1034/Dead End Fight Club

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Within the slums of Rodion there was a place where mechs and femmes from all over came to test their mettle against one another in unarmed combat. The group had been meeting for many months now, and slowly built its way up from just a pair of members at first to now over three dozen. While not every meeting was as heavily populated as the last, the regulars were many and continued to show up regardless of how much damage they had taken during their membership. Darkstar was one of these members...

    \*CRACK\*

    The sound of metal on metal rang throughout the alleyway, and the roar of the crowd persisted as energon-thirsty optics watched the two battle within a circle of chasses. The smaller of the two mechs went down, his helm dented in slightly with mouthguard hanging. Darkstar lifted his arms into the air, triumphant for the first time in a week. Competition was fierce here, and only the toughest mechs typically came back for repeated bashings. This is The Dead End Fight Club...

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth was flying over head, cloaked, when he heard the crack of metal, an ear swiveling towards it and the bat bot raised a ridge. He'd bank and soar his way towards the sound, he was used to the dead end, he would fly over sometimes to scavenge for materials..

      Landing silently on the roof tops as he made his way over to glare down at the event below, tilting his head, well well well.. now what did he have here?

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar made his rounds, walking with shoulders and skyward raised fists swinging as he made his way around the ring of cheering bots. There was little boasting, belive it or not-- just the clear body language of a recent victor. Here at The Dead End Fight Club one tended to keep such brazen displays of self-congratulation to a minimum since losses were so frequent. Everyone was humble here, whether or not that was their typical setting out in the world. Darkstar would be a primary example of this. In battle, at Decepticon HQ, at the Jump Joint, training arena, Maccadam's... Everywhere else he was the boaster, the cocky one, the mech with an ego the size of Cybertron himself. Not here.

    Grabbing hold of the forearm of the mech he'd recently defeated in combat, Darkstar smirked at his fellow Fight Clubber. "Next week?" he'd ask the mech who groaned as he was wrested up into a sitting position, energon still leaking from his mouthguard.

    "How about...next month."

    The two laughed, and Darkstar finished pulling the mech up to stand on his own two feet. A pat on the back, and the two made their way back into the crowd to make room for the next two combatants. Darkstar for his part would retreat a little deeper into the alley to spark an e-cig. He'd watched Killcore best a dozen mechs easy-- he didn't need to see the mech fight again just now, especially given Killcore's competition who wasn't exactly the most skilled fighter in spite of his incredible constitution. Alone, in the darkness, Darkstar enjoyed a brief respite.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth rolled his optics and gave something of a sneer of annoyance. It did remind him of some of the combat competitions back on his planet, which maybe of been the real thing to annoy him... He would follow Darkstar from the rooftops, still ever silent and cloaked, tilting his head as he took in the situation.. Should he reveal himself? Should he not? This was the question... That and what exactly /was/ this? And had this been why Darkstar was always showing up injured?

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar took a lean against the wall, a bit drained from the fight he'd just finished. While white smoke vented into the air around his helm, he looked over each of his hands in turn, noting the dents in his knuckles and armored plating. A satisfied chuckle escaped the mech, who then shook his head. "Swear 'is face hurt more than his punches..." he mused to himself, sounding rather amused. There he was...the real Darkstar.

    Oblivious to Goth's presence, one thing that he did note was the sudden eruption of cheering. Someone had just taken a nasty hit... That someone was definitely Killcore's opponent, he was certain. "Showoff," the Decepticon said with a grin.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth tilted his head optics settled into a half-lidded position.. It was actually interesting to see Darkstar not boasting and being a something other than incredibly obnoxious. It was as Goth stated before, he's actually rather nice to talk to when he's not being.. Well, /that/ Goth didn't want to really ruin the moment right now... Because he knew the second he appeared Darkstar would revert back to annoying!

      Though if he didn't reveal himself soon, he was at growing risk for Darkstar to spot him, and who know how /that/ would go. Goth would grin though, and decided to have a /slight/ bit of fun with it, he'd hop down to the fire escape, rattling it as loud as he could.

