Chapter 2: The Pits of Kaon
Lightstar lay alone in her berth, sore and feeling sick. Her stomach hurt, her face was bruised, and she had a terrible helmache.
Sitting up slightly, Lightstar checked the time to see that it was about 4 in the morning. Early to most, but she knew that her little brother Breakdown would be getting up soon... She should clean herself up before he got up and found her this way.
Groaning softly, Lightstar got up and limped slightly as she made her way towards the washracks... Barricade had not been gentle, but she was used to that now. Few of her business partners, or "friends" as she told Breakdown, were, so she stopped expecting it.
Lightstar vented softly as she cleaned herself off quickly, getting out of the washracks and quickly replacing her armour just as Breakdown appeared.
"Lightstar?" The tiny voice of the small blue mech asked, coming into her room.
Putting on a smile, Lightstar turned and looked at him. "Hey, Breaky. You're up early." She smiled in a teasing tone, using her nickname for him.
Breakdown rolled his yellow optics at her. "I don't like it when you call me Breaky!" He cried in exasperation, throwing his arms in the air as his sister laughed. "I know you like it." She answered, the smile reaching her optics now, making them light up.
Rolling his optics a second time, Breakdown snorted and crossed his arms. "Did you have any friends over? What about the one last night? Did they pay you or forget to again?" He asked, looking up at her.
Lighstar vented softly as she looked down at him. "They forgot to pay me again." She answered softly. It was a lie she had created since the time Breakdown became old enough to begin asking questions.
Growling softly under his breath, the small blue mech looked up at her. "Where are you going today?" He asked her curiously.
Breakdown looked up at her as his sister looked down at him. "I'm going further into Kaon." She answered softly.
Shifting slightly in excitement, Breakdown's arms uncrossed on their own. "Can I come?" He asked excitedly. "Is it near the pits where Megatronous fights?" He added, nearly hopping around the room in excitement.
Lightstar vented. "No, Breakdown, you may not come." She answered, picking him up and setting him on her berth. "You will have to stay here." She added.
In fact, Lightstar was not only going to be near the pits of Kaon, she was going into it... The gladiators might just so happen to be better than the mechs around her home... The very least would be that some of them would pay for her services.
"Why not?" Breakdown questioned, looking up at her with a frown on his faceplates.
Shaking her head, Lightstar put on a smile. "It's too dangerous for a little mechling like you." She answered, kissing his helm.
"But you said I was big like sire!" Breakdown responded defensively.
"No." Lightstar answered calmly. "I said you would be big like sire." She responded as she straightened to her full height. "You may play outside, but watch out for the slavers." She told him.
Slavers were common day, especially around areas like where they lived.
Standing upright, Lightstar smiled down at him again. She wished she could stay with him... Play with him... She wished she didn't have to do this kind of work, but she was put in a place where she didn't have a choice... She had to take care of Breakdown, and this was the only way someone as low in the castes as her could make any sort of profit... If any.
"I'll be back later tonight." Lightstar told him gently. "I want you in your berth by the time I get home, alright?" She asked him with a slight smile.
Breakdown vented softly as his sister left, watching her leave him alone in her bedroom. He sat, little pedes hanging over the side of the berth. He wanted to go to the pits of Kaon so badly! He wanted to meet Megatronous!
An idea wormed its way into Breakdown's tiny processor. Why not go and see Megatronous? He thought, a smile breaking out over his faceplate. He knew his way around Kaon pretty well... He could probably find the Pits quite easily... Especially since you could see it's walls from his window.
Giddy with excitement, Breakdown got off of the berth and hurried down for the door, opening it and going outside, slamming it shut behind him as he hopped off of the porch, looking towards the massive structure in the distance, running towards it.
A long while had passed, and now Breakdown was only walking. It had taken a long time for the structure to gain any size whatsoever, but now he was walking along the wall.
Finding an entrance, Breakdown smiled and walked into it, coming out into the empty arena.
Breakdown looked around in excitement, a wide smile on his faceplates. He had never been in the arena before!
Smiling widely, Breakdown walked around it, but then he saw something that scared him... The offlined body of a small, young mech. His abdomen was ripped open and his optics were dark as his mouth hung open, energon pooled around him.
Screaming in fright, Breakdown fell onto his back, scooting away from it to bump into another.
Breakdown scrambled to his feet and ran into a doorway, breathing hard in the darkened interior as he looked out over the arena and several bodies.
Breathing hard, Breakdown looked around to see that he was in a large, long hall. Curious, he began to walk down it quietly, looking around himself in excitement. He was actually in the Pits of Kaon!
Voices reached his audios and Breakdown quickly hid in a small crevace in the wall, pressing himself against it while he peeked out to see who it was.
Two figures rounded the corner, and Breakdown gasped when he recognized one as one of the greatest gladiators... Soundwave! The second was smaller and looked more feminine, but he couldn't see her well enough to determine if he recognized her or not.
At the sound of his gasp, Soundwave's helm swiveled to look towards him, pausing in his walk as his visor glared at the small hole.
Breakdown whimpered softly and pressed himself further into it, spark beating wildly as he waited to see if Soundwave would drag him out and kill him... He shuddered at the thought, but then the femme spoke softly again and the large mech looked at her. "Negative." He answered through a recording as he continued walking.
Venting softly in relief, Breakdown crept out of his small hiding place, continuing down the hall in the opposite direction than where Soundwave and the unknown femme had gone, wondering where he might be able to find Megatronous.
Laughter reached his small audios, perking Breakdown's curiosity as his optics alighted on a lit room. He walked over to it, peeking inside. His mouth dropped open in surprise and excitement when he saw it was a room full of gladiators! Some of them he recognized, others he didn't.
