Hey! Welcome to the next chapter of The Alchemist!

My summer vacation is coming up soon, so I'm really happy about that. Soon, I'll have spare time, which I can spend doing nothing but writing.

This chapter, I'll be introducing a familiar character with a knack for explosives, as well as the small handful of OC's, mostly there because I needed characters. Either way, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers series. I should probably have the disclaimer up more often, but I forget.

And without further ado, on with the show!


Chapter 7


Energon, the substance that provided immortality, was a pain to cultivate. It required so many variables, plus the perfect conditions to place a single drop of an energon starter product known as Cyber Nucleic Acid, CNA for short, in order to start the process of creating an energon field. The substance couldn't just be made; it had to be planted from CNA, which would then sink into the dirt, expand itself, and in thirty to forty years, would become a full-on energon mine. The longer you left it for, the more energon would come out of it, but if you waited any less time than at least twenty-five years to excavate the spot where one planted the CNA, you would get absolutely no results, just a partially hatched seed that hadn't been given a chance to become it's true form.

The Alchemist of Primas where still attempting to find a faster, more efficient way to create the Philosopher's Stone, which led to the theories of synthetic energon, through a batch had yet to be properly made.

Energon itself wasn't truly a perfect philosopher's stone, though the Primians wanted other countries to think so. The energon would keep one from aging, and they would never get sick, or die of starvation and such. However, if the stone was perfect, the immortal would be absolutely invincible, which they were not.

It they got stabbed by a sword in a fatal place, they could survive, but they would feel the pain given with such an action. Plus, if they lost a limb or necessary internal organ, they could still survive, though it would be a struggle. However, a perfect Philosopher's Stone would allow the limb to grow back, much like a starfish, and while limbs could be reattached with energon, they couldn't be grown, meaning that if you lost your cut-off arm, you'd have to find a different limb to replace it with.

Even more a sign of Energon's imperfections where that it could run out. Once an energon crystal is processed into an elixir, a person could drink it and become immortal. However, it worked much like blood. The normal human blood would eventually become non-existant, and energon would flow through one's vain's instead. Like blood, it would get pumped by the heart, and like blood, it could be lost. Meaning that a so-called "immortal" could die by either rapid energon loss, or the destruction of their heart.

The formula for immortality was not perfect, much as the alchemist wished it was. Though, it was said that basic immortality would be as perfect as the body could get, and true immortality could only be received once one became a Prime.

There where other methods to find true immortality of corse. The theory of synthetic energon was believed by some to be the answer to their question, and other's chased down the legends of Red Energon; an elixir for immortality that looked more like the Philosopher's Stone than energon ever would; that was created by cultivating energon. It was believed that with the red energon, one would be able to walk faster than light, and have skin made from iron, though, nobody knew whether or not red energon ever ran dry in one's body.

The last theory, and most likely correct, is Cybermatter; using CNA and other alchemical components to create an artificial life spark, or, as it was sometimes referred to, a homunculus soul. The homunculus soul could be used to produce liquid CNA, which could then be alchemically transformed into Cybermatter; the substance that was believed to contribute to the building blocks of life. In other words, the energy that made up the flow of the world was cybermatter, and the ability to create such an energy through artificial means would supply the creator the true Philosopher's Stone.

Unfortunately, not even a homunculus soul had ever managed to be created.

So, until then, the immortals of Primus would gather their energon through basic means, planting CNA, waiting a few decades, and then mining it out.

There was one particular mine in the northern district in Iacon, where Ironhide's parents worked. Due to planting a large number of CNA drops whenever they found the perfect conditions, the place quickly became the largest energon mine on Primas, and seemed a long ways from running dry.

Stargazer, Ironhide's mother, was quite the chatterbox, and often ended up attracting a large amount of friends to listen to her gossip. Most went to her for such information, since she somehow seemed to always be on top of the latest news, no matter what it was. A close friend of Stargazer's, Coiler, had a son who was a usual playmate of Ironhide's, and therefore Orions. The group of boys loved the little redhead who joined their group, and had often wondered why he didn't come out to play more often.

"Well, it turns out poor Orion Pax is a slave," Stargazer said bitterly. She had not forgiven society for whipping the poor child until he bleed, and still remembered how they turned a little boy's beautiful back into butchered meat. "Those knockup slavers accused him of assaulting my son when the two where playing together, and whipped him until he bled. Poor baby, his back looked like Nightglaze's arm after it got crushed under those rocks,"

"Oh my!" Coiler exclaimed in shock, stopping her work to stare at the poor woman. "That poor child. I should've known he was being abused; The kid was so skinny his ribs where showing,"

"Well, you wouldn't know. I mean, that boy can read. He's the only slave I've ever met that could actually pick up a book and digest the words," Stargazer explained.

