Threats and Promises

Great Arena -- The Past

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.

It may have taken a bit of bribery, it may have taken a bit of threatening and strong-arming, it may have taken a combination of the two and some other form of 'charm' or 'interrogation' to get this information. Sooner or later, Astrotrain can usually be tracked down, as he has the age-old habit of being about as subtle as a brick thrown in the face. In his short time back here in the past, even after having been seen to have been hanging around with Shockwave's faction again, the triplechanger has taken the time to revisit spectating and betting on one of his favorite sports that, while imitated in some form during the Olympics and other fighting events around the galaxy, just doesn't carry that age-old -lethal- feel to it. With a heavy *CRUNCH* and a roar from the crowd, another warrior falls, his head crushed in by the swinging mace of his opponent. Like many of the other mechs watching, Astrotrain howls with delight, thrusting a fist into the air holding a handful of energon chits, the other with a large glowing glass topped off by an extra long sipping straw. "HAW HAW! Yeah that's the ticket! Bash his head in!" Bread and circuses indeed.

Ultra Magnus has come here to seek one of his own, no ... not Autobot. He's been told that the triplechanging cause of his frustration /might/ be available at the Great Arena, viewing something from their pasts ... well, the present now. The City Commander feels exetremely out of place, wading through the crowd of peons and simpletons roaring for brutal displays of physical feats. Finally noting Astrotrain's location in the stands, Magnus makes his way over towards him ... waiting cautiously and patiently as a bunch of rowdy and drunk Sentinel Prime troops cause a fist fight in the row.

And physical feats are in great abundance in this day and age. The Cybertronians taking part in the events are plentiful, and while actual deaths aren't common in the arena given the innate difficulty in killing a transformer, they are accepted as a fact of life. Of course it isn't always just one-on-one gladitorial matches, sometimes mixed in with Roman-esque feats of skill and bravery. Such as the lone mech in the pit now wrestling with a nine-mouthed slavoring mechanical beast dug up from the depths of the planet and put on display. Astrotrain has taken this chance to top up his drink, and collect his winnings from betting on the last match, guffawing at the misfortune of several fellow betters, that is until he spots a large and familiar red white and blue form wading through the crowd towards him. At any other time he might arm himself, or make some comment, or heck, just start shooting. But it's a different time, a different place...and the triplechanger is currently nursing his third refill given how his optics are glowing just slightly. "Well well well, if it isn't Commander Straight and Narrow himself!" He calls out, leaning oh so casually back in his chair, one foot rising to rest on his other knee as he casually observes the events in the pit. "And what finally brings the big, scary Magnus out of hiding?"

"You." Ultra Magnus simply states, nudging a drunken frat boy out of his way to stride over to Astrotrain. As he walks by, he oh so lightly knocks the resting foot off the triplechanger's knee. Taking a seat next to him, it takes all the City Commander can manage to swallow his pride and talk to the Decepticon, without tearing his optics out and shoving them down his throat.

"Astrotrain, we are in need of a ... discussion. What you've been up to lately, playing both sides of the knowledge coin. It's not going to work out like you planned." the Autobot sighs, leaning back into his chair and waving a dismissive hand at a serv-droid.

Astrotrain somehow manages to avoid spilling his drink as his foot is knocked off his knee, though he does give the Autobot Commander a half dangerous glare as if he were tempted to go another round with Magnus in short order. There's been some times in the past where their faceoffs have been a bit...close. But his drink isn't spilled, and that's really the most important thing isn't it? He takes another pull from the straw, draining the rest of the glass in one go before smashing it down onto the head of the same serv-droid that Magnus waves off, "Another round!" He hollars for good measure, before turning and levelling an oh-so-coy gaze back at the Autobot. "Oh really." He drawls. "And just what the frag is it that you think I'm up to eh? Yer gonna have to be a bit more specific, Magnus. In case ya ain't noticed an awful lot's been happenin these last few days and my processor is still tryin to cram it all in."

Ultra Magnus nods, "Well, trying to alert Sentinel Prime about our wherabouts while yours remain ... undisclosed to Straxus." Leaning a bit forward in his seat, he frowns as a drunkard begins screaming in his audio receptor about the match in the arena. "That's a bit of play I'd expect from a Decepticon, even one such as you ... but have you considered any of the repercussions of our meddling in this time?" he questions, turning to actually face Astrotrain.

"Your actions have probably already made a muck of our past, and I for one will not allow further mismanagement of knowledge!" Ultra Magnus semi-shouts, pointing a finger at him.

