Megatron, reviewing them internally again and again.
If the slight shaking of her shoulders were any indication, the footage was highly amusing and would most likely be shared with her family unit before the night was over.
Buzzsaw observed his twin for a few minutes, than he flew up to Ratbat's nap-place and begun to pick at the brittle metal around the other Cassetticon's claws.
Soundwave mentally shook his head and sighed soundlessly, knowing that shortly he would have to stop another brawl.
That would be the fourteenth today.
But he just couldn't bring himself to punish his Creations or to give them more than some basic rules they had to follow without question or exception.
He loved them far too much and, after all, as a telepath he was more than used to loud sounds, both mental and real, and utter chaos.
Even now he could hear every other Decepticon in the base if he opened his mind just a little bit more, be it the grumbling thoughts of Skywarp at guard duty or Motormaster's unconscious ramblings while he dreamed of the next battle.
He sighed again, not quite understanding why everyone always seemed to feel the urge to be loud and attention getting, regardless of what they were doing at any given moment.
Even the mental processes of most of his fellow Decepticons weren't much different from their outward annoying behavior – only much more scattered.
Most CPUs of his comrade's CPUs were like puzzles with too many pieces that just didn't fit.
Their thoughts swirled around, appeared out of nowhere and without reason or context and just disappeared the next moment.
If Soundwave truly wanted to read their minds, not only the most constant thoughts or their sudden ideas, he had to mentally slow and order the content of their CPUs himself, if only for a fraction of a second.
It was… troubling and exhausting to be around his comrades sometimes, but he would never admit it out loud.
If the constant "noises" became too much, he simply retreated into the confines of his quarters and basked in the presence of his Creations.
They were little scatterbrains too, but he knew their minds ever since they onlined their optics the first time, and their thoughts were like a soothing melody for him, background music lulling him into recharge on particularly stressful nights.
The only other two Decepticons whose thought processes didn't wear him out were Megatron and Starscream.
His Supreme Commander's processor was almost constantly guarded by heavy shields, making his mind the silent eye of the storm that was the Decepticon army.
Starscream, on the other hand, was seldom this shielded.
He didn't really have a need for it, because his mind was in a constant state of motion, only much fleeter than any of his subordinates.
When Soundwave tried to read Starscream's mind, he only received bright streaks of colors that created strange, indecipherable patterns that could mesmerize Soundwave's own mind for hours as he lay in his quarters and waited for recharge to claim him.
He strongly suspected that Starscream, like Skywarp and Thundercracker, has special abilities.
The SIC wasn't only the fasted flyer alive, he also thought faster than any Cybertronian Soundwave ever encountered before, granting him a brilliance even Shockwave couldn't match, for all his logic and scientific knowledge.
The dark blue mech hesitated for a moment, than he extended a mental tendril and searched for the unique mind of the red and white Seeker to watch the ever changing colors like he had done so often before.
He winced when he finally found it in Megatron's quarters.
The patterns were jagged and erratic, and, for once, Soundwave could actually make out images and short impressions and, over all, strong emotions - mainly rage, annoyance and exasperation.
The other CPU Soundwave could feel in the faraway room was even more open.
Megatron had forgotten to raise his shields and firewalls completely and was broadcasting his emotions and thoughts freely throughout the entire base.
The communications expert sighed.
They had had another argument.
A true one this time.
Nobody, aside from Soundwave and his Creations, knew that Megatron and Starscream actually were a bounded couple, and a happy one at that.
They had been together for millennia, having bonded almost right after Starscream had become Second in Command, and had kept their relationship a secret ever since.
The only reason that Soundwave knew about it was because when Megatron made his first proposal, Starscream had, quite frankly, rebuffed him mercilessly and thoroughly.
The Seeker had left his lover immediately and retreated to the other side of Cybertron to stay there for two vorns, without a word or message for the taller gunformer.
Megatron's self-confidence had been crushed, and his Spark - something most Autobots thought non-existant - had shattered almost beyond repair.
Most Decepticons had noticed the change in their Supreme Commander when for two long vorns the war seemed to come to a complete standstill.
No explanation came from the higher-ups aside from the unofficial whisper now and then that Megatron had either lost it or was developing a brilliant new plan.
Soundwave had known better.
Megatron had been so depressed after being turned down by the mech he loved more than anything that his guard had been completely down.
His Third in Command had no trouble entering the gunformer's mind to see the events that had led to Megatron's disastrous state.
It was harder for the blue mech to keep out, as he was drawn again and again to the endless misery and confusion, voluntarily or not.
As far as Soundwave knew, the night that ended Megatron's world had begun rather well.
Both Decepticons had met in the taller mechs quarters, talked a bit, drunk some high-grade and then found themselves on the berth making out and more.
It had gone downhill from there.
In the heights of passion Megatron had asked Starscream to bond with him, apparently ending his proposal with the words "My most beautiful conquest."
