"Show'em, Sunstorm! Show that spawn of a glitch!"
"Twenty on Sixshot!"
"You gonna let that good for nothing weakling beat you?"
"Enough talk! Spill some Energon!"
The camp of the High Guard had been carefully planned out. If 'planned out' meant 'the newly christened Decepticons had focused first and foremost on blasting a big crater into Cybertron's surface so they could have some gladiator fights and not really thought of anything else'. After the branding and the declaration of intent the Decepticons had gathered what supplies they could only to abandon sorting them after a few of their number had begun bickering and fighting, claiming that they had only been exiled because Starscream hadn't been able to defeat the new Prime. Starscream had taken offense to that and gone on the attack, beating the naysayer brutally before demanding anyone else that doubted him step up.
None had but others had wanted to settle their grudges and soon pit fights had begun to occur, with the High Guard trading whatever supplies they had in wagers on who would win. What few medics they had took away the damaged Cons but it wasn't about healing them… well, if one was strong enough to force them than it was possible they might do some repairs. But if one was too weak to fight back then it was likely that they would find themselves on the list to "donate" parts.
The crowd didn't mind that though. They were too thrilled to see the violence. The tests of strength. The will to dominate their lesser. The battle against the False Prime had awakened in them all a battle lust and the fight had proven to be a skirmish that couldn't slate their hungry for long, so the pit fights were helping with that.
Nearly all of them were enjoying it.
Nearly all.
"This isn't happening. This isn't happening."
Slipstream sat behind some blasted bits of plate metal, it's original purpose long lost, hugging her knees as she rocked back and forth, eyes wide with terror and mind racing.
"I was home," she babbled to herself. "I was finally home! I was going to get to finally go back to my apartment! See my roommates! My caretakers! Finally check in with my friends! Recharge in an actual charging station without two hundred other bots around me!" She reached up and clawed at her face. "We helped the new Prime defeat Sentinel! It was over! It… it was over!" Her voice cracked as she stared blankly ahead. "It was over!"
"Hey, I bet I can shoot my gun farther than you!"
"Slag off, I'll show you how its done!"
Slipstream continued to clutch her head and moan. "I was home… I was finally home!"
This wasn't how she'd seen her life going.
When she'd onlined and been greeted by the representative of Solus Prime she had been so giddy and excited to learn all about her new home. She remembered her caretakers shaking their heads, commenting that Primus must have given her twice as much voltage as other sparklings. As she'd matured and prepared to move out into the world on her own she had been so utterly excited to see all of Cybertron. Especially because the Primes had told them all that they were close to defeating the Quintessons and ensuring that Cybertron was forever safe. No more hiding within the planet itself, behind the barrier gates that prevented the invaders from getting in. No more only knowing the outside world through holo tapes. She would get to live it! See it! Experience it!
When her parents' friend Starscream had offered to mentor her, allowing her to join the High Guard of Zeta Prime on an exploration of the surface, she had been utterly thrilled. Her caretakers had been up on the surface, aiding Liege Maximo and the Ionic Guard, so she'd only been able to leave a note with them with her roommates, assuring everyone she would be back in a few solar cycles.
'And then it all fell apart,' she thought miserably. 'Laserbeak saw Sentinel betray the Primes and take on the mantle of Prime, joining with the Quintessons. He and the Golden Guard hunted down anyone that didn't bend the knee to him. We had to hide of the surface… 50 cycle. A few solar cycles became 50 full cycles.'
Slipstream had many regrets… and many things she would never regret. She was proud of what she had done to make Sentinel's life a living hell. She had done things to living creatures she'd never considered possible in order to chip away at both his power base and the Quintessons that had caused all the madness. It had made her a skilled and powerful fighter, one of the most feared in the High Guard, to the point that they forgot that she wasn't actually one of their numbers. She was just a guest who had been allowed to fly with them.
But she also regretted leaving home without saying proper goodbyes. For taking for grated so many things. For never finding her caretakers; she was sure they would have never bowed to Sentinel and that meant they were most likely dead. She regretted all that.
'This isn't happening,' she thought, sniffing as her processor ran so hot it caused energon to begin leaking from her optics. She scrubbed at her face, trying to deal with the energon, not wanting anyone to see. "Stop it…" she hissed to herself.
