Music To Our Ears...

by Prorook363

Cold Blooded Statistics

Kaon.

Beholder of the Smelting Pools and the infamous Gladiatorial Pits.

Home to the scum of Cybertron.

The wielder of misfortunes.

But there’s more to that.

This ghetto holds more than misfortunes.

It harnesses the poor and humble, which have been neglected and abused by the ‘high society’ of Cybertron.

It holds potential.

My…OUR…masterpiece is Kaon.

…Because it allows us access to our darkest pleasures.

“Soundwave, I require your assistance”, a voice called out from behind. I turned my head over my shoulder to acknowledge my addresser.

In this room it seems like any other room an official of the High Council would habituate. A large room, filled with storage compartments, stuffed with data centers, and an official. Senator Ratbat though, is no ordinary member of the High Council. His code of conduct differentiates from the rest of the council men and because of that, I feel only compelled to offer my services.

For eons, I have been Ratbat’s most trusted adversary helping accomplish his dirty work and tie his loose ends.

Yes, adversary. In these dark parts of society, there are no allies.

Ratbat gazed at me, a look that somehow holds enough evil, yet a hint of charisma, which show nothing but corruption in his spark.

“I need you to send these files to an acquaintance of mine” he requested, motioning his hand in a rolling formation. I responded to his signal, rearing myself closer to the figure behind his desk.

I had no problem tending to his dirty deeds. They were never difficult task truly, and the reward was always worth the risk.
Ratbat’s hand lifted out a data file which illuminated his palm with red. Files in those shades were usually above confidential. I glanced at the file, and then took my gaze over to the dictator.

“These files hold vital information and I need you to deliver them without being spotted,” he said, lifting his finger up at me. I stood there in silence as he continued.

“I ensure you’ll be able to deliver the files with no troubles?”

I stay silent and simply grab the files from his palm into my hand. I’ve never muttered a word to Ratbat in all my time of service with him. Maybe that’s why he has allowed me to carry on his task for so long, because he believes I’m nothing more than a mindless droid.

Ratbat is sly though. He’d rather keep me as a close asset because he knows what I’m capable of.

He simply shot a smile in my direction and waved his hand to dismiss me. Serving this glitch won’t be a problem for far too long. With the enemies he’s establishing, I’ll see his demise by the third cycle of the moon.

I make my way for the door eager to carry on this task and establish a little info of my own. As I make my way to the door. I come to a sudden halt. Something in the air doesn’t seem right. My hand is still lying on the door panel but I don’t dare make another move until I find out this oddity.

I amplify my sensors to make any form of sound more audible to me. No sooner as I do that, I could make out sounds from the hall ahead of me (or possibly farther). Muffled struggling. That’s not a good sign.

I quickly lay my hands off the panel and back up a few paces. The sounds are getting louder from far ahead.

“...Hurry he can’t get far…”

Then I sensed faint vibrations coming for the floor tracing back to the walls behind me. I immediately knew what was happening. Ratbat, on the other hand, has no idea.

“Soundwave!” Ratbat exclaimed. “Stop fooling around and get-“

KSSHH!!!

Glass flew through the room, littering the room with the framework of the window as well. I ducked trying to avoid the attackers as they flew through spraying their silenced weapons as they fired blindly. Ratbat wasn’t so lucky.

One of the mercenaries flew straight in to the back of their target, causing him to be thrown against his desk and sprawled across the floor. He laid there, dazed, and before i could retrieve my weapon from my holster the mercenary shot him dead. He won’t be much of a problem to anyone anymore but his death automatically put me in the place of his old burdens. The mercenaries now locked their weapons on me, each one of them barraged in a coat of digital camo with a brightly lit insignia. I’m not shocked to see THEM here.

Before they can terminate me, the door leading from the hall suddenly burst open, causing me and my captors to fall to our knees. The blast stunned my senses but I quickly regained them as I saw the mercs regain their footing. I didn’t waste a nano-click, for I jumped up instantly despite my haywired senses, and instinctively jumped out the window. Shots ripped through the air as I fell out into the shine of the moons.