"If he could read, why is he a slave?" Coiler questioned.

"His master," She spat the word out bitterly. "Is Alpha Trion. Apparently the guy was looking for some smart kid to be a lab assistance of sorts. It's probably why they're keeping him small; so he can't fight back,"

While mining gossip usually never got around that much, stories of slaves that could read where rare, and the boy himself was seen as an anomaly; something only spotted in fantasy. So when Coiler told her son the reason Orion Pax rarely ever came to the park to play with him and the other boys, Coiler's daughter picked up on this story, and told it to a few friends from school.

"Did you know that there is a slave who can read?" She told them. "My younger brother is friends with the boy. His name is Orion Pax,"

One of her friends happened to be dating this one particular boy, whose father was a servant in the household of a rich businessman. So that friend told her boyfriend about Orion Pax, and he told his father, who then told the staff. The story of a slave that could read was an interesting topic, and one that spurred much discussion around dinner tables. Knowing this, the businessman took the rumor as something he could talk about with his clients at dinner parties to pass the time.

Rumors of Orion Pax spread across Iacon in rapid and hushed whispers. As the little red-haired boy approached the sixth month mark from when he was sold, the whisperings were beginning to spread to nearby cities. A slave who lived in Iacon could read. His name was Orion Pax. He was the embodiment of a feared legion; a slave who could read was a slave that could topple all that their society was built on. Whispers of fear, excitement, or a general desire to talk about some interesting gossip for once, surrounded the boy's name. Orion Pax, the slave who could read.

It was only a year after Orion Pax and Megatronus had been sold and separated, that the rumors of the slave who could read finally reached Kaon, where the formerly nameless gladiator boy finally heard word of his young friends condition.

There was a boy from Iacon who was around ten years old. His parents couldn't afford to take care of their little boy, so, when he was five, they dropped him at the slave houses, knowing that his life might be hell but at least he would get fed. They wished they could place him in an orphanage, but only children with status were able to become a legal orphan, instead of a slave. So, the five-year-old boy was branded, sold, and thrown from property to property like a child's lost ball. By the time he was ten, he was sold off to the Pit of Kaon, the Trainer hoping to have the child grow into a deadly warrior by starting his training young. It was mostly an experiment, but either way, the little boy would serve his purpose.

He was tall for his age, and also bulky, a layer of fat that would dissolve into muscle once he hit puberty sitting on his body. He was chubby, but the kind of chubby a growing boy should be. He was also healthy, high in spirit, and wouldn't mind fighting battles (not like he knew what he was getting himself into, his mind was preoccupied by the notion of having epic sword fights). He was pale, with equally pale blond hair, and grey eyes. The ten-year-old was also lucky enough to carry a name with him; Jackie. Though, the Trainer had decided to change his name to Wheeljack, which the young boy thought was just as awesome as the name he carried since birth.

Wheeljack had heard the rumor from the owner of an old inn, that the Trainer had stopped at when going from the slave houses in Iacon to Kaon. He thought nothing of it at first, but when he was given the opportunity to sit down and have a friendly chat with some of the younger gladiators, he found himself the chance to rely the strange rumor.

Metaronus was now eighteen. In the year, his hair had grown out, and now hung in short bundles around his face. He made sure to cut it, in order to keep it from growing too long, but there was only so much hair-cutting one could do when the only means they had to cut it with was a knife. He had grown a few inches, reaching the impressive height of 6'9". He was now taller than Soundwave, a man of 6'7", and even taller than the twins, even with their growth spurt.

Skyquake and Dreadwing, now fourteen, had grown a few inches taller, though they didn't much look it since Megatronus had managed to become taller than them. They were still big and bulky, and had quickly learned to stomach the gore and death of the gladiator pits.

The team, now Pit #2, felt like it was another lifetime since they engaged in their first tournament. From that day, they killed, and they killed, and they killed, but they lived. It was almost poetic, how they and their opponents would fight to the death, with the only benefit of the battle being that they'd get to live another day. One stood, living, and one fell, dead. And nobody rises, because each time, they'd just be fighting to make it to the next battle, so that they could fight again to make it to the battle after that.

