Anger and Temptation

The fight was particularly vicious, although not very long; Grimlock doesn't have a whole lot of strategy in the pits, but he has an excessive amount of raw size and power, along with a certain -- almost animal -- viciousness in the ring that tends to serve him well. So it is that after the match is over and the celebration of one more of many wins has rung over the speakers, he's drawn off outside of both ring and crowd to give himself a look-over and check to see if any of the damage needs attention. There's a certain quick and familiar method to it that bespeaks centuries of battle.

      From the other end of the arena, the doors open, and the drawn back shadows reveal another, though not quite as hefty-looking robot. His appearance ignites an astounding amount of cheering from the crowd, and the announcer seems almost too pleased to announce the new entrant. "Mechs and femmes, this is truly an astonishing new arrival. Allow me to present the biggest name here in the Kaon Pits... Megatron himself!" In spite of the roar of adulation, Megatron seems to remain humble, raising his hands to try and calm the crowd, all in vain. However, when he opens his mouth, the crowd seems to fall deathly silent. "Fellow brothers of Cybertron! I do not claim to be the greatest... if I were, our current state of affairs would be a non-issue! Our Senate would heed our cries fo equality, and answer to our pleas!" Several boos return his proclamation, silenced once more by raising his hand.

      "But fear not... for intend to be soon enough! I shall be the hand that crushes the impurities of our world, and bring back the glory days of Cybertron's past. And tonight, you shall be my forge!" The crowd roars again as Megatron draws a hefty looking mace, holding it up to the crowd and looking about. "Who shall be the first to stoke the furnace!?" he asked, challenging any who had the bravery to jump in.

The roar of the crowd is certainly enough to get this particular bot's attention, and Grimlock rises from where he's seated in the aftermath of his latest match and slowly tromps over to get a better view. Huh.

He glances around at the crowd nearest him, noting the fervor that's gone up. There's a keenness to the gaze of his optics as he returns it to Megatron, standing with his mace, but he doesn't offer himself up as volunteer.

      Megatron locks eyes with Grimlock as he passes over him, smirking as he points his mace to the warrior, before walking closer. "You are a veteran of this field; the scars in your armor are evidence enough. What is your name?" the Decepticon leader asked, resting the head of his mace to the ground.

At first, the overlarge bot just makes a noise somewhere along the lines of 'hff.' "Me Grimlock, and me think you've been around pits long enough to know," he finally says, his stature shifting taller at someone having to /ask/ his /name/. (No, the fact that he's currently in hiding doesn't change that!!)

      Megatron seemed taken aback by the warrior's... vocabulary skills, before throwing his head back and laughing. "Traded mental amplifiers for extra joint pistons?" he asked, turning around and striding back to the center of the arena. The crowd's chanting started out low, but the cries for Grimlock to enter the ring seemed to be getting stronger. Megatron looked back, shouldering his mace. "I've been in many pits, and heard many names. I'm afraid 'Grimlock' isn't one of them. But come!" Megatron brought his mace down and slammed it into the ground. "I wish to learn more."

"Me Grimlock don't need fancy words to smash faces," the bot growls back, his optics flashing with temper. "Me fight for /me/, not for you and learning." There's a tension that seems to be running along the lines of his metal limbs, drawing up at Megatron's taunts.

      A smirk crept over Megatron's face. "Then you fight blindly, Grimlock!" Megatron continued to goad, fighting back the urge to chuckle. "I admire your conviction, but if you simply move from opponent to opponent, you're little more than a predacon finding new prey! And if all you resort to is brute strength, you'll eventually find something even you can't lift. And what then!?"

"Me Grimlock not /blind/," the gladiator booms, glaring at Megatron from across the arena. "Me Grimlock can't lift something, me Grimlock /smash/ it. You /Megatron/ want to smash us to be--" There's a sense of frustration that twists up his words as he can't quite find the right ones. "You -- you want us to /let/ you smash us so /you/ stronger."

      Megatron's smirk develops into a full smile, stepping around his mace and placing both hands over the top of the handle. "Correct! I want you to show me everything you know about warfare! I must test my limits in battle, and who better to do that than someone who has clearly seen plenty of it! So come, Grimlock. Fight me, so that I may learn from you!"

"Me Grimlock tired of fancy bot and his fancy words." Grimlock scuffs an armored foot against the ground, as if in some sort of emphasis. "You Megatron go learn somewhere else." He starts shoving through the crowd to leave, not particularly careful of his bulk or who he might step on.

      Megatron smirked. "And we have found the mighty giant's weak point; words larger than 6 letters!" he taunted, throwing his head back again and laughing. "Use any words with more than two syallbles, and the great Grimlock beats a hasty retreat! So sad... I expected far more from one with so many scars to show for his victory."

There's a moment of real danger when Grimlock seems to round back on Megatron through the crowd, something about him pure, seething anger, before another bot who seems to know him manages to reach him through the crowd and start physically tugging him away until he's gone entirely.