Author's Notes: I know this second chapter took a while, so thank you guys for being so patient with me. This chapter is mostly for establishing the way Skywarp treats the human boys and how the fighting progresses into full-on gladiator matches. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you feel like leaving a review since reading them is my favorite part of fanfic writing :)

Chapter 2

Taking All Bets

The two boys were taken to a giant silver fortress built on the ruins of what was once Chicago. The giant robots were everywhere building things, talking, or just milling around. The way they interacted with each other made the teenagers realize that the jet they were in wasn't the only one with emotions. All the robots communicated and spoke as if they were human beings. Some spoke English, while others spoke in a weird machine language. It was so surreal to fly above the killer robots and see them as actual living metal beings.

When they landed in a hangar on the side of the building, the cockpit door opened and the robot that captured them said "Okay fleshies, everybody out!"

Jason and Bryson wasted no time in obeying the mech. They didn't know why they had been brought here, but they knew these giant robots meant business. If they displeased this metal monster they likely wouldn't live to see another day and they knew it.

Skywarp transformed once they were out, and the boys looked up in awe of his ability to shift from jet mode to robot mode so easily. He smiled in satisfaction; loving the way they gaped up at him in shock and admiration. One good thing about having them around was that he would have inferior beings to fawn over him like some kind of rock star. He loved it when others were impressed by him, though his trine brother Starscream was worse about it, so most people didn't notice how vain Skywarp could be.

Skywarp grabbed the boys in his fist and teleported them to his room. The boys were both shocked and terrified at the sudden flash of purple light followed by being in a different room. It made them both queasy, and Bryson couldn't prevent himself from throwing up on Skywarp's hand!

"What the-!? You little glitch!" Skywarp yelled as his fist tightened around the boys; nearly suffocating them and hurting their ribs, "You did that on purpose!"

Neither kid could breathe or speak, but Bryson shook his head and held his hands together in supplication. Skywarp loosened his grip, and the boys took in big gulps of air. Skywarp set them down on his berth so he could go clean the barf off his hand. He glared over at them while he was wiping off his hand, and the two huddled closer together and avoided the robot's angry gaze by ducking their heads down.

When Skywarp felt satisfied that he was clean, he stomped over to where the boys were still sitting and awaiting their fates. They cringed and readied themselves for whatever punishment the giant winged mech might have in store for them.

"Okay humans, listen up!" Skywarp spoke loudly, but he didn't sound as angry as he had looked a moment ago, "You're my new pets now, so you have to do everything I say. If I don't think you're worth keeping alive, I'll break you in half and flush you down the sewage drain. Got that?"

"Y-yes, sir," Jason replied shakily, "We u-u-understand."

"Good," Skywarp nodded victoriously, "Okay, so I should get you something to sleep on and figure out how to feed you…"

Skywarp then walked away to think; leaving the boys on his berth. Neither dared to speak to one another or even to move. They didn't know how violent this mech really was, and they didn't want to find out. After Skywarp teleported out of there though, the boys finally found the courage to speak.

"Jason, what are we going to do?" Bryson asked nervously.

"What can we do?" Jason shrugged, "Apparently we belong to the robot now. With how much of the planet they've already destroyed, it's only a matter of time before all humans fall to them. My guess is they're either aliens or a government experiment gone wrong a la Skynet."

"Jason...I'm scared," Bryson admitted, "What if Mom and Dad are dead? What about Corey, Matt, and our other friends? What about Sheryll? She and I have been going out for four months. That's like, forever! What if we're the only ones from our town that are still alive?"

"Thinking about that won't save us," Jason said pessimistically, "What we do know is that we're alive, and we'll have to work together to stay alive. I will do everything I can to keep that robot from hurting you. I promise."

"Do you think the robot has a name?" Bryson suddenly asked, "We never bothered to ask. What if he just has a serial number? What if it's a long serial number and he expects us to memorize it? What will happen to us if we don't?"

"Bryson, enough!" Jason snapped, but then in a softer tone said "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. Look, we can't afford to panic. Don't let the robot know you're scared. Become an emotional wall. Do what the robot says, and keep your head down. It'll be okay, Bryson. We just have to use our heads."

