CITY: Kaon
[Gladiator Arena]
Invictus Maximus was held by both arms of D-16, raised in the air like a trophy, completely defeated and humiliated. With a furious roar, D-16 splits the champion's body in two, allowing his Energon to bathe his silver armor as the new champion of the Kaon Arena.
D-16 takes the head from the corpse of Invictus Maximus and holds it up as a trophy for all to see his virtually impossible feat, while shouting a roar that symbolizes his victory, infecting the entire audience that saw him, an image that would be immortalized in this place.
"FOR CYBERTRON!!!!!" D-16 shouted, throwing Invictus Maximus' head into the crowd as if it were a prize for whoever could catch it and take it home.
Orion Pax was standing next to Elita-1 in the stands, completely immersed in conflicting emotions, part of him happy for his friend's victory, but he felt disgust and disappointment at such violence that he could not support. To see life treated with such disregard, where deadly acts went unpunished, disgusted him, even more so when the populace applauded such barbarity.
To see the Cybertronian population itself applaud such barbarity represented one of the great problems Cybertron was experiencing in terms of social inequality and the naturalization of violence. This bloody spectacle could not go on. You couldn't applaud someone's death and treat their body as a trophy to be displayed. Orion felt nauseous for a moment and had to leave the bleachers to regain his composure as he heard the people clearly chanting Megatronus' name.
Elita-1 saw how uncomfortable Orion was and decided to follow him to try to calm him down. She knew that he was a natural pacifist and that it was a miracle that he agreed to watch his best friend fight in that beastly arena. She saw him leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, trying to forget what he saw, not only how Invictus Maximus died, but how he watched his friend do something so barbaric and inhumane.
The reason Elita-1 doesn't show such an uncomfortable or indifferent reaction is because she was already trained at the High Guard Academy to protect Cybertron, so she had the stomach for this kind of violence, but she eventually gave up on becoming a soldier after she realized the extent of corruption within the military, which made her give up on moving forward with her original plans.
Though Elita does not usually display the strong personality she once had, she was not naive enough to ignore that Cybertron was in its most decadent state at that moment, and it was easy for her to see how many bots lived in illusion, unaware of the problems around them, content with the crumbs they received. To her, the people who stand out on Cybertron are those who can somehow illuminate the paths or Sparks of others with their own deeds, guide them with their words, while at the same time understanding what everyone has hidden in their Sparks and being able to bring out the best in them. In her Spark, that was the meaning of a leader, something Cybertron lacked.
Elita looked at Pax and helped him to compose himself, she didn't care about the fragility he sometimes showed, because he was always honest with what he thought, a bot who really wanted to help everyone, something she liked about him, because he didn't judge people's past and always tried to see the best in them.
"It's okay Pax, just calm your spark." Elita patted Orion's back to make him feel better.
"I'm sorry... I'm not really good at this." Orion admitted and closed his eyes to calm down. "I don't have the stomach for it..."
"You've already done more than you can imagine, you don't have to worry just because you couldn't see a whole fight. You've always supported him and taught him, in a way you were practically his coach." Elita smiled, knowing that Orion Pax is a rare bot to encounter.
"Sometimes I wish I was as strong as D-16." Orion admitted, a little embarrassed that he couldn't watch his friend fight without sometimes turning his face away to avoid seeing the brutal action.
"There are many kinds of strength, physical strength and strength that comes from within." Elita touched her hand to Orion's chest, referring to his spark. "You never had to be strong to be strong. Believing in people is a much greater strength than you can imagine. If you hadn't supported him, he might not have gotten to where he is now."
"I know D-16 is an amazing bot, but I have to admit I felt uncomfortable when I saw the look on his face, it was like my old friend wasn't there for a brief moment." Orion admitted, looking down for a moment and staring at the ground with a lost look on his face.
"Orion... he's been in that hell for decades, you don't even know if he's told you everything he's suffered here, D-16 will have scars that can't be healed, scars that will change him forever, that's why you need to support him, to remind him that he's not alone." Elita smiled to show her support, making Orion smile in gratitude as well.
Before the two continued to speak, the shouts of the crowd echoed in all directions, even more frenetic, for these were the moments when D-16 or Megatronus made their famous speeches to capture the hearts of the people.
"Cybertronians! How long will you be fooled by the darkness of the High Council? We all know why these arenas exist, because they want us all to never rise up against their oppressive government! They want us to destroy ourselves so that we become weak and have no strength to fight for our rights!" D-16 shouted, silencing his audience with his imposing words as his body was covered in the blood of the former arena champion. "Ever since I started protesting against our corrupt government, they have tried to kill me every time! Dozens of enemies who sold their morals to be part of this evil plan!"
Orion Pax and Elita-1 returned to the stands, surprised at how silent the audience was, as the sunlight seemed to illuminate D-16's silver armor, an imposing image that captivates the eyes of those who see it.
"I refuse to be their slave! I refuse to be a tool and part of this machine of corrupt schemes that let our brothers and sisters die day after day!" D-16 raised his sword high, letting the sun shine on its blade. "I promise you all that I will be the sword! The blade that will cut the roots of evil! I will not be limited to this arena, I will fight for Cybertron! As the ancient Primes once did!
The expressions on the faces of the Cybertronians as they heard this last sentence made their sparks feel a powerful emotion that they only felt when Megatronus spoke.
"Together we can save our home, save our countrymen, we must awaken from the darkness and then rise to Ascend!" D-16 stretched out both arms in a show of strength, catching his breath for a second. "RISE, CYBERTRON! RISE UP AGAINST THOSE WHO OPPRESS US! ALLOW ME TO FIGHT FOR YOU OUTSIDE THESE ARENAS!"
"Megatronus!"
"Megatronus!"
"Megatronus!"
"Megatronus!"
"Megatronus!"
D-16 raised his sword and pointed it where IACON stood, creating an imposing image for all to see as a liberator, a warrior sent to unite Cybertron. He allowed himself to close his eyes, to hear the audience chanting his name, a great feeling that made him feel powerful, but it was time to move towards freedom, to leave this arena on his own feet.
"Free Megatronus!!!" A fanatic shouted, trying to get the crowd to join in.
"Free Megatronus!"
"Free Megatronus!"
"Free Megatronus!"
Orion Pax couldn't help but smile as he watched his friend proclaim his freedom with the support of the populace, captivated by his revolutionary words that might just save Cybertron from this era of false peace. As everyone raised their fists and proclaimed D-16's freedom, one faceless Cybertronian in particular remained silent, knowing that he could now appeal to the High Council to free D-16 and begin a new revolution.