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He never failed.
D-16, even as a miner working under slave conditions, knew that his life would be something more than the endless, exhausting labor assigned to him for life by the higher mechanoids. His first duel, held for the amusement of his comrades, was a success, experienced hard workers noted the abilities of the young Cybertronian. It was not even a duel, but rather sparring, no one then demanded spectacles, small fights could simple mechs from their miserable lives. It was enough.
The expulsion of the Quintessons, the invention of space bridges, the colonization of new planets - it seemed that the hopes for a better future were justified, and the departure from the caste system was not far off. In one moment, everything built in vorns of hard work collapsed, a plague that passed from colony to colony, led to the destruction of space bridges and economic collapse. The age of despair has begun. In the worst times, the worst people always profit easily, and now small fights without casualties have turned into bloodybaths to the death, without rules and honor, there were only a show and miserable drops of fuel for those who participated in them. Time passed, the audience grew and now the gladiatorial fights turned into a place of exaltation, where it was possible to discard your number and the destiny given to you, sometimes for the first and last time.
The closing of the mines was fatal for many of the mechs who worked in them. Desperate workers saw no way out of the hell that their own government had doomed them to, hunger would overtake everyone faster than they could find a place where they could earn at least some pennies. D-16 has never been an optimist, but he saw this event as an opportunity to finally throw off the shackles of a slave and become something more.
The first entry into the arena, where a painful death is almost a sentence, was not terrible for the former miner, he had nothing to lose, he was completely left to fate. Luck stood on his side, not experienced, but rather smart and daring young gladiator made a strong enough impression on the crowd. But this day was remembered by the fighter not by the howl of the audience amazed by his victory, but by the desperate look of his opponent and his lifeless body. The mech covered in blood stood over an alive fighter seconds ago, the awareness of this muffled the noise of the arena, he crossed the line, fate still gave him a chance, but the way back was closed. It was at this moment that his past became clouded, his number ceased to exist, and now every Cybertronian who met him proudly called him by his name.
Megatronus!
The first day in the arena was only a memory, now Megatronus became the champion of the arena. Every time he went into battle, he enjoyed the look of his opponent, no matter how hidden their eyes were, he knew how they see him. They came, if not to overthrow God, then to defeat his semblence, something created by higher powers, but still similar to them. Megatronus became a symbol of the arena, its heart, hundreds, if not thousands, of Cybertronians lived for his fights, it seemed to them that they were touching a reality where life was a little simpler than their repeating cycle of finding ways to survive in a city that was forgotten by Primus.
…
This match was different.
Megatronus entered the arena proudly, he never let the crowd doubt him, and she always greeted him with a loud shout in return. From the stands came the exclamations of those who came
"Megatronus, tear them apart!"
"Leave no trace of them!"
"Yes! Kill them, show them who is the best in the arena!"
The gladiator raises his hands up, responding to a warm welcome, but no promises before the battle, narcissism and empty promises are not for him, even if he is confident in his triumph. As expected for fights without rules, no one even thought of introducing opponents before the fight, and also the sponsors wanted to reduce the risk of some agreements between the rivals. Megatronus stood at his gate, waiting for another mech to appear. Uncertainty added excitement, made you feel at least a little vulnerable, after many victories it is difficult not to imagine yourself immortal. One could get into the fight either through ranks or through a sponsor, and given that the name of the fighter was unfamiliar to him, someone decided that putting him against the champion right away would be an interesting sight. But it was yet to be seen.
The gates opened, raising the sand and dust of the arena into the air.
Although not so warm, the crowd greeted another gladiator. Tall and massive, almost as tall as Megatronus himself, mech entered the arena slowly, calmly. No poses, no words, no promises, he seemed to be in the wrong place. Finally, the dust settled and the champion got a better look at his opponent. Blank visor showed no emotions, his posture said nothing, he was looking at Megatronus. The experienced gladiator was surprised, for the first time in many battles, he did not feel the arrogance emanating from ordinary fighters, rather calmness and confidence in his actions, but not confidence in victory. Although Megatronus himself prescribed the latter, he was still not a telepath, and he wanted to find some peace, because for the first time he had the opportunity to fight against someone more or less noble, and now the usual strategy may not work.
