Chapter Text
Orion was surprised by how well the Iacon 5000 had gone. They had almost won to boot, Sentinel Prime had congratulated them! They had a new job, and the best bit was D-16 had already forgiven him for roping him into the event. It all went to the pits, literally, when Darkwing showed up. Being hung from his head with Darkwing’s hand over his face wasn’t enjoyable. He and D-16 struggled the whole while, but Orion quickly noticed they weren’t going down the mines again. The trip was too long.
What was more disconcerting was when the noise started to ramp up. Cheers, betting, cat calling. Darkwing tossed them to the ground, Orion instantly could smell the stale energon under them. He blinked a few times to see the peds of a huge bot. He looked up and a long, “Ooooh.” Escaped him.
“Fifty syntax for the pair of them.” Darkwing growled.
The mech was sitting on a black throne, was the largest Orion had ever seen. He was at least a tank alt, but he could see wing segments as well. A triple changer? He wondered, as he carefully picked himself up. “Look there seems to be some mis-,” Darkwing struck him across the back of his head, he hit the ground with a groan.
“You can’t do this!” D-16 had already grasp just what was going on. “Sentinel Prime-.”
“Doesn’t give a scrap about two glitches, stupid enough to be so seen.” The mech rumbled and flicked his clawed hand. “Deal, Amp will see to your pay.”
“You piece of slaving scra-,” This time it was D’s head that hit the blood stained ground.
A door opened with a snap and two mechs strode in. The first was unremarkable but sported a teal moustache and upon seeing Orion he exploded with a snarl. “YOU! Do you have any idea how much you’ve cost me with your little break ins?”
The mech on the throne chuckled, “would you like him Dominus?”
“I’d like to feed him to Scissorsaw! But I’d settle for giving him to Amp for a reformatting.” Dominus stormed into the room and grabbed Orion by the back of his helm. “You love my Archives so much? Watch me strip you to your protoform and lock you in forever.”
Orion’s eyes cycled wide, “No please!”
The second mech a thinner build with red and gold plating and tesla coils on his shoulders handed Darkwing his money and cocked his head to the side studying the two miners. He had no optics at all. “I propose I reformat both of them. The exposed T-cog hole will give a dull disadvantage in the pits. Damus.”
Damus, the mech upon the throne, waved his hand dismissively. “Have fun. They are my gift to you.”
“You can’t do this!” D-16 threw a punch as Amp reached out to him. Amp bent neatly out of the way, and grabbed D by the wrist. The miner screamed so hard his voice broke as Amp unleashed gigwats of power upon him. His knees hit the ground as he sizzled.
“D!” Orion fought but couldn’t even reach Dominus with a kick.
Damus chuckled and purred, his voice changing. “Cease your struggle, you’re going to love your reformatting.”
Orion’s body went still and even D-16 simply slumped on the spot. The voice was so beautiful, his thoughts became a slurry. Why, why can’t I move? He couldn’t fight as Dominus carried him from the throne room. He saw huge heavy armoured and armed mechs, with energon stains on their armour. It took a moment for him to realize this was a gladiatorial pit. Fear surged through him, they didn’t stand a chance against mechs that both had cogs and trained to fight.
They were pulled into a filthy medbay and Dominus flung Orion onto a small stained berth. “Strip him off all that armour. And make him taller, he’s going to be cleaning the Archives for the rest of his life.”
D-16 tried to stand but his limbs refused to move, that voice it made it impossible to disobey. He managed to lift his head as Orion’s first scream filled the air. Amp carving into his shoulder with a laser saw. His friend was held down by his neck, but his limbs didn’t thrash. He felt steps behind him and Damus’s knelt behind him, looming over him he purred.
“Watch him. You will be my new meat for the grinder.” Damus’s hands stroked over D’s shoulders, a finger lingered on the Megatronus sticker. “Hmm, you’re stage name will be Megatronus. You’ll live up to it, won’t you.”
D couldn’t focus. The words slipped from his lips. “I will.” Orion’s blood was dripping down the sides of the berth in long blue lines. The sound of the red and blue armour hitting the floor burned into his mind.
