Fic: Centaurions, Ch. 1
A/N: In which main characters are a bunch of mythical creatures
The Twins' Story
The blade swung with deadly accuracy. One last blow to end the fight.
The last petrohound’s head thumped to the dusty ground a second before its body did.
Sunstreaker stood over it, his golden armor spattered with fading pink energon. He stomped one hoof and swung his dual, check-shaped swords in a quick loop before subspacing them. Across the arena, Sideswipe stepped over his last kill, another petrohound, this one smaller and faster than the one Sunstreaker had killed. Around them lay the shredded forms of five of the mechanimals that had been set on them.
The crowd watching was going wild.
The Twins were one of the circus’s best shows. Not only were they freaks, sharing one spark between the two massive, half-ironhorse, half mech frames, but they were practically unbeatable. All manner of beasts had been set against them. Packs of petrohounds, giant mechawolves, mountain cybercats, tunnel worms, gargantuan wirevipers from the Crystal Forest, even, occasionally, foreign, alien, organic species.
These five petrohounds, though trained to take down solarbucks and other large game, hadn’t been the slightest challenge on this day.
But it was still only the beginning. It was only the starting act.
The two half-mechs made their way back to each other, meeting in the middle of the arena. Their frames were already spattered with energon, none of it theirs. It rarely was.
No words were exchanged between the two. They never talked in the arena. They didn’t have to. It was the one place they functioned best as one mech, where they let their spark-halves merge on the deepest level they possibly could without physically pressing them together. They weren’t Sunstreaker and Sideswipe in the arena - they were one mech in two bodies, thinking, feeling, reacting together, without communication.
Despite the unwillingness of their battles, the merging made their spark sing. Fighting made them whole again.
“Once again!” a mech’s voice rang out on a loudspeaker, “The Twins are triumphant! Let’s see now how they do against… a sabercat!”
A sigh passed between the halves of the spark. Sabercats were difficult, with their spiny armor and razor manes, not to mention their massive claws and teeth, but it wasn’t anything they hadn’t fought before.
~Didn’t the Ringmaster say something about this being a huge fight for the Prime?~ one of the Twins questioned over their sparklink.
~Best and biggest, always last.~
And the sabercat burst from the cage-tunnel, roaring and screaming.
Both Twins flicked their unique dual swords from their subspace and sprang into motion. Sideswipe quickly pulled ahead, the faster and more maneuverable of the two. Sunstreaker, the stronger and larger of the two, thundered behind, already poised in a move rehearsed in arena after arena, fight after fight, town after city.
Sideswipe and the sabercat clashed first, and the red Twin swung both swords in a long, diagonal, downward slash. The sabercat screeched, a horrible, audio-rending sound, and it leaped sideways. Sunstreaker was right behind, and their opponent once again had to dodge to the side, right back into Sideswipe again.
The two maneuvered the wild, raging mechanimal into the center of the arena, ping-ponging back and forth between them.
The crowd was going as wild as the soon-to-be-offline creature.
It landed a few minor cuts on the Twins - barely drawing any energon. The Twins, however, landed blow after blow, shearing off bits of armor and plating. Sprays of liquids - energon, coolant, joint lubricant, hydraulic fluid - arced in colorful ribbons behind the check-shaped, curved blades.
Soon, the sabercat lay offline before them, torn to pieces, trampled, its destroyed remains still slowly leaking fluids into the dust.
The announcer came on again. “What a marvelous display of talent! What skill! Now, for a real performance…”
A mech with heavy armor and a mace walked through the tunnel. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe turned to face him, waiting for the next beast.
“Sentinel Prime… I present to you a mech from the Wastelands of the South, a slave, sold into our possession specifically for this event. Should he defeat the never-before beaten Twins, he gains his freedom! Should they win… Well, we know what they do to the loser!”
The crowd screamed, calling for energon.
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker paced backwards.
They had never fought another mech before, much less fought one to the death. Every fight was against a mechanimal, something not sentient. They had been able to live with the killing then.
~Can’t do it, bro,~ Sideswipe murmured as they stepped back again, away from their supposed opponent.
~Can’t die, either.~
Their backs hit the wall.
The mech rumbled dangerously, angrily. His optics flared red. The mace twitched and the mech took another large step forward.
Sunstreaker lifted a sword and pointed it in the green mech’s direction. “Stay back,” he snarled. The first time either of them had ever spoken in the arena.
