Fanfic / Battlesleep

Battlesleep is a Transformers: Animated fanfiction written by Reyairia and zuzeca on Archive of Our Own.

Megatron escaping from prison was, of course, Sentinel’s frag-up. What Optimus didn’t count on was being kidnapped by the warlord on his way out.

Now, halfway across the galaxy, Optimus must discover the reason behind Megatron’s reluctance to kill him, and with it a secret of his species’ biology that may hold the key to peace between Autobots and Decepticons.

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Featured Tropes

• The Alcatraz: Trypicon Prison was supposed to be this for the Decepticons in custody, but due to the incompetence of Sentinel and the team assigned there (Megatron stated the previous warden was much more competent but assassinated by Shockwave due to this), the 'Cons escaped with Optimus kidnapped on the Steelhaven.
• Ambiguously Gay: Since sexual relations work differently for these robot aliens, it hinted to be this way. Since the Autobots truly believed they are an One-Gender Race - specifically only having a valve, which Sari reacted with shock towards -, they have sexual relations for the fun of it.
• Amusing Injuries: Decapitated heads or dismembered limbs for Cybertronions are this because they can be fixed. Serious injuries would refer to what really hurts them to the point of irreparable.
• Bar Brawl: Bulkhead created one to get his team and himself out of the bar. It worked since most Decepticons are apparently Amazon Chasers. While Strika won't admit it, she found him attractive because of it.
• Beast and Beauty: What comes off with Optimus and Megatron. They aren’t trying to change each other as much as they are trying to understand the other. It’s actually getting to know each other was when the two fell in love. Although the bookstore scene was a reference to Orion Pax, reviewers point it was basically the library scene from Beauty and the Beast.
• Beta Couple: Of the reunited couples, Megazarak and Minimus.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Both Optimus and Megatron are in denial about their growing feelings, though the former does have the right to be suspicious.
• Bizarre Alien Reproduction: Groundframes and flightframes are compatible with sex. The two sides would work together to create the next generation with the groundframes actually becoming pregnant.
• Bizarre Alien Sexes:
  • It's a lot more complicated. While human analog would make sense as readers tried to break it down, but the authors have explicitly stated it's more complicated and not meant to be read as part of human biology by any means.
  • Autobots have valves while Decepticons have spikes. However, Shockwave could be viewed as genderfluid as he is comfortable in both forms.
  • While they are mechs and femmes, it's more common to identify their reproduction system as either a groundframe or a flightframe.
• Bizarre Sexual Dimorphism: Autobots and Decepticons, or rather groundframes and flightframes, qualify as an example for Cybertronians. Groundframes are bright and colorful to attract a mate while flightframes are huge and bulky. Optimus noted that this sexual dimorphism made humans looked subtle by comparison.
• Black-and-Gray Morality: The conflict between the Decepticons and Autobots comes off like this. The Autobots do have questionable methods, while the Decepticons are evil in their behavior and actions. Because of the latter, the Autobots find it hard to forgive the actions of the 'Cons, especially when they actively play a part in the tragedy. Megatron believed it's Gray-and-Grey Morality with the way he espoused his ideals.
• Bodyguarding a Badass: Justified and subverted. Optimus does need a bodyguard in the Armada when rumors spread of just how soft Megatron is now with his slave and war efforts. Without Megatron there to tell other Cons to back off, he’s in serious danger. However, when Optimus get really Hot-Blooded, he proves his worth to everyone there.
• Born Lucky: Bulkhead. He was gifted a farm on a safe moon with little to no crime and attracted dozens of Decepticons due to the Bar Brawl he started. According to one of the authors, he deserve nice things.
• Bowdlerize: In-Universe discussion. The Decepticons and Autobots censored stuff differently, the former censoring kisses and hugs and the latter sex, to prevent fraternization.
• Broad Strokes:
  • Ultra Magnus survived and his true name is Minimus Ambus as in the IDW continuity.
  • Cyclonus' backstory is not the same as in the Animated continuity, but is rather based on that of his his IDW counterpart.
  • The Decepticons are a different species in the Animated continuity, but not this one, where they are merely the other half of the same species.
• Buddy Cop Show: Sentinel and Sari's side of the story act as one with Straight Man and Wise Guy respectively.
• Butt-Monkey: Sentinel and on the occasion, Bumblebee. On the Decepticon side, Silverbolt and sometimes Skybyte.
• Call to Agriculture: Bulkhead has a farm on a moon where Sentinel and Sari are at after uncovering Rosanna.
• Chain of Deals: How the Steelhaven went back to the hands of the Autobots. Megatron traded for info and then Megazarak traded for Megatron’s clemency.
• Character Development: Sentinel goes from a judgmental, narrow-minded individual who has potential but wasted it from his sheer arrogance into a more responsible and open-minded bot. That being said, his reactions are still priceless.
