Flashback - Kaon's Finest - Closed

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For the first time in vorns, Megatronus had cancelled a meeting with Orion Pax. Stubbornness, a sense of reputation and the singular value of time spent with a mech who not only believed in his rhetoric, but was actively disseminating it across channels a gladiator had no access to - all of this had seen the ex-miner in various stages of dented, torn, leaking and semi-slagged in the lower level of the Iacon Archives.

After today's match, however, Megatronus felt bruised in every strut and was missing an entire articulation assembly in his right arm, to say nothing of the lingering effects of heat stress, lacerated protoform and the sporadic waves of dizziness from where his processor was still correcting itself. He should have still been in the workshop, or at least on a berth. Certainly not in a close-enough bar spending his winnings.

Once again, it was stubbornness and reputation that had him out, though with his good forearm firmly resting on a table.

His match with Soundwave had been a series of unexpected and utterly invigorating surprises. It had lasted treble the duration of his average matches, and switched between calculating and skilled to punishingly brutal every few minutes. A long fight against a skilled opponent was a pleasant change of pace, and the bookies had favored the angular underdog. Victory had been hard-won and decided by points, in the end. It had been determined that a rematch was significantly more lucrative than a single fight to the death.

Presently, Megatronus took another long slug from his cube and pressed at his motion-locked shoulder. The pain wasn't significant, but the hollow ache of missing parts was strange. Some of those missing parts had been removed on Soundwave's weapon, he recalled with a dry smile. Pit of a fight.

Orion would have called him reckless for agreeing to a rematch; horrified that he was risking his life (in his livelihood) and with it the building momentum of his campaign. The little archivist did not full appreciate that his future had never been guaranteed, every cycle of his life won through the strength in his frame and the determination of his mind. Today's match had been particularly dangerous, but no more perilous to his life than living in Kaon. He could be murdered with an injection of rust by the Enforcers at any time, campaign or no. As for the fight with Soundwave...

He was looking forward to doing it again.


<<OOC: Megatronus has holed himself up at the back of a very shady (and thus pretty quiet) bar, one he visits regularly. At this point, he's held a few 'You are being deceived' rallies, helped form a mining union and done some heavy petitioning. He's on the Senate's radar, but as an annoyance more than anything else.>>

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It could be said that Megatronus was pretty battered from the match, but of course, as the saying went, "you should've seen the other guy".

While not quite scrapped, Soundwave had been in better shape. Despite all his tricks, despite his efforts to stay at a safe distance until there was an opportunity... despite his self-catering prowess, he'd lost. He hadn't lost in ages. It felt like a mixture of shame and humility was being thrust at him.

Never be one to think that the mech would hold a grudge. Not against such a powerful foe, and certainly not against one such as Megatronus. Still, he didn't like the fact that he too was missing a few parts here and there... and a good chunk of the upper portion of his shoulder piece.

He had to admit, though, that he hadn't anticipated such a celebrity-status opponent to face. And undoubtedly this would be beneficial to both of them. Another victory for the champion, and a credit of survival against such a merciless warrior for him. Or something of that nature. He had a reputation to uphold has well.

Again, his desire for information drove him, and he found himself ironically seeking out the former. What madness, to seek out a mech and seek... well, what was he seeking here, anyway? Congratulations? Reconciliation? No, probably not that…

After a moment's pause, the angular mech entered the small bar. It had taken some time to track down the mech who bested him. Rumors, authotity reports, surveillance records... now, mind you, looking into that stuff wasn't always... you know, legal. Again, the desire for knowledge was a powerful lust. Soundwave was grateful for it, as he had the skill to know what was what... and to know what this world was about. It was still frightening.

The lanky mech skulked toward where Megatronus sat, his featureless face never betraying emotion. Meanwhile, he was actually pleased to have found the fellow gladiator so easily. With a wave to greet him, his whispering, distorted voice broke the scilence.

"May I join you?"

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The larger mech inclined his helm, optics narrowing in open communication of his curiosity. Mechs approached him quite often, these days, about the rallies as much as about the matches. Those he had bested in the arena (by whatever margin) tended not to.

Megatronus had straightened on the bench when he'd noticed Soundwave's entrance, dragging his weight off of the table with a metallic grind of protest. When he was sat, it was impossible to gauge where the mech was looking - and Primus had he made the most of that during their fight...

