1335/A Bitter Win

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar was in the training room... It was a no brainer that he would be spending most of his time here. Whether in this universe or another he was still the same hardcore high achievement seeker. He lived for the combat, the growth, the display of prowess. Yes, this is Darkstar as true to form as ever.

    Blasting through the air in his Arrowship mode he ducked, dodged, flipped, banked, and afterbured his way through a holographic obstacle course setup with minimal imagery. Basic cubes floated around the arena, mimicing obstacles that one might find flying through an asteroid belt in the deep darkness of space.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth made his way into the training arena to spot Darkstar fighting, he'd make his way over to the benches and waited, watching the spacer like he had so many times before... Thinking to himself about their last fight before his disappearance.. he'd been /so close/ before... He'd frown as his thoughts drifted as he watched, letting out a chuff.

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron makes his way into the training arena a few minutes later. He doesn't join in the training yet. He watches the troops present to see what htey are capable of, making a rare appearance outside the command center.

**Darkstar has posed:**
WHOA! That was a CLOSE one!

    Darkstar continued to zip around the arena, narrowly avoiding a nose-plant here or a wing clipping there. Eventually his luck or skill would run out given just how high he'd set the difficulty setting for this little exercise. All seemed to veer toward that inevitible end when a rather massive three-dimensional polygon came hurtling toward him. In reality it would be certain death to be struck by such a massive body, and it appeared as if for Darkstar there was no escape.

WEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIN-K-K-POP!

    The Arrowship exploded....from view.

K-K-POP!

    And there he was again on the other side of the arena, his chassis completely unscathed. Faster Than Light engines were glowing an etheral blue as they cooled, and the Arrowship began to descend. A transformation later, and Darkstar dropped to the arena floor touching down in classic superhero landing fashion.

    "End program..."

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth looked board, his cheek in his hand, and helm tilted. "Well that certainly hasn't changed." he'd state dryly. His ear twitched, aware of the third presence by the sound their pede steps, but not of WHOM it was. "Going to completely destroy the shock padding in your knee servos and joints though." he'd ad with a nod.

**Blast Off has posed:**
Blast Off walks in not long after Megatron, holding his ionic blaster as he prepares for some target practice. However, upon spotting Megatron, he stops to just observe for a moment. Then he notices Darkstar over there and... OHO. There's a mech he wants a rematch with. Just... does he want it in front of Megatron?

**Darkstar has posed:**
    "Negative... I was forged for military service. Mine're the most durable around," Darkstar replied without missing a beat, his optics yet to look to anyone or anything other than the portable holo-control that he wore around his left forearm. A few taps upon the controls and the obstacle course winked from existance. "Control... Download all training data an' upload to my personal datapad." For the time being the Spacer was in his own world, as he'd yet to notice anyone other than the Beastformer who had spoken to him.

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron watches Darkstar for a long period of time as he challenges himself. He notices Goth in the corner and givies him a nod in greetings. He turns to Blast Off, noticing his body posture. "You want to challenge him, don't you?" he asks.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth scoffs at that. "You say that, yet I still have /box/ in the medical bay labeled 'Darkstar's Junk' after you'd neglected basic maintenance for chela knows how long." He'd nag, placing his hands onto his sides indignantly.. His ear twitched again, heightened hearing let him realize just who was there and.. oooh boy.

**Blast Off has posed:**
Blast Off's violet optics flicker in surprise as Megatron addresses him. "Uh..." He turns to face the Decepticon leader, straightening up, fists tightening as he draws in a deep vent. "....Yes, Sir, I do."

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron motions to Dustoff. "Well? Don't let me stop you.' He says simply. "Challenge him>"

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar rolls his pauldrons, relaxing his shoulders and giving his servos a nice stretch in the process. Still, he didn't look up. He was too busy scanning over the performance readings as he scrolled through the information dump provided by the portable holo-control. "Sounds 'bout right... Since I can perform at my peak longer'n most, it ain't uncommon for me ta' skip a 'mandatory' or two every now'n then."

