ATTENTION!: this is not the first time I pass the Chapter 16! If you read the previouse version then, please reread! SORRY!I

KNOW I SHOULD HAVE DONE IT IN ONE TRY! I hope this won't happen again.
Thank you for understanding.
By the way, I GOT A BETA! (you'll notice)
KiwiCat232 Thank you so much! You have done a realy cool job:D
But, everyone, please do not forget that we are humans, not robots and not perfect, mistakes might appear:( but at least, with Kiwi's help, we'll get a reacher vocabulary in this story;) (I am not English, remember?)
So... Enjoy:) (again...;)
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Soundwave's secret.

Chapter 16.

"Shockwave, what does this mean?" Megatron asked his scientist with ultimate displeasure in his voice.

"My Lord, I apologize for my unexpected actions, but there is something that should be brought to your attention."

Starscream shot a look of supreme surprise and disapproval at the scientist. What was this one opticed 'Con doing?! Why hadn't Shockwave informed him about his plan or whatever he had discovered?! All around them others exchanged looks of uncertainty, when they noticed Soundwave, and automatically felt out of place.

Femme or not, they all knew that a pissed off Communication Officer was something you didn't trifle with, and something you did not want to induce or face. Shockwave was playing with fire, and he knew it, but at the same time, he wasn't someone to act on an impulse alone. He went in prepared, into any situation.

This meant that the scientist got something significant.

Very significant.

"... Continue," Megatron practically growled.

"I am aware that security cameras are not involved in my normal responsibilities, but, being a highly qualified professional, I have let myself to make some revision, and something... Unexpected, caught my optic."

Cameras? Revision?

A cold and relentless feeling of fear was quickly rising in Soundwave's ever increasing spark beat. What had Shockwave been doing in her office?!

"I noticed that some of the security cameras' recordings have been tampered with - many corrected, and in a select few, fully replaced."

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that someone was messing with security cameras?" Thrust asked from his view point, surprise lacing his voice.

"Affirmative, and not just once."

At this, the Decepticons exchange looks, and Megatron's optics narrowed, the seriousness of the matter rising each following klick. Making sure he had everyone's full attention, Shockwave continued,

"I must say, the footage was done perfectly. If I hadn't looked as deep as I did into the base coding, I am up most certain it would have gone unnoticed, for however long it continued. I know of just one bot capable of doing such a clean and seamless job," the scientist finished, turning to Soundwave, his figure mirrored in the dark visor.

"Shockwave, you do realize the seriousness of your accusation?"

"I do, my Lord, and I am ready to face all responsibilities if I am in error. But, considering the importance of what I have found, I insist on checking. With your permission, of course."

Soundwave's spark started working even faster, anger, disbelief and a sickening panic rising within.

No.
No, no, nao! No!

This wasn't happening!

How dare he mess with her files! And, with that, the matter became ten times worse, when Megatron didn't look like he was going to, in any way, disapprove of Shockwave's actions.

"How are you going to check? As I understood, your machine can not dive all that deep into memories."

"Indeed, my liege. However, I have succeeded to calculate that the last substitution and revisions of footage had been done the same day Soundwave left to the mine. We will be able to watch this far. In addition, if our Communication Officer had nothing to do with this, there is nothing for Soundwave to worry about..."

Her spark dropped.

Hard.

If they saw this memory, there would be no words to describe how much she was.

So.

Entirely.

Completely.

Fragged.

They weren't supposed to watch them!

"Do it."

These last words sounded like a judgement from Megatron, and they sealed her fate.

Before she could even process these words, Soundwave felt as cables pierced her helm once aging, and bindings force her down onto the strange berth, the coldness reaching her processor again. But this time Soundwave couldn't just lie down and wait. She had to try to stop it. If only she could manage to block her memories or prevent the machine from reaching them. If only she knew how to do it.

Hoping that this would at least help, she tried fighting the overwhelming feeling of tiredness, forcing her to 'sleep' again. Femme tried to stay awake, to keep her optics online, but more she tried, more was the mechanism working against her, making all Soundwave's efforts seem wasted trying to postpone the inevitable.

The rest of the Decepticons didn't notice her struggle, and were already focused on the screen, and again everything they watched was from Soundwave's point of view: it was what she had been seeing through her slightly darkened visor and what she had been hearing. They saw her servos typing something on the panel and then her looking at the screen.

It was Soundwave's office.

Then, an unexpected voice was heard from behind.

"Are you doing it again?"

The helm turned, and the figure of Frenzy with Buzzsaw sitting on his left shoulder plate appeared by her side. Soundwave nodded and yellow opticed condor looked at the screen.