Astrotrain has another drink brought to him, and he snatches it from the serv-droid before using one large blocky boot to promptly shove the unfortunate drone and send him on his way, bouncing down the steps of the bleachers in the process. As Magnus shouts at him, the triplechanger's optics narrow just slightly, the new straw jammed into the corner of his mouth, sipping thoughtfully as the finger is pointed in his direction. "Well let's see where do I start..." he finally states after a few moments in time. "First off, if ya were capable of practicin what ya preach ya wouldn't even be hangin out with that slacker Sentinel Prime and his band of goof offs in the first place fer fear of them discoverin somethin screwy. Secondly, I couldn't give two flyin hoots what you think yer gonna allow and not allow. And thirdly, the damage was already done with us just appearin here in the first place and as soon as someone laid eyes on us." He oh so calmly sets his drink down on the table, picking up a few energon chips and looking at them oddly, the stamp on their surfaces ancient and of a different time. "Here's a little free information for ya to chew on, Magnus. Naturally, just like you Autobots go lookin for friendly faces or something familiar to try and get yer bearins in a strange place, I did the exact same. I was alive back now, ya know. I was hangin with Shockwave's bunch. This ain't all that long after I got my rebuild into the sexy triplechanger I am in the first place. Of course, go figure, it seems my current alternate self is off on deep space maneuvers undergoing field trials...can't quite remember how that rip went. I think it involved an Igyak stampede or something..." He trails off, before dismissing the memory with a shake of his head. "Anyways. Here I decide to touch base and maybe try to maybe delicately touch base with Shockwave and try to get a little bearing of the situation. And you know what I found out?" At that, Astrotrain sits back, folding his hands behind his head oh so casually. "Before I even opened my mouth, Shockwave addressed me as the time-travellin Decepticon. He'd already figured it all out. And I hadn't even said a fraggin word to him."

"Communication with Sentinel Prime and his bunch isn't my main directive, but that's something unavoidable in this mess we've gotten ourselves into. If you'd pull your head out of your righteous aft, you might realize that!" Ultra Magnus blares back at the smug Decepticon. "Damage was done, but you're further manipulation of what's happening here is only making an even bigger mess of this entire situation!"

The City Commander snags a enerdrink off another Serv-droid's tray and takes a lengthy gulp, slamming the beverage down onto the chair's arm. "You aren't gathering resources, don't even pretend that this dual show you've been maintaining is about that at all. Whether Shockwave knows or not, we cannot control that. But your release of information to a .." he pauses, trying to remain objective and kind towards the Prime before his time. " ..to Sentinel Prime, is inexcusable Astrotrain. That's why I've tried to hunt you down, for this little chat. If you're unwilling to play ball, then Straxus may have to be persuaded to see the light. And I'm sure he won't be very welcoming once he knows your manipulations."

"Ya know what's gonna happen to Sentinel Prime, Magnus?" Astrotrain asks dully, actually not looking at he Autobot and seeming rather fascinated in the energon chit that he's now spinning on the edge of one finger, tossing it end over end to keep seeing if it lands up heads or tails. "I betcha don't, cause I sure don't. See, even I don't remember exactly what happened and I was living back now. That's how insignificant Sentinel Prime is gonna be in history. A joke, a slacker and a drunk, but I'm -sure- I don't have to tell you somethin you've seen for yerself. Sentinel's gonna die an insignificant death and history is gonna forget ALL about him. We remember Straxus, kinda, but even then he's still a figment of history more than anything. A curseword really. A reminder of a time long ago that don't matter no more to any of us. At least Optimus did stuff for us to remember him by, not that it did him much good in the end other than wind up with him collecting a nice rust coating eh?" A purely malicious sneer crosses his features before he leaps to the next subject quickly for fear Magnus leap across the table and try to throttle him. The last thing the arena needs to be host to is two futuristic warriors going at it in the middle of the bleachers. "Let me put it out straight for ya Magnus. You and I, we're kinda the same." He flips the coin again, snatching it in mid air, turning it so the 'head' can be displayed. "We ain't sciency types. I prefer to kick an enemy's head in and blast him to a million pieces rather than have a friendly conversation and come to an understanding with em. Oh sure, -you- try to do the right thing, cause talkin yer way out of a situation is always better than fightin needlessly, eh?" He chuckles darkly, as if the very concept were amusing to him. "But when push comes to shove, you don't mind when things get down and dirty. Why? Cause it's simple. There's the enemy, wearing a Decepticon symbol. You shoot him, he falls over, problem solved. Move on to the next one. You and me, Magnus...we're fighters. Not thinkers, not diplomats." Another flip of the coin, then he turns it to the 'Tails' side. "Back now, things ain't set in stone. Just like you got Autobots spread about in their own little groups, there's no Megatron or Galvatron leading all the Decepticons together. Sure, Straxus talks a big game, but he ain't in total control. You got Shockwave's group, you got other Decepticons doing their own thing. Tell me Magnus, if I ain't a thinker, and you ain't a thinker, and we didn't bring any of -our- thinkers with us, who do you think out of all the mechs on this planet is probably one of the smartest most technologically sound ones who could think up some sciency explanation for why we're here and maybe...MAYBE figure out if there's a way to put us back there, if it's even possible?" Now Astrotrain flicks the coin away, leaning one elbow as he leans in closer and gives Magnus a hard stare. "It sure as smeg ain't gonna be Sentinel Prime or his band of losers. I'm willin to lay my bets on the ol Cyclops of Personality himself being able to figure this out. Shockwave's a Decepticon through and through, but he's a smart Decepticon, and all logically thinkin up here." He taps his own forehead for emphasis. "And in the end, if Shockwave says it ain't possible and we're all stuck here for good? We get continue our happy little war during Cybertron's golden years, and we get to be some of the most powerful mechs this world has ever seen to boot. If our ticket back to our own time period has already punched and we're stuck here? Could be alot worse ya know, Magnus. If yer stuck here you'll probably end up being the next legendary Autobot leader. Maybe you'll even beat Straxus."

