Rian Moeru: Can't stop writing this fic *-* This is barely touching the surface of everything we've written so far!

Shade Penn: That's so true!

The days leading after his first (here anyway) meeting with Megatron were not as bad as they could have been otherwise. Megatron surprisingly made it more bearable, even though there was precious little to do or talk about during their breaks and the work was almost backbreaking. Literally so in the case of an unfortunate mech that had collapsed in tunnel the two had been working in.

They helped each other, the task of just surviving becoming a little easier. If Megatron ever came up short, though it seldom happened, Jack would give some of his metals to make up the difference, as Megatron did the same for him upon his arrival. It only felt right to help pay the favor, Jack not one to let debts go unsettled.

Megatron hadn't liked it, but he could hardly complain when they received their rations. The guy hated feeling weak, Jack realized with a small grin. It must have been some sense of pride that he held even in this wretched place.

Today was just another day when Jack felt something off about the new tunnel they were digging into. There was a persistent itch in the back of his head, throbbing painfully against his processor, which he noticed would fade or strengthen depending on where he was. Against his better judgement, he followed the sensation, until he came up against a wall that they were supposed to be working on, placing a hand against the metal. Whatever it was laid behind here-

"What is it, Wayward?" Megatron said, seeing his strange behavior, as they normally just picked a spot and drilled without much fuss.

Jack almost jumped at the name, before remembering it was the one he'd given himself. "I...this is gonna sound strange, but...I just thought." he shook his head. "I'm not sure, just that I feel like there's something here."

"That is strange." Megatron said bluntly. Jack winced, but the mech surprised him by handing him his drill. "Though it's not uncommon for some miners to claim a form of intuition about finding metals."

Jack blinked, but smiled slightly as Megatron didn't dismiss him outright. He turned back to the wall, and narrowed his optics as the itch would grow or dim whenever he moved with the drill, cracking into the metal as the dust flew into his face and settled on the ground at his pedes. Megatron didn't follow along the wall like Jack did, opting instead to stay in one place. Jack stopped as the itch was almost painful-the metal cracked deep, and he dropped his drill as he stared at the deep purple glow that emitted from the wall.

The glow was almost blinding, and Jack found himself reaching in, his fingers curling around a large shard. He pulled, breaking a piece off as he stared down at it. Dread filled him, his optics widening as he stared incredulously and horrified down at the glowing shard. 'D-dark energon?'

"Wayward?" Jack did jumped as he whirled around. Megatron had come to his side, and the shard cast an eerie purple glow on him. Jack's spark thudded as he saw an image of the Megatron from his time, just in the way this Megatron was looking at the shard. "What...is that?"

A chill went down Jack's spine, but before he could say anything, the guard came storming up. "Why have you stopped working?! Get back to-" He stopped as he looked at the shard, for once completely stunned. "What the slag is that!"

"I...I don't know sir." Jack played dumb, the shard clutched tightly in his fingers. He couldn't give this up, nor could he allow Megatron near it either. It was either him or the guard. "I just found it, here-"

The guard practically ripped it out of Jack's grip, who pulled his fingers away immediately to avoid losing them. Jack glanced at Megatron, who was frowning at the shard. The guard inspected it, bringing it close to his face as some of the other miners glanced at the unusual crystal. Jack stepped slightly in front of Megatron, just to try and keep him from looking at it.

"Where did you get this?" The guard glared at Jack, who ducked his head.

"Over there." he said quietly, nodding to the crevice. Faintly, the dark energon still inside glowed ominously.

The guard walked to the crevice, and reached in to pull the rest of the larger crystal out. It was darker, casting an even more malevolent glare throughout the room. The guard looked at the crystal with narrowed optics, before glaring at everyone. "Get back to work!"

The other miners quickly averted their gaze, while Jack was a little nervous. "Sir, what is-"

"Shut up!" The guard snapped, and Jack flinched. The guard stalked out of the tunnel, taking the crystal with him.

Jack couldn't say he wasn't glad to see it gone, but the fact he found it at all left him cold. 'How did I find that? Why is dark energon on Cybertron?'

The only explanation he could think of was that specks of Unicron's blood had remained behind after his battle with Primus, long since hidden within the planet after thousands of years.

Jack jumped when a hand clasped his shoulder.

"Wayward," Megatron spoke, optics alight with curiosity, "how did you find...Whatever that was?"