**Goth has posed:**
     "It was more than two." Goth says dryly, glancing down to the control panel, then back to Darkstar, tapping his claws against his armor and fur, and grunts, specially when he hears Megatron to Blast Off, he has to be more forward about this. "..Mhmph." He'd look away. "Don't recall, but it has been sometime since we spared together."

**Blast Off has posed:**
Ok! Blast Off (thankfully) doesn't realize he's been mistaken for a medic, but he can definitely do as Megatron says. Because there's no backing down or aving face now if he \*doesn't\*. He strides towards Darkstar, thruusting a black finger towards his face. "YOU!" He strikes a dramatic pose. "I challenge YOU to a rematch!" THen he blinks because he notices Goth and did the actual medic just....? "Wait, unless you're already doing it?"

**Darkstar has posed:**
    "Yeah? That right?" Darkstar asks, his optics STILL glued to the holo-control. "...Guess we should get to it then," the Spacer replies after a moment. Training was training, and for him the more the was always the merrier. "C'mon... Let's do it." No nonsense, straight to it! Sorry Blast Off, the mechabat spoke up first. "Control... Reduce safety parameters by fifty percent."

    Everyone in the room knew what that meant... For those beyond the fourth wall it was clear that Darkstar wanted to feel every strike well beyond what was considered training arena standard.

    The sudden challenge from his fellow Spacer is acknowledged with the bare minimum of dramatics. "Get in line."

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron sits against a wall and chuckles. "So many partners, only one dancer." He says. Oh hes enjoying watching this.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth takes a deep vent, grateful for that, he'd walk onto the field, doing something that, well, past Darkstar would been surprised about, he willing transformed into his root mode! and stood ready on the field, arms folded behind his back as he glanced to the other two and motioned them to the benches. "Any rules in particular?" He'd ask with a raised ridge, being mindful of the lowered safety parameters.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar chuckles, shaking his head. He hadn't looked at Goth since the Bat Bot arrived within the arena. "Yeah..." his gaze lifted finally, optics flashing briefly at the other as he turned away and began to walk toward the opposite side of the arena. "Gimme your best."

    A leap and a transformation later, and the Arrowship was speeding on a trajectory that was clearly meant to bring him around to line up with his target in preparation to fire.

**Blast Off has posed:**
Well, phooey. Blast Off's thunder is... deflated fairly quickly. He drops his hand and glances nervously back at Megatron before drawing himself together and clearing his throat. "Well, medics first." He gestures to Goth and slides his way back out of the arena. Hmm. He now just frowns, watching Darkstar, fairly convinced the mech is just \*avoiding\* him. Yes, yes, that must be it! Well, he'll just watch Goth fight him and learn... and plot.

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron continues to watch and see how the two adjust to one another's fight patterns. His face is expressionless as he sees just what his soldiers are capable of.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth takes the shot cringing and glares, watching his own stance. "If you say so." He'd take in a deep vent, mentally preparing himself, closely watching the arrowship, trying a slow vent as his fingers twitched, patience, he needed to be patient, he had suspected he'd be hit.. just glad was the laser first.. "As always." he finally says as he tracks the spacer.

**Darkstar has posed:**
Darkstar didn't take his time...

    The Arrowship only picked up speed as it continued on course, speeding right for the mechabat.

Darkstar had no time for patience...

    The Arrowship closed the distance with the speed of a craft built for long distance space travel, barreling in on the target- a collision imminent.

The laser was first. The rockets...

    The Arrowship transformed, Darkstar's robot mode in full glory seeming to explode out of the shell as an orange glow grew brighter within his forearm and shin mounted rocket pods. "Tag."

**Blast Off has posed:**
Blast Off glances over to Megatron a moment as a particularly crazy thought enters his head but.... naaaaah. He's not looking to get humiliated, and there's no way he'd beat Megatron himself. The shuttleformer goes back to watching the two active combatants while bringing his ionic blaster up to sight in and clean with a little solvent and gun oil.