I was in free-fall now, trying to quickly find a way to avoid my body from being one with the ground.

My servos were racing, analyzing every ridge and trying to calculate a location I could grasp on too.

As I was passing floor by floor, I felt like it was a hopeless cause but I won’t give in to gravity. I will not be bested by a natural force.

Finally a large ledge that would be able to sustain my weight was two levels below me so I instantly reached out my arms to grab on.

I grasped on to the ledge, but the weight of my body and the force of gravity caused me to instantly lose my grasp. I spun vertically now as my arms slipped from their destination and I was back in free fall. I cursed myself until I hit the ground which was another level below.

I was in pain, but I wasn’t offline. Thankfully, I reached out for the ledge in time and even though I wouldn’t be walking right for some time, it’s better than being dismantled on the floor.

As I began to stand to my feet, I felt my impulses still warning me to leave. I knew I was not safe, especially when the Elite Ops were on my tail. I had to leave fast or I’ll end up like Ratbat. I began to drag half my body as I tried to sprint across the dark alleyway, pain still shooting through my circuits. I began to run the schematics of the area I was in, until sparks burst around me. I didn’t need to turn my heads to know my pursuers.

“Quick!” One shouted. “Don’t let him get away!”

More shots fired, this time, dangerously close.

My body quickly shot through the alley, my neurosensors ignoring the pain. I was frantically running through the alley, closely making my way to the next alley. Shots were fizzing past me but I got to keep going.

Then in the corner of my visor I saw a figure running up and down on the side of me. I ran vital scans only to realize it was a cloaked scout. I tried to lose the scout by swaying side to side dodging gunfire as I passed through to the end of the valley. It didn’t help to know that there was a 78.9 percent chance I’d be struck by one of those.

In the head.

As I finally reached the end, I made a quick right turn only to have a round go straight into my leg. I faltered for a short while and tried to continue sprinting, but the scout seized the moment. He tackled me and we both collapsed into the ground. I tried desperately to get a hold of his head, but I could not seem to grasp it, because of his cloak. It’s almost as if I was fighting with my shadow.

As the scout began to get a firm hold of me around my head, I stumbled upwards, frantically trying to claw him off. As I turned and twisted my body, I made out the figures ascending from the previous alley, and I finally let instinct take over. I couldn’t rely on any statistic, and with another burst of energy pumping through my circuits I whirled my body and reached my arm out, so I can catch the spinning Autobot. He would instinctively drop me to the ground to prevent me from fleeing, but my enemy misjudged me, a cost he would pay dearly for.

I knew I had him I my grasp once I felt him struggling and clawing at my hand. I knew I had him by the neck.

“Open fire!” the squad leader shouted. If only he knew

RATATATATATA!

I quickly went prone, trying to make sure that my body wasn’t in any direct line of fire, but the scout’s body was in my place. As I heard the shots sink into the scouts back, a vague smile sprawled across my face. I felt warm energon began to trickle down my palm.

‘Why isn’t he getting hit?” an Elite Op shouted. That’s when his answer came into view. The scout’s body began to re-digitalize into his true form. His eyes gazed back at me hollow and empty gawking at me. I saw his small nimble frame torn to shreds by his own comrades; I wouldn’t be able to shield myself with him again.

The three stopped in their tracks, stunned, by their own handy work.

“What the scrap…”

“Dear Primus”

“You piece of slag!” the third one shrieked, lifting up his firearm on me. I was one step ahead of him though, for I hurled the remnants of their partner straight at them and I charged them. The three shielded themselves from the flying debris and tried to recover quickly, but by then I was already on the first one.

I grabbed him from the side and kneed him in the chassis belt. His partners already trained their weapons on me, but I threw there injured companion into one of the attackers, not before punching him in the chest, which wouls caus a rupture in his spar. He'll bleed out slow and painfully. The two of them collapsed into a heap on the floor. The remaining soldier pulled the trigger on his weapon, which resulted in a shot digging its way into my chest, but I was set on my target.

I grasped the Autobot’s weapon as I elbowed the bot in the chest, causing him to let go of his firearm. As he stumbled downward, I approached him raising the weapon to use as a blunt object. My servo was racing. I did not intend to end this quickly.

