The Touch Part 9

[IACON LIBRARY]

D-16 was quite amazed to see IACON's vast library, to see how many files could be accessed, a source of knowledge for a lifetime.

"Now I understand why you spend hours a day with your head buried in books." D-16 scoffed, just wanting to mock his friend. "How many files have you read?"

"I've probably read as much as you've trained or fought in the arenas of Kaon, so..." Orion said, interrupted.

"All the time... I can understand your habit. I do the same, breathe, dream or think only about the fight. Only you only think about books." D-16 admitted, sympathizing with Orion despite being different from him, both were similar in certain ways.

"We are strange Bots." Orion crossed his arms and laughed at his own situation. "So, did you read the file?" He asked, remembering their last meeting in the arena.

"Yes, before I had my freedom, I took the opportunity to read it, unfortunately the file was incomplete." D-16 said as he walked through the library, noticing that some parts needed cleaning.

"The files on the end of the war against the Quintessons and the end of the Primes age are quite inaccurate. Making copies or searching for these files is always a headache." Orion explained, frustrated at not being able to find more files to fill in this gap in Cybertronian history. "I have asked Mr. Alpha several times if he has any information from that time, but he always gets irritated when I bring it up."

"Looks like you have a very grumpy mentor." D-16 said, not wanting his friend to feel bad. "The information in this place is extremely wise and cannot be underestimated. I would not be alive if you had not shown me the war against the Quintessons, those files had hundreds of military strategies that I used to the fullest to put them into practice."

Orion couldn't help but be pleased that his friend had openly expressed that he had helped him in his own way to survive in that deadly arena, even if it didn't seem like much. Their friendship had been strange in the way it had begun, and in the way it had developed over the years, making them both truly trust each other as brothers.

"I've never thanked you before, but thank you for not giving up on me." D-16 thanked him, leaving Orion amazed at his sincerity. A side of him he wouldn't reveal to anyone but those he trusted 100%. He extended his arm with an open hand, for a handshake between friends and brothers.

"Glad to help." Orion returned the gesture, shaking D-16's hand in return, expressing the respect they both shared for each other. "But now, no deadly arenas, I don't like the pressure of waiting for the results of your fights."

"You're always optimistic with Bots, but you have to be careful, sometimes it can make you let your guard down with dangerous bots." D-16 advised, a rather obvious warning about certain things he went through in the arena without the public seeing it.

"You're like an older brother to me, it's not like you're going to shoot me with that cannon just because you're having a bad day." Orion pointed to the cannon that D-16 carried on his arm, though it was not used much in the arena because most gladiators had mastered techniques that allowed them to reflect Energon shots with melee weapons.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha... The most you can make me angry is a game of chess, you don't know how to take it easy when you get excited." D-16 sneered, showing his teeth.

As the two brothers taunted each other, they both heard heavy footsteps approaching, creating a small echo in the library. D-16 instinctively tensed as he heard and felt the footsteps. It was quite obvious to him that what was approaching was a heavy weight, causing him to tense up and draw his sword.

D-16's battle instincts kicked in, making Orion's warnings nothing more than an unheard voice. He ran with his sword ready to decapitate whoever his instincts were alerting, believing it to be a potential enemy the High Council might have sent to kill him.

"D, wait!!!" Orion reached out to stop his brother, but he wasn't fast enough to reach him.

D-16's sword, a weapon forged of dense metal, carefully sharpened to cut through almost anything with an iconic combination of brute strength and skill, was stopped completely by Alpha Trion with just two fingers, as if it were something casual and simple, as if it were not an attempt on his life.

D-16 was in shock, his eyes wide in pure terror and disbelief. Never in his career as a warrior had anyone been able to stop his attack so easily, especially with his fingers. He looked into the eyes of the 12-meter tall robot, which few could surpass in height, and saw those blue eyes shine like a god looking at a mortal.

Alpha Trion was surprised, if his instincts as a warrior and Prime hadn't been triggered in time, it would probably have been a fatal blow, it was practically a reflection of his power and skill when he was at his peak for a brief and insignificant moment. If this attack had happened at a different time, days or years ago, he probably wouldn't have been able to react so quickly, it was very lucky even for him.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Alpha! Are you okay? It was an accident!" Orion quickly approached and saw his teacher and father figure casually drop his friend's sword, as if indifferent to the tense situation.

"Don't worry, just a simple cut on my fingers." Alpha Trion looked at the fingers he had used to stop the attack and saw a small cut on his fingers. [This boy... is definitely stronger than an elite Autobot, with practice he can even reach the level of a knight.] He thought as he looked at D-16, recognizing him as the famous gladiator who had stolen the spotlight.

"You must be the gladiator who goes by the name of Megatronus." Alpha Trion said, looking at D-16 with some interest.

"Who are you?" D-16 was tense, his instincts warning him that the robot in front of him was someone quite powerful. It had been years since he had felt this sense of oppression, as if he were in the arena fighting for his life for the first time.

"Calm down D, he's my teacher, he's the owner and founder of this library, he's the one who writes the manuscripts and archives of Cybertron." Orion tried to ease the tension, ignoring for the moment that his teacher had stopped D-16's rash attack.

"A librarian?" D-16 said, not believing the words coming out of his own mouth. "A librarian can be so strong?"

"If you study hard, yes." Alpha Trion replied, trying to calm the situation. He began to understand that the situation was nothing more than a mistake.

"I sincerely apologize, I acted impulsively when I noticed your presence." D-16 admitted, a little ashamed of himself for letting his instincts as a warrior take over. But now that he understood what his senses were telling him, this librarian was no ordinary bot.

"I've been a little stressed these past few hours, so perhaps your warrior senses have been activated by my presence." Alpha commented, noticing the surprise in D-16 and Orion Pax's eyes, then quickly came up with an excuse. "When I was younger, I experienced intense battles, so I know some tricks and understand the basics of being a warrior and how to act. You don't have to apologize, a stupid mistake like that doesn't change anything, nobody got hurt."

"You never told me you were once a warrior." Orion commented, surprised at this revelation about his mentor's life.

"I'm a grumpy old man, I've done a lot of things in my life." Alpha said and went to his office, leaving the two of them alone to use the library as they pleased.

Orion, seeing that his mentor had entered his office, quickly looked at D-16, a little irritated. "You could have killed an innocent."

"I already apologized, besides, this teacher of yours is not someone weak, stopping my attack like that by making it look easy seemed to be something normal for him." D-16 watched the room Alpha entered, still unable to control his instincts. His mind was like a sword, once unsheathed there was no turning back. "Can a librarian be that powerful? What an interesting irony."

"Mr. Alpha doesn't talk about his past, I know he's quite old and his mind has many secrets to reveal." Orion replied, still worried about his mentor. "Having lived with him for a long time, I understand that he avoids talking about the past out of some resentment, so it's a surprise when he talks more about his past, and today was a rare case."

[A warrior who exiled himself and lives as a simple librarian to hide from his past]. D-16 thought, feeling very curious and suspicious about the identity of such a bot. [Who could this old man be?]