Slipstream was well aware of how young she was. Starscream was 3000 cycles old. Soundwave 4000 and something. There were some that were easily in the 100,000s. The Primes had been said to be near a million cycles old! She… she was barely an adult, still learning her way. But everyone else had forgotten that. The 50 cycles… it had forced the High Guard to do so much, work so hard to survive… it was easy to forget she hadn't been there with them. It didn't help that when they would bring up tales of the old days she would just lie and smile, claiming she remembered when she had no idea what they were talking about.
"This… this can't be happening," she whispered as she struggled to get control of herself.
Everything had seemed so bright just lunar cycles earlier. Four poor miners had been brought to their current base, saying they had evidence that would prove that Sentinel was lying. That there was PRIME that was still alive! Megatron, before he had been Megatron, had ripped control of the High Guard from Starscream and it seemed like he was actually willing to do something! To lead them into actually fighting back. Starscream had been far too cautious, far too worried about the risks but Megatron? He was willing to try and Slipstream had believed they had a chance. She had wanted so badly to talk with them… yes, to find out what life was like in Iacon but also to apologize for not helping them sooner.
It hurt her spark to know she had failed them, even if she wasn't for sure what she could have done.
She had hope.
She had… hope.
Yes, Sentinel attacking had been a heavy blow but then Orion Pax had told them he had a plan. And it was a great one. They had made it into Iacon and Slipstream hadn't been able to do much fighting against the Golden Guard because she had been marveling at the sights of home.
'I kept expecting to turn my head and see my caretakers waiting for me,' she thought in utter misery. 'I was HOME.'
Then things had gone bad. Orion had been killed… she had thought it was because of Sentinel and when Megatron had killed False Prime and claimed his new name Slipstream had cheered even as she mourned the death of the bot that had helped them. She had only been startled out of her thoughts when Megatron began to attack the city, ordering it to be destroyed. She'd tried to get to Elita and B-127, to ask them what was going on and if the plan had changed but she'd lost them in the crowd. Then… Orion had returned, now calling himself Optimus Prime and the High Guard had thought that he was pulling a Sentinel and trying to claim the title of Prime falsely. A few had attacked but Slipstream had just been so startled by all that was happening she hadn't been able to act.
Optimus defeated Megatron and revealed he had the Matrix of Leadership. Then he had banished Megatron… and the High Guard from Iacon.
Slipstream hadn't been able to say a word, only finally crying out when someone grabbed her and dragged her with the rest. She had wanted to ask Optimus what was happening, why they were all being banished!? This is what they had all fought for! Why couldn't they stay?
Why… couldn't she stay?
"Slipstream!" someone called out and she quickly rubbed her face, trying to get rid of the energon marks. She got up just as Dirge came up and grabbed her by the wrist, dragging her forward. "Come on, its your turn!"
"My… my turn?" she said, trying to make her voice sound confident and full of strength. Except she wasn't feeling either at that moment.
"Yeah! Saw you hadn't had a chance to punch some fools in the face and made sure to write you in for the next fight!"
Slipstream couldn't even answer as they merged with the crowd, rowdy High Guard members either telling her that she better take out her opponent quick or she needed to last long enough to make it a good fight. All of them had the face of Megatronus burned somewhere on their body; her own wing still ached from where she had gotten her's done. She hadn't wanted the brand but she'd been shoved into the line and before she had been able to realize what was happening it was her turn and she'd realized that there was no way she could get out of it without questions being asked.
'They are all I have left now,' she thought as she was led towards the edge of the fighting pit.
"Think those little Iacon wimps have any idea what is coming?" someone said to her right and she slowed down, wanting to hear what they were saying.
"Not a chance," someone else said. "When we come swooping in we are going to reduce'em to slag! That'll show'em!"
"Slag?!" she said suddenly, not even bothering to pretend anymore that she wasn't eavesdropping. "You want to attack other bots?"
One of the High Guard, a brutish fellow with some scarring along his face, frowned at her. "Those weaklings deserve everything we give'em! They chose to stand with the Prime and not Megatron… just like they sided with Sentinel."
"I bet they actually did have cogs!" someone else called out. "That was a lie too!"
"Everything was a lie!"
"Death to the cowards!"
