We are a literate, intermediate to advanced AU Transformers RPG Based off of the first season of TFP with dashes of other incarnations sprinkled here or there. Characters from any continuity are welcome however must be restyled to match the TFPrime universe.
Active, with ongoing plotlines, we are always willing to integrate new characters into storylines once incorporated into the setting.
Perched on the top of the tunnel, Zoom-Zoom decided that yeah, he wasn't going down there until Fortress Maximus had been moved, to like, a whole other continent. Zoom-Zoom was 100% certain that was Sir Stomper's 'about-to-kill-a-minibot' voice.
"Heeey," he protested. "I left behind a not-injured Autobot on his orders to go get some help." The minibot paused. "Or at least, I thought he wasn't injured. He didn't say anything. So, yes, this is all part of a great master plan, Bulkhead's specifically. And while I can't deny that I seem to be reaping all the benefits of it, shouldn't you like, be going after him? I mean, I'd come down there but I get the feeling you'd hurt me a lot if I do which I have some objections to."
And because Zoom-Zoom had never once learned to stop talking, he continued rambling. "Did I say some? I meant a lot. And by hurt, I meant kill because you have some serious anger issues going on down there. And I'm sorry about the bad start we got off to but like, you way overreacted. I'm certain that there is something in the Autobot handbook about shooting non-hostiles in the back. Even squirrelly, suspicious, possible Decepticon non-hostiles, which, in hindsight, I really didn't help much. In fact, I made it worse. But you know what, you really were about to shoot me and I have a big, big problem with that."
At the end of this rant, the minibot's voice abruptly cut off like he realised what he was actually was saying and just who he was talking to. Sheepishly, Zoom-Zoom added, "And, uh. This isn't the time to bring this up. Can we just go save Bulkhead now?"
Last Edit: Oct 12, 2014 21:29:51 GMT -5 by Deleted
No response from Bulkhead came over the comm line.
Maximus quietly swore. The big mech either had a faulty radio, was unable to respond, or was offline. His last transmission hadn't sounded good. And if Miko was with him...
He gripped the dripping edge of the tunnel roof and peered down it. It would be a tight squeeze, but it looked as if he could to walk down the train tracks if he ducked. The tank treads of his alternate mode would be the hardest part, but with an adjustment to the armature that supported them he could fit. It was not going to be pleasant though.
At least he had one advantage. His tank mode came equipped with infra-red sensors as part of its offensive suite. If he slaved the FLIR system to his optics it would provide him with a thermal image of the inside of the tunnel that would allow him to detect Miko and Bulkhead by their heat sources alone, if his other radar sensors had difficulty penetrating the thick and winding cement walls. Though designed to allow him to hunt and kill targets at night, this time the system would help him find an injured Autobot.
Maximus set his jaw and worked it from side to side. Grudgingly, he returned his rifle to the clips at the small of his back.
"We will save no one," he said curtly. He ducked his head, flattened back his treads, and took his first step into the train tunnel. "You will return to base and either get any necessary repairs or get Ratchet to put some steel back into your spinal column. I will find Bulkhead and call for an emergency ground bridge from his location. And you're damn right this isn't the time or the place for any other discussion than that. Go home!"
If I get out of this, I will never, ever, ever sneak into another mech again. Not without permission.
To say Miko was having a horrible time would be putting it mildly. She couldn't say what happened to Bulkhead during the...whatever he was doing out there. But the resulting ride was all kinds of awful. She'd only been inside him a few times when he'd actually been actively fighting and it was always jarring. But she was getting better about holding herself inside the tight compartment. It was all about the placement of one's legs.
But even key placing of ones limbs didn't guarantee not getting banged up. He wasn't exactly cushioned inside. She was barely aware of what was going on outside and didn't have the intuition to be wary of his own movements. It was like being stuck inside a closet that was then flung down a set of stairs. Vertigo, the dark, and bruising movement really did numbers on the stomach. The acrid stench of burning metal and wire didn't help at all. Miko covered her mouth with both hands to keep the gorge from rising up.
Finally, blessidly, the movement stopped. Unfortunately, it stopped with the harsh full body stop that only a toppling mech could. Which meant that Bulk had went down. Her whispered call of his name headed nothing and Miko actually started to fear for her hero. Even if her hero had nearly bruised her head off with his fall. A bruise started to swell over the side of her forehead where she'd smacked against the inside of him. Nothing too serious, but enough to add to the feeling of not right.
