| abstract
| - The Great Arena is both well-maintained and well-used, worn and nicked around the edges. The arena floor is oval-shaped and covered with fine grit, to give combatants better footing and soak up the inevitable spill of energon. There are vast magnetic generators under the arena, to similar either the low gravity of space battles or the high gravity of alien worlds. There are also pipes to flood the arena with a mercury sea, for naval battles. Oval walls pen in the arena floor, and spectators benches, plain and inelegant circle above. At the southern end of the oval, there is a circular elite seating box with trilithon walls that give it a resemblance to Earth's Stonehenge. The elite box almost has the look of a temple, perhaps fitting, given that the life and death of those on the floor may be decided by the whims of the elite. "Mechs and Femmes, 'Bots and 'cons, robots of all varieties...have we got a show for you tonight!" So declares Loudmouth, the self-appointed announcer of the Arena Games. The crowd is about two-thirds full, but more cybertonians stream in at a fairly steady rate. "Tonight, we have the debut of not one, but TWO insanely dangerous beasts, ready to battle it out for your entertainment! Be sure to radio your friends before it's too late!" Astrotrain told Catechism to check out the games at the arena. She supposes that there are worse ways to spend her time. Better ways, too. She wonders if Monacus even exists, yet, if the Z Corporation even exists, but if it does... that might be a way home. She drops out of the air and gets in line for the cheapest seats of the Decepticon sections. Line-bleed seats, but she has to ration her energon now. Runner is sitting in a first row seat. He's leaning back with his feet resting on the fence that separate the stands from the area, "So...is this show starting?" Combat Truck is driving towards the arena right now! He heard about this craaaaazy fight that was coming up over the radio, and just knew he had to show up. Sure, he's a little drunk at the moment, and swerving around a bit, but he'll probably be able to make it over there without hitting anyone. Good thing he's got that plow. Cinder was probably dragged here by his comrades. After all, he doesn't typically approve of arena battles, seeing such a thing as an ugly sport. Primus only knows that he'd usually avoid watching combat if he could help it. But nonetheless, here he is, sulkily perched in a front row see, shoulder units slumped and ears pinned back. Loudmouth continues his barking: "In this corner- a rare beast- an ORGANIC one, no less- brought in at EXORBITANT expense by some intrepid explorers...it's the Cruel Crustaceox!" One door opens, and what would appear to be a GIANT ENEMY CRAB lumbers into the arena, glaring malevolently about with beady little eye-stalks. It clanks its claws, perhaps unable to make proper vocalizations. "And in the opposite corner, weighing in at...well, he broke the scales...the most savage primitive I've ever been unfortunate enough to lay my eyes on...it's the METAL MUNCHING MONSTER OF MAGNARON!" And the opposite door opens, and out comes Grimlock! He's transformed to his dinosaur mode for the first time since getting to the past, however- his blue optics narrowed as he sizes up his oppnent. "RARRGH." he growls, as Dinobots are wont to do. Catechism takes her fuel-bleed seat and pulls out a pair of binoculars to watch the fight. She groans, "Grimlock?" She considers. "Oh. That poor, poor crab." Runner cheers with the others. Of course he doesn't know Grimlock...he only see a filthy primitive... you got to wonder why they were created. He shouts back at Loudmouth, "Shut up punk! We want action, we want action WE WANT ACTION!" Cinder shifts a bit in his seat and shoots a quick glare at Runner. "Primitive against Primitive...how barbaric." Combat Truck transforms outside the arena, composes himself, gives his head a good shake, then wanders up to the