"RISE UP!"
Slipstream couldn't believe what she was hearing. It… it was madness! Insanity! Those were their brothers, their sisters! There had to be a reason they'd never come to find them! Sentinel had lied to them about so much, why not their deaths? They didn't know… that was the point! They didn't know and they needed to find out and they'd never find out just blasting everything!
'And what happens afterwards?' she thought as she found herself numbly moving towards the pit, sliding down the bowl into its depths. 'We rule the blasted out ruins? Make thrones out of the corpses of the innocent? The Prime… he has the MATRIX! We go to war against him and we're… we're no different than Sentinel!'
"Been looking forward to a good fight!" her opponent, Triggerhappy she dimly realized, said with a grin as he walked up to her, cracking his knuckles. "They took my guns away… won't let me have them back til I pound you down! But maybe I'll take yours! They are small but I bet they pack a wallop!" He laughed at that. "So you better be ready because I feel like I'm missing my aft plate, not having my blasters!"
'This is the legacy of the High Guard,' Slipstream thought even as she silently slipped into her defensive stance purely on instinct. 'A bunch of butchers who are giddy about destroying others. Not protecting. Not defending. Just… mindless slaughter. And if I win this all I get is another chance to fight. To do a bit more that destroys my spark from the inside.'
Triggerhappy raced towards her but Slipstream didn't even move.
'Maybe… if I don't move… he'll kill me-'
An explosion sent Triggerhappy flying away from her and Slipstream found herself twisting her gaze up, jaw dropping as she saw the massive silver and black tank soar through the air before it transformed, turning into the powerful and commanding figure of Lord Megatron himself. He landed easily and the crowd began to cheer… but their hollers and yells slowly faded into silence as he stared them down, his amber-colored eyes burning with rage.
'We are born with a purpose,' her caretakers had told her. 'You can see it in our build.' And Slipstream understood that. There were bots you looked at and just knew they were meant for certain things. To fly high in the skies above Cybertron, piercing the heavens. To be able to sneak through the tightest spots without suffering a scratch. You saw it in the way they held their wings or the armor on their arms.
Lord Megatron… had been created to LEAD.
He looked at her for a moment and she tried to appear strong. She had learned how to appear brash and bold, knowing that if she didn't then someone would think her weak and offline her. She had been forced to do so many things during the cycles she had spent in exile… things she wasn't proud of but better to feel like slag than to be slag, as her roommates might have said. Slipstream forced herself to stare him down, even though all she wanted to do was duck her head and pray he might pass her by, like she was a turbofox trying to weather a rust storm.
And then… Slipstream frowned. Because something passed along his face for just an instant. The cold rage turned into something… compassionate. Understanding. And in that fraction of a moment… she felt like Lord Megatron was the one being that UNDERSTOOD.
Only for a moment… and then he was sweeping his gaze over the silent horde of Decepticons.
"What… is the meaning of all this?" he demanded. He didn't bellow the words… there was no need too.
"We are testing ourselves against one another, Lord Megatron," Shockwave said, stepping forward. "It is a common practice, to ensure that we remain strong and ready for the fights to come."
"The fights to come," Megatron said, the derision in his voice so strong that even though Shockwave didn't even have a face Slipstream could just tell he was cringing. "Because the High Guard fought so much these last 50 cycles. It is why all are told of you and songs sung by every Cybertronian." He paused, sneering. "No… that's not true. No one even knew of you! Orion and I had no idea who you were and its only because Bumblebee remembered your names that we knew you to be something more than barbarians!"
He looked at them all again though Slipstream noticed he would occasionally linger on a bot that, much like herself, hadn't been all in on the mindless fighting and brutality.
"So let us call this what it truly is, shall we?" He waved his arms out wide. "Mindless destruction! WASTEFUL mindless destruction!"
"It's a way to keep us ready," Starscream argued. "A way to ensure that when the Quintessons or the followers of the Prime show up we are ready for them."
"We… are ready for them," Megatron said slowly. He began to nod and Slipstream felt her spark quiver in terror.
'Don't buy this, don't buy this…' she mentally pleaded. She wanted to speak up, to demand that Megatron listen to her and hear the truth. That these were nothing more than entertainment for the High Guard and sometimes ways to force those that didn't follow the 'rules' of the group to shape up and obey. But her mouth wouldn't open and she could only watch as Lord Megatron walked up to Starscream and patted him on the shoulder.