"Opponents prepare for battle! Dear viewers, today you will witness an amazing duel between multiple champion Megatronus and Soundwave. We wish the fighters good luck. The fight begins...NOW!"
The gong announced the beginning of the battle, but Soundwave did not move, he looked at Megatronus, holding two thin swords in his hands. He was waiting for the first blow, not intending to deliver it with his own hands. This was unexpected for the champion, after all, this Soundwave is full of surprises, this provoked Megatronus, and he decided to give the enemy what he wants. Abruptly starting to run at the opponent, the warrior raised his sword to strike, but the purple mech did not move. The distance between them was shrinking, and just before the impact, Soundwave made a sharp jerk to the side. Megatronus turned, placing his sword in defense against the blades that fell on him. Forces balanced on crossed blades and for the first time in the battle the gladiator spoken: “I have never seen such a silent fighter before, is there really nothing to say to the champion of the arena?” Megatronus smirked as something hit him in the stomach in response and he recoiled, only to see a cable flecked with the purple lights that proto-forms normally possessed. Surprises did not end there, the excitement only inflamed, this battle will really be amazing.
The next blow was delivered by Soundwave, his maneuverability could be envied. Megatronus saw the gladiator begin to fight more aggressively, without losing some cold calculation. The champion swiftly repelled the blows, still trying to get his opponent to talk: “Good technique and interesting ammunition, you are full of surprises, is this all part of the strategy?” The gladiator expected any answer, but was not ready for his own words, which came to him from the mask: "... the words are empty, their beautiful phrases are just a way to distract you from reality...". The visor showed no emotions, but Megatronus saw in his choice of line a sneer, a sneer that was based on his speeches. The gladiator was amazed and angered, he jumped away from Soundwave, and, overtaking him on the right, cut off part of his manipulator. The opponent burped, but his posture showed no fear, only slight annoyance. The tension in the air grew, Megatronus ran at the enemy, but was thrown aside by two long cables. Some kind of "tentacles", which seemed to him only a weak help for an unexpected attack, but they turned out to be a powerful weapon. The gladiator lying on the ground for the first time in a long time saw his opponent towering over him, but, oddly enough, he was in no hurry to end the duel. "What is the point of all this?" - Megatronus's thoughts were only about this, his opponent was in no hurry to end the match, as if he was demonstrating something. And what exactly, the champion could only guess.
The gladiator got up in one motion, Soundwave recoiled, and only now Megatronus realized that he had not heard the crowd at all, although it was bursting with screams, as if their fight was taking place somewhere else, as if they were now just the two of them and only Primus was a witness to their battle. It's not just a fight, it's more than that. Megatronus went at his opponent again, dodging the gladiator with deft and strange grace, it was not necessary, the champion realized that this was part of the demonstration, the show that was made for him. The warrior, distracted by his own thoughts not noticed the blow that cost him his arm. The limb was cut off with lightning speed, an unprecedentedly fast blow and a sharp blade did not give the gladiator a chance to react. Now the two mechs stood in the arena, losing their energon but still ready to continue this fight, no, a show, a demonstration put on for each other. The stakes were raised, the sound of sword strikes and rapidly running ventilation filling his mind. And so, Soundwave lies on the ground, his cable holding the tip of the remaining part of the sword near the throat of Megatronus, and the champion aims his charged cannon at the opponent's spark chamber. A couple of nanoclicks pass, the cable starts to tremble, and the gladiator's optics go out, another nanoclick and both gladiators lie on the arena. The crowd falls silent.
Draw
The battle to the death ended in nothing, for the first time in his career, Megatronus spared the enemy and was himself spared by him. Megatronus, while still in the medbay, thought that even if it was a draw, but for him it was a failure, he did not reach the end, he could not kill his opponent, who imagined himself worthy of his attention. He allowed himself to be led by his interest and played along with his show.
It took a little time to heal all the wounds, a little more to find Soundwave, and now, standing before his former opponent, Megatronus realizes...
He never failed.