After defeating the show off gladiators, the spectating gladiators began to cheer Luna for the amazing and outstanding fight she gave against the biggest jerks of Kaon.

"Way to go, newbie!" A gladiator cheered.

"About time someone showed those jerks a good lesson." Another said with a grin as he looked down at Steam Jet and Rim Shot as the two just groaned painfully.

"Thank you all." She nodded before she got out of the training field and towards where Megatronus and the others were as Rumble and Frenzy stared at her like she's a goddess.

"The new one sure can rumble. Makes me crumble like crazy." Rumble awed dreamily.

"I’ll say. I wouldn’t want to be the next one fighting her." Frenzy agreed enthusiastically as Luna finally came up to them.

"Wow, that was an amazing fight. I’ve never seen anyone from Iacon fight as well as you do." Megatronus commented in astonishment and awe.

"Thanks." Luna couldn't help but smile slightly at that before Rumble and Frenzy came up to her.

"You were totally awesome. If you want, I could teach you some stuff." Frenzy said but Luna can clearly see that he's trying to impress her.

"Sure." She said as she decided to humor the two.

"Hey, how about we hang out one of these days?" Rumble suggested and Frenzy got annoyed with him.

"Back off, Rumble, I was here first." Frenzy told him.

"Don’t push me, you pathetic excuse of a minicon. Rumble countered as the two got into each other's face and Luna could practically feel the electricity of competition between them.

"You’re the one who’s pathetic. Have you looked at yourself? You’re as ugly as a scraplet." Frenzy said.

"At least I’m smarter than you." Rumble said as Frenzy scoffed.

"Yeah, well, I’m not as nuts as you are." He said before Soundwave had enough.

"Enough, you two, return now." He said as the two glared at each other before going to Soundwave.

"Yeah, boss." They both said as the two along with Ravage and Laserbeak went back to Soundwave who turned to Luna.

"You have fought an impressive battle. And therefore have proven your superiority." He said as Luna felt a bit embarrassed.

"Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here." She told him. Soundwave just tilted his helm at her but nodded.

"On the contrary, the way you fought was impressive and somewhat familiar. Where did you learn to fight like that?" Megatronus commended. He had a strange feeling when she was fighting and most of her attacks seemed so similar to his own.

Luna was nervous. She can't let him know that he taught her those fighting styles in the future.

"I, uh, I guess… I learned that from seeing you so much when you would fight." She said as Megatronus opened his mouth to ask only for a voice to interrupt them.

"Is that so?"

A voice was heard as everyone suddenly got quiet as Clench had come down after the fight ended with Sliderim and Shatter Stone and to say the least, none of the gladiators were pleased to see him but they kept their mouths shut.

"What do you want, Clench?" Megatronus questioned him as he stepped forward in front of Luna.

"Not much, just came to congratulate our new rookie. That was a spectacular fight you put in. She reminds me a bit of you, Megatronus. But you should be careful around here, arrogance might get you killed. And here, I won’t allow any revolts." Clench said as Luna looked at him unamused.

"Revolts? Is that what you call showing some jerks a good lesson in manners?" She asked him while having a servo on her hip struts.

"You’re quite brash, I see. Good thing there’s a way to know how to deal with that. Gearbreak, Shatter Stone, Sliderim. Get the new femme back into her cell, no Energon for 5 solar do cycles. And make her train hard. We’ll see if this cools her engine a bit." Clench ordered as Luna's optics widened. Was he seriously punishing her?!

The sudden order got everyone whispering in shock as Megatronus knew this wasn't fair for her and that Clench shouldn't just punish her for fighting the way she did.

"No, you can’t treat her like that. She’s still new, try and give her a- AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Megatronus tried to change Clench's decision but was hit on the tanks and was sent to his knees.

Clench was over him as he was the one who hit him.

"You should know better, Megatronus. No one defies my rules and those who do, face the consequences!" He said and he began to beat Megatronus.

With each hit, Megatronus started to leak some Energon from his mouth as Luna watched in shock and horror at what was happening. Megatronus was getting beaten and no one was doing anything to stop Clench. She looked around for help but they just watched silently. She could see that Soundwave wanted to stop Clench but was hesitating. Clench was about to punch him again but Luna ,who couldn’t bear to see her future sparkmate get hurt, felt like stepping in and accepting her punishment so she stepped forward.