"We are ready… this is something you've been doing for the last 50 cycles?" Starscream nodded… and then screamed as Megatron's fist rocketed out right at his face.
It stopped, so close though to his cheek that Slipstream was sure he could see the microscratches in his knuckle joints.
"And yet I, a miner who had never been in a true fight… managed to take down the might of you?" He shoved Starscream away and began to walk around again. He looked at each of the Decepticons, daring them to speak up, to challenge what he was saying. When none said a word Slipstream saw his mouth twitch and she wondered if he was pleased that they weren't trying to speak out against him… or was enraged that they were so spineless. "Shockwave," he finally said, "how many… scouts do we have?"
"Scouts, Lord Megatron?"
"Scouts," he repeated. "Come now, you must know what they are. I know they tend to be on the smaller side…"
"I… that is to say, Lord Megatron, that we all take turns scouting out the surface."
Megatron shook his head. "Foolish. Every bot should dream of being more than they are… but that does not mean that you allow one to do as they wish in a time of war."
"War, Lord Megatron?" Soundwave asked.
"You don't call this war?" Megatron pressed. "Against Sentinel? Against the Quintessons?" He shook his head. "How many engineers do we have?"
"The number of engineers," Soundwave said only to go silent, not finishing the statement.
"What about Long Recon Spies? Saboteurs?" Another pause. "Medics?"
Slipstream raised an eyebrow at that. 'Oh… oh, that's what he's getting out.'
"Well?" Megatron said, moving to stand in the middle of the ring of bodies, which Slipstream found meant standing next to her. She didn't cringe or shrink down, knowing that would be a sign of weakness… but she really didn't like being the center of attention like that. "Medics! Step forward!" He held out his arms wide. "Come now… are they busy? Recharging? There must be one on call!"
Finally it was Misfire who spoke. "We… tend to repair our own injuries, Lord Megatron. We were all given lessons in maintenance and repair by Chief Medical Officer Flatline."
That… wasn't what Slipstream had been told. They had told her they had medics! Who the frag had been repairing her?!"
"No medics," Megatron said, rolling the two words along his tongue like they were the finest of aged energon, savoring the taste. "You have no medics and only crude battlefield repair skills… and you decide that this is a situation that calls for needless violence against one another." He turned his gaze to Shockwave once more. "And this is… logical?"
"Logical, Lord Megatron?" Shockwave said, confused.
Slipstream didn't know WHAT Lord Megatron had been looking for in terms of an answer but it was clear to her THAT wasn't it.
"You disappoint me, Shockwave," Megatron said softly before lifting his head and calling out. "No more! These fights… they are a relic of the old days! When you were scared and frightened, too weak in the spark to make a true stand against the Quintessons and against the traitor Sentinel!"
Some of the Decepticons grumbled and growled at that but Megatron raised his cannon and they all went quiet, remember how Megatron had, with just his bare hands, destroyed 10 of Sentinel's Golden Guard and Sentinel himself. He hadn't even needed to fire his cannon in order to do the deed.
No one wanted to be on the other end of that weapon.
"Do you know what they whisper about us in Iacon right now? They call us savages! Brutes! Undisciplined thugs who don't have half a brain module to share. And from where I am standing… they are right."
The crowd murmured at that, startled and surprised by what their leader was telling them. Slipstream was confused too. Hadn't it been Megatron himself who had been telling them to tear everything down?
'But maybe… maybe he meant just the monuments to Sentinel. Maybe we just didn't understand him. He fought against Starscream but only because he pushed him… Orion Pax was willing to just talk with him, to see if we couldn't come to some understanding. Maybe it just happened again and everyone got swept up into things…'
"Right now Prime is telling his people that he is the only one they can turn to because we will kill them on sight. And even if we welcomed them into our ranks we would be scrapping out a pathetic life here on the surface."
"What do we care about them?" someone called out.