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron looks to Blast Off. He notices that stare. "Tell me. How could they improve their form?" he asks. Oh dear.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth's optics narrow and he braces for impact as those rockets just /tear/ through Goth's armor, he'd trembling already from the heavy fire, okay that was /not/ what he was used to with those, he wanted to patch the wounds but, no.. no this was his needed lucky shot! He'd pull one of his drones that had always missed Darkstar from his subspace and hurled it at the spacer! Energon already leaking from Goth's wounds.

**Blast Off has posed:**
Blast Off lifts his brown helmeted head to look up at Megatron. Oh. OH. He straightens again, watching the contestants more closely now. "Well, they... Well." Ahem. He takes a moment to collect his thoughts and try to sound articulate. "Darkstar is acting too rashly- he needs a touch more patience. Watch for the right time to strike and..." He watches as Darkstar is incapacitated after his attack. "....And don't do \*that\*."

"Goth hesitated- he looked like he was bracing for impact when he should have used those seconds to \*move away\*." He nods, "Onslaught always says keep moving, don't be a sitting turbo-duck." Well, except for when he doesn't, at least.

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle enters the training room, looks around, and notices there's quite a number of mechs in here. "Hi everybody. Room for one more?" he wonders, glancing over and spotting Megatron. "Looks like you guys sure are getting a workout."

**Darkstar has posed:**
Oh contraire, Blast Off! This was all a part of the plan!

    Darkstar took the hit head on, barreling through the drone as it injects him with a substance that suddenly made him feel quite a bit heavier. Interseting stuff... This Bat Bot had some choice weaponry. No wonder they had allegedly sparred so many times. Only the best... It was Darkstar's motto.

    The only aspect in which Darkstar truly slowed down was in that which couldn't be helped. The toxin did it's job, but it did not stop the Spacer from doing his. Shelving the rockets for the time being he'd continue to charge...

**Goth has posed:**
     Darkstar would also likely start feeling his armor weaken melt even, as Goth take's the slam and grins madly, quickly get himself dislodged, and switching to his Bat-mode once more, and shrikes out a new frequency the bot would of not heard before! Well, really was all going to be new to him but the fact still remained!

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron nods "You're right, Blast off." he chuckles. "That's what I was looking for. No hesitation, especially against such fast opponents." He continues to watch the fight. "Who do you think will win this?"

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar hadn't yet noticed that his armor had weakened considerably, but he did notice that he found it difficult...nay, IMPOSSIBLE to move as a piercing shriek filled the arena. Clenching his denta, the Blitzkrieg Specialist found that his servos were locking up thoughout his body. "Nnnnnghhh...." he growled lowly in frustration. Sonic attack, inhibits motor function... So, the Bat Bot could heavily damage armor as well as completely incapacitate a target. He remembered all of the details as he fought, always determined to study a worthy foe. "Impressive..."

**Blast Off has posed:**
Blast Off nods to Megatron, glad the answer was satisfactory. This is combat, after all, something he's supposed to be good at, given his team's name! "Yes." He turns to watch the combatants after noting Swindle and giving him a small nod as well. Tapping his face-plated chin, he ponders. "I'm going to say the bat, simply because Goth knows himself, while Darkstar is apparently re-learning his own capabilities. If he truly has forgotten a lot, he isn't as familiar with his own body-and attacks- as he should be."

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron tilts his head. "Care to place a bet on that then? Five shanix on Darkstar." yes. Hes an old Gladiator. He knows how these pitfights work.

**Swindle has posed:**
"Ooooh I can certainly take bets, maybe place some odds," Swindle says, "Lemme calculate you some odds. Hold on a sec." He stands there silently as he computes in his head.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth can't stop, not now, not yet! He's got Darkstar paralyzed and suffering the effects of his drones! He'd roll himself onto all fours and lunged after the spacer once more and bite down into his energon line, attempting to make the energon issues Darkstar was already having, worse by replenishing his /own/ fuel reserves! ...Wait, Blast Off's betting on him? There's some encouragement he didn't know he needed!

