Chapter 3-Megatron
The gladiator Pits of Tarn was dark, much like the rest of the city. The Acropolis Arena is one of many that reside within the depths of Tarn, one giant hole in the ground, rectangular and two hundred meters on its short sides and half that distance on its long sides. The ground was made of ore pebbles crushed and discarded from the foundries because the metals were too low in concentration. The grounds itself were littered with trash and mechanical debris to make the area more suitable for tactical ambushes and blind sides attacks.
Surrounding the floor were four levels of seating that rose a hundred mechanos overhead, banks of lights in every frequency from infrared to ultraviolet drenched the floor in merciless light the stands were jammed with workers from the factories and refineries of Tarn, 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 overwhelming, and it would only get worse as the arena match began.
This sight was nothing new for the gladiator known as Megatron. He had been in either this area not others like it hundreds of times and they all blur together after a while. This tournament circuit had rules that were meant to place his opponents at an advantage. They could enter the ring first and prepare with the assembled weapons that given to them or assume their alt modes and take tactical positions. He did not know who he was up against nor what their capabilities were. And in a way, it made things more fun.
When he heard the announcer call his name, he took a deep breath of the thick, smoky air and walked out into the arena. As soon as his large, silver form came into view, the crowd cheered his name, and he felt a smile spread across his face. Not too long ago, he was just another warrior in the arena, indistinguishable from the others who either joined willingly or were forced into it by forces outside their control. But now his name was known throughout the Badlands, from Tarn to Stryx, Megatron-he who shares his name with the Fallen. It would be the first time he was known to the world, and it will not be the last.
He walked into the arena, which was full of discarded parts from the losers of previous matches, all strewn about the place. These parts would be collected later for reconstruction, for nothing went to waste in Tarn. Seeing the smoking craters and scorch marks on the walls, Megatron realized that his opponent lacked any sense of subtlety.
"Hey boys! Looks like we got more scrap for the pile!"
Megatron didn't move as three beasts stepped into view from behind the scrap piles. They looked like the mechanimals from the wilderness, but Megatron could tell that they were in fact beast-formers, and ugly ones at that.
The first was a dark grey two headed dragon standing on two thin legs. The second was an ugly draconian beast with a short snout and, stubby arms and short but strong legs. The last member of the group was a fiery red insectoid monster with large mandibles on the side of its wide mouth and huge green eyes.
Megatron heard about these mechs. They were the Monsterbots; Doublecross, Grotesque and Repugnus. They were infamous among Tarn's population as being bounty hunters as savage as their beast modes. No one liked them, and they liked no one but themselves. Megatron seldom enjoyed fighting beast-formers as they were often the bots most affected by the caste system, but for these guys he'll make an exception.
"So you're the mech with the fancy writing whose been getting so much attention around here." Doubelcross growled, his two heads talking in synch. "I thought you'd be bigger."
"I've read your cute little scribbles, they're a joke. Get the slag out of our turf!" Repugnus yelled. "We don't need no fancy writer prancing around our home."
"I'm surprised you can even read." Megatron said. When fighting enemies who use brute strength above logical reasoning, getting them angry was the way to go. "If you want me gone, you're going to have to throw me out yourself."
Grotesque stalked forward, standing face to face with Megatron. His beast mode was a head taller than him, and they glared at each other, eye to eye. Blue optics to red.
"You must have a death wish, Megs. You should've thought twice before trapping yourself in here with us." He hissed.
"Oh that's where you're wrong." Megatron smirked. "I'm not trapped in here with you." He brought out his wrist blade. "You're trapped in here with me."
Moving too fast for Grotesque to follow, Megatron stabbed his sword into the mech's stomach and sliced upwards. The blade easily cut through circuitry and metal plating, gutting Grotesque before slicing both his spark and brain casing in two, killing him instantly. The crowd went ballistic at the brutal and unexpected move from their champion.
"You bastard!" Repugnus roared.
He charged at Megatron and slashed at him with his large claws, leaving a large gash on his chest plate that was only a few inches deep. Megatron made a note to stay clear of those claws. He ducked under twin streams of fire shot at him from behind, courtesy of Doublecross. Spinning around, he transformed into his vehicle mode, a heavily armored utility tank, and drove at the two-headed dragon at full speed.