entrance of the arena. He is accosted by an attendee, however, who says, "Woah, hold on sir, you have a ticket?" Sentinel Prime shrugs, and says, "Just put it on my tab, whatever." The attendant frowns, and says, "But you haven't paid your tab in--woah!" And that's about when Sentinel shoves the guy out of the way, enters the arena, and eventually finds a seat next to Runner. "Woah!" he says as he sits down, looking right at Grimlock "The hell is that thing?" The combat truck's components seperate and reconfigure themselves into SENTINEL PRIME! Patchwork will arrive, but later than some others, and alone. She'd heard there was going to be a fight, and that it might well involve Grimlock. Not that she's a huge watcher of random fights, but this is one the medic won't miss. Catechism is sitting up in the fuel-bleed seats, because she's too cheap to get a good ticker. She did take Astrotrain's advice to see a fight, though! Catechism has a pair of binoculars out and is looking faintly glum. "Hey! I heard that!" so says Loudmouth from up in his announcer's platform- he makes a rude gesture at Runner, no less. "Now, my friends, watch well, for this is a spectacle you're likely not going to see in-" But before Loudmouth can pontificate further, Grimlock and the Crustaceox charge each other! They smack into each other with a *CRASH!* and are soon locked in a deadly embrace, with the crab-beast's claws clamped down on Grimlock- the dinosaur lets out an annoyed grunt, and sets about trying to break free! "HEY!" Loudmouth says, "You weren't supposed to start fighting yet!" Runner totally ignores Cinder and he shrugs at Sentinel Prime, "A Primitive... I don't know where they found him though... but it should be an awesome fight...those beast usually fight like... well beast." At this very moment both primitives charge each other, "Ohhha! Finally! ACTION! Bite his head off! COME ON!" Cinder huffs slightly and continues to sulk. Sentinel Prime yells, loudly and rudely, "WOOOOOO! Yeah, let's some see blood! Come on! Get some killin' on!" Then, without taking his optics off the fight, he nudges Runner with an elbow. "Hey, man, still got any beer on ya? Can't have a good fight without a good beer." "Go, Grimlock!" Patchwork half-rises from her seat, hands cupping around her mouth to help amplify her cheer since she's the only one that seems to be specifically on Grimlock's side - where are the rest of 'her' Autobots!?
* CREEEUNCH!* Grimlock's massive jaws clamp down on the Crustaceox like the world's largest shell-cracker...and, well. That's about it. It just gets messy at this point, as the crab-creature goes limp, and Grimlock starts prying the carapace open with his claws to get at the soft and delicious crab-meats beneath. A silence falls over most of the crowd. "Well." Loudmouth says, "That was...anticlimactic. In fact, I think that's got to be a record! Let's check...yes, that -DOES- beat Sentinel Prime's record for fastest victory in an Arena fight!" another pause, as another gumby-mech steps forward to mutter something to the announcer. "Whaddya mean he's in the arena?" Loudmouth says- still broadcasting. He's got a well-earned name. Runner reaches under his seat and pull out another six pack of enerbeer. "I am always prepared man." He passes 2 to Sentinel, "Enjoy it, those are my last and I'm not buying the overpriced low grade stuff they're selling here." "Yay Grimlock!" As Grimlock beats the Crustaceox, and Loudmouth makes his announcement, Patchwork leaps from her seat, bouncing in place, applauding wildly. Cinder continues to sulk, even at the amusing fact that Loudmouth seems to have forgotten his microphone is on. "This is brutal," he grumbles. "Why am I even here?" Sentinel Prime grins, grabbing the beer, "Heheh, thanks, and yeah, I love watchin' monsters fight each other, rippin' each other apart and --" But then, just as he finishes saying that, the fight's over. Sentinel frowns. "What." The announcer's announcing