**Swindle has posed:**
First rule of fight club: Don't talk about fight club. Second rule of fight club: You DO NOT TALK about Fight Club. Third rule? Always have a bookie. And Swindle is here, taking bets from any that will have them, for each bout. "Step right up, femmes and gentlemechs, place your bets here!" he says.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid is near the arena- of course he knows about it. He was almost dragged in there before. He's helping a couple of empties out, his medical insignia more visible then his Autobot one as he works on repairing the wretch's optic band. "I know these are hard to come by. After the fights, I may be able to scrounge up some more parts so we can work on your actuator." He says. "I know its gruesome to collect parts from these fights, but they are few and far between in this part. If I can get them for you and get you on your feet, maybe you can remain functional long enough to try to scrape your way out of this part of town."

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar would look upward and over to the fire escape as the rattling reached his audials, his optics flashing in surprise. Slowly, a hand moved to his subspace holster and a blaster rifle is quickly brandished. This was typically a no-weapons zone that most Dead Enders actually acknowledged, but he wasn't yet certain that whatever was making that noise was actually a part of the Fight Club. Watching the escape closely the spacer kept his cool, but was ready to open fire on anything that looked like it was an Autobot threat, or even one that had decided that it did not care about the unspoken code of the bouts. "Come out, come out wherever you are..." he intoned.

    Typically betting on the fights was frowned upon, but there were no explicit rules against such. Swindle had managed to find himself at home with those who were a bit more carefree about where they gained and lost their shanix. Killcore was already the favored to win by a hefty margin, and the spurr-tipped fingered mech was showing why he was considered one of the most dangerous of opponents as he toyed with his opponent within the arena. Only a few bets were being placed at the time, most coming from those who were counting on either a sure thing with a decisive Killcore victory, or the one in a million chance that Drilldozer would would succeed in connecting with one solid knockout punch.

    "Thank you for all of your help... Just... Be careful, will you? They have rules about that kinda thing. I've never seen what happened to someone who broke them before, but I've definitely \*not\* seen someone again who broke \*that\* one..." warned one of First Aid's patients.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth let out a dark chuckle, followed by another slam of something heavy landing on unsecure metal, this time a dumpster... Course Goth wouldn't show himself there! Oh nonono, instead a black silhouette, outlined by the glow of red pixels would appear beside him with the only notable features being the glow of his green optics, and cheshire cat, fang filled smile on his face, in it, as he slowly, very slowly, disengaged his cloaking device.

      "Know, you are /quite/ fascinating to watch, almost mistakable for likeable even."

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle chuckles as bets start pouring in, keeping the shanix in a container in his subspace pocket. He carries a padd to keep track of who bet what on whom. He doesn't care if it's frowned upon, he has "frag you" money. When mechs stop coming to him to place bets, he turns his attention to the makeshift ring, seeing how the fight goes.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid nods "They know me here." He says to the patients. "They tried to get me to fight last time but instead I made a lot of friends and enemies." he sighs and shakes his head. "With luck, I will remain unnoticed." he says at his impromptu 'free clinic'. "So who is fighting today? ooh man. Killcore. He's brutal you know." the young medic is filthy from workign for a while in the dead end and seems very tired. But he always seems to want to be where he can help the most. People around here either respect that or mock that depending on who they are.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar tensed as the mechabat disengaged his cloaking device, the barrel of his laser rifle swinging around to aim at Goth's fanged face. "Hah!" Darkstar would bark before lowering the weapon, which he swiftly returned to its subspace holster. "Of course I am," he reply to the Beastformer before taking another puff of e-cig. "What're you doin' here? Come ta' fight...?" The spacer actually looked a bit hopeful, his grin growing steadily.

    Killcore was dancing around Drilldozer like a true professional. Woe to the mech who thought he was faster, more nimble, and skilled at martial arts than the surefooted drone-alt. Drilldozer was all brawn, little brains, and almost zero skill... But nobody wanted to take a hit from the mech, not even Scrap Bash who was absent today and one of the largest of the Fight Club's regulars. So far Killcore was slowly, steadily, and systematically taking DD down with the dance of a thousand cuts.