Starscream couldn't have cooled down faster from the heights of passion if you had dumped a bucket of acid on his head.
The Seeker became rigid, and when Megatron asked what was wrong, the smaller mech answered in the most frigid tone Soundwave ever had heard in his whole life.
This tone would have had even Optimus Prime running for cover....
"Conquest? You see me… as your conquest, Lord Megatron?"
Starscream looked up at the silver Cybertronian, his optics showing no emotion.
"Why do you call me 'Lord' all of sudden, Starscream? There is no need for such formalities between us, you know that."
To his credit, Megatron was still running hot, almost trembling in anticipation of the overload so close and yet so far out of his reach.
He hadn't really noticed how quickly the mood of his partner had changed from one second to the next, he still waited eagerly for the response to his earlier question, quite certain that the answer would be positive.
He was about to be gravely disappointed.
"Don't depart from the topic!" commanded Starscream icily and slowly Megatron realized that something was seriously wrong.
What had Starscream asked him again?
He never managed to remember in time, as the Seeker simply continued on, his tone still as sharp and frosty as an icicle, "Am I correct, when I assume that you simply see me as a… thing? Something pretty to keep around to use when you feel the urge to do so? Something you can own and place in a corner until you need it again?"
Any passion and lust Megatron still felt vanished in an instant when the words, the sight of his lover and his tone finally registered in his slightly overcharged processor.
His mind answered to all the new information with a word he had never uttered before, be it aloud or mentally, 'Eep!"
Starscream was far from finished.
When Megatron backed off, he sat up and turned his burning glare on the taller mech, "Is that the reason that you made me Air Commander and Second in Command? To have me always at your beck and call? Because you have decided that I am the most beautiful mech in your army and therefore I am your property? Yours and yours alone? Is that all I am to you, Lord Megatron?"
Starscream never raised his voice, but somehow, that fact made his speech even more scathing and intense.
"Starscream, no, I never…."
The Seeker stood up and scowled down at the silver mech. "Curb your vocalizer! I don't want to hear it. I already understand, there is no need for lies!"
He turned and walked to the door.
"Recharge well, Lord Megatron!"
And with this, he was gone.
The next day, Megatron learned that his SIC had left Kaon to help some of his Seekers somewhere on the other side of Cybertron.
The gunformer tried again and again to send Starscream a message, to explain that he didn't see him as a thing, that he loved him… but the Seeker never answered.
It was only because of Soundwave that Megatron survived the following two vorns.
While the dark blue telepath stopped any potential assassin or plot to overthrow the Supreme Commander, Megatron tended to his broken Spark, tried to contact Starscream and thought about the mistakes he had made.
Finally, almost exactly two vorns after the disastrous night, Starscream sent a message that he would return shortly.
In the attached file, labeled 'Top Secret', could be read, "I don't want to be conquered! I want to be won!"
And suddenly, the world began to turn again….
Soundwave allowed himself a mental chuckle when he remembered how much Megatron had taken this statement to Spark back then.
Energon treats, fine Cybertronian art, romantic dinners, the best scientific equipment available (Shockwave had fumed when he had learned that Starscream had gotten a new lab), everything the tall, silver mech could think of, Starscream got it.
One vorn later, they were bonded and it turned out that this had been one of the best things that had ever happened to Megatron, Starscream and the Decepticons as a whole.
Both officers had incredible tactical talent and their strengths and weaknesses complimented each other perfectly and flawlessly.
They were happier, calmer, more devious than ever before and would win the war in no time – if they had wanted to.
For they had found that they didn't want to end the war too quickly.
It was way too much fun to fight against the Autobots, to lure them into traps, to let them win from time to time and to string them along when at the same time they had more than thousand plans in their processors to destroy Optimus Prime's foolish hope of victory and peace once and for all.
If they defeated the Autobots now, what or who could promise them similar exciting and formidable opponents in the future?
When they conquered Cybertron and began to spread their army through space, how could they be sure they would meet equal challenges?
It was better to use Optimus Prime and his troops to their full extent to train the Decepticon warriors and to ease their boredom.
The only fact that bothered Starscream and Megatron was Optimus' lack of cunning.
He always played fair and by the rules and he never tried to assassinate them or to do something dishonorable to sway the war in his favor.
And so, "The Game" finally was invented and implemented.
Personally, Soundwave could have done without it, but who was he to decide.
His superiors had found that they wanted to add some spice to the war, and the telepath had to comply.
"The Game" itself was equally secret, like Megatron's and Starscream's relationship, and the source of almost every disturbance in the Decepticon army.
The rules were fairly simple: No killing, no heavy injuries, and there had always had to be a way out.
Aside from these three restrictions, everything was fair game, something Starscream took full advantage of.
He started as a slightly grouchy and disloyal Second in Command always questioning his Supreme Commander, and developed into a mad maniac with delusions of grandeur with the wonderful idea to let Earth collide with its sun.