"Whatever happens to Sentinel Prime, that doesn't matter; only if whatever happens to him is what happened in our past. You claim that our mere presence has thrown this all off, and I disagree. What little manipulation of the timestream we have caused, can be undone. That's only possible if you cease won-tonly running around making threats of revealing the true origin of us!" Ultra Magnus responds, rather heated. Astrotrain is good at pushing buttons and manipulating the usually calm City Commander into a brash reaction.

Calming down somewhat, "You and I are nothing alike ... other than our race Astrotrain. You're sitting here claiming innocence, because Shockwave could ascertain your real identity? So what's stopping you from tell Straxus then! We both know you haven't been leveling with him, trying to keep Catechism from revealing it. All the while, you'd gladly tell Sentinel something is amiss with us. You're a hyprocrite and a bad liar Astrotrain."

Magnus gets up from his seat, "Our predicament has yet to seen through, and not only would I appreciate some cooperation here ... I will force it out of you. I've already spoken with Catechism, and we've resolved to have you working alongside us to solve this dilemmia; one way or another." he replies, slamming a fist into an open palm. "It's up to you Astrotrain, you want to help us get home in one piece ... or you want to be a smear in the past, burning out before your time has come?"

"Yeah, see the difference between Shockwave and Straxus, is that Straxus is known as the Great Deceiver for a real good reason, so you can sure as smeg bet I ain't tellin him nothin he don't need to know." Astrotrain replies, turning his seat to face Magnus fully now, optics narrowed to mere slits as he drums his fingers across his knee. "What have I been doing, Magnus? I've been doing what I've always been doing, when I outlived almost everyone else I knew of from around this time, how I outlived Straxus, Optimus, Megatron Starscream, and how I'll outlive Galvatron and even yerself when time passes. I'm gonna look out for number one, first and foremost like I always have come one way or another." A sneer follows, "You figure out some way to get us back to our time, I'll happily jump through the lookin glass with the rest of ya and blast back to our version of Oz. Don't worry." he dismissively waves a hand. "Frankly if I get stuck back in this time I'd probably to kill the other version of myself just to be comfortable, and I'd rather not have to do that. But if we -are- stuck here, Magnus. I've already planted seeds of doubt on your side that's gonna make things difficult for you guys. Cause if we're gonna have to live out the rest of our lives here, the first thing we're gonna be doing is goin right back to shootin the slag out of each other." At that, Astrotrain's expression turns into a nearly feral grin. "If we go poof tomorrow and disappear? Sentinel Prime and his bunch no doubt'll forget about ya as just another wierd thing that happens. If we're permanent residents of this timeline, I'm gonna get a headstart on kicking up chaos before you guys decide to get all heroic and rallying fer all the difficulties yer gonna have. Sounds to me like I've got all the bases covered. Just in case."

Ultra Magnus sighs, turning his back on Astrotrain. "Carry on as you will, but if I hear so much as another peep that you're keeping up this charade ... Straxus will know the truth, and you'll have bigger things to worry about than killing yourself." The City Commander lets the threat hang in the air, stalking out of the seating section and towards the lot outside, his hands clenched in fists by his side.

Astrotrain spins his chair about to face the pit again as Magnus starts to stalk away, his fingertips pushing together in a steepling motion as he watches the next two combatants walk out. "Straxus may very well beat ya to it and figure it out on his own." He mutters to himself, as Magnus is already gone. "Guess we'll find out how resourceful he is, one way or another." With that, he reaches out to take his drink up and holds it up, swirling the contents as the next round begins below with a shower of sparks and the satisfying crunch of metal on metal. And oddly, Astrotrain smiles. Things are feeling more clear than they have ever felt before, and this ride is starting to go in more interesting places than he could have ever imagined. "Just like old times." He mutters, as he sits up and tosses back the rest of his drink, waving for another.