Jack stared up at him, more aware of their height and weight difference than ever. He glanced away, thinking fast about what kind of excuse to use. "It's...I don't know exactly. It just felt like I was...being pulled to it." he rubbed his arm. It was the closest thing to truth he would give.

Megatron frowned as he looked to the crevice where the dark energon had been. "I had noticed it seemed to be...entrancing. When I saw it, I could hardly look away myself."

That was...rather worrying. Jack was even more worried now about just what was going to happen with those samples. It did though hopefully let him sweep his unusual detection of it away- hopefully. "Yeah, just kinda sucks you in."

"Perhaps you'll find more." Jack shuddered a little, a worrisome feeling growing by how Megatron already seemed intrigued by the vile substance. "If it's of value, then perhaps there would be a reward in finding more."

"Yeah. Maybe." Jack replied stiffly as he started back on his work, Megatron ignorant of his conflicting emotions.

'I hope I never see that stuff again.' Jack thought darkly. At the very least, he needed to stress the hazard of it- or the potential hazard, given that no one else seemed to have ever seen it. "What if it's dangerous though? I touched it, and who knows what it could have done to me. No reward is worth that." he added, but Megatron didn't reply, though Jack hoped he at least made him think on it.

They didn't speak of the crystal again, and the work went by as it usually did after its discovery. He was given no reward for his find, something he hoped drove home that the dark energon was worthless to Megatron.

When break came, Jack wished it was for recharge, because then they wouldn't have to come back to this tunnel. Even the remnants of finding the dark energon made him uneasy, and the thought of finding more terrified him.

Just a joor away was enough though to hope that the discovery would be nothing more than an unpleasant memory. Jack glanced around the dispenser room, still wary of the other miners that were sitting around in the area. By now he could recognize half of them as being from the tunnels they got mixed around in, but Jack couldn't recall ever hearing their names. Shaking his head, Jack grabbed his cube and sat down beside Megatron, his legs aching from having stood for so long. 'Even sitting down has become a luxury at this point.'

Megatron seemed to be deep in thought as he sipped slowly on his energon. Thinking about the dark energon no doubt. Jack shifted uncomfortably on his spot. How did he get Megatron focused on other things?

Jack thought of what else he could talk about, and remembered the gladiator talk he gave. It was a dangerous road to go down, but Jack would take that instead of letting him think anymore on the blood of a literal god of evil. "So," he started, glancing at him, "I've been thinking about what you said before, about this gladiator stuff."

"Gladiator stuff?" Megatron repeated, clearly derisive of the wording.

Jack huffed, but at least he hoped it was working as a distraction. "I'm not sure exactly what it's supposed to be called." he said defensively. "So how does this work? Do mechs volunteer to go to these combat arenas? It sounds like a steep price to pay."

Megatron's optics darkened. "For freedom, no price would be too much to pay."

"Yeah," Jack nodded in agreement, though inwardly he wondered if that were true. He had already faced death once. "So...could I join up if I wanted to? Earn my freedom? Could you?"

Megatron was unfazed by his barrage of questions and shrugged. "I suppose. Sometimes the slaves are forced into the arena when they're running low on 'volunteers'." He scoffed, sipping on his energon again.

Jack grimaced. He didn't know why he was still getting surprised. He slumped forward, mildly interested in the going ons of the arena. "Realistically, what would my odds be if I were to...volunteer?"

Megatron gave him a once over, optics narrowed and scrutinizing. "Provided they did not stack the odds against you, and you were given a similar sized opponent...tell me, did you have any weapons training or fighting experience before you were thrown into this Primus-forsaken place?"

Jack shook his head. "No, I lived in a fringe town. Never used a g-blaster in my life and didn't have to fight, but I'm fast and durable, does that count for anything?"

"Not unless you'd plan on outlasting your opponent through sheer stamina." Megatron said. "Your armor is too light to take much damage, even with...your apparent ability to heal quickly." His optics flashed, and Jack would almost say he still looked spooked about his 'close call.'

It was a blunt assessment though, one Jack might have taken offense too if he didn't want to annoy Primus by constantly needing to be brought back. Dying was painful, and he'd liked to avoid it. Jack glanced down at himself. "I know I'm small and light, but that has to count for at least being underestimated, right?"

"If you survive your first match, maybe." Megatron retorted. "After that, no one would make that mistake again."