"Stop!" Luna shouted which got everyone's attention.

Clench stopped what he was doing when he heard Luna speak.

"Don’t attack him. I’ll surrender, just stop hurting him because of me." Luna pleaded as Megatronus looked at her in shock.

"Very well. We’ll see how long you will resist in the pits." Clench smirked. So Megatronus was her weakness?

Shatter Stone and Sliderim walked to her with cruel smirks as Gearbreak had the same cuffs from before.

"Get up, newbie." Shatter Stone said.

"Time to go back to your cell." Sliderim snickered.

Gearbreak put the cuffs on Luna’s wrists as they got behind her and walked her to her cell. She looked one last time at Megatronus and Soundwave and gave them a pained yet soft smile before she started to walk away. As she started to walk away, Megatronus slowly got up but didn't take his optics at how she was being walked to her cell and thought on how she decided to accept the punishment as long as he wouldn’t suffer. This wasn't right. She shouldn't be punished because of him. He looked to Soundwave who looked at him. They both knew this wasn't fair but how are they going to help her.

When they got to the cell, Gearbreak took the cuffs off and Sliderim pushed Luna in so she wouldn’t get up as she fell down on her knee struts as she hit the wall with a grunt.

"Enjoy, you’ll be here for a long time." Sliderim cackled.

"And there’s no getting out of it." Shatter Stone as the three left. Gearbreak shook his head at the two as he looked at Luna before following the two.

Luna wanted to get up and hit those jerks but she didn’t want to cause anymore trouble and all she could do was sit down and hope that things would get better but she was proven wrong quickly.

On the first day, she was able to rest a bit when she got called in so she could go train. Clench wanted her to face off against some of his best and toughest gladiators. So far Luna was doing okay and yet when they would bring her back to her cell she would try to escape but there was no way out.

On the second day, she had to fight another gladiator, she won when she started to feel weak and tired suddenly. Her systems were telling her that her Energon levels were low and she needed to refuel. She ignored the warnings and to refuel and kept on training. Most gladiators went on with their own business, however Megatronus was getting worried for Luna.

He wanted to help her but when he tried to approach her, she would walk away and not give him a glance or a greeting which was worrisome. Luna knew Megatronus wanted to help her but she didn’t want him to get hurt because of her, so she thinks that it’s best for her to stay away from him. Which was twice as hard because she’s separated from her mate in the future and has to be separated from him even in the past and that is very painful for her and how her spark was calling out for his comfort.

On the third day she fought three gladiators on her own, having low Energon made her weak and she got defeated easily. When she was down on the ground, she had a hard time getting up. Her limbs were shaking badly, so bad they had to carry her to her cell.

On the fourth day, her systems were dangerously low near the red and warned her that she would shut down into stasis if she didn't refuel right now. When Clench came to see how she was doing, he was not surprised that she looked like she wasn’t gonna last long.

"I must say, you’re quite resistant. I do hope you learn a lesson." Clench smirked as Luna glared at him weakly.

"Do us both a favor… and get scrapped, you piece of walking junk…" She hissed as her lilac optics glowed dimly yet dangerously.

"Be defiant as much as you want. Soon you’ll go offline. And here I thought I would be gracious enough to give you some Energon but…" Clench said as he took out a cube of Energon from his subspace and dropped it on the floor and caused it to spill.

"It looks like I’m all out. Maybe next time, if there is one that is. Which I highly doubt. May you rust in peace." Clench laughed before he walked away as Luna glared at him but was barely keeping her optics online.

When night came, a few guards were keeping an eye on things. Security was tight. However, Megatronus had a plan to help Luna and it will need Soundwave's help for a distraction. He asked Soundwave to create a diversion to make the guards leave their posts which the silent mech did so. Hidden in the shadows, Soundwave was able to hack into the guards comm-links and imitate Clench’s voice.

"Gearbreak, Sliderim! I need you two outside the arena to deal with a disturbance, right now."

Gearbreak answered his comm-link.

"Okay, boss." Gearbreak said before turning it off as he turned to Sliderim who received the same message.

"Come on." He said as the two started to head outside of the arena to check the disturbance.