doesn't help much. "WHAT? That thing beat my record!?" Standing up, he yells, "HEY! HEY! THAT DOESN'T COUNT!" Catechism watches as Grimlock mauls the crab. She lets her binoculars drop to her lap, and she sighs. "That was way too easy. Grimlock has no sense of drawing out a show for the crowd. Figures. I just HAD to pick the boring day." Patchwork stops her jumping in place, head tilting to the side before she starts with renewed enthusiasm. Whatever caught her attention for that moment must have been good. Robot T-Rex! is happy enough to chow down on crab-monster. *NOM NOM NOM* As Sentinel speaks up, however, he peers up- bits of crab-monster meat dangling from his jaws. Maybe it's just a trick of having entirely too many teeth, but it'd almost look like Grimlock's smiling. Meanwhile, Loudmouth sputters. "Well, uh. Of course that's a different matter! I mean, Sentinel Prime's record isn't for fighting organics or primitives, so you could argue it's a different category...let's see a replay!" And on Jumbo Tron (think Soundwave, only bigger. And he turns into...well, you guess) the screen lights up, and we see Sentinel Prime and...some other random gladiator. Sentinel says 'Boo!' to the gladiator, who proceeds to flee away- into the wall, KO-ing himself! "HA HA HA!" Loudmouth says, "That gets funnier every time I see it!" Sentinel Prime's sour mood quickly fades away as he sees the instant replay of himself causing a gladiator to KO himself. "HAWHAW!" he guffaws. "Yeah, I loved doin' that! Heh. Good thing that guy did that, though, cuz I was gonna really hurt that guy." He squints at Grimlock. "Though... you know... I don't like the look on that guy's mug. Hold my beer, Runner!" He leaps over the side of the railing and into the arena. Patchwork is moving down towards the edge of the railing, but she only leans over it, hand reaching out towards Grimlock. "I'm here!" she calls, though she keeps an eye on Prime while she d oes. Astrotrain arrives in all of his glory! That is to say amidst a throng of gamblers and a serv-bot that he's harassing about not filling his drink high enough. Oh yes, the triplechanger is completely living it up in the high life right now as he has come to partake of the day's festivities, boisterously guffawing at the misfortune of one poor sap who just lost everything on a bad bet and faces recycling in the smelting pits if he can't pay back his debts in time. Before he has even found himself a seat, Astrotrain stands in the bleachers, peering down into the pit, and taking note of the big dinobot standing there. "Haw haw, I knew it! I shoulda made bets!" "Prime!" Cinder calls after Sentinel. "What the slag are you doing?!" This is probably one of the reasons why the small foxbot doesn't enjoy having Sentinel as a leader. Robot T-Rex! grunts- and wrenches off one of the Crab-monster's beefy claws- which he proceeds to hand over to Patchwork! A trophy, perhaps? Still, Grimlock finds Sentinel Prime vaulting in...and Grimlock just grunts- not bothering with words for now. He's just a stupid primitive. Really! "WHAT AN UNLIKELY DEVELOPMENT!" says Loudmouth, getting quite eager again, "Sentinel Prime has entered the Arena! We're pretty lucky he did, as we've still got a lot of programming to fill- that crab monster was supposed to be our main event! We're now taking bets on this...unlikely matchup- get 'em in soon! Sentinel Prime vs. The Metal Munching Monster of Magnaron!" Sentinel Prime steps up to the monster, smirking in an incredibly smug way. "Heh. Just a dumb creature," he mutters to himself, getting right up to its jagged maw. "But you know what, you look like you got little arms on you, so how about a shake before we get started, huh, boy?" He reaches out to one of Grimlock's tiny arms, as if to shake it... but instead of actually doing so, so he slaps at Grimlock's face once his hand is in range! "HAW HAW HAW" Combat: Sentinel Prime strikes Robot T-Rex! with his Cheap shot (Grab) attack!