"What about weak points? Even the toughest or biggest opponent has to have a weak point." Jack replied.

"You would need to survive against your opponent long enough to find them, while keeping them from finding yours." Megatron stated simply.

Jack scowled. "So what, I'm never going be able to be more than a slave because I'm weak?" He snapped angrily.

"I didn't say that." Megatron replied just as harshly. "You may be physically at a disadvantage, but there is something to be said for resourcefulness. During the fights, bots are given weapons. Something sharp enough would be just as capable as your bare servos."

Jack looked down at his fingers, blunted and not claw-shaped. "So what, I just need to find the weak points and they'd go down for me to...finish them?" he asked, faltering only because it struck him the battle would likely end with someone dying.

"Hone your perception." Megatron said, and Jack looked at him. The larger mech nodded out at the crowd, specifically gesturing to a tall, armored red mech. "Him, for example, where do you think his weak points would be?"

Jack jolted, optics wide. "You...mean if this were an actual fight?" Megatron nodded, calmly sipping his energon. Jack bit his lip briefly as he looked at the red mech, optics flickering over the plating. "There's...no opening I can see."

"Are you sure?" Megatron smirked faintly. "I can see about five points to attack."

Jack scowled at him, and took a large gulp of his energon as he looked harder at the mech. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew how morbid and wrong it was to think about landing a hit that would lead to fatality, but the self-preservation needed to survive was strong too.

"Um...the-the legs would be two points." Jack said, narrowing his optics. "There's lighter plating there, enough for a seam to be exposed when he'd stand up. The...shoulders? I can just make out the edges that a sharp object could fit through. And..." he was at a loss for that one. The face seemed like an obvious choice, but Jack didn't think he would be able to fight an opponent head on like that.

Megatron lifted his servo, and Jack twitched as his digit traced over a spot right at the base of Jack's neck. "This spot right here, it connects your spinal structure and Cybernite limbs. One clean hit here, and the whole system goes down."

Jack vented deeply, pursing his lips not to give in and sigh. He'd admittedly frozen up once Megatron touched such a vulnerable place, because there was still a part of him that was frightened of the mech he could still become. "I...I see. It seems like an obvious weak point to be covered up."

"Most aren't even aware of it." Megatron replied. He took another sip from his rations cube. "I learned through watching others, when the occasional fight broke out, where to hit and where not to get hit."

"I take it you been in the pits a time or two?" He asked cautiously.

"Enough to get a reputation." Megatron admitted, raising a brow at the smaller mech. "Why?"

"Could you...teach me how to fight maybe?" Jack asked tentatively, uncertain of how Megatron would take that. "I don't want to be stuck down here forever."

"Hm. Perhaps. If there is ever the time." Megatron spoke slowly, weighing his options. Right, they hardly had any time to themselves down here.

"And...are they're anyways to get more time?" Jack questioned. "The guards seem pretty corrupt. Can they be bribed?"

"Yes, but as you've said, you've got nothing to bargain with." Megatron replied.

Jack frowned as he took another sip of his energon. "What about using parts of our break? Do they penalize us if we're not here?"

"They're are cameras everywhere watching us. So long as we do what we're told and work, they don't care what we do on our break." Megatron explained. "Though if you wanted to go down that route, it would not be a long training session. We only get the two breaks." he added, rather bitterly.

"I'll take whatever time you can give me, even if it's just a," Jack stalled, thinking of the word he was looking for, "breem." It was roughly 8 minutes as his processor translated for him. "I just want to get stronger, even if it takes a while before I can find something just as valuable as that adamant crystal."

Megatron raised a brow. "You'd risk death again for this?"

Jack's optics hardened. "I don't want to be here forever." He repeated.

"A statement I couldn't agree with more." Megatron chuckled.

"So you'll help me?" Jack asked tentatively, the hope at the thought of getting out of here someday swelling inside his chest.

There was a pause, in which the mech looked if him up and down with a sharp eye. "If you help me in return."

"Uh, sure." Jack replied. It was only fair to return the favor. "With what?" he smiled dryly as he gestured to himself. "I don't see how I could be much of a teacher, that's for sure."

"If you find any more of that strange crystal," Megatron began, and Jack's expression fell, "allow me see it before you're forced to relinquish it to the guards."