Megatron raised an eyebrow at that; rather than get mad Slipstream was surprised to find that he looked more… curious… than anything else. "Oh?" he made a motion with his hands and the crowd parted to reveal Octane. Of course it hadn't been too hard to spot him, as he was one of the bigger mechs that made up the High Guard. Often Starscream had used his massive carrier plane alt-mode to transport what supplies they had from place to place, because he could carry more than anyone else. And he had the ability to find Energon deposits that was frankly scary and spooky. She had first hand watched him walk around a barren and dried up pool that had been scoured by half a dozen of the High Guard… then stomp his foot and reveal a small stream just underground.
That should have made him one of the most popular members of the High Guard… but Octane was a self-centered liar and thief who cared only for himself. He stole just because he could, without actually caring what he took. It wasn't about getting something for himself it was about taking from others. Slipstream had caught him trying to take a few bolts that she'd managed to hold onto that wouldn't even fit any of his plating due to their different sizes; he'd just shrugged when confronted on it by Starscream, saying he wanted them because 'the femme wants them'. He would claim that they were playing one game to pass the time only to change the rules suddenly if it meant that he got a win. He was arrogant and spiteful and one of the worst excuses for a High Guard that Slipstream had ever met.
And he was currently staring down Lord Megatron.
"They are nothing more than weaklings. Look at how they let Sentinel rip their cogs out!" He laughed at that and several of those around him joined in, though Slipstream could tell they were only chuckling because they were worried what he might due to them if they didn't. "The moment we come marching in they will roll over and give up! Maybe, if they beg nicely, we can make their deaths quick for how they've treated us."
Slipstream couldn't help it.
She snorted.
"You got something to say, little femme?" Octane rumbled, taking a step towards her.
"Yeah, I do," she said, refusing to show any fear. Sure, she knew in a straight up fight she'd lose to Octane… but she didn't plan to let it be a straight up fight. "You are an idiot."
"What did you-"
"I SAID," she snapped, unable to hold back her frustrations anymore, "that you are an IDIOT." She threw out her hands wide and tilted her head back. "You can't claim they are weaklings that can be bowled over in seconds and in the same breath talk about how they exiled us. What is it, Octane? Are they so weak that they'll meekly give in? Or that they are strong enough to toss us out!?"
"I think its time someone silenced that voice box of yours…" Octane said… just before Megatron placed a hand on Slipstream's shoulder.
"Answer. The. Question." Their new Leader rumbled his demand, Slipstream's much smaller body trembling thanks to the deep bass of Megatron. "Which is it? Because I really don't think you mean to say that I was weak for losing to the Prime."
Octane opened his mouth and for a moment Slipstream wondered if he would be smart enough to not say something utterly stupid.
"You… aren't one of us. Not really. If it had been me… I would have slaughtered that new Prime, same as the False One!"
Octane… wasn't smart.
"And then, I suppose, you would have gone out and killed every last Quintesson with your bare hands? Is that right, Octane?"
The carrier bot huffed. "You just don't understand."
"No… I clearly don't. I am thinking about our future. We number what… 500? Perhaps a thousand, assuming you didn't send every one of our warriors in Iacon? That city has a population of over 10 million. Think about that for a moment… 10 million. You want to slaughter 10 million… with 500?"
"One High Guard is worth a thousand of those soft Iaconians!" Thrust called out, earning cheers and whoops from the crowd.
"Hmmm," Megatron said with a smile, stroking his chin. "Yes… perhaps you are right. After all… you can easily kill one, can't you? Maybe even 10… or 100." He moved towards Octane who was puffed up and growling. But Megatron merely chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "And you! I bet you could actually take on 500 of them without breaking a sweat."
"That's right," Octane said, sounding a bit more pleased.
"Yes…" Megatron said… before he suddenly latched onto Octane's right arm and ripped it out right at the joint.
Energon sprayed out before Octane's systems were able to shut it down and he roared out in pain, whipping around to try and grab onto Megatron, only for the silver bot to kick him viciously in the knee joint, sending him to the ground.
"But the 501? Oh, now that one's tricky. But you still have one good arm and two legs so you take out another 400 or so. Maybe even 450. Do you favor your right hand or your left? Let's hope left. But if not lets drop it down to 400." And then he grabbed onto Octane's head with one hand and his left arm with the other and ripped the other limb off. "Well… maybe you're good at kicking. Take out another 200 there. Congratulations, Octane, you've hit over 1000!"