As my victim turned his face to glance at me I brought the blunt end of the weapon straight down on his head.

CRRKK!

With a satisfying crunch I tried to pull the weapon out of his head only to realize is was wedged in tightly. I had no energy to spend on pulling the weapon out so I simply dropped the weapon, it’s ‘wielder’ collapsing with it. I was enraged fueled by primal instinct; I could not see the world as it was. It all just seemed like a vivid blur.

As I began lumbering over the deceased Autobots, my senses began to set back to optimal levels. This did not help so much for I could now feel the bullet lodged in my chest, leaving me to slip in and out of consciousness. I managed to make my way out of the alley, my body, badly broken from surviving an encounter with the Elite Ops. Not many get to live and tell their tales-

RATA!

My senses begin to fail quickly, as I felt my body began to collapse on the ground. I tried to stay up but I just couldn’t; my body didn’t respond to my request. I tried to get up on my legs, but I could only force myself to pull myself upwards, leaving me in the position of a scrap dog. I could see energon begin to leak around me even though I couldn’t feel it. I looked around hazily as my vision began to fail and standing in the middle of the alley was an Elite Op approaching me swiftly. I tried to prepare for what was to happen but I was too slow.

The bot kicked me in the side, causing me to tumble over onto the side of my body and look up straight into the optics of my would-be-murderer. The grin on his face showed he would be more than generous to put me out of my misery.

My vitals began falling, the beat of my spark audible now. I had no fight left in me, and I would only prolong the inevitable.

The world began to slowly move by me as I stood there, and my vision started fading. My systems began to start going offline, when suddenly I saw a figure creep up behind the merc. My visors widened temporarily to barely make out the image of someone bursting their fist through the Autobot’s chest and extinguishing it with a clench of his fist. The deceased body fell as the figure pull his fist out of his chest and he glared at me with extremely red optics. Before I could react in any way my body shut down…
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System Rebooting

Status: Below optimal

My body shot straight up as my systems began to restart. I quickly turned my body to pull out my firearm, which followed by a shot of pain ringing through my body. I staggered upwards slowly, trying to find out my exact location. I seemed to be in a poorly built work shed. It seemed to have been altered into a manageable home.

This time I slowly turned my body, wincing at the shots of pain that ensued, only to realize that my firearm wasn’t there. I
possibly dropped it back in Ratbat’s office.

Well at least I lost something unimportant unlike Ratbat who literally lost it all. I felt no remorse. He deserved his penalty. He was sloppy in business and was never good at covering his tracks.

So I was unarmed and injured in a mysterious house. That was not a good combination.

I slowly walked around the shed, trying to find things of any value, but then came to a sudden halt when I realized a faint light along with the shadow of a figure illuminating the wall.

I glanced to the center of the room to see a small fire blazing in the middle of the room accompanied by a huge, stocky, cybertronian. He stood there glaring at me with a stern look, the kind that won’t melt ice, but the kind that can actually start a fire. It seemed fueled by hate, anger, and rage.

Then again anyone living in the slums of Kaon would be like this, but, there was something about this particular bot. I just couldn’t find out what.

The figure glared at me and with a voice as stern and dry as steel he spoke to me. “You can’t handle a squad of Elite Op soldiers but yet you dare glare into the eyes of me?” He snorted.

He looked at the flames and then back at me. I never lowered my gaze at him.

Then I saw it. His optics.

This was the bot that saved me from the one operative I forget to terminate. The memories of what happened began to flood back into my mind. This is the bot that tore a hole through a cybertronian's chest almost as if it were a copper-bot. I began to fear and respect this figure at the same time.

The brute began to speak again. “I should’ve let them extinguish your spark. You’re lousy in a fight, and out here in Kaon you wouldn’t survive even a nano-click.”

He spat into the flames and a small sizzle occurred in the flames.

“But” He continued. “I myself happen to hate the Elite Guard so I thought I’d just let them take you down, to tire them out…”
He’s getting to something. There’s no way he truly want me dead if he dragged me out of that alley.