* Bonk!* Grimlock is smacked across the mouth! The audience- (and Loudmouth) all go "OOOOOH!" at the matter. Grimlock himself grunts at this- and narrows his optics- sure, he's endured far, far worse- but this is just annoying! And, acting mostly on instinct, Grimlock lashes out- striking with the speed of a snake (albiet one made of metal) as he opens his jaws- and closes them, perhaps to prove to Sentinel Prime that smacking a dinosaur in the face is definitely a Bad Idea(tm). Combat: Robot T-Rex! misses Sentinel Prime with his BIG TEEF. (Grab) attack! Sentinel Prime, however, has done this kind of thing countless times before, and so knows to expect a quick and angry retaliation in kind, so when Grimlock lunges for him, Sentinel's already shifting his body to the side, neatly avoiding the chomp. Not only that, but now that Grimlock has exposed himself to attack, Sentinel takes advantage by trying to grab his head, lift the T-Rex's body up, and then suplex him! "CHECK THIS OUT, LADIES!" Sentinel cries as he does the move. Combat: Sentinel Prime strikes Robot T-Rex! with his Suplex (Grab) attack! Catechism checks Sentinel Prime's move out with morbid interest, as directed. "Huh. That... actually worked?" She's a little stunned. Sure, Sentinel is a Prime, but Grimlock is... Grimlock. Hmm. Probably good that all the terrifying Autobots are /down/ in the arena, and she is up in the fuel-bleed section. "Coward!" Patchwork is calling out before she realizes she's doing so. "He fights like a Decepticon!" she adds, not quite as loud but still likely heard by some of those around her. Shifting her grip on the claw she'd been given, the medic waits at the edge of the arena, weight shifting from right foot to left. Astrotrain snatches another drink from a passing serv-bot, punting the unlucky little automation down the stairs a moment later as he shuffles to find a spot for a good seat. Nevermind the fact that his chosen seat is already occupied. "Clear out, losers." he states, picking up one of the smaller sized civilians sitting there by the 'scruff' of his neck and tossing him to one side, before he too sits down and props his feet up, after liberating it from another arena patron by kicking their feet out from under them. "Ahh this is the life." Coincidentally or perhaps not-so-coincidentally he's chosen a spot in the bleachers just above where Catechism is sitting.
* CRASH!* "Now -THIS- is what I call entertainment!" Loudmouth cheers- as does the crowd! Grimlock, as one would expect, isn't too thrilled. There's a surprised look in his optics as he's hoisted up- and dumped down upon the ground with a jarring *CRASH!* Still, from his place on the ground, Grimlock glances over at Patchwork for a moment- well, he's got SOMEBODY cheering for him, at least! Back to the matter at hand, however- Grimlock's still on the ground- which puts him just in the right position to sweep his tail at Sentinel's knees! Combat: Grimlock sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Robot T-Rex! strikes Sentinel Prime with his Tail Sweep! (Grab) attack! Sentinel Prime smirks, dusting his hands off as he stands up again, clearly expecting his opponent to already be beaten. He even waves to the crowd before the tail sweeps his legs out from under him! "OOF!" he grunts, slamming down onto his back. Sentinel is a bit surprised, but he's quick to try and hop back up and jump onto Grimlock and pound his head with his fists. It's like the UFC, but with *dinosaurs.* Combat: Sentinel Prime strikes Robot T-Rex! with his Ground and Pound (Grab) attack! Cinder, overhearing Patchwork's comment, facepaws. "He does that sorta thing on a daily basis..." He's probably exaggerating, but Sentinel really does fight like that. "Grrh!" Grimlock is pinned under Sentinel Prime's assault- but each dent-inducing blow just seems to make the dinobot MADDER. And so, Grimlock writhes about- and then...well, inspiration strikes him! (That, and Sentinel's fist). Utilizing his greater bulk, Grimlock grabs hold of Sentinel Prime and...rolls over. That's a lot of dinobot to be pinned under! And...if successful, Grimlock will even make it a point to get back to his feet, which is when he's gonna start jumping up and down like a kid in a bouncy-castle. Again. Lots of Dinobot, there. Combat: Robot T-Rex! strikes Sentinel Prime with his Dinobots are heavy! (Grab) attack! Astrotrain