Doublecross grunted as he was hit with enough force to rival a hit from a Primal Vanguard bruiser, who proceeded to slam him into the wall of the arena, electing more thunderous cries from the crowd. Both mechs transformed to robot mode, and Megatron tried to keep the now humanoid Doublecross from crushing his skull with his hands, which were his dragon heads in beast mode. Repugnus used this chance to charge at them from behind.
Sensing the other Monsterbot coming at him from behind, Megatron gritted his teeth and used his strength to tear off one of Doublecross's arms, turning around to slam the torn limb into Repugnus's head, knocking him into the ground. He then felt searing heat wash over the left side of his face and shoulder as flames spewed from Doublecross's other arm. The attack forced Megatron back a bit and the flames washed over his left arm. Megatron ignored the burning pain punched Doublecross in the face repeatedly, not letting up even as the mech continued to bath him in fire. Then the flames died down into a trickle as Megatron's punches caused severe damage to Doublecross's head, caving in his skull and crushing his brain module. It was a slow death for him.
When Megatron reared his arm back for a final blow to end his victim's suffering, he found his arm trapped in the crushing grip of a pincer claw. Repugnus pulled his arm back and lifted Megatron into the air before slamming him into the ground. He then threw Megatron into a metal spire that was jutting up from the ground, digging his back into the sharp metal shards.
Megatron dug his feet into the ground and grabbed a nearby weapon from near his foot-a mace. He then slammed the blunt weapon into the arm that was holding his limb, breaking the arm at the elbow. Repugnus retaliated by rushing forward and grabbing Megatron around the waist with his large mandibles, squeezing him tightly. Megatron grunted as he felt his armor groaning under the increasing pressure from the Monsterbot's mandibles and knew that he had get free soon.
He lifted the mace and slammed it down on one of the mandibles, forming a crack. He hit it again and it snapped off. With only one mandible holding him now, Megatron kicked Repugnus away and landed on his feet. Now he was free-and mad.
Repugnus transformed and fell on his back, no longer having the earlier bravado that he threw around. Seeing the seething Megatron advancing upon him put the fear of god into him, and he scrambled back.
"W-wait, wait! I concede! Please don-"
Megatron stabbed the broken mandible into Repugnus's head and didn't stop until his entire upper body was impaled on the sharp weapon, from his head to his waist. Megatron let the body drop and stepped back. All around him, the adulation rained down on him like energon, like life itself. Even now, through the pain engulfing half his body, Megatron could still hear them chanting his name.
"MEGATRON! MEGATRON! MEGATRON!"
He strode victoriously out of the arena and into the entrance tunnel. He tried to ignore the pain that was catching up to him as he walked deeper into the complex of abandoned maintenance tunnels below the factory district. They were used for the transportation of goods without suffering the hassle of trying to navigate the heavy traffic on the surface. Now most of the subterranean space was used for the highly illegal but profitable gladiator tournaments.
He made his way into the underground area that was reserved for the gladiators and the other bots who were associated to the Pits at some level. Here people like him lived, trained and were repaired here. The ones who died were used as resources to better the lives of others. It was a preferable fate than having your corpse rust for the Scraplets to feast on.
"Megatron!" Knockout, his personal physician, exclaimed flamboyantly as Megatron entered the medical bay where the warriors go their wounds repaired. "I just saw your match. You were glorious out there."
"Happy to meet your needs for visual perfection, Knockout." Megatron said dryly.
Knockout was a strange mech. Megatron bailed him out of a debt with the local mob before they were wiped out, and Knockout offered his services to Megatron as thanks. Knockout was forged in Harmonex, a city known for its artistic talents, somewhere down the line Knockout was blacklisted for murder because he enjoyed taking bots apart as much as he did putting them together. He went on the run, lived in Stryx where he started a short lived career as a drag racer before running to Tarn where he worked as a doctor for the gladiators. Yeah, he got around a lot.
Knockout led Megatron to a berth and sat him down before checking him over. A damaged left arm with severe metal burns, ruptured power lines along his waist, and a slight dented right arm leaking energon. All in all, it was a good day. Better than that time he lost an arm to that stupidly strong Minicon.
"Megatron?"
Megatron and Knockout looked towards the entrance and they both smiled, though for different reasons.
"Elmeth." The minute he said that name, all his aches and pains seemed to lessen.
Elmeth was one of the few bots who had the privilege of being Megatron's friend. She was a dainty femme, snow white, with a slender frame. Her legs were like the hind legs of a pneuma lion standing upright, and her small hands were sported three-fingered claws. Her face was smooth and polished with ruby red eyes that displayed an alarming clarity. All around her, the medical staff and even some of the gladiators present offered her their own greetings as she walked past them, and she returned them in kind.