“Yet even though the odds were against you, you fought.”

He beamed at me and signaled his hand to come towards him.

I denied his offer, still standing by the confines of the wall. I did not fully trust him yet.

He even knew this, for he simply stopped motioning his hand and glared into the slowly fading fire.

“I saw what you did to those Guards. That is no simple task anybot could accomplish”

He wants something from me. He’s admiring my skills and is slowly trying to build my trust. It isn’t going to work. Many have tried in the past and Ratbat only succeeded because I was compensated for my hard work. What will he give me?

The mysterious figure went on. “As a gladiator of the pits, I’ve only seen that sort of skill in extremely skilled fighters. Where did you possibly learn to attain such skills?”

Silence.

Megatron glared at me, and I could quickly see he was losing patience.
But he did not change his tone. “You are a respectable fighter and I admire a fighter. Skills like these should be harnessed for the near future”.

I bowed my head in and understanding manner but I tried to hint a sign of curiosity. What did he mean by the time to come?

Megatron glanced at me harshly, yet, his voice finally gave a sign of accomplishment. He possibly did this because i responded to one of his questions finally.

“Let me tell you something my friend...”

Friend?

He continued on. “…Cybertron is a place of corruption and segregation. The High Council speaks of equality for all cybertronians.”

He laughed dryly at the idea. I laughed as well, silently.

“The High Council does not live up to those promises. Instead they dwindle I their own wealth while the lower class suffer and fight to live another day. That is an unfair an unjust Cybertron.”

This gladiator is actually putting together Cybertron perfectly. I always saw this, but I always thought the inhabitants of Kaon were too busy to piece the idea together.

“Soon though”, he protested, waving a finger. “There will be a new era where all cybertronians will be considered equals amongst one another. There will be no differences, no segregation, and no war. It will be known as the golden era of Cybertron!”

He finished triumphantly, his gaze looking overhead, as if he was looking at his dream then and now.

I could imagine it too. A Cybertron full of no corruption. No vigilantes. No evil.

That’s a Cybertron I can’t live with. I’ve lived with corruption all my life; it’s almost all I know. What will become of me after this proposed revolution?

“A storm is coming comrade” he warned.” I hope you’re ready for it when it comes”.

He stood now, a tall bulky figure, whose figure seemed to clutter the room. He walked over to my side and I followed his every move as he approached me looking at me in optic level.

“I am Megastronus”. I looked down at his hand which he held out expecting me to shake it.

I thought this over. Here is this mysterious figure that comes to me and obviously isn’t inviting me for a nice chat. He wants something from me. A gladiator from Kaon does not save just any person who is near death.

His proposal of Cybertron is madness, yet many will not give in. There will be disputes that will lead to small bloodshed. If anything his plan may fail and there will be more corruption. Yet, I feel compelled to help him. He did in fact save me from my spark extinguishing.

Not that it is enough of a reason to immediately hand it over to my savior...

Not knowing what will be ahead of me in the path i just chose, I looked up into the Bot’s eyes and silently shook his hand.

He gazed at me a grin beginning to appear on his face. His red eyes gleamed with delight.

“Welcome to Kaon…”
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Full optimal level reached

…

What the-

Was I just in recharge?

I can’t recall the last time I was ever in that stage. Wait nevermind that, what did i just recall?

Was- was that the day I met Megatron?

No, it could'nt have been. That was so very long ago...

It’s been millennia since that life changing day. That day I finally got away from that Scrapping glitch Ratbat and experienced near death after killing the Elite Ops (I honestly forgot how I killed those bots). I barely remembered the city of Kaon for it was destroyed during the Uprising (The day Megastronus…uh, Megatron initiated his plans).

This dream though helped me remember what I forgot on that very day.

And helped me realize how much I’ve changed.

The younger version of me seemed so cunning, swift, and coldblooded. Yes those are still my skills but compared to the old me… Could I have gotten soft?

Wait, no I couldn’t have. I’ve grown accustomed to the ways of the Decepticons after Millennia of warfare. I was raised in the pits of Kaon, forced to fight and kill my fellow neighbors just to get by with scraps. I never got enough of violence (that’s an aspect the old and modern me shared) but I could feel myself…slowly fading away from its desire.