"And what are you replacing this time? Hey, is that Autobots' scout team? So, they did sneak into our territory..." At this, Laserbeak ejected himself from Soundwave's chassis and landed on the typing panel, looking at his slightly younger twin.

"Not only did they sneak in, they've almost reached the outer energy supplying systems."

"Let me guess. The perimeter scanners detected them, but you deactivated the alarming system and let 'Bots go again," Buzzsaw smiled slightly and gave femme a look, clearly showing that he had expected this, and wasn't even surprised in the slightest.

After a moment, Soundwave's attention returned to the screens, where there was a recording of an Autobot team escaping in the darkness of the hills, all these with the appropriate date and time in the corner of the screen. Then, thin digits typed in a string of commands, and the same landscape with similar dating appeared, but this time none of the 'Bots were recorded. No sign of the Autobots.

It was like they'd never been there.

Megatron squeezed his servos into fists - so hard, in fact, that if he had been holding anything at the time, it would have met a very violent and crunchy end - and brightened his narrowed optics, not looking away from the screen.

"Soundwave," said Lazerbeak, landing on her right side shoulder plating, "I know we have become neutral, but how long will it last? When will someone notice?" Buzzsaw turned to them, about to voice his opinion, but Frenzy butted in, saying,

"Ah, come on, Beak. Same pessimism again!"

"Frenzy..." the red opticed condor growled slightly, clearly not enjoying the youngling's intervention in on the talk.

"Listen, no one's even got a miserable suspicion about our 'loyalty', so just let it go. And, it's not like we're doin' something totally bad, is it? Soundwave's just trying to stop the 'Cons and 'Bots from completely destroying each other, that's all."

"I'm just saying that-"

"Laserbeak: You may continue later."

They all turned to see huge panther enter the office,"Soundwave: Megatron has arrived. Fact: They are discussing new communications systems in the most recently captured mine. Your assistance is required."

Soundwave nodded, and got up, starting to make her way out. At this, Shockwave broke the transition of her memories and the picture stopped at the last moment.

They had gotten enough.

Soundwave felt the cables release her helm and with cold and bitter fear upon realizing that the browsing ended, and from what she could gather from the looks of the bots around her, she had not been able to stand against Shockwave's machine. But before femme could fully collect her thoughts and plan her next move (Run. Run. Run.), her neck cabling was suddenly and roughly grasped and squeezed harshly by Megatron's strong and deadly servos.

"Traitor!" he roared, but Soundwave had released her tentacles, and smashed them into Decepticon's optics making him loose focus, release her neck cables and back off. Within the next klick, they reached the underneath of the berth and disconnected the electric cables, thus releasing her bindings.

Megatron rubbed his optics, and barked out orders as Thrust and Dreadwing tried to stop Soundwave, who had jumped from the berth, but the femme knocked flyer from his pedes, hitting his helm and diving under the warrior's servos, which had failed to grab her fast moving form.

At the same time, Starscream raised his weapon, aimed, fired and missed, but distracted the femme's attention, just long enough that Breakdown managed to block her way out and sent the femme flying away. Soundwave tumbled a few feet and landed on her pedes. There were too many of them at once, not giving enough time to calculate her next step. She was being forced to act on instinct alone. And, (like this was not enough) something was not right...

It felt like she lost much more energy that she expected... But how? And the next moment answer appeared in Soundwave's processor.

Shockwave.

Before femme could go on, a huge mass knocked her from her pedes and smashed into the wall, making her armor dent and become a mess again.

"Poor choice, Soundwave," Megatron said, his powerful servos closing in, and, as her neck was squeezed again, Soundwave tried desperately to escape - or at least weaken the pressure - by scratching as hard as she could at Megatron's large servos as he faced her visor.

"Neutral? That was the biggest mistake, you have ever made."

Something clicked in Soundwave's quickly overheating processor, and instead of trying to hold the supremely pissed off (pissed of couldn't even begin to describe it) Decepticon War Lord's servos back, she reached up and pressed a weak point on his own neck, making Megatron weaken his grip, and then a strong punch in his jaw followed. He released her, and the femme, collecting all the strength she had left, and not being to feel her damages, rushed out, passing the mechs who hadn't been expecting to see someone survive Megaton's death grip.

"What are you waiting for?! Get her!"

Soundwave didn't hear Decepticon leader's order, as she was already making her way through the corridor. Now, the femme was trying to escape her own base... She turned right, ready to transform and fly, the long hallway seemingly empty, but the sound of a shot firing, and the almost instantaneous feeling of a well aimed hit burning into her back, and her chassis being thrown from the apparent strength of the shot, quite quickly proved her wrong.