**Blast Off has posed:**
Those violet optics flicker again as he once more looks up at his leader. Bet against \*Megatron\*? There's a second's hesitation, then the shuttleformer's ego reminds him he doesn't kowtow to authority. Ever. He doesn't even wait for the odds. Blast Off reaches a black hand out. "You're /on/!!" He answers with a rumble and a grin....

Then adds, "...Sir."

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Internal warning tones filled his audials as Darkstar's energon reserves began to diminish at a dramatic rate. The damage was minimal, but the other effects were certainly those to take note of. So, not only could the Beastformer wreck armor and incapacitate an enemy, but this Goth mech was also capable of attacking energon reserves directly. Amazing... But would it be enough? Darkstar knew the answer was 'no'.

    Usually firing rockets into the chest of an enemy at such a close proximity was ill advised, but the Spacer was made to be capable of exactly that with little to no repercussions. His arms quickly thrust forward, his fists actually making light contact with Goth's midsection as he prepared to fire...

But nothing happened. Nothing at all.

    He'd made a mistake. While Darkstar had remembered to deactivate the holographic 'minefield' that he'd been using to train his aerial maneuvers he had forgotten to reset his ammunition stores. "Hahahahah..." he chuckled quietly, the only one in the room aware of this fact. Poor Darkstar, now he couldn't use one of his most powerful attacks for the rest of the fight...

Bring. It. On.

**Swindle has posed:**
"After a short evaluation and calculation, I think I'll give Goth 3-1 odds," Swindle says decisively, "Now, who wants to place bets?" Winning smile. Gambling is his favorite form of money raising. He leans against the wall as he watches Darkstar and Goth, nodding over at Blast Off. "I see you got the same idea."

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron continues to watch "Who knows. Maybe Darkstar has something hes saving for us?" he chuckles. "Fight's not over yet." he says continuign to watch.

**Goth has posed:**
     That definitely would of been it for Goth, had Darkstar not forgotten, nonetheless... Goth knows that doesn't mean he's won, fact his alarms where still blaring in his ears, he needed to do /one more thing/ before he could attend to the wounds. He'd sent rolling by the kick, and goes rolling back into the wall, /hard/. He coughs out a large amount of energon, given he'd just syphoned a bit off of Darkstar's tank, Goth was giving it everything he had.

      He'd snarl in pain as one of his legs was malfunctioning from damage done, he'd get back onto all fours, panting heavily, he'd lunge after the spacer with those elongated claws of his!

**Blast Off has posed:**
"True," Blast Off replies to Megatron after the handshake, pulling his hands back to his own weapon for some more polishing. He glances to Swindle, "Sounds good to me. Except gambling. I'd far rather \*save\* my shanix. Buy something \*luxurious\* with it." Then he goes back to watching. You can do it, Goth! You have to, Blast Off is betting on you!

**Swindle has posed:**
"Well, that's why they're called 'odds', not 'certainties'," Swindle replies, "Truly sure bets are a rare thing. Makes it more exciting, knowing there could be a comeback from the one you didn't expect to win."

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Claws... Darkstar hated claws. If there was one thing that he could envy when it came to Beastformers on any level it was that many of them had razor sharp weapons built into their fingertips. That was fraggin' cool anyway you look at it.

    The slash did relatively light damage, but already he could sense that there was something 'extra' within that attack. The Bat Bot always seemed to have a hidden gem that one did not initially expect, one that added an extra layer of deadliness to what appeared to be somewhat benign at first shock.

    "Hmph... You should consider yourself fortunate, Corporal... Goth, was it?" He still wouldn't reveal his mistake, or the disadvantage that it put him at. No, admitting such an oversight would make him look worse than losing the fight with Supreme Chancellor Megatron present. He'd swallow it for now, he'd already decided, and put any future would-be rivals at a tactical disadvantage during the 'real thing'.

For now though, there was still fighting to be had...

**Goth has posed:**
     The monitors above that were showing the combatants would be showing just how close to being knocked out Goth was, that hit from Darkstar took him down lower, and Goth was heavily leaking energon.. but he was still standing, he'd used more fuel then he'd expected so he was going to have to put off dealing with his wounds for a moment more, panting heavily as energon and.. some sort of black ichor, leaked from the bat's wounds.