As soon as they left, Megatronus comes out of hiding from the shadows and hurries to the cell before opening Luna’s cell door. But what he saw made his spark pulsate painfully. Lying on the berth was Luna. There were new dents on her armor and some welds that she seemed to have done without proper medical care from a medic. Her lilac optics that he grew fond of seeing were dim and unfocused.

When she heard her cell door being opened, she opened her optics yet her vision was blurry but she can recognize the silver and red color of a mech as well as a pair of concerned blue optics.

"Megatron…" She whispered in surprise and tiredness as she tried to sit up but winced.

Megatron went over and helped her sit up.

"Easy there. It’s me, Megatronus." He corrected her gently as she looked at him.

"How did you…" She started to ask but Megatron stopped her.

"Long story." He said as he knelt down and took something out of his subspace and Luna recognized the glow to be a small cube of Energon.

"Here, take this Energon." He said as he handed it to her servos.

Due to being low on Energon, her servos were shaking but Megatronus helped her hold and she started to drink the whole cube until her systems were slowly but surely working smoothly again as her Energon levels deemed her fully refueled.

"Ah, thank you." She sighed in relief as she gave the cube back to him and he put it back in his subspace.

"You’re welcome, uh, sorry but I never got your designation." Megatronus said as Luna wanted to smack herself for not introducing herself.

"It’s Luna. I appreciate what you did but you didn’t have to come here and do all of this. If Clench finds out what you did, he…" Luna voiced her concerns but Megatronus reassured her with a friendly smile.

"Don’t worry about me. I’ve been through worse." He reassured her as Luna contemplated that.

"I see. Thanks for the help. Now what?" She asked and Megatronus had a small yet sheepish look.

"Well, I was thinking that we could spar for a bit." He suggested. After the fight four cycles ago, Megatronus never got a chance to spar with her but now maybe is the time.

Luna looked at him surprised by his suggestion but it just made her spark thrilled in excitement and nervousness.

"You and me? That’s rather… dangerous, for you that is." She said but Megatronus just gave her an amused look with a smirk.

"I recall saving you just a few nanoseconds." He reminded her as she rolled her optics as she smirked back.

"I see. Alright then, since I owe you. I’ll give you that sparring session. I just hope you’re ready for what’s about to happen." She said as she stood up as Megatronus smirked playfully. He was ready for the challenge.

"Bring it."

Both Luna and Megatronus came out of the cell as Soundwave came out of the shadows and she nodded to him.

"Soundwave, keep an optic on things." Megatronus said as the silent mech nodded as he let both Rumble and Frenzy out.

But there's one thing that concerns Luna.

"Guys, thanks for helping me out but if those guards come back and find out I’m not where I’m supposed to be, we’re gonna get in trouble." She said as she looked at them but the two Minicons had a smirk.

"Don’t worry. We brought some special gear just for that." Rumble reassured her as he entered her cell.

"On top of that, our boss here hacked the security cameras. You two won’t be caught." Frenzy added as Rumble put something on the berth and gave Soundwave a thumbs up as he came out.

"The gear is ready, boss." He said and Soundwave nodded to him.

"Initiate operation fake prisoner." Soundwave said as he activated the gear.

The gear in the cell was a holographic type which creates a fake hologram of Luna in the same position she was before being rescued by them and she was thoroughly impressed.

"Wow, that’s awesome." She whistled softly.

'If Trionix was here, she would start geeking about this. I’ll be sure to tell her about it.' She thought and she had to hide a bittersweet smile. She missed her counterpart/twin very much and prayed to Primus that she was alright.

"You guys keep watch, contact me if something happens." Megatronus told them as both Rumble and Frenzy saluted.

"Sure thing." The two said as Luna rolled her optics in amusement but gave them a thankful smile.

"Laserbeak, Ravage." Both Laserbeak and Ravage came out as they turned to Soundwave for others.

"Go with them, make sure you protect them well." He ordered. Laserbeak thrilled softly in agreement as she flew to Luna as Ravage growled lightly in agreement.

"Thanks, Soundwave. Come on, this way." Megatronus said before turning to Luna and grabbed her servo.

Luna was surprised by this as he pulled her along as they ran quietly yet stealthily through the dungeons.

