Soundwave grunted as the captain pushed him down. This was supposed to be basic training, not a brawl. He didn't like how brutal they were being. He winced in pain as he held his side. The captain stopped, placing a servo on his injured side, causing Soundwave to slap his hand away. Shit!

"/Apologies! I didn't mean-/" Soundwave paused as the knight tapped into his hand, Morse code.

":Apologies. I should have not touched you without permission.:" Soundwave deciphered.

Soundwave noticed guards yelling on top of the walls, yelling something about another king arriving? Weird. Soundwave turned around to not see his mentor in front of him anymore. They must have left.

"Soundwave, have you heard? The king from Crystal City is arriving!!! Along with other neighboring kingdoms!!!" StarScream yelled over the guards rushing inside.

Soundwave seemed intrigued. It was rare to see other kings gather around. He's never heard of the king of Crystal City, but rumors started to inform him as he and StarScream walked past several guards. He was supposedly tall, lost his arm in battle, horribly scarred by empurata and shadow play. His name was-

"Make way for King Shockwave of Crystal City!!!" A guard yelled as other more intimidating guards started making their way past him. They surrounded someone in the middle, someone larger than them. He had the same armor but was more decorated than them, a crown attached to his helmet. A black veil covered his front plates.

Soundwave could have sworned he was looking straight at him. Someone dragged him away before he could get his answer. Starscream was leading him straight towards the hall, more guards passing by until one of them stopped torwards them.

"Both of you retrieve the princess. King Megatron's orders." StarScream and Soundwave looked at each other, confused.

"There's a princess?"

The maids quickly rushed out of the princess quarters. Loud yelling was heard as guards quickly entered, Starscream and Soundwave seeming worried now.

"She sounds mad." StarScream said.

"/Very.../" Soundwave said.

Soundwave watched as guards were carrying an injured one. Are they sure that who they're dealing with is a princess?

"/I don't want to go in./" Soundwave admitted. Starscream nodded as well.

They both looked inside, seeing a couple of maids holding different dresses as the princess threw her crown.

"《These dresses are hideous! Why on Cybertron was my brother thinking when he asked the seamstress to make those!?》" She yelled.

Soundwave looked at one of the dresses. The dress had a really low cut around the neck, seeming to revealing. He thought it was inappropriate unless-

"《Whay are you two doing here!?》" It seems the princess has noticed them.

"/We were sent to retrieve you, your Highness.../" Soundwave spoke.

The princess rolled her optics as she threw one of the dresses into a fire.

"《Tell my brother that I will not marry one of those old creeps. They're not worthy of me.》" She hissed.

Ah.

No wonder those dresses were lewd.

That was their cue to leave. Soundwave and StarScream bowed as they retreated out of her room.

"She's uh- something..." StarScream said as they left the room.

Soundwave nodded but he understood why she was acting like this. Being forced to marry someone you don't love. He knew from first experience what it was like. He felt bad for her.

Soundwave and StarScream entered the throne room, seeing the kings gathered around the table, King Megatron in the middle.

"Where is she?" He asked.

Starscream cleared his throat.

"She uh- refuses to attend the meeting your Highness..." StarScream spoke quietly.

Megatron grumbled as the other rulers were unimpressed. He stood up, making a loud screeching sound against the floor.

"I swear to Primus-" He cursed as he walked past them.

They both watched him leave, seeming scared now. A few loud shouts were heard, along with some crashing noises. Soundwave grew more worried as silence followed afterward. After a few minutes, he came back, the princess behind him wearing a ridiculous dress and was even worse than the one he saw earlier. He watched as some kings started to eye her, except the king of Crystal City. He didn't seem interested for a second.

"My, my. Your sister is rather beautiful, king Megatron." One of the rulers said as he continued staring at the princess. She  crossed her arms, trying to cover her upper chassis.

Soundwave glared at him, feeling disgusted in how he viewed her as an object. Without thinking, he walked over to her, took off his cape, and placed it upon the princess' shoulders. The others stared, even StarScream was shocked.

"/You will respect the princess!/" Soundwave shouted.

Everyone was stunned, even the princess herself. She quietly thanked him as Soundwave returned to his position. Everyone quickly dismissed what had happened and started to negotiate.

"I can't believe you just did that!" StarScream whispered.

"/I couldn't just let that creep get away with disrespecting her like that./" Soundwave whispered back.

Soundwave looked back at the princess, now seeming more comfortable with the cape covering her more. Soundwave felt someone else staring at him. He turned his helm around, his optics landing on Shockwave. He was staring at him. Soundwave couldn't help but stare back at him. Was something wrong with him?

"Yo sounds, why are you staring at him?" StarScream asked.

Soundwave looked back at him, blushing under his helmet.

"/Shockwave was staring at me/" He whispered.

"I'm sure he was admiring how you defended the princess from that creep." StarScream stated.

Soundwave shrugged as the meeting went on. There were a few glances he shared with Shockwave as he tried to focus on the meeting. After a few hours, everyone started leaving, including the princess and her brother. Soundwave and StarScream followed behind until someone grabbed Soundwave from behind. He turns around, seeing Shockwave behind him.

"/Is there something you need, your Highness?/" Soundwave asked.

Shockwave didn't say anything for the first few minutes, his hand still placed on Soundwave's shoulders.

"I was wondering...."

"Why you were staring at me?"