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron looks to the monitor. "Your gladiator fights well." he says. "It's pretty even. Lets see if he can keep it up." he says, enjoying the fight.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Another sound strike from the mechabat! More of Darkstar's energon the primary victim of his opponent's piercing fangs...

    The pain was little, but the effects were certainly noticed. Darkstar found himself enjoying this fight quite a bit. The challenge was certainly there, and the variety of unexpected abilities attached to his sparring partner's every offensive strike only added to it. He could see how injured the mechabat was, so it immediately occurred to him that perhaps he'd take the 'fun' of the challenge to a new level. Darkstar pounced toward Goth, arms extended as he moved to grab hold of the other Decepticon in a standard grapple. "Tell me... How many times 'ave we fought before? How long have you been tryin' ta' take me down?"

**Swindle has posed:**
"Oh yeah, this is really gripping," Swindle agrees, "Goth is doing really well." He watches in fascination as the battle gets more intense. "It's anybody's game by now."

**Blast Off has posed:**
"I still say it's Goth's game," Blast Off huffs softly, then goes back to his gun polishing.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth acks as he's grabbed, and snarls as he tried to break Darkstar's hold. "O-Over...Over a orbital-cycle's worth." Goth had been trying to do this since he met Darkstar not long after he joined the Decepticon ranks. An optic glanced down to see the fact that Darkstar was likely struggling to find the strength to do anything, that and all of that /acid/ of Goth's looked to be getting to him.

      so taking the chance he attempts to force himself free by transforming, and quickly slapping some patches over his injuries to stop the loss of fluids! ...Yes Blast Off, Goth will remember the fact you rooted for him despite knowing Goth was more likely to be /slagged/ then win.

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron looks to Swindle "So what you're saying is. five more on Goth? Im still taking bets." Oh dear. Is he trying to separate Swindle from money?

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar's arms are forced apart to permit Goth enough time to transform and patch his wounds, and he stumbled backward a step before it planted firmly to brace himself. "That's a lotta combat...between you an' me. Heheheh... You still 'aven't won? That's...pathetic," the Spacer taunts. Anger, he needed to make the Bat as angry as possible if he was going to be able to sell this thrashing to the onlookers. "Why have I bothered with you...for so long? You can barely scratch me... I think I should be done with you."

**Swindle has posed:**
"Haha, sure, why not," Swindle says to Megatron, as he has reasonable confidence that Goth will win anyway. At least up to this point.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth quirks a ridge and chuffs, he'd still in bad shape, alarms in his ears still going off, as well as showing on the minitor, but he glares at Darkstar, not angry enough! He'll need more than that to poke Goth like that. "Hmph, you tell me, fact, said yourself before you vanished.. The stronger your opponents are, the stronger you can get." He'd pant "That or you just simply enjoyed my company more then you let on." He'd chuckle darkly, that was.. Sarcasm?

      During that talk he took a moment to evaluate himself.. Systems damaged, low energon.. Darkstar was regaining his strength, so, he needed to move tactfully. He'd transform back into his bat mode and lunde once more at Darkstar's fuel lines!

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron tilts his head at Goth. "That may be a hard one to come back from. Let's see if Darkstar has a way out of this."

**Darkstar has posed:**
There was always a way out... Starkiller rockets were always a way out- just not this time.

    Darkstar stumbles back a few steps once more, this time dropping to one knee as his energon reserves are attacked yet again. So, the mechabat was someone he was training? As a Sergeant he trained many recruits. Never did he wish to lead, but train? He was one of the best the Autobots had. "Ahhh, so... You have learned well from me. You know the secret to power." This pleased him.

    Leaping backward through the air, Darkstar's thruster kibble took on a white-hot glow as he began to hover in the air. "You have not learned enough though... If we have been fightin' fer' this long you should at least be able to make me nervous- hahahahah... HAHAHAHAHAH!" C'mon mechabat.. What else have you up your wing?