Many of the younger gladiators had taken to Megatronus as a kind of mentor, mostly because he was the only veteran that ever bothered with them. Most veterans viewed the boys looking to them for help as a waist of their time; a distraction from trying to survive. And while Megatronus saw no benefit in helping the younger gladiators, he just had a nagging feeling someplace in his gut that he should. Besides, he had allowed the twins to turn him into their big brother figure when they were shoved into a bloodbath at thirteen, and had no source of parental comfort besides the seventeen-year-old who didn't shove them away when they came to talk to him, and in return, Megatronus had found a pair of irreplaceable allies within the twins. Not only were they a strong assistance on the battlefield, but they also were just good friends to confide in.

When little ten-year-old Wheeljack was brought into the Pit in order to be raised a perfect gladiator, it only seemed natural to Megatronus that he would be the one to look after the young boy; that he would be the veteran who protected and comforted the young child. The Trainer may not have intended to introduce the little boy to life-or-death battles yet, but Primus knows what he had done to the poor kid, and considering the boys night terrors, weekly disappearances into faculty only parts of the buildings, and his odd combination of fear and neediness towards the Trainer, Megatronus didn't have to be educated to figure out what the knockup was doing to poor Jackie.

Still, the boy remained oddly positive, and was completely starstruck by the older gladiators, and would hang out with them as much as possible. And eventually, during their times to just hang out and relax, Jackie brought up his story about the slave who could read.

Megatronus, the twins, Jakie, and a small handful of other boys were sitting in the breakroom, chowing down on food. Megatronus had allowed himself to try a small glass of beer, and while he liked it's sensation, he knew better than to drink too much, only allowing himself one small glass. He had been making a tiring effort to keep the twins, Jackie, and another boy of fourteen named Hitgame, who where currently the youngest of the gladiator boys, from having drinks themselves.

"Come on! All the veterans get to have beer!" Jackie pouted as the older boy grabbed the bottle and put it atop a shelf the boy couldn't reach.

"Most of the veterans are sixteen and over," Megatronus reminded the ten-year-old. "I'm not letting the twins or Hitgame have drinks either,"

"Well who put you in charge of the booz," Hitgame grumbled.

"It seems I'm the only veteran who wants to bother taking care of you younger boys, so that makes me in charge of your health," Megatronus explained, exasperated. "But you guys could get yourselves intoxicated. If you want to end up dying in the pits, then be my guest,"

The four young boys finally backed down after that statement.

"I'm only drinking a small cupful anyways, mostly just to see what all the other guys like so much about this slag," Megatronus added. He had become accustomed to using Primidian curse words, though he still found a few of his curse words more effective. "So far, I'm not really seeing the appeal," He added, only halfway lying, since he liked the taste, but knew the side effects.

Jackie shrugged. "I guess I'm not missing out on much then,"

The five boys claimed a table for themselves. There was a different table where the other seventeen and eighteen year old boys where sitting, that Megatronus could've easily joined, but since he entered self-appointed post of resident mentor and big brother for the younger gladiators, he had spent most of his time hanging out with them. After all, somebody had to take care of them.

"I'm curious," Hitgame threw out. "What's Iacon like, Jackie,"

"It's pretty cool!" The young boy said. "Every important person on Primas lives in Iacon. And there are so many different types of people. It's all strange and stuff. I mean, in Iacon, there's a legion of a slave who can read! You won't find something like that anyplace else!"

Hitgame started laughing, explaining how it couldn't be true, but Megatronus' mind was reeling. Iacon. Could that be the place his friend was taken to? Little Orion Pax, who could read but who couldn't fight; who was intelligent but physically weak. The prodigy; the slave who could read; his friend. All the way in Iacon. Orion was right. They would see eachother again. But it had been a year. Would the boy remember some kid without a name who he fell asleep on in the slave ship?

"What was his name?" Megatronus finally asked the ten year old. His voice was barely above a whisper, and sounded desperate; pleading. As if learning the name of the slave who could read would give him peace.

The older boy could not miss the look of concern on Jackie's face as the young boy tried to conjure up the memory.

"Obrion Something," He hummed out, before backtracking since it didn't sound right. "No, that's not… his last name, had sort of a box-ish sound to it. Obrion, Brion, something, Tax, Drax…"

"Orion Pax," Megatronus supplied, ending the ten-year-old's suffering.

"Yeah!" He cheered. "That was it! Orion Pax; the slave who could read!"

Megatronus looked down at his plate with a smile. He had promised he'd see Orion again. Whenever he questioned if his life was really worth fighting for, he would remember this. If he dies, he wouldn't fulfill his promise, the younger gladiators wouldn't have anyone to look after him, and neither he or little Orion would ever be free. The boy was a part of his life, and if he just let himself die, then all the possibilities Megatronus carried would die with him. And he was determined not to die a slave, and not to die without fulfilling his promise to Orion. And he suddenly felt the guilt of slaughtering opponents in the Gladiator Pit's lift off his shoulders. He hadn't been fighting for nothing. His life had meaning, and he was fighting for it.

