"In just a few short moments, my daughter and Soundwave will be bonded, creating a lethal force that will be the winning edge to the Decepticons", Megatrom declared. Silverdust seethed quietly as she stared at the setting sun. He had said that this was going to be a quiet matter, and now he was declaring it to the entire Decepticon ranks. Soundwave gently took her servo to calm her, which only added to her sire's excitement. Soundwave gently led Silverdust to his berth room, where everyone assumed they would bond.

That, however, was not their plan. Instead, they would discuss how they would get her off the warship. Silverdust knew that it wouldn't happen for a while, so Megatron wouldn't get suspicious, but she was excited.

Once they got to Soundwave's room, he took off his visor. Laserbeak removed herself from his chest and flew up to a small ledge near the ceiling, curling up to sleep. Soundwave sat on his berth and began talking of the plans that they were still fleshing out.

"We can't get you off the ship with your circlet still active, but we also can't take it off. The only way we could stop it from ruining our plans would be through the main computer."

Silverdust nodded. "So first we need to do that. But how long is that going to take?"

Soundwave frowned. "Weeks. Possibly months. Megatron will suspect something if we don't act like sparkmates..."

Silverdust hummed thoughtfully. "What if we created a device that acted like an artificial bond? Something that would send our emotions through, but we could remove when we wanted to?"

Soundwave gained a thoughtful look on his face. "It could possibly work. I will work on that in my spare time then."

Silverdust nodded, before frowning softly. "How will we communicate while we work?"

"Personal com-links. Megatron can't access them."

Silverdust nodded. "If... when we manage to pull this off, how am I going to get back to the Autobots?"

Soundwave looked at her gently. "I will send them a message a few minutes after you leave and hope that Megatron does not discover it."

Silverdust nodded. "I think... I think that's it, then."

Soundwave nodded as well, and Silverdust turned to leave. Soundwave grabbed her servo.

"You can't leave until tomorrow. Megatron expects us to be in here all night."

Silverdust groaned softly and leaned against the wall. "Why must my sire pressure me into these things...?"

Soundwave chuckled softly, the sound piercing Silverdust's audio receptors. "He does it because he knows nothing else. And because he wants what is best for the Decepticon cause."

Silverdust huffed. "And he doesn't think about what might be best for his own daughter. All he cares about is this stupid cause!"

Soundwave sighed and stood, walking over to her and sitting next to her. "Perhaps that is so. But there is a chance that deep down, he cares for you more than you know. He just doesn't know how to show it."

Silverdust spluttered with laughter. "As if! My sire is a brute, and cares for nothing but this war."

Soundwave sighed, before changing the subject. "If we are to act as sparkmates, that means you will need to recharge in here every night. We may have to kiss or hug or hold hands in front of your sire, if only to further cement the idea that we are sparkmates into his processor."

Silverdust sighed softly. "I know. I just wish we didn't have to. I wish... I wish a lot of things, many of which are not to happen."

Soundwave smiled sadly. He sighed before gesturing to the berth. "Get some rest. You'll need it in the coming times."

Silverdust nodded. "What about you?"

Soundwave shook his head. "I only need to rest for a few hours and then I'll be ready to work for several. Part of my programming."

Silverdust hummed, slightly jealous. "Lucky. I wish my systems were like that. But no... I need rest for at least 7 hours of a human day..."

Soundwave chuckled, before shooing her to the berth. Silverdust laid there for several minutes, and just thought about everything they were going to need to do in order to sell the lie that she and Soundwave were sparkmates.

Soon, her optics drifted, and sleep overtook her. Her dreams were filled with meeting up with Heatwave once more and being able to become his sparkmate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Silverdust woke, Soindwave was gone. She stretched and looked around the room. She hadn't taken a good look at it before. She saw several holographic imagers on a shelf above the berth, just waiting to be turned on to show the images that were placed onto them. She didn't bother going through them, not wanting to invade Soundwave's privacy.

She was paused in her exploration of the room due to the pinging of her com-link. Soundwave.

"Silverdust, it would be wise to stay away from the brig. Megatron is with an Autobot prisoner, and if you stepped in, I am certain he would beat you near to the death and then make you watch as he killed the Autobot."

Silverdust's optics widened, and she immediately rushed out the door, fearing she knew which Autobot would be stupid enough to defy Optimus' orders.

"Which Autobot?"

"Heatwave", Soundwave answered after a few moments. Silverdust sighed, and continued on her way to the brig, ready to step on if her Sire went too far.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heatwave growled at the silver mech who stood before him. "Where is she, buckethead? What have you done to her?!"

Megatron only sneered at Heatwave. "I have modelled her into the perfect Cybertronian."

"She was perfect before you got your servos on her!" Heatwave shouted, straining to leave the chains that held him. Megatron shook his helm.

"She was flawed. She was weak", Megatron growled. Heatwave shook in anger.

"She may be flawed, but that should've been perfect. And she's the strongest femme I know! Just let her go!"