    "Hey Swindle. You fightin' tonight or just taking bets? Startin' to think you don't get the real point of all of this," one of the other regulars joked to the Combaticon. "One and done isn't exactly how it's supposed to work." Granted all anyone actually had to do was challenge someone, and a fight was on. Apparently for whatever reason the mech heckling Swindle didn't seem to want to take the next logical step just yet.

    "When they leave... There might be something you could grab. Most of them are quick to run to the bars afterward... Some a bit delerious. Just be careful," First Aid's patient would continue. He had to look out for his best interests after all, even though it might mean something bad could happen to the Autobot medic. "Killcore almost always wins. Only seen him lose a couple of times... Darkstar beat him once. Killcore beat Darkstar twice though. That mech scares me... I dunno where he learned how to do what he does. Nobody does really..."

**Goth has posed:**
     "No, I actually had been soaring overhead on my way elsewhere." He'd respond, however he noted Darkstar's hopeful look and raised a ridge and rolled his optics and sighed like a elder sibling unable to take the look the younger was giving them. "Dustoff has actually scolded me about how many fights i've been in, you know."

      He'd look up at Darkstar, ensuring he understood what the spacer would have to explain if Goth limped into the medical bay, or spotted him injured. "After all, besides I, Dustoff is, currently, our only on-hand medic."

**Swindle has posed:**
"Sure I get the point of this. Making shanix," Swindle says to the rando regular, "Nothing wrong with that." He chuckles. He doesn't tend to fight that much at the fight club. Why bother, when raking in the cash on fights was so much more profitable?

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid nods "That's the plan." he says to his patient. "I bet he does always win." he says softly. "and Darkstar? I can bet I know where he learned to fight like that. Its all you know. So pointless." he sighs. "You need me to get you anything from closer to the fight? I'm.. I shouldnt be but Im bot really afraid of them."

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar rolls his optics, and shakes his head whle taking another puff of e-cig. He was grinning though, clearly still in good spirits. "Yeah, whatever... It ain't like you're gonna be taking plasma blasts, or getting hit with incendiary grenades here. This is just a good old fist, foot, elbowin', headbuttin' extravaganza," the space-alt assured the mechabat with a chortle. "C'mon... Don't be scared. I'm sure you won't do \*too\* poorly," the mech teased, obviously trying to goad the Beastformer into joining the club. "Just pick somebody out of the crowd, an' challenge 'im. Nobody'll bat an optic if you selectively go for the weakest of the bunch. 'Long as they're in good enough shape to put up a decent fight anyway." Turning his head slightly, Darkstar spit a bit of energon onto the ground.

    "Baaah... Whatever, mech. Next time you're mine," the heckler says with a grin, his challenge issued for the next time Swindle showed up at the Fight Club. This time he was a bit too weak from an earlier bout, and it showed as he defensively crossed his arms and looked away toward the two currently engaged combatants.

    Killcore had managed to put Drilldozer on his aft, though the bigger mech was still trying to get back on his feet. Surefooted and skilled as he was, a bit of fatigue was starting to creep in as the nimble martial artist decided not to press the attack.

    "Heh, nah... Killcore's been dropped by Scrap Bash at least three times. I think those're the only two to actually beat 'im before though that I know of. Scrap Bash is undefeated so far. I think he used to fight in the Primal Vanguard at one point, but he walked away for some reason and became a gladiator." Just like Darkstar, perhaps that's why they seemed to be buddies as well as rivals. "Apparently \*that\* wasn't enough...or the war interfered." First Aid's patient shrugged then and looked toward the crowd. "It's your aft on the line, friend. I'm not saying you \*should\* do it, but I won't argue if you do... I might deny knowing you if you get into trouble though," he laughed uneasily.

**Goth has posed:**
     "No, but he would certainly notice the damage, and goodness, could you only imagine his reaction if I went into combat against the autobots, injured? Or found out I did this?" He'd cringe. "That, and I don't want to make my..lover, worried." He'd admit with a huff. "I'm not scared, I'm mainly looking at this from a logical point of view, plus how would I explain such to Dustoff?" He'd think further on it and cringe again.

