Orion POV
I stood at the opposite Alpha Trion waiting for the Archivist to finish writing in the large book open on his desk. Setting down his stylus, Alpha Trion looked up at me. "Megatronus didn't begin right away planning a revolution," he said. "Not on a planet-wide scale, in any case. He began by taking over the gangs who run the gladiator pits in Kaon and Slaughter City."
"Criminals," I said as he started to speak, then stopped again as he realized that he had been about to say that he thought this kind of criminality was inevitable in a caste-bound society.
Alpha Trion looked at me expectantly, then went on. "Before he had a name—or took a name—he was a champion gladiator. He had some success. That meant others of his caste looked to him for his strength. He became a leader without meaning to."
Images and video flashed across a holodisplay over Alpha Trion's desk. The images were of destroyed Cybertronians, each one labeled with a name. Indexing them quickly, I discovered that each victim had been involved in running the gladiator pits, and most of them had other criminal enterprises as well. In the video, Megatronus—this was the first time I had seen him—stood over the sparking and twitching body of one of the low-level crime bosses I had already seen in a still image. "It begins here," he said directly to the camera. Behind him a number of other gladiators raised their right arms, standing silently. "You who take your pleasure from our suffering, and turn our work into your leisure… you have forgotten what it is to be Cybertronian. Once this was the greatest planet in the galaxy. Now we have fallen. But we rise again, because there are yet Cybertronians who can envision the restoration of our former glory. I have never had a name, but now I take the name Megatronus, naming myself for the greatest of the Thirteen, the One who refused to bow before any of the others. Only by knowing how far we have fallen will we understand what it is to rise again. Cybertron!"
"Cybertron!" roared the other gladiators in unison.
The video cut out.
"You had not seen this?" Alpha Trion prompted me, I shook my head. "Ah. This is the fruit of discouraging ambition. We train generations of Cybertronians who do not imagine what might be done."
I was, unsure what to say, I remained silent. Alpha Trion smiled at me. "Never fear, Pax. I tell you simple truth. This is no game designed to entangle you in words you do not understand. All I say is that we live in a certain world. Few of us imagine what it might be like to live in another. But some of us… some of us remember what other worlds were like once. And some of us are foolish enough to wish that we might live in such a world again."
There was a pause in the room, broken only by the whisper of Alpha Trion's stylus on the pages of the book. "What are you writing?" I asked at last. "I am writing what I have learned," Alpha Trion said. "As time passes, we will all discover together whether I have understood correctly. But now you must return to your post. Think about what I have said." "I will," I promised.
And I did, all the way through the mazy corridors of the Hall of Records back to my station on the eighteenth floor, third from the northwest comer, where when the winds blew out of the north the cold made the lights of Iacon twinkle in the distance. I enjoyed being close to a window. Many of his colleagues were not.
Some of us are foolish enough to wish that we might live in such a world again…
What had Alpha Trion meant? I turned the Archivist's words over in my mind, and could reach no conclusion. No comfortable conclusion, in any event. The only way Alpha Trion's words made sense was as an encouragement to think—was this even safe to think in one's own mind? —to think beyond caste.
To remember that Cybertron had not always been so rigidly divided.
To imagine that a future might exist in which Cybertron was restored to its former greatness.
I listened, and cataloged, and archived, and indexed, but his mind was not on my work. The noises of the Grid were incomprehensible to me now that Alpha Trion had opened my mind to a possibility beyond Cybertron as it was.
Who was this Megatronus, this gladiator thug, killer of criminals and criminal himself, who gave voice to a longing that I had never known he felt?
Meanwhile at Konohagakure Uzumaki/Namikaze Compound library
Kushina has been hard at work trying to find a way to bring back her lost son Naruto back home into her arms but it's more difficult than it looks, it took her nearly four weeks just to find a proper tracking seal that was buried within in the Uzumaki library inside her own home that she neglected to look over the years as she skins through the sealing technique she realized it was a difficult seal it will take her many years just to finish it. But it will be worth it just to find her baby boy back into her arms where he belongs but she unaware that Naruto wasn't they baby anymore or even Naruto anymore but his is Orion now with a bright future ahead of him thanks to a certain God on his side and his furry companion.
As Kushina worked every day ignoring her two daughters her husband that they grew more worried about her then Naruto being gone they worried for her sanity and her house because she hasn't been eating sleeping all she's been doing is trying her best to finish the seal tracker and find her missing baby boy. Kushina wasn't the only who was effected with Naruto disappearances Minato was also affected his been trying drown in his paper work to keep his mind off his missing son.
hokage tower
Minato Namikaze is in his office trying to do his paperwork but couldn't. He sighed in frustration as he sat back and rubbed his head, thinking about a certain someone.