"But how would dear Soundwave feel then? He is her sparkmate after all. Isn't that right, Soundwave?"

Heatwave's gaze shifted from the silver mech to a lithe purple one standing in the shadows. Heatwave watched in fear as Soundwave nodded once, and he lost all fight as tears filled his optics. Megatron started laughing, causing Heatwave to lurch at him.

"You forced her to! I know you did! She wouldn't have become his sparkmate willingly! She doesn't love him!"

Soundwave remained silent as Megatron unsheathed his sword and not so gently pressed it against Heatwave's abdomen. Heatwave hissed as it broke the first layer of metal. He heard the doors open and close but paid no mind until a familiar voice spoke.

"Sire, please don't hurt him... he means no harm... just let him go... I have done what you wanted. This mech will no longer bother me anymore."

Heatwave looked up and saw the now white and gold femme standing how a princess would, though her voice had lost the fight it once had in it. Heatwave stared at her in shock. She acted regal, but he could sense how broken she was inside. He begged her silently to look at him, but she kept her nearly white optics on her sire.

Megatron scoffed, and moved his sword away from the red mech. Silverdust relaxed slightly, but not by much. "May I..." Silverdust paused nervously. "May I say my goodbyes to him?"

Megatron snorted. "You may." He made no move to leave and Silverdust watched him carefully.

"May I speak to him alone?"

Megatron scoffed, but moved out of the room then, though Soundwave remained. Silverdust did not mind though and quickly released Heatwave's bonds. He stood away from her, and she watched him pleadingly.

"Heatwave", she whispered. "Heatwave, please look at me."

Heatwave scoffed. "I thought I wasn't supposed to bother you any longer. Especially since you have a sparkmate now."

Silverdust winced. "It's not what you think." She glanced at Soundwave to see if the cameras were off. He showed her visual of several cameras offline, one of them being the room they were in. She assumed the audio was off too, and she spoke quickly.

"Soundwave and I haven't bonded. We just need Megatron to believe we have so I can get off this ship and back to the Autobots. Soundwave is helping me."

Heatwave looked at her then. "Why can't you come with me now?"

Silverdust winced as she gently raised her servo to the circlet that was part of her helm. "This circlet. If I am too far from the warship, or my sire, it shocks me. It has the potential to kill me if Megatron so desired. That is why I cannot go with you yet."

Heatwace frowned, and Silverdust felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked to see Soundwave displaying the cameras coming back up one by one.

"I can't say anymore or my Sire would kill me now. I love you, Heatwave. Now go."

Soundwave opened a ground bridge for the red mech, and he backed into it. Silverdust watched sadly as he glanced back at her once, before disappearing. She hid her tears as Megatron came back into the room, scowling at her.

"I could have gained valuable information from him", he growled. Silverdust stared defiantly back at him.

"As long as I am onboard, you will not harm that Autobot", Silverdust hissed. Soundwave put a servo on her shoulder, warning her not to say anymore, but she ignored him. "I don't care if I am Soundwave's sparkmate, Heatwave is the one I love and there is nothing you can do to change that!"

Silverdust gasped as a servo came into harsh contact with her cheek. She raised a servo to gently touch it, and she glared at her sire, who was seething with anger. She kept up her glare until Megatron turned and stormed out of the room. It was after that that she slouched and started crying softly. Soundwave gently hugged her, which she returned.

"I don't know if I'll be able to last for much longer, Sound..."

Soundwave gently rubbed her back before kneeling in front of her, gently inspecting her damaged cheek. The metal was slightly dented and he sighed softly before standing and leading her to the medbay.

Knockout stared at her in shock, the femme trembling beside the much taller purple mech. The place where Megatron had slapped her was seriously dented, much more than Soundwave had previously thought.

"What happened?!" Knockout exclaimed as he rushed to her side. She didn't say anything, pulling a Soundwave, and Knockout sighed, turning to the mech that accompanied the white and gold femme. Soundwave merely played back the video feed of what had occurred in the brig, and Knockout sighed soflty.

"Silver-" Knockout started, but Silverdust cut him off.

"Do not call me that!" Her voice was commanding and held a tone none of the mechs in the room had never heard before. Soundwave recognized some of the fight that she had started out with returning, and immediately realized what was going on.

Silverdust had gained hope. Hope that the Autobots were alive. Hope that she would be away from the Decepticons soon enough. Hope that the love of her life was still waiting for her. Hope drove her to fight, and Soundwave grew afraid for the femme's life. Megatron had tried to squash that fight out by making her believe the Decepticons had won. Megatron had hidden any traces of the fact that he knew the Autobots lived from her, and now that she knew...

Megatron was going pay dearly... Soundwave had never seen Silverdust reach her breaking point, but she was going to reach it quickly. He only hoped she wouldn't reach it before he could get her off the warship.

Soundwave quietly stood there, the revelation that came to him sinking into his processor. He worried for the femme. If she was regaining her fight, she would become more and more injured by the hands of her sire as she had in the first few months of her being with them. He could only hope that she would not die before he could help her escape.