“Or what? I kill you, I get freedom.”
“Stay back.”
“No.”
There was nowhere for the Twins to go. Their backs, for the first time, were against the wall.
The mech took another step.
Then he swung.
Both Twins sprang apart, one going in each direction. The mace clanged against the arena wall, sending up a shower of sparks.
Faster than either believed possible, the mech recovered and whirled around, mace flying. Its massive, spiked end connected, barely, with Sideswipe’s rump. The round armor of his rear right thigh crumpled slightly - not a fatal wound, but painful.
The tap on the rear made Sideswipe lurch forward, then spin around, swords up.
That was when Sunstreaker’s front hooves crashed into the mech’s back, sending him slamming to the ground.
~Go, Sides. I won’t make you do this. I’ll take care of him.~ Sunstreaker’s face was twisted in a terrible snarl.
Sideswipe hesitated for a moment, torn between his desire to not kill, and his desire to not leave his brother.
The mech under Sunstreaker rolled out from under the crushing hooves, heavy armor barely dented, systems only temporarily stunned.
Loyalty won out.
~Never leaving you, Suns.~
The mech, now on his feet, was already charging at the yellow Twin, mace raised and ready to swing.
Sideswipe was on him before he was within range of Sunstreaker. Dual swords flashed in the evening light, and connected with a clang. One stuck in the armor of the mech’s shoulder, the other glanced off his chest.
With a roar, the mech twisted, turning the mace on the red Twin again. Sideswipe skipped back, but his grip on the sword stuck in the shoulder plate failed, and the blade stayed.
Sunstreaker charged in, rearing again, hooves flailing. One hoof caught the mech on the helm, sending him reeling backwards. The other struck the edge of Sideswipe’s blade, sending it flying away, toward the far wall.
As he settled back onto all four feet, the yellow Twin’s swords swept downward, skipping off the massive chest plate, leaving two long, jagged, parallel scratches.
A trickle of sparkling pink energon started to seep from the scratches as the large mech took a staggering step backward, then raised his weapon again. The mech's face was covered with a heavy mask, but his optics showed his determination, his anger. Sunstreaker stood, poised, blades ready, tail twitching slightly as he waited for his opponent to make another move. Sideswipe, across the arena, walked steadily sideways toward where his own sword had fallen, never turning away from the massive mech in the center of the arena.
The mech growled lowly and glanced behind him, and, seeing Sideswipe down a weapon, decided to go after the red Twin again. For as large as he was, the mech moved quickly, pedes shaking the dusty ground. A piece of armor that had been sheared off of the sabercat crunched under his weight and dust puffed up around every step.
Sunstreaker lurched into motion barely an instant after the mech did. ~Sides, move!~
But the red Twin already was moving, hindquarters bunching, then lengthening as he leaped toward their opponent, single sword raised and held in front of him like a lance, face twisted into a snarl, audials flattened to his helm.
The mech roared and swung his mace as the two closed in on each other. Sideswipe's hooves thundered on the ground as he sprang suddenly to the side, dodging the strike, and in the same movement twisted and thrust his sword into the mech's armpit.
This time, with two hands on the grip, the sword came away with its owner, trailing droplets of energon and joint fluid as Sideswipe danced backwards. The mech roared and staggered, but did not fall nor drop his weapon. Sunstreaker did not strike the mech when he approached, but skirted around him until he joined his brother's side. The Twins stood side by side, standing in front of their leaking, massive opponent.
The mech rumbled at them and hefted his mace one-handed, the arm Sideswipe had damaged hanging almost useless at his side.
“Stay back,” Sunstreaker growled, taking a half-step forward and lifting one blade slightly in warning. “We don't want to offline you.”
“I have no choice! I can't go back. I can only move forward.”
Sideswipe took a few more sideways steps until he could lean down his mech half and pick up his lost sword. With it back in his hand, he again stepped to his brother's side. “We really don't want to hurt you,” he said, indigo optics dim.
~If we refuse to fight, what will they do?~ the red Twin asked his brother, sending him a worried glance before looking up into the crowd. Mechs were booing, screaming for energon, screaming for the Twins to cut him to pieces, calling for him to batter them to bits. About midway up the stands, there was an enclosed box with tinted windows. Where the Prime was watching. Where Sideswipe and Sunstreaker's owners were watching.
~I don't know.~
~I-~
But the mech was already charging forward again with a roar, mace swinging in a deadly arc.