Bryson nodded and wiped away the tears threatening to stream down his cheeks. He hated crying, even if it was just in front of his brother. Jason was right. They had to be strong if they were going to survive. Hopefully they wouldn't be forced to wear collars and poop in a litter box like dogs and cats. Bryson briefly wondered what a robot would expect from pets they owned, but he wisely kept that question to himself. Jason was stressed enough as it was.

Skywarp went to the Constructicons to get human supplies. They thought he was crazy bringing home humans as pets and pointed out Megatron would be unhappy, but Skywarp merely pointed out that Megatron wasn't there.

Mixmaster put together a nutritional supplement that would keep the humans healthy and alive for a long time (by human standards). Scavenger dug up some blankets and mattresses that he had collected while out looking for junk. When asked why he brought those items home, he stammered and tried to change the subject. Scrapper pointed out that humans need to dispose of waste, which Skywarp already knew due to the barf incident. Scrapper's solution was a toilet made out of a small energon cube with some matter-vaporizing technology inside.

Skywarp was happy with the items. He was, that is, until the Constructicons asked for payment for the items they made for him and would continue to make for him. He tried to bully them into just giving him the items, but they threatened to blab to Starscream and/or Megatron, so he relented and gave them some creds for the human stuff.

When Skywarp popped back into the room with the items, the humans screamed in fright at his suddenly appearing!

"Are you two going to do that every time?" Skywarp asked; annoyed.

"Sorry, sir!" Jason quickly apologized for both of them, "Welcome home, sir. Do you need anything, sir?"

"Stop calling me sir!" Skywarp snapped irritably, "I'm not an old rust bucket! You call me master! Got it?"

"Yes...master," Jason reluctantly replied.

Jason hated calling anyone or anything master, and he could tell his little brother felt the same way, but they had to keep this hulking machine content. The best way to do that was to play to his ego. It was still weird to think that a robot had an ego.

"Master?" Bryson piped up, but flinched when Skywarp actually looked at him, "Um, do you have a name, master?"

"Skywarp," Skywarp declared proudly, "But you don't call me that! Know your place or die. That's the Decepticon way."

"Dissect what?" Bryson asked; unfamiliar with the term.

"Decepticon, you idiot!" Skywarp repeated rudely, "That's my faction. We're an army of intergalactic conquerors, and your planet now belongs to us. Our leader Megatron is a mighty warrior and merciless to all who stand in his way. We do not tolerate the weak, and our collective force makes us one of the deadliest threats in the galaxy! So, anymore questions, fleshies?"

"N-no, master," Bryson replied barely above a whisper as he looked away from the robotic demon.

"Good," Skywarp nodded sharply and smirked, "Now, who's ready for round two?"

"Round two?" Jason asked; confused and afraid.

"Yeah, of your fight," Skywarp replied, "That last one was okay, but I wanna see you really tear into each other this time. Don't hold back. Oh, first you should probably be somewhere besides my berth. Blood is really hard to clean up."

The boys looked mortified as they were taken from Skywarp's berth to a desk nearby. They didn't want to fight each other again. They were afraid they would really hurt each other. Once they were on the desk Skywarp looked at them expectantly, but the two of them just stared up at him pitifully.

"Come on, you slaggers!" Skywarp shouted at them, "I don't have all orn!"

"Must we do this, master?" Jason asked pleadingly.

"Fight and be injured, or displease me and die. Your choice," Skywarp growled dangerously.

They knew he meant it, so the boys had no choice but to fight each other once again. They stepped away from the desk so neither one would fall off, and then Jason threw the first punch, which missed. Bryson tackled Jason, and Jason kicked him to get out of the hold! Before long, the boys were fighting in earnest yet hoping Skywarp would call them off each other soon.

While Skywarp was watching the show, his door opened to admit Scavenger and Bonecrusher, who had come to deliver a sack of food Skywarp had forgotten in his hurry to get back to his quarters. They saw that Skywarp was watching his humans, and Bonecrusher snorted at how soft Skywarp had gotten over his new pets.

"What's so interesting about a couple of skin sacks?" Bonecrusher scoffed.

