Chapter Text
Soundwave had always known that life in Kaon wasn't the most colorful or vibrant. The city that was his home was considered by many of the wealthy to be dirt beneath their servos, not worthy of the slightest attention. An industrial zone under a thick layer of smog, home to simple laborers who were unlucky enough to simply be born that way. Unfortunate and sad indeed, no wonder Megatronus was constantly resentful about it.
Soundwave had never been known for his compassion or helping outsiders, he was not a kind mech. His servo was always covered in other mech's energon and shards of sparks, which he regularly took from careless gladiators. Many of them often allowed themselves too much, and he was not averse to putting them in their place. Newcomers to the arena always annoyed him, especially those overconfident that they could beat the longtime champion who had been second place for so long. And second only because he didn't fight as often as he should have.
He wasn't a slave to the arena like so many others, Soundwave would rather have his spark ripped out than allow himself to be bought out. It was beneath both him and Megatronus, who had long held the title of champion.
He wasn't known for his love of walking, especially around the place where the sounds of explosions and drunken screams rang out every half cycle. Kaon wasn't the best place to relax, and all the locals knew that in their spare time it was better to sit in their quarters. Where it was warm, safe and comfortable, there was no risk of getting into trouble. That was probably why Megatronus got into so much trouble, and why Soundwave had to get him out of it. And sometimes it was quite difficult to do so. The blue mech sincerely did not understand why his friend never sat still and was so keen to get into any difficulties. Worse than Rumble and Frenzy, honestly. The arena champion knew better than anyone how Soundwave didn't like to leave his quarts for no apparent purpose, leaving the cassetticons alone with little or no supervision. Ravage may have been in charge, as was Laserbeak, but here the twins were a force to be reckoned with. They were not to be underestimated.
When Soundwave walked the dusty streets of Kaon, he always towered over the others, making the low mech cringe at the mere sight of him. His shadow was large enough to cover Megatronus, who could give anyone a head start in his physical parameters.
More than once he accidentally clung his helmet to some useless bar awning, causing his friend to laugh out loud.
- Don't be so angry, Soundwave! We're almost there," Megatronus said loudly, as if he wanted everyone to hear, as he crossed the street at a brisk pace. He had to walk fast to keep up with the tall mech, but he was doing a good job of it. Despite the visor covering the other's face, he could literally feel Soundwave's inner boiling.
| Destination. |
Frowning and angry at himself for agreeing to this adventure, Soundwave muttered.
Normally, he wouldn't let anyone talk him into going on any of the "Sharkticon's Lair" (as Megatronus called it), but the other gladiator had been quite persistent. Constantly talking about how he wouldn't regret it, and would thank him later.
Ha, that's never going to happen, Soundwave thought grimly, looking around. They were in a rather famous neighborhood that was located in the heart of Kaon. The most notorious strip clubs and drug dealing places. A neighborhood where lust alone reigned supreme. Wait....
Covered with numerous scars, the signalman's lips stretched in a dangerous grin, showing fangs too sharp for an ordinary Cybertronian. Quite abruptly, he turned to look at the sparkling overgrowth.
| What are we doing here? |
- Uh-oh, I see you guessed that, huh? - Megatronus grinned, looking back down the street to where a very long crowd of mechs stood at the entrance to one of the clubs.
When he turned his gaze back to the communicator, he noticed that he didn't seem all that pleased with the discovery. No, that reaction was more than expected, but it was foolish to back down right now. Not when they were almost there. Besides, he had leverage, and more than one.
- Don't get so pouty. I know it's all a bit spontaneous and you're not happy... But! I've already paid for our stay, and there are no refunds," Megatronus suppressed the urge to smirk when he noticed the alien body twitch in annoyance. Two thin tickets of brittle metal glistened under the light in his servo.
| Soundwave: can make the return himself. Megatronus: hand me our shanixs. |
- You don't get it, Soundwave! Come on, you need to get your mind off all your business. I've seen how angry and stressed out you've been lately, and there's going to be all kinds of mechs and femmes here. There's even something to suit your tastes! - Megatronus said proudly, staring wide-eyed at the unblinking visor opposite him, for which he had to raise his helmet to look.
Megatronus wasn't a stupid mech, it was just a stereotype they sometimes used, taking advantage of their opponents' biases. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He was a cunning mech who was well aware of his surroundings, which played to his advantage on more than one occasion. Megatronus was notorious for a reason, he was brutal and willing to walk over other mech's heads if the situation called for it, which it often did. Soundwave was well aware of that too.
- I remember last megacycle when you shouted on Rumble for no reason.
| Soundwave: apologized. Rumble: no more offense. |
Quietly the tall mech replied, running internal diagnostics, trying to run all the files on his behavior over the last orn through the memory tanks.
To his own regret, the diagnostics only confirmed his words, which made Soundwave sigh. Sometimes Megatronus' straightforwardness and innate wisdom went for naught when needed, and when it was really needed, the mech acted like an asshole.
It's not what Soundwave expected of himself, being an incredibly resilient mech, and being disappointed over nothing was just not his thing. He's the most dangerous gladiator Cybertron has ever known, and yet he still can't stand up to mere annoyance.
Holding back his overwhelming urge to turn around and walk away, Soundwave turned to face Megatronus, whose optics seemed to magically light up at the sight of him. Primus, that child will drive him to the point of disintegration.
| Megatronus: can lead. Soundwave: Agreed, but with a time limit. |
Ignoring Megatronus's victorious servos upward, Soundwave snatched the tickets from his hand, which he instantly analyzed. There wasn't even a hint of ulterior motives in them, a simple "VIP" class pass with some directions and a contact number. At least judging by the company, the signalman knew it was a fairly extensive network of brothels across Cybertron, the owner of which lived somewhere in Iacon. No matter. At least the reviews were all good.