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth just scoff. "Please, little scares you, well, save a sparkeater, but There is honestly no point in using /fear/ tactics with you, and quite honestly I /stopped/ fearing you quite some time ago once I started regaining my strength." he'd state bordly. "...Heheh... Fact there was one time I jumped you, here in the training grounds." He'd muse as he watched the struggling spacer, tapping his claws against his palm.

      "...How Ironic, always told me how to embrace my /disgusting/ root-mode, pity... Won't know just how momentous of an occasion /this/ will be." He'd transform as he spoke pulling out another drone, this one lacking the signature glass tank, full of toxic goo, this one looked... Like a scraplet? He'd throw it at Darkstar all the same!

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar is knocked from the air, a backward flip leading to another 'superhero landing', albeit this one forced.

    Darkstar's optics flashed, somewhat annoyed by the mechabat's taunting. If he could use his rockets the other would've been blasted to bits long ago! Still, perhaps a more confident sparring partner would prove to be a better sparring partner going forward. Darkstar, quite a bit unlike the Darkstar of old, considers this thoroughly in the next few moments. "You're garbage..." he tells Goth, chuckling as danger tones ring in his audials. "I could defeat you with one arm bolted behind my back..." he says as he retrieves his laser rifle from subspace and opens fire.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth takes a hit to the optic, it leaking that black ichor from before and he just lets out a snort. "Remember that, the next time you threaten Dustoff." He'd smile madly, that light on his ear starts flickering red and a number of Alarms start going off on the monitor the combatants vitals were on, Goth's fuel pressure was spiking! The vampire bat's optics go competely red as black slits appear in them. He'd grin a crazed fang filled smile as he hucks another drone at Darkstar.

**Swindle has posed:**
"One arm bolted behind the back? That's not a bad idea for some kind of fight," Swindle observes, "Just to make things interesting."

**Darkstar has posed:**
Wham! Bam! Thank you, Sam!

    "Who's Dustoff?" Darkstar is beamed in the face by the scraplet drone thrown by Goth, his helm jerking backward as he wordlessly falls backward and slams against the floor completely out cold. With the safety parameters having been significantly reduced the hit would be one he would feel for a long time even after he reset himself.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth let out a sigh of relief, letting himself calm, his whole frame was shaking from the rage, and the fluid loss... It was over, he won... He actually won... He smiled at that, yet it felt so... bitter, because Darkstar didn't remember all the work the went through, and the fact he /swallowed/ his pride, and defeated Darkstar in his ROOT-MODE of all modes! His ears fallback, and he let the area reset him, before he approached Darkstar in his bat mode and offered a hand out, to help him back up.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar's optics flashed suddenly after having been dimmed to nearly nothing at all. The first thing he'd see? Goth's outstretched hand...

    The Spacer gripped the mechabat's forearm, and allowed himelf to be helped to his feet. "You need more training," the Spacer says curtly before starting toward the exit. Yeah, that oughta really do the trick...

**Goth has posed:**
     "Always do, wait till you're reminded of my cursed nature." Goth scoffs in response with a huff, yeah he's accepted the fact there maaaaay actually be black magic involved. "Don't forget your datapad." He'd call. His ears still back.

**Swindle has posed:**
"Oooh nice one," Swindle says, clapping, "I knew ya had it in ya."

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron grunts. "I suppose I owe Blast Off money now." He syas. "I'm sure he'll collect."

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth looks back to Megatron and Swindle, and nods his head, chuffing out. "...Hmph, I figured that would be much more of a joyous victor given it took me over a orbital-cycle (A year) to do it." He'd muse as he went to the control panel of the training arena and plugged his datapad in to get a copy of the footage.

**Megatron has posed:**
Megatron nods "If you see Blast Off, tell him I'll pay up. Im not giving it to any of his brothers for safekeeping.' He adds before swindle gets ideas.

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle smirks at Megatron. "I think you owe me a few as well?" he says with a wink. It's worth a try... "Yeah, I'll let Blast Off know he won."