For a split second, time around Luna seemed to slow down as she could feel her spark pulsing in joy and surprise from what was happening as she became flustered. She was so flustered by many emotions she was feeling right now and even though she didn’t know why, there was something about the young version of her future sparkmate that made her feel such emotions once again as she felt safe with Megatronus holding her servo. As they both ran, Megatronus made sure no guards were there and so did Ravage and Laserbeak as the two Minicons were ahead of the two.

"Where are we going?" She whispered curiously as they stopped by a wall.

"You’ll see." He whispered back.

Ravage and Laserbeak are making sure the coast is clear which it is as Ravage looks at Megatronus and growls, telling him they could keep going now as the two enter the training area.

"Keep a lookout. Come find us if someone comes." Megatronus told them as the two nodded and left while taking an area to keep a lookout.

"What’s with the lookout thing?" She asked curiously as she stood in front of him.

"I just wanted to make sure no one interrupts us." He said as Luna raised an optic ridge at him.

"With what exactly?" She asked as Megatronus nodded to the weapons and the field.

"Training." He said simply.

"Training? You say that as if you forgot how I showed a whole group of jerks a good lesson." Luna reminded him.

"I haven’t, but I think a good warrior must keep practicing to get better. If you let your pride control you and think you can defeat any kind of enemy, you’ll end up in the scrapyard faster than you think." Megatronus advised her as she agreed.

"Yeah, good point. But how about some sparring? I’ve always wanted to fight the greatest Gladiator of Kaon." Luna said as Megatronus looked at her in amusement.

"Sounds good but I doubt anything good is gonna come out of it." He said playfully.

"You’re saying I have no chance against you?" Luna faked being offended.

"I’d say that your chances of defeating me are rather low, but who knows, you may be able to put just a tiny scratch on me." He said and Luna started to smirk.

"Ah, so this is how you wanna play it. All right, but I warned you, this is gonna hurt a lot." She warned him as Megatronus shrugged.

"If you say so. You should be careful about that pride of yours. The prideful warrior is often the one who falls by the hard steel sword." He said only to grunt loudly in surprise when he fell down on his back.

While he was talking, Luna swiftly and quickly swiped his pedes from under him. He looked up at her in surprise since he didn't expect that as Luna grinned down playfully at him.

"True but you should never leave an opening." She advised him before helping him up.

"Nice move. But this time, how about we use weapons?" Megatronus suggested as the two walked to where the weapons were.

"Fine by me." She agreed.

Once they reach the weapons wrack, Megatronus grabs a shield while Luna grabs a shield and a sword as she tests the weight of both in her servos.

"As you can see, I haven’t forgotten what you taught me." She said as Megatronus smiled.

"Good to hear, now let’s see how good you really are."  He said as the two went to the field and stood on either side of each other.

"Alright then. Let’s do this." She said eagerly and Megatronus matched her eagerness to finally spar with each other.

🎶Golden leaves looked brown to me
The world had less color without you🎶

Luna was the first one to strike, using her sword, then she tackled Megatronus hard with her shield. He looked like he got hurt badly as he hid his face behind the shield which concerned her.

"Are you okay?" She asked in concern.

🎶I know plenty of people with eyes closed
They don't see you like I do🎶

But Megatronus got up and swung his sword at Luna who dodged it quickly. She threw a kick but Megatron stopped it with his shield as he smirked.

"Better watch out." Megatronus said as Luna rolled her optics but smirked back.

🎶Darling, I do🎶

"Look who’s getting cocky now?" She said.

Luna makes a move with her legs, which she uses to grab Megatronus by his neck to make him fall down. But he resists and throws her away but she quickly corrects herself as she skids to a stop.

🎶Notes on the keys meant nothing to me
The world didn't sing without you🎶

"Now I’m mad." She said as she rushed towards Megatronus who used his shield to protect himself from the swing of her sword.

🎶Notes on the keys meant nothing to me🎶

After she is done, Megatronus strikes back at her but she defends herself with her shield.

🎶The world didn't sing without you🎶

Luna then strikes back at Megatronus who used his shield for protection.

🎶Birds in the trees fell silent for me🎶

They both would strike back and defend against each other nonstop as they seemed to be dancing around each other in a very familiar spar.