Shakily she righted herself in the cramped compartment and tentatively pushed against the armor trapping her in. Outside, noises of movement and murmurings caused her to flinch as she tried and failed to figure out what was going on. Maybe the Con was about to finish him off!! She couldn't let that happen! Not Bulkhead! With a small growl, Miko reached behind her for the one weapon she had. Which was not so much a weapon and more a hobby, but she couldn't be picky right now!
With a grunt, she started to kick at the armor compartment, looking for a week spot. Luckily, whatever corrosive attack he'd been hit with had weakened the latches. Or perhaps the fall, his own blacking out, had released the hold. Whatever the case, Miko was able to force the latch open enough for her satisfaction. With a small cry of triumph, Miko dove for the opening and staight into...mud. Great. Crawling through the mire like an eel, Miko slid the rest of the way out of him, dragging her weapon behind her and lunged to her feet, hair a mess over her muddy face.
"Back off, creep!" She brought her guitar up like a baseball bat by the neck, fully ready to swing it into the face of a Decepticon.
Shoving as hard as she could against the green mech's side did nothing. Intakes rasping, Dart was trying not to flinch away at the reek of burned metal; the scent pooled in the back of her throat and made her cough and try not to retch. Her feet lost purchase and churned up the gravel. Water continued to pour out of the overhead pipe she'd cut, pooling on the floor a few meters away, spreading slowly towards the mech's prone body.
Not fast enough. No way she could move him, none. He seemed to be all right in some respects; there was no smell of main lines ruptured or that he was leaking fuel internally. It just have must hit the perfect spot. Even after what she'd seen in Australia, Dart clung to the knowledge that most Autobots wouldn't leave an injured mech to fend for himself.
The problem was that she didn't know how long it would take, and by then- All she could think of was that someone was going to die in there. No, Pyrotech's weapon would have no effect on a human body; the substance remained inert on anything organic. What she was worried was about dripping metal slipping onto bare skin and eating through flesh and bone. Or- or the oxygen running out, or the person knocked out from the fight and pinned.
Or Pyrotech coming back and finishing the job. Warily, the courier lifted her head and sniffed at the air. A cough rattled her chest again, the stench of metal and crisped wiring was so thick here she was having a hard time processing. Her olfactory systems were overwhelmed by the lack of airflow, the water, even the curve of the the tunnel.
Dart gulped air. A rattle before the strip of metal across her narrow shoulders clicked flush in determination. Have to move him, have to do it.
"Why couldn't you have fallen nicely," she mumbled at the mech. "Seriously, why did you have to fall the absolutely most difficult way?" The courier reared back, and then lunged forward to push one more time-
At the non-mechanical cry, Dart immediately froze. Elbows and knees locked, she did not budge an inch. Trembling with the strain of keeping Bulkhead's body where it was, Dart simply stared at the girl who had slithered free of the unconcious Autobot and now was standing upright between the muddy tracks.
Her spoiler tips jerked upward with a rattle as she focused on the human. There was a tiny whoosh-snort as her intakes revealed her surprise, but it turned into an inarticulate whuff of relief. Oh, alive, she was alive and on her feet and-- wait.
Was she bleeding? Injured? Burned? The girl was slimed in mud and grit, and the courier couldn't get a good visual in the blinking LED lights. In her worry and concern, Dart simply reacted; the courier ducked her head and snuffled into Miko's... well, most normal creatures would no doubt consider this a case of giant mechanical robot sniffer right in the personal space bubble.
"Are you-" the Decepticon started to ask, right before she came to the realization that she was suddenly nose to nose with an angry six string schoolgirl samurai...
And couldn't let go of the mech for fear he might land on her.
"No," she stuttered in response to the girl's demand. "I can't... er- I can't do that-"
Zoom-Zoom flinched at Fort Max's words. The minibot curled up and flattened himself against the tunnel roof, even though he knew he was out of the tank's view. He could hear the big mech start his venture down the train line.
Quite frankly, the minibot was glad to be ordered home. He didn't want to be involved any further in the night's craziness. But on the same token, he was acutely aware of this whole being on probation thing and how such this could end up looking bad on his already not so perfect record.