…

WHAT THE SCRAP AM I SAYING?

I’m a Decepticon, I’ve killed countless Autobots over the millennia, and I have no other purpose other than to support the cause Megatron proposed.
...

…But, in my dream Megatron proposed me a different idea. He promised there would be a change in Cybertron’s society, for the greater good of all cybertronians. It was an idea I was not pleased with at the time. I considered to only heeding his offer to join in on the bloodshed.

As the war prolonged though, I think me and Lord Megatron’s morals started to split to opposite poles. Megatron now does not think about what’s right for the cybertronians but instead what suits his preferences.

And now I find myself beginning to...

Now I’m speaking the words of a traitor. I feel no different than Shockwave. What I propose is madness...
I can’t ponder on this now, seriously, I think it’s just me being locked in my alt mode. It’s messing with my servos.

Still…

…My last act before I came here… I decided to save the lives of cybertronians, whether they’re Autobot or Decepticon from Shockwave and his assistant Shockblast. It wasn’t a rational decision neither. It was a thought I knew would be for the greater good of Cybertron. The old me would’ve had no problem letting zombots run rampant, tearing through every living cybernetic organism. He would’ve taken Shockwave’s logic as sane.

I myself use to believe in Natural Selection, and even though I still do, I began to get a sudden urge to drive my cold-blooded instincts back into a cage. Its as if my servos willl allow my thoughts to run ramoant like they use too. Then destroy the cage with all its burdens…

This is all too much to process in my head. It leaves me with more questions then answers, some even i can't evaluate.

This scrapping place isn’t exactly helping either. I'm sitting on a desk, in a horses house who lives off the very essence of music.

Speaking of which, why is the horse still on the stadium? I saw her leave after megacycles of picking at her dreaded guitar. I’ll admit she’s got determination but honestly…actually, no I don’t have nothing to admit, she’s a fleshy and she’s got no talent.

The fried out horse appeared to be sprawled across the stadium, here optics not too far from her body. Someone killed her? Well, damn I’d be cheering if I wasn’t pinned up on this desk. If she was dead though there would surely be more of a mess. So that means…

“Ohhhh my head…”

…She’s alive. Not to my surprise.

The white horse slowly got up, her optics still closed. She seemed to have looked around, even though her eyes were closed, until they fell upon a black box on the side of her center console. From this angle I really couldn’t make out what it was.

She glanced over in my direction and through her squinted optics; I think she was looking at me. She spun to the table and placed the strange object into her mouth. I wondered how this day was going to turn out. I honestly believed my circuits were going to burst through those megacycles she was playing that instrument of destruction.
She began to slowly walk off the stadium, stumbling on each step as she descended downwards. It felt good at first to know that I was going to get peace and quiet, but peace and quiet would leave me to ponder on my true intentions. I will not deal with that, this soon into my time here.

One day a Decepticon, the next a traitor.

The servos can sure drive one to insanity. Seriously I feel a little light headed, almost as if I’m being lifted off the desk.
Well, to my surprise, I’m finding myself actually levitating off the ground.

That’s it, my mind has completely short-circuited.

Thankfully though I knew I wasn’t imagining this. I was elevated through the two towering amps and over the center console until I saw a peculiar event. Vinyl’s horn appeared to be glowing…

That’s extremely odd, yet I don’t find it too surprising considering they’re capable of speech.

I followed her (or she dragged me), watching her walk clumsily to the dining table as she placed the mysterious item on the table. It was a cassette.

I’m not even going to say anything and accept it. It’s bound to happen, especially around this music enthusiast.

She levitated me onto the table near the cassette and she still suffered from sleep deprivation, but she managed to vaguely glance at me. She was an odd one, but I myself was always considered an oddity amongst the Decepticons.

She vaguely smiled and lifted me up close to her sealed optics, until she managed to open them sheepish-

…

System Override

Processors Overheating
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Oh man I hope all that work last night was worth it. Seriously I was lucky to even find a Cassette around here. Those do-hickeys are kinda' hard to find.