🎶The world didn't sing without you, without you🎶

Suddenly, Luna punched the floor and grabbed a whole bunch of metal to smash Megatronus with it which worked as it took him by surprise and Luna couldn't help but laugh

🎶The world didn't sing without you, without you🎶

"Hahaha. How do you like that?" She laughed and Megatronus felt his spark flutter at the sound of her laughter.

"Not bad. But now it’s time to get serious." He said with a smile.

Even though they were sparring, they couldn’t help but smile as they both attacked each other. After throwing an attack without any contact, Megatronus was able to connect a punch to her faceplate.

"Oh sorry." He winced.

But Luna connected a punch which made Megatron hit back with another punch and vice versa.

🎶I know plenty of people with eyes closed
They don't see you like I do🎶

Luna grabbed Megatronus' servo as she looked at him in the optics and vice versa. They were both looking at each other with a smile that reflected an emotion that couldn’t be expressed verbally. It was as if they could both feel their sparks pulsed for something more than just this sparring they're having almost like there was something more going on as they got lost in the moment.

🎶Darling, I do
Darling, I do see you🎶

As they were looking at each other, they suddenly heard Laserbeak come in along with Ravage which snapped them out of it as the two turned to the Minicons.

"What’s wrong, you guys?" Megatronus asked in concern.

Ravage growls and Laserbeak screeched as they pointed to the entryway and Megatronus' optics widened.

"What? Scrap, the distraction didn’t last long." Megatronus cursed and Luna realized what that meant.

"You mean, the guards are coming?" She asked in worry and concern.

"Yes, we better hurry and get you back to your cell." He told her but Luna remembered the weapons they used.

"Wait, we have to hide the weapons, if they find them, they might be onto us." She said as she gathered the sword and Shields and hid them somewhere she was sure they can't be found.

"Hurry!" Megatronus urged her as he heard pedes approaching.

"I’m coming, I’m coming!" She hissed.

After she finishes hiding the weapons that have been used, Luna runs to Megatronus so they can both leave before they get caught.

"Lead the way, Ravage." He urged the cyber cat urgently.

Ravage was first to go, Megatronus, Luna and Laserbeak followed him while making sure they weren’t spotted by the guards unaware that one of the shields had a crack on the surface.

On their way to the cells, Ravage sensed two guards coming their way. Ravage growled slightly to tell Megatronus who grabbed Luna as he hid with her, Ravage and Laserbeak both hid in the shadows. The group would have to wait for the guards to leave as the two guards walked by their hiding spot.

"Can you believe the boss? The entire security system is failing and he wants us to go fix it? What are we? Tech service?" One guard complained.

"I’d keep my voice box shut about that if I were you, if the boss heard you talk like that. He would throw you in a hole with Scraplets." A second guard warned him.

"Well the boss ain’t here. So I can say pretty much whatever I want." The first guard huffed as the second one rolled their optics.

"Let’s just get this done." He said as the two left.

Once the coast was clear, the group let out a breath they didn't know they were holding, relieved that they weren't caught.

"That was close." Lune whispered in relief.

"Let’s keep going, the guards keeping an eye on you might come back soon." Megatronus said as Luna felt a bit sad that the night and their sparring had to end too soon.

"Right." She said as the two resumed their running to the cells since it was close with Ravage and Laserbeak leading.

Ravage didn’t detect any guards up ahead as they entered the cells and we're hurrying to Luna's. Soundwave along with Frenzy and Rumble were keeping an optic on things when they were surprised by seeing the others who had come back and looked like there was trouble coming.

"What’s rumbling?" Rumble asked in concern.

"Guards are back. It seems they know about the security system." Megatronus said as both Rumble and Frenzy panicked.

"Then let’s skedaddle out of here before they find us." Frenzy said but Luna shook her helm.

"I can’t leave. If I go, Clench will try to find me." She told them. If she leaves now, then they'll be punished for her escape and she can't bear to know they're being hurt for her sake.

"Luna, you’ve been through enough already." Megatronus turned to her in concern and worry as she looked up to him.

"I appreciate your concern, Megatronus, but I must stay here for now." She reassured him as Megatronus just looked at her with more concern and worry.

"Rumble, Frenzy, retrieve the gear." Soundwave ordered as the two nodded.

"We got it, boss." Rumble said as the two went inside the cell.

They turned off the hologram device and retrieved the gear as they came out as Luna gave them a grateful smile.