His son Naruto.
He looked at the picture on his desk which showed all of his family with smiles on their faces, except for Naruto, who had a sad look on his face as he stared at them. A sad and regretful look appeared on the Fourth's face as he remembered all the terrible things he and Kushina did and said to Naruto before he ran away or kidnap and especially disowning him.
"Naruto..." Minato thought as he started to remember the day he and Kushina found out about Naruto's disappearance.
*Flashback*
After Naruto disappeared
It's been a few days since Naruto had disappeared after stormy night. Minato and the rest of the family never noticed or didn't really care.
Hiruzen was worried. He hadn't seen his surrogate grandson in two weeks. Sure Naruto is distant from his family it wasn't that bad right. UN the less Hiruzen decided to check on him, but he was in a rude awakening when he finds out the Naruto disappeared, after Hiruzen found the letter that Naruto left for his so called family. He quickly told Jounin that Naruto ran away, shocking them, and to hurry and find him. The Jounin left and Hiruzen prayed that Naruto was still okay.
Tsume and her daughter Hana used her hounds to follow Naruto's scent that one lead to the Hokage Monument and the other lead to Village Gate they slid-up but only to come up empty as the scent died at the placed where he disappeared. The hounds began to whimper as they smelled something else and whatever it was scared them. Tsume noted that whatever the scent was it started to disappear as well. She wouldn't admit but the mysterious got her shivering a little in fear.
But the Jounin knew one thing.
Whatever that scent was, it had Naruto.
Hiruzen was truly heart broken by the news. None more so than Little Hinata who deeply cared for Naruto as she overheard the conversation, as she went to see if Naruto was with him. After hearing the news, she fainted on the ground.
The moment she woke up, she broke down into tears and hugged Hiruzen, crying out Naruto's name. After she calmed down, she went out told the people who really cared for Naruto and they were shock, sadness, and anger. Shock that Naruto ran away, sadness that someone took him, and anger to the Namikaze family.
Speaking of them...
Hiruzen would always see the Namikaze family together with bright smiles on their faces. Anger would appear on his face as he glared at Minato and Kushina. Not only did Minato and Kushina for not caring Naruto as their son, both of them and his students were still training with his former sisters not noticing Naruto was gone! HOW THE HELL COULD THEY EVEN SMILE LIKE THAT WITH NARUTO GONE!?
Enough was enough.
So, on the day when the girls went to their friend's house for a day date he marched right to the Estate with a scowl on his face. He walked up to the front door and knocked on it repeatedly. The door opened, showing it was Kushina Uzumaki.
"Old Man?" Kushina asked in a surpried tone. "What are you doing here?"
"Hello Kushina." Hiruzen said, in an emotionless voice, surprising and confusing her more. "May I come in?"
"Um...sure?" Kushina moved out of the way and let the former Hokage enter. She closed the door behind them and walked into the living room. "So what brings you-"
"Call Minato, Kushina." Hiruzen interrupted her. "There's something I need to talk about with you two."
Kushina raised an eyebrow but just nodded her head. She sent Chakra into her wedding ring and in a flash, Minato appeared right next to her. He was about to ask what was wrong but noticed thst Hiruzen was there with an emotionless expression
"Lord Hiruzen?" Minato asked. "What are you doing here?"
Hiruzen ignored the question. "Minato. Kushina. Tell me, where is Naruto?" He saw the two parents blinked at the question.
"Naruto?" Kushina said for a moment and thought when was the last time she saw Naruto, "he should be in his room." Said a confused Kushina not remembering where her son has been.
"If that is true bring him down here I would love to see him." Ask Hiruzen already knowing his answer. "Okay I'll go get him and bring him down?" asked Kushina, noticing Naruto wasn't at break-fist this morning, she thought as she made her way to Naruto's room but stopped at the door, Minato and Hiruzen right behind her only to see Kushina standing at the door.
"Kushina what's the matter?" Minato asked wondering why his wife didn't go in.
"I've never been in Naruto's room what if he gets mad." Said Kushina, but she pushes that aside and opens the door. When they looked inside they were shocked at how empty it looked, while Naruko and Narumi rooms were decorated Naruto's room was Spartan only decorations being a few this thing that his closes friends give to him and his paintings, 'Did Naruto paint these.' Thought Minato, grabbing one of a shining metal, technological world; a planet of towering future cities without end and vast metallic plains, spiraling metal mountains, and bottomless neon-lit chasms. Kushina noticed an envelope on the desk picking it up and opening it with trembling hands, inside were one piece of paper reading the first on caused Kushina to break down crying, seeing his wife cry Minato read the letter it said,
To my dear
'loved' Ex-family, I finally understood how you all feel about me, I wanted to say many more things but I won't have time for that, it wouldn't change anything I just wish you knew that you abandoned me, ignored me for my siblings and many other things but it seems my time is almost up but I have one more thing to say to you all "Fate rarely calls upon us at the moment of our choosing." As this opened my eyes to see the path before me, so Goodbye and good riddance Uzumaki Namikaze.
