Captured Spark
Opponent
Another chapter for you guys! I have a couple more written up and I'm just in the process of revising them and they'll be out soon! And I can say, that I am extremely excited to release them!
"This place amazes me, how recently was it built?" Stoneblaze awed the hotel they were staying in. Currently, Shockwave was leading them all to their quarters, as he had been designated through a series of votes to do so. She'd learned that he was a leading scientist, and shuffling through her memory banks, she stumbled across many articles she'd read in daily reports about him. His name never crossed her thought process, seeing he was more in the biological progression of Cybertronians, and she was more intrigued by the technical side of science.
"We only recently erected this place fully two solar cycles ago. I am surprised you had not realized that, as per how often you visit our city."
"I, unfortunately, do not get to come here that often, unlike my Sire. He tours weekly to keep his stock in progress here. He'd surely rust before he'd lose all that he's put into this fine city."
"Your Sire, he places wealth above functioning?"
"You could say so," Stoneblaze stopped as he stopped. The door slid open and two others that had been behind them stepped inside. She barely got a peak before the door slid shut again.
"As you requested," Shockwave continued on to another door. "Your room is near the back, scarce to prying optics." The door slid open and Blaze stepped aside.
"And I? Where shall I be taking my quarters?"
"In your requested room," He looked at them both, his one optic somehow showing some sort of emotion of confusion. "Is this not what you requested? I read over all the files, it would be illogical for me to of made an error."
"No," Sharpshoot sliced his servo in front of the mechs optic. "You have made no error. This is what I requested."
Stoneblaze turned her attention to Sharpshoot. "With consent of my Sire? I'm sure he would be less than pleased to find that you joined us within a room."
"On the contrary," Sharpshoot leaned his servo toward the entrance of the room. "Your Sire was the one who suggested this accommodation."
Her arms crossed angrily. "I came with you, here I will put my foot down, even if it goes against my Sire's wishes. Never shall you, or I, share a quarter. Now," She turned to Shockwave. "Are there any other quarters available? I can assure you that I have all the funds to pay for anything, so leave nothing back. Even if it stands on another floor, I will take whatever you have."
"All quarters here have been booked in all hotels."
She huffed at Sharpshoot, angered that not only he and her Sire has forced her, but planned for them to stay in the same quarter. "Alright, but you will be taking whatever other accommodations are in this room. I will not be sharing a berth with you." She faced Shockwave once more and smiled, her body calming. "Thank you for showing us here, I'm sure this was much time taken out of your most important work."
"You do speak the truth, but I was chosen and I cannot deny what I am given."
"Humble," She mumbled. "You could learn a lesson or two from this mech." She walked into the quarter, the lights flickering on as she did so. Inside was a wash room, one berth, a wall data screen and a couch, which she would be sure Sharpshoot would sleep on. Speaking of the mech, he followed in behind her and the door shut. Her armor shuttered, the mere thought of being in a closed room, alone with him. . . It was enough to make her want to purge her tanks. She already had to deal with him daily, when he abruptly came over to her villa, but now, to be physically stuck with him, in a room.
She shook her head. It would only for four solar cycles, she would survive. Besides, tonight she would see Megatronous, and if anything would make this whole unruly venture alright, it was him.
Three tournaments down, only two more to go. If he could make it, he'd be in the clear and be deemed undefeated. Of course he already was, but this was Kaon, if one wanted to survive, they had to fight to the bitter end. He could already hear the crowd calling his name, over and over again, filling him with an energy that pulsed through his system.
The rush made him completely forget about Stoneblaze and her not coming. He did, however, miss her voice, and how giddy she was to pick up Ditcher. But, a part of him still felt tense, offended, as if there could have been an ulterior motive. It wouldn't have been the first time that someone from the higher caste gave him hope and then left him falling into a deep well of self pity. None as fair and beautiful and so full of life as Stoneblaze, but nonetheless, they all had one thing in common with each other. They were far too good, and wealthy, for him.
She could have finally come to her senses about him. An unruly, dirty mech from the pits of Kaon, fighting to survive, both literally and figuratively. That, and with Ditcher by his side, he was baggage. She deserved better, someone who could sustain her and her known lifestyle. All he could ever give her, truly, was turmoil and possibly a small hut in Kaon, one that would no doubt lead her to trouble and near death experiences.
Somehow, if she hadn't show up by choice, a part of him was okay with that. Yes, he would have Ditcher to watch by himself, but the sparkling knew enough about the Kaonian life that he would survive. And for himself, he would learn the hard way to raise a sparkling, but he'd do it.
"Megatronous, you're on in five," His manager, Slither, wheeled into his quarter. He was from a mass of wires stuffed under his shell. No doubt done to make himself seem more intimidating, but doing such a feat lead to an excess of fluid leaking due to natural wiring being shredded by the new wires. He looked ready to be tossed into a junk yard to rust, worse than that even. "You better win this round, or I'm out a century ton of energon."
"You bet our energon reserves?" Megatronous stared down the mech. From his excess wiring, he was weighed down to have the size he could be, almost a third the size of Megatronous himself.
"My reserves, you don't get to touch them unless you win. You lose, and you can starve for all I care." Slither carted around him, giving a good look to all his new dents and spots where he bled. "You look like you've been in a few fights." He laughed, a croaky, dead laugh, no doubt caused by wiring pressing up against his vocals.
"You'd find it wise to not try and intimidate me, Slither," Megatronous snarled. "Or would you rather end up like your predecessor ?"A just as equally slimy manager, whom, though not gone at his own servos, was close to being so. Although, he could admit, he'd find more joy in snuffing Slither's spark than the others, as this mech was far more corrupted.
"Only," Slither smirked. "You must remember, that I own you. You could never survive without me."
Megatronous intook a deep breath. He honestly had nothing to counter back, because it was, unfortunately, true. Slither owned him and all the other Gladiators. No one came here to die for laughs, it was all to survive, that was, if they actually survived a fight.
"That's what I thought," Slither laughed. "Now, hurry your aft and get into the arena, I can already hear them shouting your designation." He rolled out of the room, chuckling to himself all the way down the hallway.
In the silence, Megatronous could hear their chanting for him growing louder and louder. His opponent was kept secret from him, unlike the other fights. Usually he was told a solar cycle in advanced, giving him the ability to scout his opponent, then know the best course of action. This time though, they wanted him to go in blind. It wasn't like he'd never done it, in fact, many times he'd chosen to do so. But this was different, this wasn't his choice, and a part of him felt that they were trying to kill him. It wasn't uncommon for a gladiator to use up their ability to appease a crowd of onlookers. He wasn't one of them, the way they called for him, it was a clear indication that he still held them all in the palm of his servo.
He didn't care what those proclaimed to be above him thought – he was the best they had, and losing him, would mean losing all they had.
Turning toward the entrance doors to the arena, he shoved them open. Light from the arena blared into his optics, blinding him momentarily. All he heard was his name, a loud roar and the pounding of pede's against the solid metal ground. This was his moment, and he would take it. Raising his arms, the crowd's chants turned into blazing screams. It all blurred together, rooting him on, and in the midst, he could have sworn, some of them warning him. Then he felt it, a horn, jabbed into his side. He was thrown across the arena, his backplates crunching under the force. He couldn't follow what had happened, nor what was to happen, but he knew one thing for certain, he refused to lose.