::You suuure about that?:: he questioned, twiddling his fingers. :: I mean, I like these orders. These orders are great. It's just. You're kinda big. And those tunnels are kinda small for a mech your size. And there were Decepticons down there, don't know how many or if they're still around. And you're not very...maneuverable. And it would suck if the back-up needs to call for more back-up and I'm just going to shut up now because what am I thinking, the Great Sir Stomp A Lot needs help from no one. If you die, can you at least put it on the record that I protested against this plan?::
Hell, if Maximus was going to be honest with himself, he was already beginning to regret this plan as well. The instant he stepped into the tunnel the darkness closed around him, claustrophobically near. The dampth clung to his wet plating, while rainwater chuckled hollowly against the roof and trickled down his knees.
Pushing down his unease, Maximus took two quick breaths to cool himself and pressed forward.
“Don’t push your luck,” he snapped, switching to his comm. “Follow your orders and return to base. Tell ground bridge control to await my transmission. I’ll be fine. If the Decepticons are still around they’ll soon find out there are worse things in here than them. Now go!”
The commline cut out abruptly as Maximus severed the connection. With a huff he crept forward, his treads flattened awkwardly back to keep them from scraping against the ceiling of the tunnel. His footsteps crunched in the gloom, and he hastily switched on his infra–red sensors. The world turned red and black as his thermal imaging took over, and –
– and –
Sure enough, there were traces of heat coming from somewhere ahead, enough to wash down the tunnel and bathe his surroundings in a dull reddish hues. Maximus set his jaw and followed the train tracks, walking bent.
Last Edit: Oct 18, 2014 21:38:45 GMT -5 by Deleted
A Decepticon told her to stop. So, naturally, Miko had no such plans in mind. Nor could she stop the swing if she wanted to. As soon as she'd gained her feet, saw a creep with her hands on Bulk, Miko swung like she was Babe Ruth immortal. The gibson didn't weigh a lot to begin with and cleaved through the air and straight for Dart's face. The connection sounded exactly like the opening to one of her favorite songs.
Unfortunately, solid contact also ruined any chances of her turning into a rock diva in the future. The guitar cracked and broke with a discordant clang of snapping wires. A small part of Miko, that wasn't worried about Bulk's health, just died inside at the sound. Her beautiful guitar!! Somewhere, Ratchet probably rejoiced.
"I said back of-" Miko trailed off as she happened to just take stock in the very situation she was in. The trembling form of the femme wasn't from fear. It was from holding Bulk up over the mini wrecker. Comically, Miko's face transformed from impetuous, righteous anger to cringing panic. The kind of face she made at the reminder of a science project due the next day. "-fffrag."
In the darkened tunnel, the courier's optics flared a bright blue, and then widened at the sight of the incoming guitar. Dart winced - what was it about being hit in the face lately - but she steeled herself and held position. The instrument promptly landed hard right on the side of of Dart's cheek and slammed into her nose.
The Gibson jangled and broke apart with one yowling, brassy note that made a lot of 80's power ballads quite proud. It went to guitar heaven and probably was met at the gates by several instruments belonging to Pete Townsend. Seriously? You broke when you hit an alien robot in the face? That's a pretty awesome way to meet your maker, dude. Party on.
As that final note twanged down the curve of the concrete tunnel, it was echoed by a yelp from the Decepticon. The femme flinched; her spoiler twitched on the hinges and splayed out to the sides of her shoulders, dropping downward. Dart ducked her helm and guiltily eyed the mangled guitar and the teenager. Then she winced, turned her jaw, and moved her head back out of the girl's personal space as much as she was able to do with the way she was crouching. Her arms were trembling even more, her foot was starting to slide in the gravel.
A moment later the human's expression had changed from fury into something else; oh geeze, she'd looked up and recognized where she was. Which was under the weight of a very large Autobot. With a Decepticon being the only thing keeping the curve of that massive chest she'd just broken free of up off the ground.
Dart decided right then and there that this big green guy really needed to lay off of the Cybertronian version of Taco Bell. If there was such a thing, of course. The girl stared up at her, and Dart could feel that body slip another inch.