      "What if he found out I /lied/ to him?" He'd give Darkstar a flat look. "Please I am not an autobot, I know how to fight a physical fight, It's what I was trained in nd it's all I ever really do." He'd state tartly.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid nods "I'm going to see if I can get together some more parts. Maybe set up a barter." he says to his patient. "You guys gonna be okay? Maybe I'll come back with some more people I can help too." with that he moves closer into the crowd, looking for some parts people to barter with. A nasty business, he's pretty sure he knows the parts come from dead or still living people like the ones hes working with. Speaking of Autobots who are bad at physical fighting....

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar vents a sigh and starts to make his way back toward the fight, discarding his e-cig along the way. "Excuses, excuses..." The spacer didn't have time to try and talk anyone into joining the Fight Club. If Goth was adamant about staying out of the action then he wasn't going to try and force him. That's not how The Dead End Fight Club worked after all. Everyone here wanted to be here... Every fighter made a choice to join. That's what separated the mechs from the sparklings. "Don't let 'em see you lurkin' about. We don't take too kindly to those who wanna watch, but don't wanna fight...at least once in awhile. First time here ya' gotta fight." Just like Swindle had, just like he had...

    "Swindle, hey-hey! Good ta' see ya back, Sarge. Better be fightin' this week," Darkstar tells the combaticon with a smirk. "Been wanting to see you throw your helm in the ring again. Some of us 'ave been talking about how you seem to be a bit too...'sideliney.' Gonna go and make the Decepticons look bad," he notes with a chuckle, his optics flashing dangerously at that.

    "Yeah, \*we'll\* be fine..." First Aid's patient looked very worried, but kept his mouth shut as the Autobot medic headed off to find some spare parts closer to the Fight Clubbers. "That mech is going to get himself clobbered..." one of the other Empties sighs.

**Swindle has posed:**
"Who me?" Swindle says, looking over at Darkstar. "Oh, ha ha, yeah, maybe. But if I fight, who'll take in the bets?" He turns back towards the action, silently computating just what his chances were against a potential opponent and whether he could bet on himself, take a dive, and walk away with all the shanix.

**Goth has posed:**
     There is a lot of deliberation in the Mechbat's head, if he joined, it would have to be in his /robot/ form which was much worse for him to fight in, then there was the fact of Dustoff, and thirdly, which was actually the more important...

      He was very unique, if some of these empties saw how he fought, in his bat mode no less, they would likely know just who it was that occasionally prowled these streets, offing and dissecting those unlucky and weak enough to line up in his sights. "<<Next time..>>" He'd tight beam Darkstar, before vanishing into the shadows once more.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    "\*I'll\* take the bets," Darkstar jumps at the opportunity, so long as it would mean Swindle was in there mixing it up with at least someone this time. Decepticons at the very least needed to give a good showing, as the only way that they were going to get any decent recruiting was from proving themselves rough and tough in this part of town. <<We'll see..>> Darkstar tightbeamed Goth, as the mechabat vanished.

    Drilldrozer lunged at Killcore, the big and burly mech throwing his entire weight toward the more nimble fighter in one final attempt at taking him down. Killcore was waiting for it, and dodged the lunge as best he could. It was not a perfect dodge, as while his elbow hit home dead center of Drilldozer's face, he was knocked to the ground after a triple spin through the air. Ow. All things said and done, Killcore slowly stood up, clearly injured while his opponent Drilldozer had landed in the crowd knocking over several mechs and femmes; however Drilldozer did not stand in turn.

    The crowd cheered, and Killcore simply walked off without a word or even the slightest show of bravado.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid watches as Killcore takes another one down, wincing as he recognises the damage. "Hes..doing well as normal" he comments to himself, looking around for anyone who might have what he's looking for.

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle sighs and pays out the winners. A lot betted on Killcore; few had bet on his opponent. He has half a mind to ask a mech if he could take a dive for him while being heavily favored in the betting. It wasn't a complete loss, however; being favored meant the payout for a win wasn't very high.

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle grins at Darkstar, "So you could, then, I suppose. You take the bets, I'll take the dives."