• Childless Dystopia: Played with but straight ultimately. The Autobots don’t produce children like they used to, using the traditional Transformers method to raise their numbers. Decepticons aren’t so lucky, desperate to get the All-Spark to raise their numbers. The only child known to be born in relatively recent years was Silverbolt.

• Cool Starship: The Steelhaven. It has the spark of Minimus’ former mentor hidden within.
• Crack Fic: It's a semi-serious one though. It could actually be called a Dramedy.
• Cuteness Proximity: Optimus melted when he saw Silverbolt’s baby photos.
• Dating Catwoman: Megazarak and Minimus Ambus’ romance began like this and due to this, they became Star-Crossed Lovers when they were forced to separate.
• Defecting for Love: Downplayed. Megazarak fell for Minimus and expressed concern once he got news his love was in critical condition. However, he was still open minded about what his fellow Decepticons think as apparently he planned to have peace agreements before banishment. He took offense to the banishment from a group he created with his brother.
• Discount Lesbians: Averted. Lugnut and Strika are in a committed relationship while Sentinel is implied to only be attracted to other Autobots. Shockwave is transgender and is in love with Blurr.
• Disney Death: Blurr barely managed to escape his death by trash compactor and incinerator here
• Dramatic Irony: Optimus had no idea what happened to Megatron's twin brother as he noted Megazarak left a hole in the Decepticon leadership that's unspoken. What he didn't know Megazarak fell in love with his leader, Ultra Magnus, and refused to let go of his love leading to his banishment.
• Dystopia: Both the Armada and Cybertron. Cybertron suppressed its true history and don't let the Autobots decide for themselves what they can buy such as porn and sex toys. Armada was overrun by too much sex and violence and not enough sanity.
• Epistolary: Each chapter ends with some kind of document, messages, poetry, etc. written all in the universe.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Both Megazarak and Megatron are murderous tyrannous warlords, but even they disapprove of rape. Not that they do anything to stop the Armada from running amok with rape and murder.
• Everyone Can See It: Even though Minimus tried to downplay his relationship with Megazarak, the team can see the truth.
• Fake a Fight: What ended up happening between Megatron and Optimus’ gladiatorial match. Optimus was outmatched by his experienced opponent but Megatron recognizes his ingenuity and cleverness. Officially, Optimus lost but to them, it’s a draw in some ways.
• False Utopia: Megatron wanted to create a utopia but he failed to create one. There are some good things but a lot of stuff is what Optimus called fragged. Cybertron is the same as it controlled everything including propaganda and the Great Purge of important books and documents.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Sometimes the document at the end of certain chapters work like this, other times as Cliffhanger.
  • Kup directly mentioned his nephew, which was All in the Manual, surprising Sari as all she knew is that Autobots don't have families. Sentinel simply said that it was a joke among cadets. It suggested Kup and his nephew is one of the few surviving Autobot from before the war began.
• Fun with Acronyms: World Encompassing Extra-Net Intraspace Electronavigation System aka WEENIE.
• Gladiator Games: A popular pastime in the Armada. Megatron took Optimus there as a date though Optimus remained unimpressed.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Megazarak theorized the All Spark was given to the Cybertronians by enemies unknown seemingly to destroy the infrastructure of the Cybertronian world. Because the groundframes and flightframes were meant to coexist and bring the next generation together. If that is no longer needed, how could coexistence be possible? While Cyclonus doesn't have the exact same idea, he and many others are suspicious of the Allspark and didn't trust it one bit.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Despite his spying, Shockwave held genuine feelings for Blurr and until he learned about his survival, he was guilty of his death.
  • Silverbolt is an author of many great books.
  • Cyclonus believes peace could be achieved between flightframes and groundframes.
  • Megazarak cared for his twin brother, Megatron as he asked for clemency. Megazarak is fond of cheap monster films.
  • Megatron and Megazarak are visionaries for their end goal, believing the Armada is the prototype. Their way going about it is wrong obviously as Optimus pointed out the flaws. Megatron seemed to be a poor poet as noted by Optimus reading through.
  • Blitzwing is a talented poet as he can write his knowledge about economics in it.
• Interrupted Intimacy: Poor Optimus walked in on Strika and Lugnut’s sexcapades and they don’t even try to stop when people see them.
• Incompetence, Inc.: Just spread to the entire race of Decepticons and Autobots. The author stated the Decepticons are stupidly incompetent and the Autobots are incompetently stupid, so they are complementary. There are sane and competent ones, but those guys are basically Surrounded by Idiots.
• It's Not Porn, It's Art: For one movie, Optimus stated that it was a historical film which Megatron was amused about. The film in question, according to the authors, was based on Barbarella. It did strike a conversation about censorship between the two factions about the same movie.