is totally being innundated by the jabberings of somme Sentinel fanboy in the stands behind him. At first, he ignores the constant gushing from the other mech, but finally it gets enough to him that he reaches up and seizes the smaller mech by the neck, hauling him down to eye-level from his higher perch. "I tell ya one quick reason why Sentinel Prime may be in fer a surprise." "Oh yeah!?" The mech tries to struggle valiantly against the future Decepticon's iron grip. "Yeah. Let's see how tough that braggart is when what he keeps hitting just keeps gettin back up over and over again. Stupid braggart's probably so used to his opponents foldin in the first few seconds by now." Sentinel Prime looks like he's really in trouble now that's he rolled over onto his back and a giant metal dinosaur is jumping up and down on him! "URF GURK get... off... me..." he grunts out, and fortunately there are no organics present to hear that out of context because it would sound REALLY inappropriate. But as there are not, Sentinel is reduced to flailing helplessly as he becomes Grimlock's trampoline. He tries to swipe at Grimlock's face, but in the position he's in right now, it's not likely to hit. Combat: Sentinel Prime misses Robot T-Rex! with his Get Off You're Hurting Me : (Grab) attack! "Yes..yes, go Grimlock!" Patchwork calls, likely one of the only ones cheering for Grimlock as she hugs that giant claw to her chest. Robot T-Rex! is having a good time! He leans back from Sentinel's swipe- and then steps off of Sentinel Prime. That's the good news! The bad news is, well...Grimlock's now hauling the Autobot commander up to his feet- only to wheel around in a full 360 circle, swinging his tail right at Sentinel's chest, aiming to send him flying as far as he can! Given this is Grimlock, it may be a ways. Combat: Robot T-Rex! strikes Sentinel Prime with his HOME RUN! (Grab) attack! Sentinel Prime is slammed in the chest by that huge tail, and with all that force behind it, Sentinel Prime is sent flying away from the impact, optics bugging out and exhaling a loud, "WHUUUUFFFF!" as his guts are caved in. His trajectory takes him out of the arena, even, over the audience... and right at Jumbo Tron's giant screen! Sentinel, having a few seconds to see what's coming, screams, "Oh, SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--" Cinder covers his optics with a forepaw. "Whatsamatter Prime!?" Astrotrain catcalls from the stands, though his voice may very well be lost amidst the shouting crowd. "A primitive a little too much for ya? WOAH HEADS UP!" His head tilts as he watches Sentinel hurtle through the air towards the giant screen, unable to hold it in anymore as he starts to guffaw loudly and nearly falls out of his chair. And most horrifying of all, is in REAL danger of spilling his drink! Patchwork goes still for a brief moment before she bounces, leaning over the railing, still clutching that claw. "You beat him, Grim!" she calls, grinning widely. Robot T-Rex! doesn't even bother watching Sentinel Prime land (err, crash). Instead, he just shakes his head- and then, he neatly, wordlessly reaches over with his weedy arms and hoists Patchwork up- depositing her on his back before he tromps back into the arena doorway from whence he came! "Me know. Me so great." he says to Patchwork. Meanwhile, Loudmouth is still announcing; "Wow! What an upset! Sentinel Prime, bashed around like a force-ball! Let's see the replay on Jumbo Tron!...Er, wait." Patchwork is scooped up, and, it seems, rides Grimlock out of the arena. "Let's go feed Andi!" KA-CHOOM!!! Sentinel smashes right through the screen in a spectacular shower of sparks and glass. Sentinel's legs dangle out of the hole he made, and he doesn't move an inch. Jumbo Tron eventually transforms into robot mode, and stares incredulously at himself. Cinder sighs. "Aw, boss..." He jumps out of his seat and heads into the arena toward Jumbo Tron. Astrotrain manages to compose himself after a few moments, looking up to see Sentinel Prime's feet sticking out of the jumbo tron as it transforms. The guffawing trails off, as he watches the mess left behind as Grimlock departs with Patchwork, finally shaking his head and taking a quick slug from his drink. "Pathetic. HOW did we not conquer the slag out of these fraggers right off?"
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