Soundwave walked pensively behind Megatron. What the great dark lord had in his mind, he wasn't exactly sure; something about his mood seemed almost out of place...unpredictable....and he could have sworn he knew him better than that.

"Silent as usual, Soundwave."

Soundwave gave no indication he was listening.

"You should not fret." Megatron continued. "Knockout will take care of Arcee...She can take care of herself, after all." Megatron said aloof.

Soundwave cursed inside. Arcee was right... Soundwave kept his composure as he continued to follow Megatron, evidently leading him back to his work station. They passed Vehicons, some pausing to bow to the great leader, others hiding in the corners, whispering rumours. It was not something that Soundwave let unnerve him- they were nothing but cowering drones, forced to follow orders of a foolish tyrant. As Megatron's paced slowed slightly, it alerted Soundwave to their arrival at his most familiar place on board the ship.

The same lights illuminated the room, as always. Megatron came to a halt, turning to face Soundwave as the doors closed behind the silent mech. Silence hung in the air until it was hanged, as Megatron began speaking with a dark menace.

" Pray tell, Soundwave, how exactly did you plan to catch me of guard?"

Soundwave continued to stand pensively in silence. He had to wait for the right moment.

" I never thought you would ever act like a fool, Soundwave. That, I can vouch for." Megatron said, turning away from him, and towards the monitor. Inputting commands, the screens lit up with the decoded sections of the Iacon database. Megatron scanned the characters; trust the Autobots to waste data on such trivial things. That decoded, largely concerned stories of the thirteen primes, and further history of Cybertron eons ago. But what was not present, or seemed to lack unsurprisingly, was what was presently hidden on this planet, what weapons he could harness...nothing. Fleeting references, but the data files on them, were gone. At least, they were not in the place they were suppose to be...

Soundwave stood, watching Megatron intently. He felt a dark pit appear inside him. Nervous. For once, he felt nervous. What was about to unfold, he considered to be the riskiest thing he had ever decided to do...particularly when the consequences of failure were unbearably high. Yet, Arcee gave him her full support.

" Perhaps you can tell me why the fruits of your labour have been hidden, and not presented to me?!" Megatron suddenly growled, as he turned from typing in the commands, having drawn up locked and heavily encrypted files. He looked at Soundwave, who was shaken out of his reverie. The great silver mech walked imperiously towards him, baring down with superiority.

" All this, the fret of having Arcee hurt or worse, you reduced to nothing more than a slave- and you still defy me?!" Megatron gestured fiercely. Behind his visor, every ounce of energon in his body was cursing him. But this was the real plan he and Arcee had agreed on...the one Megatron hadn't heard...the one they had not spoken. Megatron knew His work well enough, but not in it's entirety. It had been easy for Soundwave to secure an encryption of which only he and Arcee could understand. Pretending, surmising a general plan for all to hear was the best distraction, almost a full blueprint of what they were planning to do. The finer details, such as hiding such tentative information about hidden relics and weapons, were hidden between him and Arcee. It was one of the best deceptions- hiding the lie in the truth.

Megatron's words suddenly found a sharper edge to them.

" Fine."

Megatron turned his back him, and gazed venomously at the information withheld from him. He would have one way- or another.

" If you wish Arcee to pay for your foolishness, so be it."

Soundwave felt his spark tighten within him. Despite mentally preparing himself, he couldn't have anticipated this...but it would work. It had to. For Arcee. He stilled his own spark, sending a prayer to Primus to protect Arcee, and suddenly struck- catching Megatron of guard.

Birds suddenly flew into the air as a swirling ground bridge appeared in a peaceful copse. Arcee stepped out, feeling relief flood her systems, finally being able to see a world beyond the dark room she had been confined to. The sun shone gloriously upon the land, filling her optics with a range of colours she felt she hadn't seen in a life time. She looked to the sky. Sombre feelings returned, despite the happy array of life surrounding her. The Nemesis was up there somewhere, as was Soundwave...

Primus, even if we are forsaken, please let our plan succeed.

She prayed. She knew what was coming, and the best she could do was bare it. The plan, the one Soundwave had been able to hide, was simple- their target was destroying that device. Without that obstacle, freedom would belong to them, and Arcee would no longer be the chain holding them back. The best way to get close to Megatron, was for Soundwave to make a mistake-to hide the information he decided, but leave a trace so Megatron would find it. He would be summoned for punishment, and then he would strike. Arcee had believed she would still be on the Nemesis, but for once, Primus seemed to have blessed them. Out here, she could alter the plan slightly- and call for help. She spared a fleeting glance at Knockout, occupied by the scanner. The moment she did, he would know-and then so would Megatron.

Pain was the most inevitable risk, and Arcee had a hard time persuading Soundwave to go along with it. She could bear the pain, and as long as he was quick, she would be fine.

" I trust you with all my spark."

"And I will never fail you."

Arcee replayed the final words of their hidden conversation. Hope laced their meanings, and it was that hope that was steadying her servo- she couldn't act yet.

Knockout noted the femmes odd quiet contemplative solace. It mused him to watch her emotions as the Autobots sympathies for the rock they had come to land on surfaced. Your up to something...He thought suspiciously. He quickly scanned the surrounding area, wondering. Of course, you would naturally try to call for help...good luck with that. While Arcee took a moment to herself, Knockout activated a frequency that would block out any signal. Knockout smiled.