"I know him," Megatronus whispered, quiet joy spilling out from his fibers.

"You're pulling my leg!" Hitgame scoffed, convinced that this 'slave who could read' didn't exist.

"No!" Megatronus insisted. "I really do," He finally looked all the other boys in the eye, a large smile stretched onto his face. "I met the boy on the slave ship that carried me here. We were separated at the slave docs, but we promised we'd find each other someday! And now I know Orion's alive, and in Iacon,"

"Which is sorta on the opposite side of the island than Kaon," Jackie brought up, sounding guilty about bursting the bubble.

"Well, we are a traveling gladiator company," Skyquake mentioned. "I mean, there are gladiator pits in Iacon, right?"

"But those are for the big leagues," Jackie protested. "Only the greatest companies get to battle with the Iacon gladiators,"

"Does the Trainer know this?" Megatronus questioned.

The twins suddenly looked at each other and smiled. "Maybe, maybe not," Dreadwing began.

"But you know our Trainer," Skyquake said with a smile. "He'd jump on any chance he got to prove that our company is the best. With a little bit of luck, we'll be off to Iacon in no time!"

That bit of luck came in the form of a gladiator match about a month later. As per usual, the twins would sit out for the second round, and Soundwave would take on the final rounds. Megatronus had become accustomed to killing his opponents while they were incapacitated by Soundwave's screaming, and it barely fazed him anymore. He had to kill younger opponents more than once, thought that also didn't phase him as much anymore. They were just opponents. People in the way of his life. People trying to end his life so they could keep theirs. And he would not let them do such a thing.

For the first time in nearly forty years in, a gladiator company (their company) in Kaon, won every single match. Not a single warrior in the Pit's of Kaon had died during that match, and the gladiators got to celebrate the greatest victory they had ever fought. Only the oldest of veterans could remember the last time such a victory was achieved in Kaon, and the others simply praised the fact that they didn't have to mourn for any of their friends.

Of course, new's of such a rare victory spread throughout all of Kaon, officially marking the Pit as the greatest gladiator company in the city. This gave them a shot at competing in the Primas Olympics; a treat that the company had never been able to achieve before.

"This is awesome!" Flametrekker, a nineteen-year-old veteran, cheered upon hearing the news. "I've always wanted a chance to get out of town!"

"We might even get to go to Iacon!" Jackie cheered. "I wonder if I'll get to see Chromia there,"

"Who's Chromia?" Flametrekker questioned.

"A friend of mine!" Jackie said enthusiastically. "Her mom owns a supplies shop I often ran errands to. She's probably sixteen by now,"

"This is it," Megatronus said with glee. "This is the chance we've been waiting for,"

"Chance for what?" Asked Dreadwing.

Megatronus took a glance around, making sure nobody was listening in, before huddling the younger boys around him. Him, the twins, Jackie, Flametrekker, Hitgame, a 16-year-old named Wolverine, and an 18-year-old named Stain. That would be a good group.

"If we get to Iacon, we're gonna escape," Megatronus told them.

"What?!" Most of the boys gasped out in disbelief.

"Shh!" Megatronus snapped, silencing them. "You've heard what Jackie said about Iacon; there's so many people there, anybody could blend right in. There's enough clothes stores that we could probably steal some gloves to cover our brand marks, an we just wonder the streets until we figure out what to do. I'm going to find Orion, Jackie can probably look for Chromida, and we'll figure out what to do from there,"

"This is insane!" Stain insisted. "We can't even read!"

"We'll learn somehow eventually," Megatronus insisted. "If we get to Iacon, we can escape the arena,"

"And how exactly are we gonna do that?" Hitgame questioned in scepticism.

"I think I have an idea," Jackie spoke up quietly, a smile on his face that slowly began to widen. "How do you guys feel about blowing stuff up?"


Ah, Wheeljack. Your ten years old, how do you know how to blow things up?

I couldn't have every person Megatronus knew pre-war be Decepticons. Plus, I needed a character who worked with explosives for an important plot point, and I couldn't resist adding Jackie into the mix.

Obviously, this establishes a whole new relationship. Since Jackie is friends with Megatronus, when the war starts, Jackie's obviously gonna have some personal issues to work for. His place with the Autobots is a complicated one, and frankly, I'm excited for what's gonna become of his character.

~MotherUniverse signing out.