• It Runs in the Family: The two brothers, Megatron and Megazarak, started to fall for Optimus and Minimus when they smacked them in the face with the Magnus Hammer.
• Instant Web Hit: A Decepticon recorded the Bar Brawl that Bulkhead instigated and other Decepticons loved it.
• Long-Lived: The Cybertronians who can live upon millions and millions of years. They can get so old in the case of bots born before the Allspark's appearance that Optimus was surprised to learn Silverbolt was older than he was.
• Loophole Abuse: Optimus used this to get away with things. The most recent example was winning his freedom back by beating Megatron in a gladiator match, using Megatron’s Exact Words.
• Love Hurts: The current situation with Blurr and Shockwave.
• Love Redeems: Examined, deconstructed, and played with. Battlesleep seemed to be cured by having an attraction to a groundframe, igniting the protective coding. However, not much more is known.
  • One of Jazz's relationships has him trying to do this. Arcee even needled him for this.
  • Megazarak and Minimus is somewhat played with. Minimus still loves him in spite of what he did.
• Love Triangle: Type 2. Optimus likes Sentinel, Sentinel likes Elita (and Optimus), Elita likes Optimus. None of these work out, especially since Sentinel isn’t admitting his attraction and the whole Elita fiasco.
• The Masquerade: To have Sari, a flightframe/Decepticon human hybrid, on Cybertron, Ratchet and Sentinel disguised her as an Autobot, the latter even giving her citizenship...as a dog. The fact Sari has the All-Spark was kept hidden, only known to Optimus' team, Sentinel, and Blurr. To keep Minimus a secret for the meantime, it was stated the Ultra Magnus is still in a coma.
• Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: Downplayed. Megazarak and Ultra Magnus had fallen in love millions of years prior to the kidnapping and Magazarak spent his time researching, come to believe the All Spark is actually an unknown enemy's way to destroy the Cybertronions internally. It's simply Optimus' kidnapping that led to the discovery of ultimate peace.
• The Mole: As in what supposed to happen in the show, Rosanna the idol was the mole for the Decepticons; being the writer who spreads pro-Decepticon thoughts, romanticizing them through their novels, especially the erotica, to Autobots unaware of War Is Hell outside just knowing there is a war.
• Mythology Gag:
  • For Megatron's gladiator battle, Optimus wore Bayverse Optimus' flame decals.
  • Just like in IDW, Ultra Magnus turned out to be largely armor for Minimus Ambus.
  • The Gladiator and the Archivist AKA Megatronus and Orion Pax, Megatron and Optimus' other names. Optimus was even allowed to keep a bookstore much like the archivist Orion Pax.
• No Accounting for Taste: When they learned upon Optimus' former crush on Sentinel, his friends questioned his choice. Considering the endgame is Megatron... On the other hand, the Optimus team disapproved of Minimus’ choice in partnership; only Bumblebee was outspoken about it.
• Odd Friendship: Optimus eventually came to befriend Cyclonus, Skyfire, Silverbolt, and Skybyte. Sari and Sentinel are this.
• Older and Wiser: Due to his banishment and falling in love with Minimus, Megazarak began to really think of the situation, especially since he has info about the true nature of his species.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: Sentinel would never live down falling into a dumpster full of dildos, the very same illegal ones.
• Opposites Attract: Downplayed. Outwardly, Megazarak and Minimus look different, but they are attracted to each other due to their interests.
• Overt Operative: Played for laughs when Sentinel was forced to spy for the mission. He isn’t the right person for the job. Blurr and Sari found it too hilarious to stop him and the civilians he interacted with found him too amusing.
• Parodies for Dummies: Downplayed. Apparently there are guides in the Armada about sex education and wooing a groundframe. It amused Optimus so much he planned to show some for his friends. It’s unknown if those books were written pre or during the war as the authors was entertained by both concepts that it was left open for interpretation.
• A Rare Sentence: As one of the tags and one of the authors is proud of, Illegal Dildos
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Minimus Ambus, the Sentinel Prime. While he is in love with a former Decepticon leader, he will do what it takes to help the situation and the war efforts, wanting peace. He wanted Optimus and Sentinel to fulfill their fullest potential.
• Robots Enslaving Robots: The Armada has pleasurebots, either on the streets or owned as either Sex Slave or Scullery Maid.
• Running Gag: The breakage of windows and properties. Not even the Autobots are immune to this.
• Shout-Out: There are many Brooklyn Nine-Nine references.
  • Warp core technology was mentioned to be part of Steelhaven ship.
  • Megazarak, according to Megatron, is fond of Sharkiconado and They Came From Skuxxos.