“Good. Don’t miss a moment. I’ll do worse to you if you disobey. My pretty little Megatronus.” Damus rumbled. “I’ll even give you a cog, you’ll need it for the arena. I burn through them so there are extra lying around.”
Orion looked so small without armour. The hole were his T-cog belonged seemed even larger than before. He looked soft too, D-16 had never seen so much bare silver skin before. It was indecent but he couldn’t look away, couldn't spare Orion the humiliation.
“Did you ever want to frag him?” Damus rumbled, “seeing all that makes me consider it. To bad he’s so small, he’d bleed out on my spike. Bet he’d scream to your touch though. Look at those tender flanks.”
D-16 bit his tongue so hard it almost bled trying to resist the urge to respond. Those words slid over his processor, sank into his neurons. He winced as Amp placed a small black round ball into the cavity where Orion’s T-cog belonged. “Yes.” He hissed under his breath. Something about seeing Orion so weak and vulnerable made his Spark pound and circuits flare with desire. He didn’t understand it, what was happening to him, why did these words have so much control over him.
Orion couldn’t hear a word of what was passing between D-16 and Damus, who loomed over his friend. He tried to reach out, smaller black fingers reached out to him. “D-,” he croaked only for a another scream to rip through him as the reformat began.
D watched horrified as Orion’s metal moved against itself as silver skin warped and stretched. How his ribs collapsed in on themselves. There wasn’t a lot of metal to work with to begin with. His chest and hips narrowed as the metal moved to his legs and torso, to make him taller. Orion writhed on the berth as Dominus released him. He fell to the ground with a bang. Amp grabbed him by the back of his head and wretched it back. He ripped the black ball out of Orion’s chest and replaced it with a silver one that oozed out to fill the hole. It look even more wrong then hole where the T-cog belonged. Orion arched with a shriek as the silver metal seeped into him.
“Overload.” Tarn order, his lips kissing the side of D-16’s head.
D-16 didn’t even feel it as his body obeyed, pleasure surging through his circuits while his mind shut down.
Megatronus awoke on the floor for a gladiator stable. He sat up slowly and noticed he felt different instantly, his hands flew to his chest to find a smooth sheet of silver metal. He stared down at it in aww and after a moment of concentration the metal folded away to reveal a T-cog. He stared at it in sheer wonder, a grin forming on his face. He stood slowly and found himself much taller. His chest was smooth and rounded to deflect blows. A six sided, empty space sat in the middle of his chest. His claws clicked against his metal as he explored his new shape. The colour was the same as before, but now he had smooth curves and sharp points. He reached up and stroked the new curve of his helm.
The door open and Tarn stood in the way, Megatronus was still smaller then him but not by much. “Ah much better. Now you look the part. Come I have something to show you. Oh and you will address me as Tarn.”
Megatronus found himself following without thinking. “What are you doing to me?”
Tarn laughed, “you’re quick.” He tapped his throat. “I’m an outlier. With just my voice I could make your Spark self destruct. Follow any order,” he smirked, “even come at the sight of your friends agony.”
Megatronus clenched his fists. “I will get you back for that one.”
“I look forward to you trying.” Tarn opened a door to reveal a monitoring station. “A gift for you.” He gestured inward.
Megatronus walked in glancing around only to be forced into shocked stillness. On one of many monitors was Orion, in a corner of the Archives. Huddled into a tiny ball with the camera drone above him. Shivering violently. He looked so small and pathetic.
Tarn draped an arm over Megatronus’s shoulders. “The game is very simple. You perform well and you both eat. You fail, he starves. You I’ll feed, so you can feel your full tank as his protoform cannibalizes itself in an effort to survive. And winter is only a couple quartex away, if you haven’t impressed me by then, he freezes to death.” He stroked a circle on Megatronus’s smooth shoulder. “After all, that bare delectable protoform won’t be able to keep him warm.”
Megatronus barely heard Tarn. Sure Orion had his days when he did the most stupid irritating things. But no one deserve this, certainly not the friend who had his back. Not the mech how respected his love for Megatronus Prime. Or the one who memorized poetry for him. Now once again Orion’s fate was in his hands, small, fragile, weak, bare Orion.