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar barks a laugh at Swindle's jest. You see, Darkstar didn't know Swindle well enough to know that the combaticon was one hundred percent serious about taking a dive. "Right, right... So anyway, I'll take the bets for you. You just get your aft in there and make the Decepticons look good, eh?" Glancing about he looked for a mech suitable for Swindle to fight... "Who do you like?" he wondered aloud to his comrade.

    Wait a tik... Was that First Aid? The Autobot actually came back? That crazy little fool. "Hey!" Darkstar shouted at the medic, and several optics within the crowd glanced first toward the spacer and then followed him to the Autobot. "First Aid... You better be here to fight this time!" They had warned him after all. You come to The Dead End Fight Club again and you came to participate-- no exceptions.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid freezes a bit. "I'm just here to talk with the vendors." He says. "I'm not a participant." He keeps his voice firm. "I'm just here to help those around the arena, not to participate in it." he says, shaking his head as Darkstar points him out before he gets to one of those shady dealers who will probably bury him in a worse way than he can imagine. Gathering slum parts? That's completely illegal and something he can get his medical lisence taken away for if caught. But the people need it and that wins out in his mind. Fighting the gladiators isn't something he intends to do atop of it. :You just keep challenging those who challenge you and winning as you're good at doing, and I'll keep doing what I do." he says.

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle isn't sure what First Aid's doing there, but if it's some shady scrap, Swindle wouldn't care. Heck, if he found out, he might find himself respecting the Autobot a little bit. "Eh, he doesn't fight, that one," he says to Darkstar, "At least not for fun."

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar scoffs at First Aid then, while moving to intercept the Autobot. "You could've chosen any alley to come through... You chose \*this\* one. You're fightin' this time, Autobot. You were warned, and you decided to \*ignore\* that warning," the Decepticon barks with a smirk. "What'cha say, Sarge? Perfect opportunity right here... Could be in and out in a micro-tik. Then you can get back to your...booking."

    The crowd was on Darkstar's side in this, and the many chasses of the crowd stirred and shifted to block First Aid's pathway through the alley. "Fight!" one shouted. "Yeah! The Autobot with the speeches is back! Time ta' put up yer' dukes!" called another. "I told you so!" yelled the mech who'd told First Aid what to expect if he ever showed his face around the Fight Club again.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid shakes his head. "Well..." he says as hes pulled back towads the fight. "I won't be able to do what I need to do down here." He says. "Without actually participating so..." he notices the crowd coming through. "Allright, I'll do it. Just try to get someone close to my class this time? Killcore's a little out of my league." oh dear Primus, he's going to do it.

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle grins. "Would I qualify, then?" he asks. He finishes counting the remainder of his shanix, replacing the container into subspace for safekeeping. "That would be an interesting fight, wouldn't it?" he says to Darkstar.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid pauses. "Yea...yeah I think so." he says looking at the guy with Combat in the description of his team. This isnt going to go well. "M..maybe afterwards, we coul talk about some parts salees. I mean. You might have what those people need." oh slag, is he making shady deals AND fighting? Pristine little First Aid? The Dead End changes a mech sometimes.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar nods to Swindle, his grin spreading wide as First Aid actually doesn't try to run away or talk his way out of the situation. "That's a good Autobot..." Turning toward the crowd, Darkstar throws a fist into the air. "We've got ourselves a fight, bots!"

    The crowd cheered, hooted, and hollered in response before they began to encircle the two combatants. "My shanix on Swindle!"

"Swindle, yeah! No way that Autobot'll win this one!"

"Nice knowin' ya, First Aid! Hahaha."

"Way to step up to the challenge!"

    Darkstar stood back and crossed his arms. "Betting table is open... Ain't exactly what we \*do\* here, but for Swindle I'll make an exception. C'mon, an' place yer' bets," he says, and then busied himself with recording the contest wagers.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid looks to Swindle, taking in a deep vented sigh. "Allright...so how do we start this? Who throws the um. First punch?" he asks. "I um. think we both don't really want to be here. But it's what I have to do if I want to help people in this area. Good luck." he lets Swindle have the first punch.