He and Megatronus walked past the entire crowd, and as the strip club guard raised his optical comb, Soundwave held out an open hand to him with a pair of tickets that looked just tiny in his servo.
- Ah, that's you. Come in, Megatronus and Soundwave," the big mech stepped aside as he recognized the two visitors as the most famous gladiators in Kaon. Many had watched the live feeds from the arena, and it wasn't hard to remember them. At least the signalman certainly wasn't.
Upon entering the room, the music instantly hit the audio sensors, and for a moment Soundwave was even confused, but thankfully Megatronus had a good skill for adaptation, and grabbing his friend by the servo, dragged him to a table closer to the wall. At least away from all sorts of mechs.
As the blue mech had expected, the place was bustling with all sorts of mechs, some of them gathered near the stage, watching beautiful flyers with large wings and exquisite curves walk around the stage and twirl on the pole.Nothing new for Kaon, Soundwave noted to himself, serving in Megatronus's servo a menu with all sorts of energon. Hmm, the owner of such brothels really went broke on some things. At least the premises are clean enough.
The Megatronus next to him was muttering something to himself under his nose cone as he diligently looked up something in a series of texts with price tags. Finally, unable to stand it, he groaned irritably and turned to face Soundwave.
- What does it say here! - he shouted loudly, as if trying to shout over the music, even though Soundwave could hear him perfectly well. But after a brief glance at the menu, the signslman realized he couldn't read it either. The room was too dark, and the flickering lights were irritating his optics.
| Pick something else. |
- Oh, come on, Soundwave! You're the most sighted one here! - Megatronus grumbled grudgingly, literally jamming his face into the menu in front of him as if that would help at all.
The signalman looked around thoughtfully, noticing that the others were slowly arriving and there were more and more mechs in the room. It was even a little strange.
But there were no changes in the schedule he found on the network's official website. No events or anything new, the club was operating the same old way. Perhaps it was always like this here.
Distracted by his thoughts, Soundwave didn't notice the waiter walking up to them. A small mech with huge azure eyepieces and blue-red armor. The one held up a datapad in his servos, seemingly about take their order.
- Would you like to order anything? - Primus, his vocals were worse than Rumble's were when he was suffering from transitional aging.
Soundwave was about to answer something when he noticed a stare from Megatronus that literally said "I'll do it myself, don't ruin my reputation".
Fine. The signalman leaned back tiredly on the small couch he'd stirred himself onto. Must have been with Primus's help. Or rather, Unicron, considering that his pedes were still uncomfortably resting against the floor.
- Sure thing, handsome. Give me one Pink Ocean," Megatronus said playfully, winking oddly, and Soundwave felt the urge to shut off his power receptor so he wouldn't embarrass himself.
The cute mech nodded with his helmet and moved away from their table, while his friend stared tensely at the table as if he were being sent to his own execution. Too much drama for Soundwave's taste, though he wrinkled his nose at the mere thought of the silver mech falling for some waiter from a strip club. This was getting ridiculous.
Looking a little to the side, the signalman noticed that there were a great many mechs crowded together near the empty stage. They all looked as jubilant as if Primus himself had come down to them.
Curious, Soundwave turned his helmet to the side, carefully watching the curtain that hid something interesting. Leaning slightly, he placed the servos on the table in front of him without interrupting his observation.
At some point the music changed from harsh beats to something smoother, even somewhat soothing, and finally the curtain opened.
With a light gait, a mech stepped out onto the long strip that led to the stage. Its armor shimmered beautifully under the bright lights, two white antennae adorning an angular helmet without a face, they were smoothly lowered at an angle of 60 degrees.
Long pedes with thick pale thighs stepped gently across the stage. And when some ignoramus tried to grab the mech's leg, he was kicked in the face, forcing him to step back. Oddly, no fight followed, but alright. The crowd started tossing shanix before the mech even started moving, already pelting the stage with large sums of money.
I wonder why, the signalman thought, keeping his optics on the stranger he couldn't find in Kaon's database. Not a local, then.
Meanwhile, the violet mech stood near the pole, his helmet with a single golden optic, looking around the room. Careful mani of a pleasant violet color grasped the base of the pole, and the stranger began to move to the raucous cries of the crowd. His movements were precise and calculated, without a single flaw, while remaining quite fluid and flexible.
Soundwave noticed that when the mech spread the servos slightly, the crowd roared, and he thought that some of them even drooled, like a wild cyber-wolf smelling its prey.
But the signalman also noticed that the mech on the pole had rather wide shoulder pads, which looked quite good in combination with the narrow waist. Now it was clear why this mech was the star here.
Looking back at Megatronus, who was staring at the wall with a dreamy expression, Soundwave gave him a slight nudge on the shoulder.
| Question: who is it? |
He asked, lazily pointing one servo at the stage.
Megatronus grinned at Soundwave as if he had just awakened from stasis:
- Shockwave. I'm surprised you don't know this. He's known throughout Cybertron as a porn star. The company he works for has released many movies featuring him," he replied, letting out a chuckle and glancing at the scene where Shockwave arched in his spinal plates, standing up on his knee joints and showing off his sharp but small wings.
Soundwave, placing his helmet on one of his servos, continued to peer at the stage with his gaze. Shockwave, huh?
As he had found out through his database, the mech did indeed have such a reputation, and was also considered a favorite among large caliber mechs for its endurance. He's also been involved in making porn on camera.
The signalman already sensed that this was going to be a long day.