Well after another catastrophic night of not being able to get that rift right (after hours!) I decided to trot off to bed. But I couldn’t just fall asleep.

I kept thinking about my new awesome gadget and I really wanted to test it out. So I got up from my bed and looked everywhere to find a cassette. I looked everywhere, and it took quite a while, but I finally found one in one of my cabinets.
I took it back to my laptop and tried to make a mix tape out of the cassette but it was so old I had to do a bunch of things.
And they were B-O-R-I-N-G.

But I was able to do it so that’s the thought that counts.

“What up, little guy?” I asked the mini cassette player, looking at it with my heavy eyes. I probably only got two hours of sleep so don’t judge me for making small talk with my gadget!

I tossed it around in my hooves, checking in the back compartment, and other regions to see if there won’t be any problems at all. I put him down to get the cassette I created and couldn’t wait to show this off in the streets. Everyone would probably be all like, ‘look she’s got a walkpony!’ or ‘look she’s so cool because she’s old school!’

I was also looking forward to asking Twilight for a favor to help me “modify” something of mine.

My house was quite a mess so I might need to clean up a bit before I leave, but heck I’m use to picking up mess when I’ve only had little sleep.

I picked up my two new items and couldn’t help but smile in delight at the awesome-ness this would produce! I opened the tape deck compartment to slip the cassette in, which I then closed with a satisfying click sound.

I placed the Music Player on the table and returned my attention back to my house which required my cleaning skills (that usually meant stashing trash under the bed).

I raced off away from the table, shaking off all ideas of being tired, because this week was going to be pretty busy. I still have to plan for the Gig tomorrow.
Yay!
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….

Systems stabilizing

…

It’s not what you think.

I was merely…stunned…by…her…strangely…

…

Now is not the time.

Having a cassette back in my chest is not the most thrilling experience for me.

If it’s not my most fellow companions, keep it out of my chest. I’ve always felt accompanied by their presence and the
thought of them being replaced enrages me.

Ravage and Lazerbeak, my two closest allies, dead. All by the hands of Shockblast.

I tire of making empty threats to the ones who cast me out here, but I will avenge them if I ever get the chance.

Because now, it’s personal.

And I intend to make it a priority…

“Phew! Glad I got that out of the way…” I heard a faint soft voice from the end of the hall.

…Right after I get out of here.

By Primus, she accomplishes tasks fast. The horse wandered out of a room to the left of the stadium, and seemed to have some sort of belt and wires wrapped around her. She walked on over in my direction, her Purple optics still gleaming a vibrant tone.

I seriously hoped i wasn't getting soft.
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Okay now that all the junk is stashed under my bed (I think I may need to buy two beds); I was finally able to get my side pouch and headphones. I walked over to the table to retrieve my cassette player and I plugged my headphones into the audio input. I then laid those two things down and flung my side pouch over my head so it was right next to my left side.

After that I retrieved my cassette player and headphones, planning to test it out. If it doesn’t work, I’m throwing it out, seriously.

I placed my Headphones over my head and returned my attention back to my Walkman.

“I hope you don’t blow up in my hooves…” I muttered praying to Celestia, bringing my hoof close to the play button.
Click!

I waited for an explosion and I got one. Not one in my hands though. It was in my Eardrums!

YES! The music player worked!

I was so excited; I instantly clipped my little friend onto my side pouch and bolted out the door, closing it on my way out. I was so happy that I had a part of me accompany me wherever I went. The sun shined vibrantly today and it felt so fresh outside!
i knew it would be a good day

And it’s all thanks to that little item the Cutie Mark Crusaders brought me. If I saw them on the street right now I’d kiss them all.

For now though, I made my way to the center of Ponyville to take care of some little things before the big day!

It’s going to be one awesome week!

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I hope I could say the same.

I don’t want to slip into recharge again for a long time…

Comments

[Leggy the brony]

Much fun was had during the reading of this fiction...
Keep it up!

[Kabuto901]

i wonder if soundwave talk to viny true her head phones

[StatusQo]

'Not one in my hands though' dont you mean hoof