**Swindle has posed:**
"That's easy. \*I\* do," Swindle says, winding up and aiming a fist towards First Aid's faceplaces, hoping to catch the medic off-guard for an easy first point.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid Actually ducks the punch. He winces. "Allright. I hate doing this but.. I can if I need to." with that he tries to return an uppercut. His form...well he's trained before, but he's not very practiced before. There's someone else's energon on his hands, but only becuase he was fixing people others have discarded. "Sorry about this, if it hits."

**Darkstar has posed:**
Ooooo.... The Dead End Fight Clubbers seemed to sound off as one, as the first punch is a swing and a miss! "Yeah! Get 'im!"

"C'mon, Swindle! You can do better than that!"

"Uh... Can I change my bet?"

"Swindle's gonna crush 'im! Just wait!"

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle chuckles awkwardly. "Eh, wasn't even trying," he says nonchalantly, as he is soundly hit by First Aid's return punch, which didn't hurt...much. He rubs the spot on his faceplates where the nickel-plated knuckle sandwich made contact. "But now I'm going to start getting serious." He now tries to 'sweep the leg' on the medic.

**Darkstar has posed:**
"Yeah! That's my Decepticon!" one fmme shouts as Swindle makes contact with a solid sweep attack.

"Swindle's the mech, wooooo! Git 'im!"

"C'mon First Aid! Kick his aft so you can fix 'im up!"

"Bwaaahahahaha! Good one!"

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid ends up staggering a bit as hes swept to the ground. He brings his foot up to try to kick Swindle away. "Really?" he asks, his optics actually giving a dangerous look for once. "So am I..."

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar just stood watching as the betting finally died down, with the vast majority of the shanix favoring Swindle as the winner. It looked for the time being at least however that First Aid was holding his own. "Alright... Not half bad for an Aftobot medic," he'd concede. "Swindle... Step it up, like...on his face," the mech would say loudly enough for the combaticon to hear. As much as he liked to see an underdog defy the odds, Swindle was still a Decepticon.

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle is literally swept off his feet. He lands on his back with a thud. "Nice move," he says, getting back up and attempting to do something approximating a roundhouse kick to First Aid. Not that he's mecha-Bruce Lee, or whatever passes for such on Cybertron.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid tries to get back up and takes another kick to his face, denting in his facemask a bit. He pauses to spit energon a moment, and try to clear his head as he stands. "Now that's a good kick." he compliments his opponent, as he moves to headbutt the Combaticon. Lets see if it works like it does for the fighters.

**Darkstar has posed:**
"Oh mech! Lookit that! Told you Swindle was gonna win it!"

"Yeah, Swindle! Yeah!"

"The medic drew first energon! My shanix are still on \*him\*!"

"Waste of a bet, bucko! Get 'im Swindle!"

"Frag all of you! New guy's got the touch!"

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle easily dodges the headbutt, stepping to the side as First Aid misses. Then he sticks a leg out to try to trip the medic and send him sprawling!

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid got swept off his feet by the purple opticed mech before but this time? Hes not going to fall for it. He tries to ram an elbow into Swindle, wincing a bit. "This is getting rediculous, dont you think?"

**Darkstar has posed:**
    "Fraaaaag... That looks like it \*hurt\*!" Darkstar chimes in, arms crossed as he continues to observe the action.

The crowd winces at seeing the elbow to the face, though a number of the mechs don't seem to be too terribly phased by the hit.

"Good shot, Medic!"

"This guy is full o' surprises, eh?"

"Swindle's still gonna win-- just watch!"

**Swindle has posed:**
"Ow," Swindle mutters, as he's elbowed rather firmly. He's nearly caught off-balance, but tries to keep his processor in the game and sets up to try to one-hit KO the medic. "You could say that," he says to First Aid, as he tries to body-slam him.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid ducks moves out of the way. "No." he says, trying to body slam the combaticon back. "This ends now, Swindle. Stay down. Remember, in the future. We medics aren't easy targets."

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Killcore moves through the crowd, coming to the front for a moment. The mech's gaze was icy blue, his expression unreadable as he stood there and watched in complete silence.