"Good evening, dear Elmeth." Knockout strutted up to her and took her hand I his. "You're looking radiant as always."
Megatron rolled his eyes as Elmeth giggled. "Thank you, Knockout." She said.
"Did you forget that you have a wounded patient here, doctor?" Megatron said loudly. Knockout sent a dull glare his way but returned to his job all the same.
"Be nice, Megatron. Knockout is not that bad." She said.
"Right, and I'm Nova Prime." Megatron quipped. "How did the session go?"
"It went well. A lot of people are interested to see what else you'll say. You've got a lot of followers all over the Badlands, but mostly in Kaon and Tarn." Elmeth told him. "Though, that bombing in Iacon has gotten everyone on edge. Some bots think that you might bring the heat down on them if they support you."
"I'm not forcing them to rebel, Elemth. I'm trying to open their eyes to how backwards this world has become. If they don't like me fine," He shrugged. "At least have them listen to what I have to say."
"Though we could do without terrorist chanting your name before they level a city block." Knockout noted.
"Yes, that is a problem." Megatron frowned. The last thing he needed was people thinking he had a connection to the bombings that have been going on. Once that rumor catches fire, it'll spread and potentially start something that will only get worse as time goes on. "At least I'm getting attention. Despite the bad publicity."
"Yes," Elmeth frowned. "Lots of attention."
'And not necessarily the good kind.' She thought.
Megatron noticed her unease and motioned her to move closer. She always felt more comfortable around him. "Elmeth, what's wrong?"
"Megatron, this is not good for us. We can't have people destroying landmarks in your name. It'll only look bad for you." She said. "And the senate…"
"Won't do anything about it. A few bombings is beneath their concern." Megatron said bitterly. Like the senate would care about the deaths of a few common bots.
"I'm just saying, you know how ruthless they can be. You've heard the stories about the things they do."
"I can't just back out when things get scary. I have an obligation to our brothers and sisters in the lower castes." He said. "The poor and homeless. The mechs and femmes treated like dirt because they don't change into something useful. Bots like you."
Knockout stood to the side watching the unexpectedly tense exchange. This was better than most dramas on the Net.
"I know," Elmeth muttered. "I just want you to at least try to be careful. The senate is unpredictable, as are the Legislators. You can't take them on all alone."
"Which is why I must do this. So that the people of Cybertron stand together and face the senate head on as a unified force. The senate may ignore this now, but if enough people rise up and demand change, then the situation will be too big for the senate to ignore. That's why they're going to such great lengths to curb us. Divided we are weak. United we are as strong as any government official or Prime."
"Till all are one." Elmeth said. Megatron smiled and nodded.
"Yes."
Elmeth wanted to be strong for Megatron, to be there as that helping hand that no one offered to him, despite everything he had done for their independence. But she was so scared. As a beast-former, she was born with a target on her back. Those who changed into animals were considered freaks, labeled as useless wastes of space that have no place in the so-called "perfect" Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy. Much of Cybertro's beast population lived in the wilderness or in the underground, trying to survive and getting caught up in criminal activities to make a living. Of course, not all of them were victims, some were bad to the core, but it didn't help the general image of them as savages who lie and cheat.
But she would not falter. She would be strong for Megatron. She was fighting for people like her who were born into a harsh world of stasis that refuses to change even as the universe passes them by.
Megatron got off the berth and stood in front of her. "I need you to be there for me, Elmeth. We outcasts must stand together. Are you with me?"
Elmeth's red lips spread into a smile and she took his large hands in her smaller ones.
"Always."
XXXXXXXXX
Nightshade stood on top of a cliff overlooking the silver plated landscape of Tesarus. She had been there since dawn, waiting for her prey to come. At ground level Blackbeetle was hidden amongst the rocks in beast mode, waiting for her signal. When the sun began to peak over the horizon, she turned to her companion.
"Soundwave," She said. "Can you hear them?"
The blue and white mech standing at her side nodded. He stood a head taller than her, with no facial features save for his red visor and silver mouthplate. Mounted behind his head was a satellite dish, and his shoulders and legs sported heavy duty treads that were from his alt mode.
"I can hear them," Soundwave said in a robotic-for a cybertronian-voice. "Two caravans, each holding six soldiers. All Legislators."