The Seeker loved his role in the game and wasted no time undermining Megatron's plans and questioning his orders.
He used his natural creativity to stage incredible attempts to overthrow his Bondmate, one more ridiculous than the other.
On the other hand, Megatron kept his own wits and mind sharp trying to guess Starscream's next plot ahead of time and foil it in the beginning stages.
Points were given for uniqueness, subtlety, quality of surprise, length of time in which Megatron was "overthrown", length of the typical "Megatron has died. I'm Supreme Commander of the Decepticons now!"speech before Megatron returned, quality of the traded insults, length of time it took for Megatron to see through the next scheme, dramatic quality of Megatron's reappearance and some other similarly ridiculous categories with occasional bonus points thrown in.
Soundwave, having the thankless duty of counting these points and to overseeing any new rounds, painfully and precesily recalled how close Starscream's last attempt with Earth's sun had come to destroying the Decepticon elite, once and for all.
He, Starscream and Megatron did have had the codes for the Spacebridge and even a secret code to stop Bruticus in time, nonetheless it had been a very close call….
Fortunately, for once, Megatron and Starscream agreed with his sentiment and had decided to tone their "Game" down a few notches from now on.
After all, it would be far from beneficial to the cause if they killed their troops in an act of boredom….
Soundwave smirked behind his facemask at the thought.
It was actually a very likely possibility.
At least more probable than the Autobots ever winning the war.
Even if Prime's mechs suddenly became better warriors or his mad inventor would invent a deadly weapon, they would never stand a chance.
Before Starscream had awoken the Autobots from their hibernation (Another part of "The Game". Earth was unexciting without capable enemies to defend the Squishies.), he had installed some hidden files into Teletraan, serving as a way to activate three completely different set of bombs hidden within the Arc at a later date by the Cassetticons. They could be triggered with a simple radio signal and... BOOM!
So it was only a matter of mere seconds to get rid of Prime, Jazz, Prowl and the rest once and for all.
Soundwave uncurled another tendril of his mind and touched the CPU's in Megatron's quarters.
Their argument had been finished by now and his Supreme Commanders hazy, rapidly clouding thoughts showed him that it had been about the usual topics: should Starscream partake in the next particular dangerous mission and if the SIC's behavior to the troops as a part of "The Game" wasn't a little bit too arrogant and instigating.
(The normal, shrieked answer to these queries included several derogatory remarks about how Megatron should paint himself blue and red and go hug a Squishy. Starscream was a warrior and no Autobot Sparkling, thank you very much.)
The telepath smiled to himself and relaxed, only to become aware of six pairs of optics that watched him with anticipation.
He onlined his audio receptors and turned to the twins.
"And?" Asked Rumble with an eager expression on his faceplates.
Soundwave did nothing and simply waited until his Creations clarified their intentions.
Some seconds passed, then, "And! As in 'Who won?'. As in 'Who won the fragging argument his time, Screamer or Megs?'."
Soundwave reviewed the tidbits of information found in Megatron's preoccupied mind and answered, "Starscream: Superior."
Five of six Cassetticons began to cheer, while Rumble slouched into a little heap of sulking youngling.
"I really thought Megatron would stand up to him this time," he declared disappointedly.
Frenzy laughed, "Yeah! Sure! Like the poor slagger ever would. You know how much of a sucker he is for Screamer."
"Lord Megatron can defeat Prime anytime, but let him face his angry mate and he clamps his tailpipes between his legs and begins to grovel," purred Ravage from his cozy spot.
"Megatron," began Frenzy in an exaggerated shrill voice. "Let's make peace with Optimus Prime. I'm tired of all this fighting."
The little mech put a hand to his forehead and gave his best expression of a dramatic diva.
His siblings roared with laughter and Rumble, distracted from his loss of the bet, jumped at the chance to play his Supreme Commander, "My dear, is it really necessary…?"
Frenzy turned to his brother and gave him his best imitation of "The Look", a patented glare that Starscream reserved only for Megatron on mostly private occasions.
Rumble reacted accordingly and cowered, "Yes, Starscream. Whatever you want, Starscream."
Ratbat fell from his perch and wheezed on the ground, next to Buzzsaw who almost offlined from laughter.
"Really, Rumble, you should have known better than to place your bet for Ol' Megs. I mean, you know him. If his beloved Bondmate would want the universe as a present for their anniversary, he would get it, as soon as Megatron found a bow large enough to wrap it in."
Soundwave shook his head at his joking Creations – but he could not fight this particular image in his head….
"A red bow? Do I look like an Autobot to you? I want my universe with a purple bow!"
"Yes, Starscream. Whatever you want, Starscream…. I love you."
!!! Important !!!
From Monday on I will study again so I will have less time for writing. So please excuse me, if my update patterns will become even more erratic.
Also I have renewed the poll.
Please vote.