Prompt: Karma
Xeon had long had suspicions of what had become of his twin gladiators after Kaon had been claimed by the Decepticons. He was smugly pleased to learn he had been right. He knew those two well.
Though he was, admittedly, surprised to find them standing next to the Prime himself, playing bodyguard to him. Anyone who knew of the war, which was everyone, knew that Optimus did not need bodyguards to protect himself. No, here, on this remote planet, the Prime was making a very clear statement to any Cybertronians who heeded his call: he ruled all Cybertronians, and he was not afraid to meet those who dissented violently with the same violence.
That Optimus had learned a few tricks from Megatron during the war did not matter to Xeon. He had operated his schools before and during the Prime's rule, and he would do so long after, even if he no longer had a Lord High Protector to keep the Prime off his back.
Perhaps, though, he could get the Prime's bodyguards back under his sway. That would be nearly as good as a Lord High Protector's word.
The few native creatures that saw him as he tracked the Twins across the city that night paid him little heed. He slipped quietly through their streets, past their human-sized buildings (some of which were surprisingly large indeed), into the newer section of the city, one with properly Cybertronian constructions. It was a fair enough substitute for their home world, he thought. He could work with this.
His first problem, he realized, was that he found Sunstreaker, not his brother, many stories up in one of the Cybertronian buildings. Sideswipe would have been almost too easy to get back into his grasp. Sunstreaker would take a bit more effort.
The gold mech had a slightly different appearance from when Xeon had last seen him, and unfortunate side effect of assuming an altmode the natives wouldn't balk at. But Sunstreaker himself was no different. His spark had not changed that much.
"Imagine finding you here," Xeon said softly in Cybertronian as he neared the gladiator.
Sunstreaker only stared for a moment, blue optics shining brightly in the dim light. "You."
"Come with me." He was using a tone of voice he carefully trained all his gladiators to obey, even if they objected. Subconscious control of a gladiator's mind was a nice little trick, and one that was invaluable to a school master.
His words had the immediate effect on Sunstreaker that he had planned. The mech took an involuntary step toward him. But then he hesitated.
Xeon narrowed his optics slightly. Perhaps he had underestimated how much effort he'd need to put into this one. "Come."
Sunstreaker didn't move this time. Instead, his face took on his famous expression of rage. "You."
This mech had always been particularly troublesome for Xeon. Sunstreaker would have died before Xeon had broken him to his will all those vorns ago, if Sideswipe and Crossblades hadn't intervened. Perhaps the gladiator needed a reminder of who owned him. Xeon clasped his hands behind his back, reaching beneath the long quills that draped from his armor. He carefully wrapped his fingers around the shaft of the energon prod he still carried hidden there.
Sunstreaker was quite familiar with that energon prod.
Xeon had no time to pull out the prod as Sunstreaker charged foward, claws bared, shining golden spines lifted aggressively. He hit Xeon with a loud crash and kept going, until the school master felt his back against the window. The window shattered easily. They fell.
It was not the longest fall Xeon had ever taken, but that didn't mean hitting the street below didn't hurt. He quickly rolled from under Sunstreaker, quills flashing behind him, trailing his every move. He had his energon prod free now, and he jabbed it forward.
The prod caught Sunstreaker around his left arm, but as the mech was coming at him with his right arm, it did little to stop him. Xeon quickly disengaged and rolled away again; Sunstreaker's claws only hit Xeon's quills, passing harmlessly through them.
On his feet now, Xeon slid behind the larger mech and stabbed the energon prod into his back. Sunstreaker fell face-first to the pavement, snarling and gasping as the energy wracked his body. "You've grown lazy," Xeon commented before removing the prod. "I can fix that. Come with me."
Sunstreaker was still weak and trembling from the prod, but he managed to lash back with a foot, catching Xeon in his legs. The school master was knocked off his feet. Before he could react, his gladiator had him pinned to the ground. "How'd you get this close to Optimus?" Sunstreaker growled. "Who did you bribe?"
Xeon laughed. "That fool of a Prime's really gotten you to be his hound, doesn't he?"
"And he didn't need one of these to do it." Sunstreaker had grabbed the energon prod from his hand. He tossed it away. Not that Xeon really needed it to best anyone in a fight.
His second problem, he realized, was that he was fighting Sunstreaker, not his brother. Sideswipe, he could break. Sunstreaker, especially a Sunstreaker who had some new undeserved sense of self...
Those golden claws were prying into Xeon's chest armor. "You want to know what I promised myself, that day Kaon fell?" His face was threateningly close to Xeon's, a fury in his optics that the school master could almost feel. "That yours would be the last spark I ate."
"Kalet." He was using his command voice again. Stop. Refrain. Calm. "Kalet!"
His third problem, he realized-