"Shut up, you idiots!" Skywarp hissed, "Oh, the tall one's about to bite the fat kid! Go, go, go!"

Scavenger realized the pair of humans were engaged in combat and decided to watch with Skywarp. Realizing there was no beating them, Bonecrusher decided to join them and watch the fight too.

"Is this a fight over territory?" Scavenger asked Skywarp in Cybertronian, "Or maybe they are trying to determine mating rights for all future females?"

"Nah, they're fighting because I told them to," Skywarp said with a wide grin, "They love me, and they'd do anything to make me happy. I'm pretty sure whoever wins this match will be my favorite."

"The fat one is definitely gonna win," Bonecrusher commented, "Look at the sweat on his skin. That means he's determined."

"No way!" Scavenger contested, "The skinny human is in much better shape! He'll use the fat kid's face to mop the blood off the desk!"

"10 creds says you're wrong!" Bonecrusher challenged.

"You're on, slag heap!" Scavenger replied gamely.

As the Constructicons fought over the fight Skywarp was thinking. If mechs would bet on the fights, then maybe they would also pay to see the humans fight in the first place. He could give the humans weapons, set up a little arena for them, and sell high grade energon for extra revenue. He could even have a betting booth set up so the Decepticons could bet on the winners and losers.

Yes, this could be a very profitable enterprise. Not only that, but Skywarp could make human fighting the most popular sport on earth's fledgling Decepticon colonies. He would be the mech that championed a new industry and sport! Skywarp would be famous!

A few weeks passed since Skywarp brought home his "little gladiators" as they came to be called. He set up an arena in a seldom-used cargo bay and had Swindle help him set up a bookie station for taking bets on the outcomes of the fights. Twice a week Skywarp would parade his humans out for their grudge matches to the sounds of cheers and jeers of his Decepticon brethren.

The boys didn't really hurt each other too badly, but they got better at making it look convincing for their master and his robot friends. Skywarp always praised whoever won, and the winner would get extra food, so they would take turns winning so it would be fair.

After the fourth week, however, something changed. The Combaticons challenged Skywarp's humans with a human of their own. Suddenly the boys were forced to fight for real, and they were less than prepared. Jason barely won the fight, and Bryson lost his fight with the new man.

Then the Constructicons brought in a human for them to fight. Then the Combaticons acquired more humans, and then the Stunticons, and then Blitzwing. Before long there were dozens of human warriors on base, along with some of their families (for added motivation).

Jason and Bryson were starting to wear down. What had started as them roughing each other up a bit turned into each of them being forced to fight total strangers until somebody lost consciousness. It was exhausting.

There was one instance, however, that neither of them would ever forget.

Jason had a match with one of Brawl's humans. He was a man that Jason didn't know and didn't bother to know. It was better that way. He just needed to worry about himself and Bryson. He couldn't afford to care about his opponents. Skywarp would kill them if he hesitated in a fight. It had already almost happened once before. Jason tried to protest the fight, and Skywarp held Bryson underwater until he nearly passed out! After that, Jason knew better than to say no to his master.

The two human gladiators faced each other in a club fight, and after a few minutes of neither one gaining ground Jason had finally managed to swing hard enough to break the other man's kneecap! He felt horrible when he heard the screams of his opponent. He didn't really want to hurt that man, but his brother's life was on the line.

Brawl examined his human after they were forced to surrender. Bryson and Jason continued to look at Brawl and the injured man.

"What do you plan to do with it?" They heard Blast Off ask Brawl.

"Eh, we've got more of these," Brawl replied nonchalantly, "We've got a stable full of them, not to mention those breeders Swindle's thinkin' about bringin' in. We can't afford a human that'll never fight again."

"What?" The man asked, suddenly aware of what they were saying about him, "You can't! Please, don't!"

With a sickening crunch they saw and heard Brawl crush the injured man in his hand! He killed him instantly, and Bryson threw up in disgust. They realized then what this meant for them. They were disposable, just like their opponents, and the robots would kill them the instant they showed even the slightest incapacitating injury. They would have to fight harder to avoid getting injured and being killed.