Megatron slammed his foot on the bot's chest before reaching down and ripping off both his legs.
"I was getting tired of this little analogy," he admitted, throwing the limbs over his shoulder. "Except… what's this?" He tilted his head. "Some of those 1000 bots you killed… are coming back to take you on again. How could this be? Oh… I know." He hauled up Octane and shook his. "THEY HAVE MEDICS!"
Slipstream winced as Megatron hurled Octane into a pillar.
"We are a dying breed! The High Guard has been in decline. We needlessly injure ourselves because of these foolish fights, weakening ourselves! We are doing our enemies' work FOR THEM!" He marched back over to Slipstream, though from the way he was turning towards the crowd he wasn't actually focused on her; no, it was just that she hadn't brothered to actually move. "Every time we break off a bit of plating or damage of joint we weaken ourselves!" He swung his arm at Octane. "Someone get him up and solder his limbs back on." He muttered, low under his breath so that only Slipstream could hear, "Ripped them off at the break points for a reason."
Slipstream watched as several of the High Guard rushed to quickly get Octane's limbs, one or two of the High Guard grumbling as they had to pass back the arms they had caught. She didn't know WHY they'd want them but at this point she wasn't surprised.
"We must be BETTER than what we were. I told you to RISE UP! And we will rise! Right now the Iaconians only know what Sentinel has told them… that life is the only one they understand. But we are going to give them a new path. A better path."
"Querry, Lord Megatron," Soundwave said. "What is it you ask of us?"
Meagtron nodded. "We need to bring in more than fighters. Medics. Builders. Energon distillers. Weaponsmiths and inventors. Scouts. Those that know how to build roads and keep the trains running." The crowd murmured at that and Megatron looked around at them and Slipstream could feel the desperation radiating off of him. Which was so odd because 'desperate' was the last emotion she would have ever considered Megatron feeling. "Are you not tired of living like this? Of barely scratching out an existence? Do you not want MORE?"
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
"…I want more."
Slipstream was startled by the words. Even more so that she said them.
"I want more."
"I… want more," Acid Storm called out.
"I want more!" Dirge shouted.
And that led to an avalanche of cries and calls that they wanted more, it rising and falling until they found their rhythm and began to chant it as one.
Megatron waited for a few moments before holding out his hand, getting all of them to grow silent. "To do that… we must get others to see that we have the right of it. We simply can't win through domination… we must win by making our enemies admit we were right. I want Prime to come to us on his knees and beg for forgiveness and admit that our way is the proper way! And we can't do that so long as we live like this!
"We will build something better than Iacon! A true paradise for all Cybertronians. A place where those we care for can be safe while we prepare to kill every Quintenson that exists!" That got another cheer. "A new city! A grand city!"
"Lord Megatron," Shockwave said, stepping forward. "There is no need to build something new. Before the coming of the Quintessons our planet had many cities. It is only because of the war against them that we were forced to retreat to Iacon. But the struts of what once was remain."
Megatron slowly nodded at that. "Yes… yes, that will do well, Shockwave! Tell me of these cities!"
Shockwave projected out the different ones and Slipstream tried to slip back into the crowd but thanks to how everyone was pushing to move in closer she found herself once more right next to Megatron as he pondered the different cities.
'Great, everyone will think we are swapping cables,' she thought to herself darkly. While Megatron was impressive he wasn't her type… honestly, she preferred her bots to be about her own size and far more lithe and agile.
"No… not Kaon," Megatron said quickly. "Nor Tarn. Vos… no, not Vos."
"What about Praxus?" Starscream suggested, pointing to one on the map.
Megatron at that paused… and smiled.
"Yes… Praxus. I like it. Good work, Starscream." The former leader of the high Guard preened at the praise. "Decepticons! We will make for Praxus! There we will forge our new city! The shining light in the darkness that is Cybertron!"
The Decepticons roared out their approval and began to transform, Megatron remaining behind… and catching Slipstream's wrist as she prepared to shift to alt mode and fly off.
"I promise… no more of that."
"My lord?"
"I know what its like to be forced to fight."
Slipstream blinked at that but Megatron had already transformed and begun to race away, leaving Slipstream the last of the Decepticons to stand in their former camp… and feel like she was missing something VERY important.