Jack bit his lip. "Well..." he paused, and vented deeply. This was not what he'd hoped to hear, "yeah, okay then." he finished quietly. 'I hope I never find any more of the dark energon ever again.' Because that way, he couldn't break the deal if he never found more dark energon, and he hoped he wouldn't have to be forced to choose.

"Then it is a deal." Megatron agreed with a short nod, standing up. "We start now. There are still a few breems left before we must return to work. Ready yourself."

Jack scrambled to his pedes. "Now?" he got another curt nod, and so quickly drank down the rest of his energon. "A-alright then." he said, following after Megatron as they made their way back to the tunnel. He tried to think of what Megatron might consider a 'first lesson', but whatever it was, it probably would end up with him getting his aft kicked.

Which is exactly what happened, as once the word 'go' was said, Jack ended up getting a punch to the gut that sent him sprawling onto the ground.

"Your form is terrible." Megatron commented dryly, and Jack groaned as he got back to his pedes.

"Hey, this is my first time at this-" He started to rant, but was promptly decked in the face. Jack grunted as he grabbed at his face, pressing down on it tightly.

"If you talk, talk short." Jack wasn't given a reprieve as Megatron's leg swept under Jack's, knocking him to the ground again.

Jack landed on his aft with a clang, glaring between his fingers at Megatron as he unsteadily got back to his feet once more. 'He said to be perceptive?' he thought, narrowing his optics as he tried to see if there was a way to land just a hit on Megatron. 'He's bigger than me, but maybe he's not as fast too.' He squared his shoulders, and crouched down.

Megatron smirked. "Finally taking things seriously?"

Jack scowled at him, even though he knew the mech was just trying to intentionally make him angry. 'Because that's when you make mistakes.' he thought. "Of course." he muttered. Jack lunged forward, throwing his fist out. Megatron caught it, but Jack didn't care about that as he tried to drive his pede into the crevice behind the mech's leg.

Jack yelped as Megatron grabbed him by the shoulder and abruptly shoved him into the ground. His optics rolled dazed, but his vents hitched he felt the tips of Megatron's fingers holding him loosely around the neck. He stared with wide-optics up at the mech.

Megatron didn't look like it took any effort. "And that would have given me the match." he said gruffly. "If you attempt to try that again, make sure you get into your opponents blind-spot first."

"Y-yeah," Jack murmured, startled by how quickly the 'match' had ended. Less than a minute by his count. God, he really was terrible at this wasn't he?

Megatron caught onto to his distress as he was helping him back to his pedes. "This is your first time in a fight. Don't get so discouraged that you couldn't land a blow."

"Well, second, considering the guy who attacked me." Megatron's optics hardened, and Jack rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Not sure I'd considered that a fight though..."

"No, that was definitely not a fight in any sense of the word." The mech retorted, but from the tone, Jack realized Megatron wasn't looking down on him. Megatron shook his head roughly. "If you want to stay at long range, make sure you get a suitably sharp weapon. If you're caught though..." Jack jumped as Megatron grabbed a hold of his sides, just under the armpits. "Make sure your arms are free. Even the most armored bot can't hide their key vital points."

Jack vented quietly as Megatron released one side to grab his servo, and guided it to his other, pressing his digits against a seam just under elbow. "What's this?"

"It provides motor function to the arm. Rip or cut it, and your opponent will lose the ability to move their arm." Megatron ran Jack's digits to his wrist, at a seam where the arm and wrist connected. "If your grip is too short, this is connected to it, and will do the same. Though take caution, because not every opponent will let you have that chance to strike."

"I..I think I understand." Jack blinked, bewildered by this turn of events. It was beyond strange that Megatron was helping him. Teaching him how to survive. Briefly he imagined Megatron doing the same with Starscream, and blanched at the thought. The seeker probably only ever took abuse at his master's hand. Not like he was doing with Jack right now.

"Understanding the basics and implementing them in combat are two different, yet not unrelated things." Megatron stated, releasing his hold. "You need to be fierce. Cunning. And willing to use any dirty, underhanded tricks in order to survive the pits of Kaon."

"R-right." Jack said, still feeling a bit numb. "You mean like cracking a bot's optics?"

"Oh? And you think you could get close enough to try it?" Megatron retorted. Jack could see a bit of amusement seeping into those bizarrely blue optics of his.

Jack jerked his chin up, narrowing his optics. "Like you said, I need to use any tricks I can to survive."