"Good." Nightshade said, eyes narrowing.
In the distance, she could see two armored trucks driving through the wilderness. When they passed between the two spiral formations, she drew her twin swords from her waist and plugged them together at the hilts. A string connected the tips of the blades and suddenly she was holding onto a bow. Beside her, Soundwave transformed into his alt mode-an all terrain surveillance vehicle. His job was also important, scramble enemy communications so they can't call for help.
Nightshade pulled the string on her bow back and a pointed bolt of energy materialized in the bow. She aimed it to the sky and fired the arrow, sending it into the sky faster than any Seeker could fly. That was the signal.
As soon as the convoys got close enough, Blackbeetle flew out from her hiding place and ascended into the air where she proceeded to fire three rockets from the antenna on her beast mode's head. The rockets hit the ground around the convoys, causing them to swerve to avoid getting blown to pieces. Of course the transports were able to take anything up to a plasma charge, but the drivers avoided the rockets out of reflex, and they went spiraling out of control.
One convoy tipped over, while the other skidded to a stop and the back hatch opened for the six soldiers-the Legislator's private militia, the Enforcers-, all carrying heavy weapons, flooded out the vehicle and opened fire on Blackbeetle. She weaved through the air, firing rockets at them while taking the projectile and blaster fire head on with little damage to her thick armor. When she saw the other six start the climb out the other convoy that was when Nightshade entered the battle.
She jumped off the cliff and transformed to beast mode. Swooping down upon the second batch of Enforcers, the feathers on her wings opened up and fired six small but lethal missile darts at targets she designated with her beast mode's laser guided vision. The poor soldiers didn't notice the assault until it was too late. The missile darts exploded all over the place, some hitting the ground or being shot out of the sky, but most hit their targets. Five of the six Enforcers had their heads and torsos blown to pieces as the armor piercing darts killed them on impact.
Nightshade switched to robot mode and landed in front of the last soldier. The mech scrambled back and tried to fire his plasma cannon, but she quickly got past his guard and took his head off with one swing of her sword.
Shadowkat sprung from the ground in the middle of the six remaining soldiers, catching them off guard.
"Where did she come from?"
"Shoot her?"
They opened fire, but their blaster bolts phased through her and hit each other instead. She turned solid and grabbed one of the uninjured mechs, phasing him through the ground and stopping when only his head remained. Then she made him solid and he didn't have a chance to scream as his head was separated from his body.
Blackbeetle landed on the ground and transformed, slamming her fist into the nearest Enforcer, taking his head clean off in a single punch. The other Enforcer fired his cannon and caught her in the shoulder, but Shadowkat phased her hands through her body and snatched the cannon from his hands. Then she grabbed his shoulders and phased him through the ground up to his knees, severing his legs. Before he could move, Blackbeetle leaned down and brutally tore his arms off in a shower of sparks. Within minutes, the last Enforcer was nothing but a torso on the ground, at the mercy of these terrorists.
"I'll never tell you anything, freaks!" He growled. "So you better kill me now!"
"We won't kill you. Not yet." Nightshade walked up to him in her slow, predatory gait. "And we don't need you to talk either. Soundwave."
Soundwave slid down the cliff and walked towards them. He approached the crippled Enforcer silently and knelt down, grabbing his head. The Enforcer was about to demand what they were doing, when he felt something probe into his mind.
Soundwave was a secret Outlier, one whose hearing was so acute that he could even monitor the electrical impulses of nearby minds, granting him close range telepathy. It was a power that he rarely used since Ravage and Lazerbeak helped him master it, but being with Nightshade taught him that he could use it for himself if used the right way. Like learning the secrets of an Enforcer.
After waiting a while, Nightshade asked him if the mech knew what they wanted. Soundwave looked up at her and said, "I have all that we need. He is of no use to us now."
"Thank you, Soundwave." She looked down at the disoriented Enforcer. "And thank you for your contribution will help us in liberating the people of Cybertron. Your reward…a quick death."
Nightshade leveled her bow at the Enforcer and pulled the string back. Shadowkat forced herself not to look away as Nightshade fired an arrow at the mech's head, killing him instantly.
"So now that we got that job done," Blackbeetle said, placing an arm around Shadowkat's shoulders. "Mind telling us what info we just got from him?"
"In due time, Blackbeetle. There are some other things I need to do before I let you two in on the secret." Nightshade said cryptically. "But I will tell you this-it's going to be one hell of a ride."