Across her narrow shoulders, the strip of metal began to rattle under the strain. It was still low and flat. Coolant was dripping down her chest and her fingers felt numb, but Dart didn't dare shift her foot or her hands, terrified she'd lose her grip and drop him and...
Her internals lurched as a memory drove back; the sharp scent of blood in her nose. It had spattered across the instrument panel, painting the grey board with red. She'd stared at it, and then realized --
A low, rolling whine curled out of the courier's chest. She stared down at the girl with a frantic look of her own - don't freeze, don't freeze, what do I say? How do I say it? She's not going to believe me, she's defending him, oh you have to believe me-- here goes-
"I will, I promise, cross my heart, I'll back off, sorry, sorry," Dart apologized, the words chattering out of her in a rush.
"You have to get out of there though," she pleaded. "I can't hold him much longer, okay? Please move..."
Zoom-Zoom shrugged dismissively. Oh well, he'd tried. He'd failed. Sir Stomp A Lot wanted to go solo, that was fine by him and not his fault.
::Command? I need a groundbridge to my location::
It wasn't long before a glowing green portal opened up nearby. The minibot swiftly tromped through it, hating the sensation of bridging.
Ratchet was waiting on the other side. Zoom-Zoom glanced up at the medic before remembering the orders he'd been given. "Oh hey. Apparently Bulkhead's dying or something. Sir Stomp A Lot's gone to fetch him and Miko and says to wait his signal to bridge 'em all back to base."
The minibot paused for a moment then shrugged. "For the record, I did offer my assistance but the big mech has something of a solo complex and he also threatened to skin me. I don't think that's even possible, Ratchet can he that? The skinning. And the threatening of a fellow Autobot, he does that a lot to me."
Ratchet stood by the ground bridge controls and regarded the minibot with amusement. He looked remarkably unperturbed by the report.
"Does he," he said, deadpan. "Yes, actually, 'skinning' is a very real thing, and reputedly quite painful. It involves exactly what it sounds like it does: stripping the outer armour in such a manner as to inflict maximum separation of the undermesh from the layer of soft nerve circuitry beneath. Absolutely excruciating, or so I've been told. More accurately, so I've been screamed at."
Unbeknownst to Zoom-Zoom, the medic had been monitoring all on-site Autobot life signals since he had bridged Maximus to the train tunnel. While Bulkhead's vital signs had fluctuated in a manner consistent with a reaction to damage, the big Wrecker was hardly at risk. Ratchet remained unruffled, his expression calm.
"And incidentally, Bulkhead is fine," he said. "So is Maximus, for that matter. I am not concerned for either one of them. It's Miko who worries me. Why exactly was she there with Bulkhead? Or did I just answer my own question."
----
It took roughly two hundred yards for Maximus to decide he hated cramped spaces.
He could walk upright, but barely; his sheer height and that of the tank treads meant that he needed to stoop in order to prevent himself from damaging a sizable amount of the piping and electrical rigging overhead. He could turn and manoeuvre at least, but it would not be easy. Especially not when he needed to take care where he placed his feet. One step would crush a large portion of the light rail tracks. Though he understood the need for caution, being forced to maintain a crawling pace made him edgy. It took effort to keep his cooling systems from engaging.
He huffed, spat rain. It seeped from his armour. Miserable night.
The gravel crunched beneath his feet as Maximus picked his way forward warily, his sensors alert. A few lights twinkled in the gloom, few and far between. The longer he walked the more defined the heat sources grew, until he realised that he was looking at two large sources, and one that identified as human. One was likely Bulkhead. Which mean that the other was a Decepticon.
Maximus' expression grew flat as he unclipped his rifle and set his back to the wall for cover. There was a gentle bend in the tracks ahead; he eased his way around it, the heavy weapon lifted to his optic in a firing position. He was closing in now, less than a hundred yards away. Any Decepticon that did not detect his approach was going to get its head torn off via a charged photon blast. What was left of it could grease the rails for the next passing train.
Miko didn't waste any time in ducking out from under Bulkhead's bulk. As much as she didn't trust a sneaky Con, she wasn't going to be an idiot and stick around under the threat of being squished. She wasn't that stupid! That and she could put some distance between herself and the enemy in the creepy tunnel.