The larger mech thumbed the rim of the cube, remembering in his mesh how swift and strong those tentacles had been. He'd heard very little of Soundwave before meeting him in the arena, and had not been prepared for such an unusual technique. More skilled than strong, he noted to himself.

Soundwave's dark screen was directed towards him, and Megatronus held the gaze he assumed was leveled at him. Apparently the mech was quite comfortable with silence, and it drew out for longer than was polite.

Finally, one side of Megatronus's mouth twitched upwards in a smile. "Pit of a match today." He lifted the cube, taking a long drag and feeling out Soundwave's field. "Sponsors must be queuing for you, now."

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Soundwave's gaze was certainly fixed on the other mech. For a tense moment, it seemed like Megatronus would simply tell him to scram. Even now, it seemed like he was almost afraid to have him there.

As much as he'd like to entertain that notion, that's not why he was here.

"... Indeed it was," he replied flatly. "Just as well, I am not here to seek confrontation."

With that, he took a seat across the booth. He didn't seem to acknowledge the comment about sponsors. He had more than his share; both business, and one or two major political allies. He waved for the barkeep to send a bit of energon for him.

... What? He could use some too, and he still got payment after that…

"I'd question why you would choose to come here instead of seeking repair. I should be doing the same, I suppose..." Courtesy of that blade of his. Powerful, and versitile. Such an interesting opponent...

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Megatronus's mouth twitched into a thin smile, optical crystals cycling inwards to a darker shade of blue. He finished his cube and slid the empty to the edge of the table as the tender arrived with Soundwave's energon. The positioning signaled for a refill, and that today's champion and contender would be here a while longer.

"Thoughtful as it is that you wonder at my wellbeing," Megatronus drawled, resting a massive forearm across a well armored thigh. "I've operated in far worse condition than this."

Because the Syndicate that owned his frame had a very broad view of what classed as 'functioning', and were becoming evermore inclined to push the limits since Megatronus began to make a political nuisance of himself. He'd been well-prepared in the mines for such a lifestyle, however. The foremen would only be concerned about working a mech to deactivation if there weren't more to replace them.

He looked Soundwave over again as the tender set down another cube of High Grade. The slender, deceptively delicate frame and prehensile limbs were not common outside of the Towers and more affluent sectors on Cybertron. Certainly Megatronus had never encountered such a build before, and had had little idea of what to expect when confronted by such an anomaly in the arena.

Soundwave's presence in Kaon did not make sense, and his fighting in the Arena even less. At least he'd survived their match today, so he could ask...

"Tell me, Soundwave: how does a mech such as yourself come to fight with heavy-labor builds in the pits of Kaon?"

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For a moment after his energon arrived, Soundwave simply placed it on the table off to the side, as if he'd changed his mind. A soft chirp, however, heralded the arrival of a thin, clawed tendril slithering out from the slender bot's back. He paid no attention to it as it seamlessly cracked open the cube's top and began sipping away.

Yes, you have just witnessed how Soundwave takes his drinks. _{shaken, not stirred}

"As I concluded. Even when damaged such, I must commend you for being such a tenacious fighter." He certainly didn't feel too comfortable with both of them so battered. Maybe he'd have to pay a visit to that red repairman grounder that he'd heard such good things of in the past. What was his name? Black Out? Something of the sort; he remembered it being a somewhat questionable name for someone in the medical field.

... There he goes; his processor was wandering again. Here and now, Soundwave was unreadable; body language told little despite the noticeable strain in his shoulder as he tapped his talons on the edge of the table. Megatronus presented a good question.

"I was not always involved in such brutal sport," he stated flatly. "I was a research technician, many vorns ago. I was sent to analyze events in the pits.. and as it were, I never truly left. I fight, in short, because I want to."

Well, that was half-true. After his first few successful matches, the Syndicate caught wind of his activities and banned him from his work, forcing him to leave. It wasn't pretty. He had to be escorted out and put up enough fuss to sever a police mech's lower arm.

He paused, a brief, small line of data flickering on and off of his visor. Oh, he'd battled those heavy miner types in the past. "... You presume that I have something to fear of these opponents, Megatronus. My size is my strength; my mind is my weapon. These construction workers, miners... they do not analyze their strengths. They think themselves better only because they are bigger, and I use this pride against them."

Not that he posed any disdain toward Megatronus. He was tough; strong like those others, but he evidently knew the value of tactics. Maybe that was what lost him the match, in the end; Soundwave had underestimated his opponent's mental capacity. He was actually sort of pleased that he had.