  • Rosanna's song Ping Me Maybe, a sexual parody of Carly Rae Jepson's Call Me Maybe
  • Manbearpig
  • Sentinel having a pot of plant that he later use to knock out an assailant. Hot Fuzz anyone?
• Sickening Sweethearts:
  • Downplayed. Megazarak and Minimus subtly flirt (Minimus even flatout asked Megazarak to stay with them, not just because the war would be ending in the near future, but he wanted them to stay close) in full view of the Optimus team that annoys them. For them, it’s more that their leader loves a former Decepticon that gripes at them where their displays of love was an icing to a terrible cake.
  • Aside from some annoyances, Lugnut and Strika. Decepticons even wrote love ballads in their name.
• Sleek High Rise Apartment: Megatron and Megazarak’s rooms in the Armada. It even has two electronic fireplaces.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Ultra Magnus was supposed to be dead in the next season if the fourth season ever happened. Here, not only he survived, he's actually Minimus Ambus. Blurr was downplayed since, in a comic, he was saved from his cube by Sari; whereas, in this, he was unlikely to go fast as he used to until Sari reconstructed him.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Quite a few, some dating back millions of years before the war even started. It's implied they would be together permanently once the war was resolved.
  • Megazarak and Ultra Magnus/Minimus Ambus are currently to the point it's an Open Secret in the Optimus rescue team.
  • Blurr and Shockwave do have genuine feelings for each other and still do although Blurr right now is angry at his ex-lover for trying to kill him and Shockwave's guilt.
  • Cyclonus and Tailgate as hinted by the former's dialogue about waiting for any kind of contact.
• Stay in the Kitchen: Megatron angered Optimus groundframes are usually in lowly roles. Of course, Megatron realized quickly what he said and took it back.
• Sterility Plague:
  • Battlesleep. Not much is known but almost all Decepticons have this. The ones who could not deal with it try to either kill the one they were attracted to (Shockwave) or simply embrace it (Megazarak). It's implied to be a function in which flightframes are violent as a result. Not that it justifies the actions they took of their own volition. What can be boiled down to by Silverbolt was the frames meet, grow respect and possibly love each other, Battlesleep cured, sex, then babies. Silverbolt pointed out it doesn’t have to be romantic.
  • It’s implied not on the same degree with the Autobots. They are still built the same as they did thousands of years now but there are no new naturally born children in Cybertron. Only Silverbolt was the one born during the ongoing war.
• The Storyteller: Silverbolt. He's a famous writer and poet in Decepticon spaces. Telling the story about the history of Cybertronions is all about romance.
• Tag Team Twins: Twins in Cybertron are supposed to be close and inseparable. It surprised Optimus to learn Megatron and Megazarak are twins and how could he bear to part from the other.
• Take That, Audience!: Or specifically the Misaimed Fandom who sympathized with the Decepticons and romanticized them they won't acknowledge the horrible actions they committed. Ultra Magnus is in love with Megazarak, one of the former leaders of the Decepticons but he loved him in spite of it. While his peers don't like it, they fully acknowledge their romance.
• The Talk: Justified in this case. Only the Autobots in the Armada are aware of their true status as groundframes. Optimus, an outsider and unaware of history, only just learn of this so he does need the truth to understand what is going on.
• Talking in Bed: During and after their sex, Minimus and Megazarak discusses politics and somewhat strike a deal.
• This Is Unforgivable!: Even as Optimus is developing feelings for Megatron, he won’t forgive him for playing a part in Prowl’s death.
• Too Hungry to Be Polite: Megatron bought a box of donuts for himself and Optimus which the latter promptly ate all of.
• Warrior Poet: Megatron is this or at least trying to be this. When Optimus found his poetry, he was amused by just how almost the same turned out, not dealing with similar themes, just literally the same topic almost verbatim - as if he doesn’t know what else to say - over and over again.
• The Watson: Optimus in the Armada. He's learning everything from the Bizarre Alien Reproduction to how the Armada works. Sari served this in Cybertron to how the Autobots live their common lives.
• Worldbuilding: The authors made it clear that this is one of the main goals as one of their grips with the series is its incomplete worldbuilding.
• World of Ham: For Autobots who seen them and get to know them on some level, Decepticons are obnoxious. The Autobots are relatively subdued but not much, seeing Sentinel has spectacular expressions.
• World of Snark: The only thing surpassing the Large Ham of almost everyone, it’s snarking.
• Wretched Hive: The Armada. It’s full of Decepticons who love to fight and have loads of sex with prostitutes. Sex is prevalent given the Sex Slave Autobots and how Decepticons wanted to prove themselves via sexual prowess.
• Wrong Assumption: A minor example. Blackarachnia/Elita mistook Primal Major for a botanist who hitched her a ride to Kobol. To be fair, it didn’t seem she recognized him for who he is.