Breakdown stood in the doorway, looking around at them in excitement when one of them looked up and saw him, surprise passing over his faceplate before it was covered in a sadistic glee. "Well, well, well!" He leered, catching the attention of the other gladiators that all looked at the small mechling now. "What do we have here?"
Looking around the room, Breakdown began to sense danger from the large group of mechs and took a step back.
"Whoa, little guy." One of the gladiators laughed, slowly coming towards him, one servo out in a friendly gesture, but Breakdown could see the cold glint in his red optics. "C'mon, don't be afraid. Come in."
Another gladiator was circling to come at Breakdown from the side, and the blue mech saw him, taking a step backwards, shaking his helm vigorously.
"C'mon, buddy." The one to his left said. "Come to Roader!"
Breakdown felt fear rise up in him as he kept shaking his helm, other gladiators getting up and moving towards him, peeking his fear.
Finally breaking out of his fear, Breakdown turned and ran back down the hallway, glancing back as the gladiators shouted and ran after him, attempting to catch him.
Looking back, Breakdown saw them break off into groups down other halls and he realized that they knew these halls better than he himself did... They were going to head him off!
Breakdown, tears streaming down his cheeks, ran as quickly as he could, the gladiators easily gaining on him as he whimpered, trying to escape their grasp.
"C'mon, little mech! Don't be so scared, we just want to talk!" Roader called after him, but Breakdown wasn't so sure... He wouldn't chase him if he meant him no harm, now would he? And being raised in the streets of Kaon had taught him a thing or two about the mechs out there... He had easily recognized the atmosphere when they had seen him, and recognized the look of lust, sadistic glee and other emotions in their faces.
A gladiator crossed his path, and Breakdown squealed, falling and sliding towards him, crashing into his leg and tripping him up.
Scrambling on all fours, Breakdown finally made it back to his feet in an attempt to escape those following, but one grabbed his arm, jerking him backwards.
Breakdown cried out when pain laced through his arm and shoulder joints as he tried to pull away, looking up at the large group of mech with his yellow optics.
"I told you we'd get you." Roader leered at him as the gladiator that had captured him wrapped an arm around him, pinning Breakdown's arms to his sides. He whimpered as he looked at Roader, legs dangling and unable to touch the floor as he kicked.
Growling, his captor grabbed one of his pedes, lifting it up next to his face and effectively stopping his struggle.
Breakdown flushed and looked down at the ground in humiliation and fear.
A cold servo grabbed his chin, forcing him to look into Roader's red optics. The mech smirked at him as he turned his face to look at him, Breakdown watching him out of the corner of his optics.
"Hmmm. Good looking isn't he? He would get us a good amount on the slave markets." Roader stated, causing Breakdown's spark to beat faster as he tried to stuggle again.
"Stop moving." His captor hissed, yanking his leg hard and causing Breakdown to yelp and cease his struggle.
"Now, Treads, don't go breaking his spirit just now." Roader said, giving Breakdown a sadistic smirk as he purposefully dug his claws into his face a little.
Whimpering, Breakdown tried to pull his face away.
"I've got a proposition for you, mechling." Roader said, causing Breakdown to stop struggling and to look at him. "I'm going to give you a chance to run."
Breakdown looked at Roader in surprise and hope, not at all struggling now as a chorus of disagreement rose from the other mechs surrounding them.
Roader hushed them with a wave of his servo. "Where exactly is he going to run?" He whispered so that the mechling wouldn't hear. "It's fun to chase him, and I love to crush hopes... The sooner we crush his hope of escape, the sooner he will submit and obey us."
Begrudgingly, the surrounding mechs chorused their aggreement to whatever Roader had said, and Breakdown looked around at them, then at the dusty brown mech standing in front of him with a false smile.
"Alright... What was your designation?" Roader asked in mock-kindness, smirking at him.
Breakdown swallowed slightly. "Breakdown." He whispered.
"What was that?" Roader asked, placing a servo beside his audios. "I couldn't hear what you just said." He smirked at the blue mechling.
"B-Breakdown." Breakdown stammered fearfully as he dangled from Treads' arms.
"Alright, Breakdown." Roader smirked widely at him. "We are going to give you two clicks to run... Then we follow. If we catch you, then you have to do whatever we say... But if you get into the arena, we won't follow you." Roader looked at him in sadistic pleasure. "Agreed?"
Breakdown nodded quickly, and just as he did, he was dropped in a pile, pain shooting up his leg when he landed awkwardly. He whimpered and looked up at Roader. "I-I hurt my leg."
Raising an optical ridge, Roader cocked his head. "Are you planning on giving up right now?" He asked, Breakdown quickly shaking his helm. "Then get up and start running... You're time has already begun."
Optics widening, Breakdown scrambled upright, half running, half limping down the hall, glancing back at the mechs who were counting aloud.
Fear overwhelmed Breakdown as he tried to go faster, the pain in his leg slowing him considerably... Unknown to him, it had been the intention of the mechs to wound him so that his hope and spirit would begin to fade as he attempted to run... It would make him more obedient.
Suddenly, the counting stopped and Breakdown's optics widened as he began to run faster, trying to ignore the pain in his legs.
Pedesteps and shouting sounded from down another hall and Breakdown glanced back in fear when he suddenly crashed into a gladiator that had been walking by the hall.
Looking up, Breakdown's optics landed on a huge, silver mech with horned armour on his shoulders and blue optics. The mech looked down at him, slightly in surprise, slightly in wonder. Without a second thought, Breakdown hugged the silver mech's leg tightly.
Hearing movement behind him, Breakdown turned his helm to see Roader and several other gladiators round the corner, stopping at the sight of the sparkling hugging the leg of Megatronous... The greatest gladiator that Cybertron had ever seen.