" A beautiful day for a walk, wouldn't you agree-"

" Shut it, 'con." Arcee snapped back. She still wasn't in the mood for enjoying his obnoxious words, doing all she could to stop herself turning around and shooting his aft back to Cybertron. The words at least relieved her stress. She sensed Knockout's displeasure, but she ignored it.

Knockout shook his helm and looked to the scanner.

" Well, since we will not be spending time on idle chit-chat, we best start heading north- After you, mein fraulein." He gestured, in an aristocratic fashion. Arcee shot him a look, and but walked forward. It annoyed her to think he wouldn't be looking at the scanner as much as he was looking at her.

Easy, 'Cee. Just bare with it. He'll get what he deserves... me and Soundwave will be free soon...

They continued to walk, passing green scenery and small ponds of water. Trees of different kinds grew around them, but they were all to reminiscent for Arcee. The very first time she had encountered Soundwave, the first time she had seen him for something different than a decepticon...that small dragonfly that had almost cost her dearly...

" Hmm.. The signal is not exactly giving a strict location... yet, it is off the scale..." Knockout pondered aloud. Arcee paused to look back at him, engrossed by the small scanner. She looked away, seeing a small piece of energon several feet away, protruding out of the ground.

That's because it's all around us, fool. Casting her gaze back again, she saw he was still focused on the scanner. Turning away slightly, she opened her comlink, and sent out an SOS signal back to the Autobots base. Her helm was suddenly racked by what seemed to be white noise, loud and unrelenting. She placed a servo against a nearby tree to steady herself, fighting a spell of dizziness. Slag!

" If your thinking about escaping, or calling your friends for help, you are truly delusional, mein fraulein." Knockout called to her. Arcee closed her optics.

Of course you would expect a move like that. She cringed. I guess I was too hopeful.

The noise subsided, and she sighed in mild relief, letting her processors regain themselves. Knockout suddenly slowed the process, coming close to her, and slamming her helm against a nearby tree, while clutching her throat tightly.

" You and Soundwave are such hopeless fools, yet you don't seem to learn."

" Strange... I'm looking at a fool right in front of me." Arcee spat back, with ice in her optics, as she thought to bring her head back together. Knockout scowled, but then began to look at her strangely. A grin spread across his face.

" I wonder how Soundwave would react if I did this-"

Arcee's own optics widened in shock as he kissed her. She felt a deep disgust rise within, and a hardly took her a nanoclik to react- violently. She suddenly sent a fist into his chest, sending him backwards, but he didn't fall.

" It's not how he would react you should worry about- it's me." She quickly unsheathed her blades, and stepped forward to strike, when a pain sparked in her chest.

Soundwave...

She suddenly sank to the Earth, bowing over as pain racked her spark chamber once again.

Knockout at first looked up surprised, but then chuckled, coming to stand before her. He roughly raised her pain stricken faceplates, so his optics met hers. Arcee suddenly feared he would kiss her again; but he seemed to obsessed with seeing the pain in her optics.

"Seems like Soundwave has displeased Megatron, mein fraulein. And you know what that means." He grinned, as Arcee sharply pulled her self away, nearly crying in agony, as the pain got worse. She turned away from him, yet he grabbed her and pulled her back. Insanity seemed to grace his own optics.

"So tell me, who should I be worried about now?" He laughed. "If only I was present, I've waited so long to see Megatron get rid of that suck up Soundwave- I should thank you, because you have made this possi- Aaah!"

Knockout suddenly recoiled, taking several steps back, shock plastering his own faceplates.

" Shut. Your. Slaging. Mouth." Arcee grunted, rising to her feet. The pain had not subsided, but it wasn't going to defeat her- and Knockout had a price to pay.

Knockout felt tenderly the fresh scratches across his faceplates. His beautiful white faceplates were scarred.

" You!...how dare you! You will pay!"

He suddenly struck her quickly, sending her to the floor. She cried out as his disc cutter sliced her arms as she raised them protectively over her chest plates. She landed roughly on the floor, curling up as the pain intensified. As knockout was about to strike her again, she looked up- she saw the small piece of energon she had seen earlier. Against the pain, she quickly raised her blaster, and fired.

Soundwave struck true, shoving Megatron into the controls, his head shattering the monitor's glass. Megatron recovered quickly, whacking Soundwave to the other side off the room. Soundwave fell to the ground, but recovered. Megatron snarled as he turned to face the traitor.

" I plan to catch you of guard- just like that."Soundwave sent, his words full of mocking.

" Then let it be so- Arcee will suffer for your impudence!" Megatron spoke vehemently back.

"NO- she won't!"Soundwave suddenly lunged forward, again knocking his leader down, reaching for his right forearm. He had to be quick- A fist suddenly sent him to the ground, he felt his helm rattle as cold fresh energon slid down the side and down his visor. He pushed himself up, when Megatron's own servo wrapped tightly around his throat, lifting him above the ground.

" If I can not control you, break your spirit in any way- teach you I am your master and there is no escaping -I will destroy your little autobot. This is your last chance, Soundwave- bow to me, and you and Arcee will live-" He brought Soundwave closer to him. "Or let your sparks become one with the all-spark." He hissed.

"....No."Soundwave's tentacles suddenly slammed into Megatron's face, forcing the dark lord to release his prisoner, slightly dazed.

"I can bow to your twisted deals no longer. This time, I fight!"