The Twins sprang again to either side, then trotted around to the other side of the arena, where they met, turned, and faced the larger mech again.
~I really don't want to do this,~ Sideswipe whispered, spark shuddering.
~I know,~ his Twin replied, shuffling his hooves and lifting his blades again as their opponent began marching toward them again. ~He won't give up though. And you know we don't have any help coming here.~ Sunstreaker took a step forward, toward the mech. ~I'll handle this, Sides.~
~Sunny-~ Sideswipe started, but the yellow Twin was already launching forward, heavy hooves churning up dust, dual swords held ready. The mech roared a challenge and lifted his mace. Sunstreaker roared back.
The crowd went silent.
Sideswipe sprang forward, following his brother.
Sunstreaker had the mech well in hand, though. Their opponent was skilled and heavily armored. He blocked most of the strikes the yellow Twin threw his way, and those that he didn't manage to block mostly landed on heavy armor, barely injuring him. But on the other hand, the mech had yet to land a hit on Sunstreaker. Despite being the slower Twin, Sunstreaker was still faster than the mech.
Sideswipe danced around the dueling pair, watching for an opening, sword tips twitching as he followed the deadly exchange of blows. Dirt flew beneath heavy pedes and hooves, the dry dust hanging in the still air, the energon-wet mud falling in dingy clumps.
Suddenly, the red Twin lunged forward and caught the mech’s left hand - the one he had injured earlier - as their opponent whipped it upward, a small dagger almost hidden in the bulk of his massive fist. The flat of Sideswipe’s sword hit the mech’s wrist. The strike did not cause the bulky mech to falter much in his movement, but the jolt of it sent the small blade wheeling through the air.
The crowds of mechs in the stands roared.
Now Sideswipe was in on the dance. The mech was nimble, and managed to keep the two of them in front of him, and managed to block most of their strikes, but he was mostly on the defensive now.
~Sides, back off, I’ll finish this,~ Sunstreaker ordered, even his mental voice transmitting as a snarl.
~Never leaving you, Sunny,~ his brother responded as he lashed out with his front hooves at their opponent.
The green mech growled lowly when the low kicks connected, and for a moment, his defense faltered. The mace was lowered slightly, and Sunstreaker lunged.
His sword hit, slid across thick armor, then plunged deep, through a thin gap between the mech’s main chestplate and his upper abdominal plating.
For a moment, all was still, silent.
Then the crowd exploded.
The mech slumped slightly, and energon began seeping out around the blade embedded in his torso.
Sunstreaker let go of the sword and stepped back, his brother pacing backwards beside him.
The mech groaned and staggered, tried to lift his mace higher, lowered it until it was level with his waist, glared at the Twins. His optics flared, red almost whited out.
The crowd started up a chant; “Finish him! Finish him! Finish him!”
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker stood, side by side, looking at the green mech, now on his knees.
“No,” they said together, and turned around.
The crowd booed.
The Twins had barely taken a step when there was a soft sound behind them, and a mace came screaming down on Sunstreaker’s rump.
The yellow Twin let out a screech and reared, wheeling on his hind hooves.
Sideswipe was faster, though, whirling around, swords flying in a sparkling arc, face twisted in a rage-filled snarl. The green mech, arms still extended from striking Sunstreaker, weak and slow from pain, sword still driven deep into his chassis, could barely react.
The red Twin’s first sword struck him across the neck plating, denting and scoring the metal before sliding off. His second sword hit precisely on the same line, and the damaged metal split beneath the razor edge. The mech’s masked face showed no expression, but his red optics surged crimson, before dimming to a dull maroon. Energon gushed from the wound, spattering across his own chest and Sideswipe’s.
His head wasn’t completely disconnected from his frame, but the amount of energon flooding from his body was enough to have him offlined in a matter of breems.
Sideswipe stared, horrified, as the mech fell to his knees, then to his side, limbs crumpled unnaturally beneath him, optics dim.
Sunstreaker limped up to stand besides Sideswipe. With a heavy vent, he lifted his remaining sword and drove it under the mech’s chest plate, angled upward. Spark energy rushed along the blade, silvery sparks dancing in a morbid firework show.
~Better than to die slow,~ he offered to his brother. ~Thank you.~
The crowd was roaring, cheering, stamping their feet. Never had the Twins heard a crowd make such a noise at the defeat of their foe.
Sideswipe reached a hand out, and Sunstreaker took it.