    Darkstar noticed that the mech had come to take a look, and couldn't help laughing. "Looks like you've gotten the optic of a heavy hitter, mechs... Must not disappoint!"

**Swindle has posed:**
"Neither are Combaticons," Swindle replies, as he quickly rolls out of the way of First Aid's attempt to bodyslam him. As he rolls, he kicks to try to knock First Aid over while he sorts out getting back up.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid is kicked over, coming up with a foot towards Swindle. "Oh, I know. You fight really good. Your trainer must be proud." is he still fighting fair and complimenting his opponent the whole time? Yep.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar vents a sigh as he sees First Aid miss his latest attempt to strike Swindle. "C'mon, Aftobot! You can do better than that! Maybe... Swindle \*is\* a Decepticon!" Maybe that would help the medic try something a bit more bold next time. "Maybe you don't stand a chance against a Combaticon after all!"

**Swindle has posed:**
"Of course I fight good," Swindle says, "We all get top-notch training. Some of these moves I learned from Onslaught himself. Here, have a sample." He evades First Aid's latest attack and seems to go for the punch, but at the last minute ducks beside First Aid and tries to elbow him in the back instead.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid coughs as the strike hits home. "You..you're right. I really don't. But I can't give up either. I cant let..." he turns around trying another uppercut. "I cant let you win."

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar barks a laugh as he listens to Swindle give due praise to Onslaught for the Combaticon CO's training competence. Yeah, the Major was someone he respected well enough... He did want to go after Prowl and Sky Lynx, like a true warrior should. "Tell 'im, Sarge! Only thing better would be gettin' trained by Megatron 'imself, or \*me\* for the matter!"

    A smirk colors the Decepticon's expression then when First Aid says that he 'can't' let the combaticon win this fight. "Hmmmm..." Spoken like a true warrior as well. Perhaps he'd underestimated this mere medic... A slag-aft specialization First Aid may have, but his spark was that of a warrior.

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle gets Tiger-uppercutted before that was a thing. He reels back, stumbling, but trying to get the upper hand - or foot - as he lashes out with one of them. "LET you win? Only if I've bet a considerable amount on myself!" he laughs.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid returns the kick himself, starting to slow but still going a it. "Then I hope..you placed your bets well. You're going down, Combaticon." wow. Hes trashtalkin and everything. He kicks hard at the Combaticon.

**Darkstar has posed:**
The crowd was getting more into the fight the longer that it went on. When two combatants were relatively equally matched in terms of strikes, blocks, and avoidance it was always a big crowd pleaser.

"C'mon First Aid!"

"Swindle, you've got this mech! Drop the preecher, and show 'im that action is bigger'n talk!"

"Hahaha! How 'bout \*that\* for action, eh?" one calls out as First Aid's kick strikes home.

    Darkstar continued to watch on, smirking and smug as ever while watching the two combatants go back and forth. He never would have guessed that things would have gone this way... If weapons were allowed he was almost certain that Swindle would make short work of First Aid, but without them? Surprises... He liked surprises.

**Swindle has posed:**
"Oooh, feisty!" Swindle says, as he's kicked while he's on his way down. "I like that!" He manages to get into a squat position in order to attempt a return-favor of the uppercut from earlier. "Of course I placed my bets well. I always do."

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid rolls out of the way and comes up with a punch of his own. His optics are determined and hes feeling. He almost feels like hes liking this. And it disgusts and frightens him.

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle revels in First Aid's corruption. He can tell the mech is starting to enjoy this. Win or lose, this is the real victory. He takes a wild swing to try to knock First Aid off his balance. Best to try to finish this quickly, one way or the other.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid takes a punch and then launches himself bodily towards Swindle, trying to bowl him over, drunken mecha monkey style. Oh Aid, thats not how you fight.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    "These two are gonna be at it til' morning..." Darkstar says aloud to himself, and shakes his head. If anyone thought that he wasn't entertained they'd be wrong however, as he was still clearly very amused by the back and forth between the two mechs. If he was in the arena he'd probably have tried a few more reckless attacks like full on tackles, self-harming headbutts, and what-not... But his style wasn't suitable for everyone. Killcore rarely pulled such risky attacks, but that may have been the very reason Darkstar had managed to steal a victory from the enigmatic Cybertronian once.