"What's goin' on out here?!"

Soundwave was on the floor, chassis heaving and unable to focus her optics, when she heard Tarn's voice echo in corridor. A light smoke was coming from the Decepticon warrior's weapon. Being in the corridor and hearing, then seeing Soundwave rush out of Shockwave's lab, with others following close behind, he had known what to do, but hadn't gotten exactly why, and was now waiting for explanation.

Soundwave managed to lift herself up slightly, her armor burning less a little, but protoform soar from the somehow extremely well aimed shot. She was about to pick her dented self up off the ground an continue trying to get out of there, but she was then grabbed by her servos and pulled back, the sound of armor scratching the metallic floor echoed in now almost silent corridor. She was released, and heavy pede steps reached her audio receptors and as they stopped by her side, she didn't dare move.

"Did you really believe you could fool us forever?" Decepticon's leader stood in front of her, his servos crossed behind his back, the other 'Cons surrounding them both.

Soundwave made no indication of a response, and kept silent and unmoving.

"Shockwave, download every single bit of extra information from Soundwave's processor and delete it. I want her memories be the only thing left." Megatron ordered with an icy coldness in his voice. Breakdown and Dreadwing pulled her back in the lab and hoisted her up on the table. Soundwave simply had no strength left.

"Wait a breem... She?" Tarn looked at Megatron standing by Soundwave's side. The War Lord glanced at now bound and chained bot and reached his servo over to her visor. He grabbed it by the clamps, knowing this being the weakest part and pulled it away in one try, his anger adding to his strength.

He threw the visor away, sending it skidding across the floor, and stop upon reaching the wall, and then gave a short look to Soundwave's faceplate. Her optics where shut, not wishing to see, mouth open, trying to breath at a faster rate to cool fast overheating engines, and exhaustion written all over her features, with several drops of energon drying on her mouth and by her optic brow.

Tarn stared for a moment, and stepped back, others ignoring his surprise started leaving after their leader, Shockwave already by the panel's side typing again. The giant bot followed. When Knockout's red armored figure was halfway through the doorway, the bot realized that his friend was missing, and turned back to see Breakdown still in the room. Medic gave him a questioning look and motioned for him to hurry up.

The Decepticon Wrecker hesitated and looked slowly at the lying femme only to notice that Soundwave's tired optics were directed at the screen, where the picture of a few of her simbiots was still frozen. At this, he almost physically flinched. It wasn't only the tiredness, it was sadness that he noticed.

Sounwdave had escaped the Autobot base briefly and informed her simbiots. She ordered them to leave. He saw them leaving but, when Frenzy told him, he never believed it, who would? Breakdown internally smirked at the thought. Clever kid... But then 'Con felt something weird. Yes, Soundwave told them to escape, but did she know for sure that they made it?

Of course, if they had been here, they would have met her after the arrival or she would have felt them through their spark bond or whatever their connection was... Breakdown was never good at understanding these things - that's what he had Knockout for. But the strange feeling was still there, and it made him feel like he had to tell Soundwave.

Breakdown gave a look to Knockout, who waved him over again and impatiently dropped his servos, and then the Wrecker turned to Shockwave, who was taken by his job. The blue armored 'Con sighed, and directed his optics at femme again, who still hadn't even noticing him, still too entranced by the frozen picture of the simbiots, and then 'Con said, even more silently then he had expected of himself.

"They managed to leave long ago."

Breakdown almost flinched seeing her different colored optics flick up at him with surprise and wary. Soundwave, realizing that he knew something, scanned his features, as if trying to find a threat in him and his words, but upon noticing Breakdown's own uncertainty, understood that he had just wanted to let her know.

The Wrecker saw that Soundwave relaxed at this, and the femme closed her optics, giving him a slight thankful nod and then didn't bother herself with fully opening them again. She was too tired, exhausted more like it, as he noticed the cables already in her processor. Breakdown nodded and started making his way out, where his red armored was waiting for him. The Wrecker did not know why he felt that he had to tell Soundwave. He was now going to use his time to explain his previous actions to himself, and, by the look of Knockout, not only to himself...

Soundwave watched Breakdown leave, her optics slowly off lining. She didn't have enough energy to even worry right now, however, with sadness in her spark one thought still existed in her processor.

Guys, I'm sorry...
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So... What do you think? Comments? Predictions, perhaps...
I would be happy to read your thoughts!:)
Till the next time:)