"Those I think would require a strategy of what kind you'd attempt to use." Megatron said. "Now one fight more before the break is up."

Jack nodded, getting back in his rough stance as Megatron did the same, backing up several feet now. Neither said anything, Jack observing Megatron's form. Before he knew it the mech had surged forward, Jack narrowly dodging another strike to the face by ducking to the left, feeling the displaced air caused by the massive fist blowing into his face.

Jack crouched again, taking in how Megatron seemed to have lurched downward-finally it seemed Jack's shorter height had come in handy. He quickly made a break to duck behind him, taking the moment to try and kick at the back of his knee. Megatron though quickly reached behind him, causing Jack to stumble away to avoid being caught. He skidded back and forth as Megatron twisted to grab him, and Jack was forced to move along with him. It must have looked ridiculous, Jack scurrying around the larger mech's blind spot so he wouldn't get caught.

Finally, Jack caught an opening when he feinted to the left as Megatron reached for his right. Jack narrowly avoided the digits that brushed against his shoulder as he jumped onto Megatron's back. The silver mech stilled as Jack wrapped his digits around his neck. Jack couldn't help but grin, his spark humming. "I win-" he screeched as Megatron gripped his servos and Jack found himself in one dizzying moment torn from Megatron's back and tossed over his head.

Jack hung limply as Megatron held him at arms length by his wrists mid-air. He glowered at the smirking face. "Now, you see that's you shouldn't get cocky-" Jack kicked his pede out, managing to catch the silver mech under the jaw. It hurt his own foot more, but it did manage to shut Megatron up.

And Jack's spark almost froze as a chill came over him when Megatron stared at him with optics glowing bright. And Jack was all too aware that Megatron literally had his life in his hands, where his grip tightened briefly on his wrists. He tensed as he shut his optics, expecting to die for a second time.

Instead of pain though...came chuckling? Jack cautiously peered out and saw Megatron looked more amused than angry. "The optics," he said almost chastising, "aim for the optics." he set Jack on his feet, releasing his wrists. "As you saw, while a valiant effort, kicking me in the jaw did not make me let you go."

"Right, optics." Jack muttered, looking down as he rubbed his wrists.

"Though it is rather fortunate for me that you forgot." Megatron held a hand to his face, feeling the slight dent Jack's foot had left. "I would not have enjoyed mining with cracked optics."

"As if there anything to enjoy about it even when not half-blind." The pain in his wrist was already fading, Jack noticed dimly. "And thanks. For the uh...lesson. And, well, not killing me."

"Kill you?" Megatron repeated. He looked offended. "Why would I kill you for doing what I said?"

Jack blinked, once more struck by just how different this Megatron was. "It's just...for a second I thought, well, you did look kind of angry."

"Merely surprised." Megatron replied. "And if there was anger, it was at myself for not following my own words. You're a quick learner though, and that will suit you well."

"Kind of have to be in here." Jack said. The other mech grinned, nodding in approval. Jack hesitantly returned it with a smile.

The guard had returned by now, ushering them back out into their tunnels. Mesh dent as Jack rubbed his leg, and he groaned to himself. That training session had been much too short.

And Jack could admit while he certainly didn't like getting taken down so easily, trial and error with someone who wasn't trying to kill him was a relief. Despite how he still couldn't believe it was Megatron of all people-er, bots. Jack rolled his shoulder, feeling out the strained joints. 'Now if only I could learn to think three-steps ahead.' He might have learned fast because he needed to be adaptable, but he was a little too impulsive still. He needed to work on foresight. 'And I'll have plenty of time for that here.' he thought darkly.

It continued like that for awhile. Work, take a break, practice, work, then rest. The constant mining and lack of proper rest would have had Jack going crazy, if he wasn't able to distract himself with other things.

Such as the thought of the gladiator pits, and the training sessions he was taking with Megatron to get there. He didn't want to hurt anyone, much less kill them, but almost anything was preferable to being stuck in here.

Some time had passed since then, how much Jack could never be completely certain, but eventually he felt that dreaded tug on his processor again. His helm ached just as it did last time, his head nearly splitting in two until he relinquished to the urge and dug the crystals up. As with last time, Megatron was intrigued, and despite his internal war, had allowed Megatron a brief glimpse before it was ultimately taken from him by the guards.

Come the next break, he was wishing he had never found the despicable crystals at all.