    Killcore for his part was still watching, his poise erect and proper. The mech was completely still. Those who were paying attention may have even noticed that he may even be the only mech in the crowd to have more than a shoulder width between himself and the next bot. Quite unlikely that was to be a coincidence....

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle is grazed by the punch, the impact being very slight, but enough to change the trajectory of his next move. He attempts to slam into First Aid for effect. Fine. If Aid wants to do drunken monkey-mech style, he can too.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid gives out a snarl as he takes the smash. "Right if thats how we're gonna play." he is slammed to the ground. He stands up and comes at Swindle, full body style, trying to smash him into the closest wall, his body shaking from the effort. Letes hope his endurance lasts.

**Darkstar has posed:**
"Awww--YEAH! It's getting fierce now!"

"Swindle! That's workin-- do it again!"

"'Aid, mech! Keep your coo, an' wait for an opening!"

"No way! Body-slam that Decepticon glitch!"

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle notes the excited roars from the crowd, but waits while First Aid charges him. At the last second he dodges by dropping to the ground, then trying to kick First Aid's feet out from under him before he can reach him.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid has been taking a few good hits. The crowd cheering him on makes him cringe a bit, as he staggers, falling back to his face. He gets up, his optic band shattered and rams at Swindle, head first. "Sorry about this." He says softly.

**Swindle has posed:**
Transitioning from his kick, Swindle gets nailed by First Aid, quite a bit harder this time. "That's the spirit!" he says, while he recovers and attempts to punch the medic right in the chest. Or the bolts. Whichever.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid takes the hit right to the chest, and something...sparks. He goes down to one knee, motioning a hand. "I yield..." he groans. "You did..a wonderful job but at this point. Everything's spinning and Im no longer a challenge." he doesnt fight back anymore. He tries to stand and falls back down. Maybe he /cant/ fight anymore.

**Swindle has posed:**
Swindle stands up and grins. "The winner, femmes and gentlemechs! Me!" he announces, shamelessly self-promoting as if it's an automatic response to winning. He claps First Aid on the shoulder. "Not bad, for a medic," he says, "Now if you're looking to bulk up, there's some things I can get for ya, to you know, enhance your performance."

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid stands and chuckles a bit. "Um.. thanks I think. But Im not looking for upgrades for msyself. Im lookign for parts on the cheap for some poor folk who live around here. I think you might be able to help. I don't know." he holds his head a bit. "Im going to check some other sources once Im more functional." and he knows Swindle will scam him. He wants someone who might scam him slightly less.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    The crowd of Dead End Fight Clubbers shouted their support for the two combatants. This was the type of fight that they hadn't seen in a while, and it showed that they were more than satisfied with the results.

"Yeaaahhh! Good show!"

"You did iiit! Good job first timer!"

"Swindle, like I said it'd be."

"That went on a lot longer than I thought it would. Totally worth it.

    Darkstar chuckled for his part, and he even considered raising his hands to clap. "Well done, Sarge... Not bad at all.....Autobot." The spacer turn thrust his thumb into the direction that led out of the alley. He was pretty certain that First Aid just wanted to get the frag out of there. "Have fun tellin' some femmes about this experience next time ya' hit Maccadam's."

    Looking to the combaticon, the space-alt rolled his pauldrons and relaxed his neck. "That's gonna look pretty good as a recruitin' ad," he'd offer with a grin before reaching into his subspace pocket to retrieve the datapad upon which all of the bets had been taken. "Here... Always bet on yourself. That's what gets the glory," says the Decepticon Spacer.

**First Aid has posed:**
First Aid heads off to the banter of the crowd. Once he gets to Starlock, he follows behind her. He's dead silent the whole time, his optics facing ahead, his face expressionless. If anything is said to him, he continues to stare off, his body completely statue still as he sits in her. He's there, physically but mentally? The medic's shut down completely. Whatever happened to him in that arena, hes trying to block. Whatever it is, he can't come back from easily.