"Thanks for your help, guys." She smiled as they nodded only for Ravage to sense Gearbreak and Sliderim approaching and he growled to the others.

"They’re coming, quick hide." Megatronus ordered quickly and silently.

Both Megatronus and Luna go inside the cell while Soundwave and his minicons hide in another place. The cell had been locked and since it was rather small both Megatronus and Luna were in a pretty tight situation as they were pressed against each other.

"So tight… I can barely move…" Megatronus grunted uncontrollably as he shifted a little as Luna was pressed against the wall.

"Me too. Let me just..." Luna whispered as they tried to move a little.

But in doing so, Luna tripped and by accident, her lip plates connected with Megatronus'. They both looked at each other in the optics in surprise and disbelief but most of all, embarrassment. They couldn't move exactly with Megatronus being a bit larger than her cell. Just as they were pulling away, the guards had come back

"What was that all about?" Gearbreak questioned as Sliderim shrugged.

"Beats me. We’ll clear this out with the boss when we go see him, let’s check on our special guest here." Sliderim smirked.

Just as Gearbreak was about to see who was in the cell with Luna much to both Luna and Megatronus' panic but luck was on their side. To avoid that happening, Rumble and Frenzy came out of hiding as the two began to taunt the two.

"Hey there, bunch of junk heads. Bet you two can’t catch me." Rumble taunted.

"Same here, you two looked like a bunch of slackers. Better be careful from not getting too rusty just by standing there." Frenzy agreed with a laugh.

"Why, you two little!" Sliderim bristled angrily.

"You’ll pay for this! Come here!" Gearbreak growled.

"Try and catch us if you can!" The two cackled and made a run for it with Gearbreak and Sliderim chasing after them.

Which worked as the two Minicons managed to drive the two guards away from the cell. When they left, Megatronus and Luna finally pulled away from each other as he and Luna gave each other embarrassed smiles. When Soundwave came to open the cell Megatronus tried so hard to get out and succeeded with a bit of an effort with Luna following.

She felt something inside her spark like she wanted him to stay with her but deep down she knew that wasn’t possible. The least she could do was thank him for getting her out even for a small bit.

Just as Soundwave and Megatronus were about to leave, she spoke up.

"Hey, wait. I wanted… to say thanks for having me out of my cell for a bit. Thank you all for that." She said as Megatronus turned to Luna as she gave them a thankful smile.

"No problem. Well… get some rest." He said and was about to go but Luna had something to say.

"Wait." She said and Megatronus turned to her again to see an embarrassed and flushed look on her faceplate and optics as she looked at him.

"Hmm?" He tilts his head.

"About what just happened…" She started and Megatronus knew what she meant.

"Oh that. Yeah it was nothing. I’m not saying it was something." Megatronus said out of embarrassment as he laughed softly and awkwardly with Luna.

"Yeah, I mean no, what I’m saying is that I’m sorry for that small accident... I didn’t mean for it to happen." She said sheepishly as Megatronus nodded.

"I see." He said.

"Even though it happened by accident… it was rather…" Luna trailed off. Amazing is the word she wanted to say but she couldn't as she looked at Megatronus again with a soft smile and he nodded. He knows exactly what she wanted to say.

"Yeah. I better go. Good night." Megatronus said softly as he nodded and she returned it.

"Good night." She replied back softly.

Megatronus along Soundwave, Ravage and Laserbeak started to leave. When they left, Luna went into her cell and closed the gate as she sat down near the wall while putting her digits on her lip plates. Thinking of what just happened a moment ago. True that the situation was dire but the small accident made her feel a bit happy as she started to smile softly.

As Megatronus and Soundwave kept on walking to their cell, Megatronus started to smile a bit as the memory of their spar and the little accident appeared in his processor. He couldn't explain it but Luna is making him feel emotions and feelings he has never felt before towards anyone and it's making his spark pulsed in happiness.

Unnoticed to him, Soundwave noticed it and was rather amazed at what he was seeing. A soft and genuine smile on Megatronus' faceplate. He was used to seeing a frown, smirk and grin on him but never a real and genuine soft smile. He began to wonder if the femme might be someone special growing inside his friend's spark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Song belongs to Shrek Ever After

And sorry for the long and delayed update. Stuff happened.