After reading the letter it caused Minato and Kushina to pale showing them that this paper that Naruto ran away leaving his family behind…No they can't even call themselves that, Minato turned to run outside when he saw something, another picture, only it wasn't a scene it was two hulking metal titans opposite sides of the conflict and fire and destruction around them as they get ready for battle. As Minato lost within the picture he didn't notice Hiruzen walking towards him, "So my thought was right young Naruto had left and hasn't been here for quite some time." Hiruzen said as he looked at the painting that Naruto left behind.
"Lord Hiruzen, where is he? Where's my little Naruto!?" Kushina pleaded, wanting to find him and apologize for everything.
"He's gone Kushina," Hiruzen said, causing the parent's eyes to widen.
"W-What do you mean he's gone!" Minato demanded.
"Because of what you and Kushina have done to him, he ran away from the Village. I sent Tsume and the others to go out and find him...only to discover that Naruto has been taken." Hiruzen answered causing them to gasp in horror. "Because of you two, someone or something has a defenseless 4-year-old child. I hope your happy for what you've done. Good day, Minato and Kushina."
The former Hokage vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving two heartbroken parents alone crying their eyes out.
*Flashback Ends*
It hasn't been a week and the fire Daimyo found out about Naruto's neglect giving Minato two choices have the villages funding cut or step down as Hokage. Minato chose to step down and name Tsunade the fifth Hokage she will be Hokage in couple days.
Minato was cut from his thoughts when Jiraiya came through the window "Sensei have you found him?" Minato asks his Jiraiya his teacher hoping for good news. Jiraiya frowned as he knew the news he was going to tell wasn't going to be easy. He remembered following Naruto's trail but he just disappears it also saddened him when it was his own godson was taken. He felt he was getting closer until he was called to where the toads told him the prophecy had changed.
"A child of my apprentice will either save the world or plunge it into darkness, aided by gods with the chains of destiny they will defeat a grave threat to humanity... This was the prophecy before Naruto disappeared." Jiraiya said and wait for Minato understand, what he was told he did allowing Jiraiya to continued, "And this is new prophecy A child will be reborn and become the Chosen One to rise to power he would gather the Autobots underneath him, severing their bonds of slavery and take back the and corruption on Cybertron to a land full of promise.
Minato was confused what was an Autobots and Cybertron could this place be where Naruto was taken to he just hope that they could find this Cybertron. "We fucked up didn't we?" questioned Minato, Jiraiya could only nod grimly.
Meanwhile back on Cybertron
The pit floor was rectangular, and large enough for a regiment to hold exercises on, two hundred mechanometers on its short sides and half again that distance on the long sides. It was made of ore pebbles crushed and discarded from the foundries because their concentration of metals was too low to be useful. Spaced at irregular intervals around the floor, mechanical debris and burning heaps of trash made optics tricky and created endless opportunities for tactical ambush and blind-side attacks. Surrounding the floor, four levels of seating rose vertically to a ceiling a hundred mechanos overhead. Banks of lights in every frequency from infrared to ultraviolet drenched the floor in the merciless light. The stands were jammed with workers in the factories and elemental refineries of Kaon, stomping their feet in rhythm until the entire balconies of each level bounced up and down to nearly the limits of the metal frame's tensile strength. The noise was already overwhelming and would grow so loud in the course of the match that the gladiators would fight with no input from their audio arrays save a constant maxed-out white noise.
A hundred times and more, Megatronus had entered a pit, either this one or another much like it. Every time he had emerged victorious. The Tournament of Champions—this arena circuit's grandiose name for itself— had now changed the rules for Megatronus's opponents, allowing them to enter first and assume alt-form if they chose. Anything they could scan and assimilate might be turned into a camouflage shape. It was a cowardly way to fight, but it worked in Megatronus's favor. When he could give the opponent the first shot—the opportunity to ambush him—and survive to win a total victory despite this, he looked invincible.
Word was spreading. It was not so many stellar cycles ago that Megatronus had been merely one of the more fearsome gladiators in the Kaon pits. Now he was without question the most feared. It had not been so long ago that Megatronus still had no name. Now he had chosen a name to strike fear into the timid and inspire loyalty among those who would follow him. That it was not his name did not concern him in the least; he who was born with no name did not care where his name came from when he took one.
There, he thought. My opponent is there.