"What did you do to him?! If you hurt him, so help me, I'll-I'll-" She wasn't sure what she was going to do and slipping on gross tunnel gunk wasn't making it easy to think. She nearly dropped her ruined instrument as she slid to a standstill and faced the femme.
Ew, a Decepticon femme. Last time they'd ran into one of those, Jack had developed a phobia of spiders. Miko supposed she could develop a phobia of dark tunnels in the future. But, after giving a wary look around, she was pretty sure she wouldn't need the bad guy's help in that case. Thanks but no thanks!
Gritting her jaw, Dart threw everything she had into holding that body up until she was sure the girl was utterly clear. Then a tiny whine rolled out of her throat as she finally let her elbows unlock. Just that motion was all it took; his massive weight lurched awkwardly. The courier lost her toehold on the ground and slid backwards.
The mech's body crashed down to the concrete, and the sound echoed around the dark tunnel, clattering off the curve of the dark walls. Dart winced to herself; she would have let him down easier. Not that she thought it mattered to him right now, he was Captain Oblivious.
Dart's hand immediately came up to her shoulder, she winced and flinched before she turned back to look at the teenager standing in the tunnel.
"You okay?" she asked, right before the girl came up on her toes. Oh. Oh, right.
"I know, you'll smack me in the nose again," the Decepticon mumbled.
Dart lifted her hands palm up in the universal gesture of 'please, not in the face' and didn't approach. Instead she looked around and tried to figure out where she could back off to. Well, not over the mech; ugh. Instead, she sidestepped a bit to the side, her spoiler lowered even farther as she crouched; fingertips braced on the floor.
"I didn't do anything to him," the courier explained quickly, keeping herself as low and non threatening as possible. Not that she has any reason to believe you. You're the one standing and he's the one flat on his face on the floor. "He got hit with a weapon that shoots gel that burns metal. Doesn't hurt organic stuff. Water gets it off." A tip of her head to the gushing pipe. "Dirt stops it too, but I can't move him back, he's too-"
In mid-word, the courier froze and lifted her head; her spoiler pricked over her shoulders. Her expression had become intent as she sniffed the air.
Zoom-Zoom had listened to Ratchet's description with total indifference. If the medic had been intending to freak him out with the graphic information, he was very much disappointed. The minibot had seen some pretty slagged up stuff in his time, both as a spook and as gutter-trash.
He merely blinked once. Well, you learned something new every cycle. While it was concerning to learn that this was an actual thing and that Fort Max was apparently threatening to do it to him, Fort Max was also a whole ground bridge away from him right now.
"You know, I don't think you're taking this whole threatening a fellow Autobot quite seriously enough," he complained. Zoom-Zoom had the feeling he'd just been patronized. "Like, there's joking about a thing, then there's Fort Max who can't relax a single circuit to save his life and means every stoic word that escapes his vocaliser. That mech has issues."
At the news that Bulkhead was not dying like his dramatic comm line had implied, Zoom-Zoom scowled. He so hated getting even the slightest bit concerned over nothing.
"Well that's great to hear. That aft left my back wide open to two Decepticons without warning me! I think it was because of the human. Miko. Which reminds me, why do we keep them around? I'm not exactly seeing the benefits here."
Zoom-Zoom's first concern, as always, was to himself. While he understood, vaguely, that Miko was probably in a whole lot of danger right now, he wasn't particularly bothered by this. For him, his focus was on the danger her presence had almost put him in.
Last Edit: Oct 24, 2014 20:31:54 GMT -5 by Deleted
Ratchet only stood at the ground bridge controls and watched Zoom-Zoom calmly. He was careful not to rise to the bait about Maximus - and glad to. As the only Autobot on the base with full and unrestricted access to the big mech's ghastly medical records, he had a good idea just what his issues were.
And he was not about to share them.
Nor was Ratchet about to air his own personal grievances about the human children to this minibot, of all people. He opted to roll his optics instead.
"They are not here to provide us with a benefit - they are here for their own protection," he said. "Unfortunately, not all of them seem to take that commitment very seriously at times. Which means you will just have to step up and perform your tasks that much more competently while on the field when they are present - if you are capable of increasing your output to match that challenge. I know your mouth is. Now."
Ratchet sobered and ran a critical eye over the minibot.
"Do you require medical assistance? Or did you manage to retreat from the engagement unscathed?"