Ep. 1 - Adaptation 2 Electric Boogaloo - Open

[Carbine]

Day After Much Ado about Nothing

----------------
25 Minutes Prior


"...The frag is that?..."

Beside him a bit, Thunder simply stood, smirking with that slag eating grin that absolutely drove Carbine insane.

"It's cute."

"C?u?t?e?! It shouldn't be cute!"

Carbine squawked this as he walked over towards the vehicle that had been supplied to him. He had told the small runt squishy thing called 'Fowler' that he had been a cop that's alt-mode hovered and had minor flight capabilities. Of course humans? Didn't have the technology to make such vehicles. He would have to sacrifice that which he was accustomed to, that which he was used to, in order to adapt to a far more primitive technology. To say Carbine was happy about this? Was a horrendous lie. The vents on his back almost flared open with hissing exhaust of displeasure. Buttt... what choice did he have? He didn't want to be completely grounded on tires. The idea of rolling over rocks and other bumpy surfaces was annoying beyond whatever this... thing... was.

The large mech moved over carefully, lifting his right hand in order to push down on the long panel of metal that created the rotor of the lean helicopter with a single fingertip. The metal bowed under his touch, showing how flexible it was, and rather... fragile... His unseen features crinkled up a bit, before he eased back to look at it overall. The helicopter was the right colors, had the police style to it that would blend in with human's well. No one would question a piece of machinery used by a cop for looking around or loitering, unlike if they saw some custom bright thing that stood out.

Casting Thunder a look of frustration and defeat, he turned back before locking his knees. With the joints snapped down as they were? And Bolo docked on his back? He could scan and adapt to the severe changes his frame would have to undergo, without toppling over. It is with this, and some guidance from Thunder to find the proper commands in his HUD, his eyes widened, and the beam of light cast out to slice through the helicopter.

All at once all of the technical information, the knowledge, and general dimensional data were ported straight into his processor, before filtering into his T-Cog, overriding his hover car properties violently.

It was complex enough going from one compatible thing to another, it was even more difficult to change vehicles entirely. Throw in the fact he was a Carrier and Bolo had to coordinate and adapt as well? And Carbine was stuck as he was for some time. A long process of internal calculations he couldn't understand scrolled past him, and his head lulled back a bit as external and internal components on his frame started twisting and reconfiguring.

What used to be smooth slick armor, flattened out in areas, while bands of white spiraled out from his 'ribcage' to clap up and in front to the sternum flare with hissing pops. While this occurred, sharp spikes of metal jutted out from the sides of his peds, only to fold back and spiral out into the shape of rotors that locked into the once spoke-less wheels. The arching pipes that had hooked from the collar struts over his shoulders, having made part of his hover system, surged up with clicking plates, before sealing into the hollow shape of the engines on the copter's form.

Bolo himself, changed as well, armor that had been fanned out flush against his master's back, was forced to pull together tighter near the line of his spine. His pushed him even more away from Carbine's core, making the canine leaner and more streamlined. This exposed some of the raw protoform on either side of him, a massive vulnerable point between canine and hover components.

These severe weak points would not be there for long, for the most severe transformation? The worst of all this? Was what happened to the back hover components themselves. The armor and internal mechanics, gutted out and broke into several pieces that started to try to line up end to end while armor fanned out to create a thin plate over the protoform to keep dirt out. While this occurred, Carbine's entire frame started to ease forward, his right leg jittering before finally finding motion just in time to slam down to catch his balance. The components all linked up end to end, before straightening with screeching groans of metal. After a few moments, they snapped together into solid rotors that were now mounted on freshly configured posts on either side of Bolo.

Once everything settled, Carbine stood there in the partial hunched stance, his eyes wide as he had no idea what had just happened. The rotors on either side of his back, flicked a bit, the mechanics whirring in protest due to being so new. The individual 'wings' flared out some, spreading, before falling back against his back once more with a clunk.

What the slag had happened to him!?

----------------

Current Time


Nonono no no!

Carbine never really had to be concerned with controlling the panels over his hover components. When he got frustrated? They flared out. When he was scared? They could clap closed. So on so forth for different emotions and needs, the point was? Restricting their movement was never truly needed due to them being so close to his body. The Helicopter rotors?... didn’t follow these rules.

A slender wing swung out sharply to bash into the side of the communications console in the main living area. The impact was loud, and had left a small groove against the front of the previously smooth metal case of the computer. This startled Carbine, for as much as he often didn’t care about how others viewed him? He didn't want to be yelled at on their first real day. They had plenty of time to ruin their reputations and become colossal pain in the afts thank-you-very-much. As such the ex-cop reeled about violently in surprise, only for the rotor that had popped up to cause the damage? To swing through the air sharply at the new elevated height, nearly smacking Thunder across the face with the full momentum of the ex-cops turn. It had swooped so close that the brush of air could probably be felt against his faceplate.

Carbine realized this had happened, and as such his surprise and alarm for not only possibly damaging the computer, but hitting Thunder, caused the other set of rotors on his left side to flare out, swiping up a moment and narrowly avoiding bashing right back into the SAME communications console because he had turned completely around. He didn’t realize it had happened, until the motion was completed, and in reply his arms swooped up and back, grabbing onto the top point of the new posts on his back. The post's end held the base of the four rotors, and he clutched it almost violently, white fingertips digging down to force the rotors to fold parallel with his back.

"FR?AGG I know I made fun wings of k?zz?t? your a lot but this SUC?K?S! How!? Why!?"

While Carbine clutched onto the ends of the posts, Bolo clicked and popped in his dock, before unfolding with a whirled hiss. The canine instead of jumping over Carbine like he would do in a combat situation, bent backwards almost like an acrobat, peeling off of Carbine gradually. His forepaws planted down onto the ground, just as back legs finally disengaged from his master's lower back, causing him to flip over and land on all fours with a clunk. The canine's head poked out between Carbine's legs, looking up at Thunder curiously, before walking forward to trot and start to sniff around the main room to explore.

Bolo looked almost the same, his changes minimal in the grand scheme of things. A few armor plates reconfigured at new angles, some slick white armor going ridged and flat into hard plates. If anything? He looked a bit leaner and more angular when viewed from the front. Nonetheless, while Bolo explored, Carbine continued to whine and glitch out, protesting the primitive thing he had become.

"I want my back components kz?z?t? hover! And you must want to not look like a w-w?al?-w?a?lk?-w-striding BOX anymore!"

[Deleted]

You know what Thundercloud liked? Watching Carbine flail around like a cat with tape on its tail as he adjusted to his body’s new modifications. You know what he didn’t like? Nearly getting hit in the process of watching the aforementioned flailing. Maybe it was Karma telling him to check himself and stop smirking like a jackaft while taking so much amusement out of his friend’s misfortune - or maybe Carbine was just a dramatic son of a glitch who habitually overreacted to things like this. Thunder was putting his (lack of) credits on the latter. He had the strong suspicion Carbine was severely displeased by the loss of his hover-capabilities - the mech never liked letting go of things that belong to him: objects, body parts, and (though he didn’t like to admit it) people included.

Thundercloud figured he ought to just let the mech whine for a while, get some of the grousing out of his system now so he wouldn’t have to deal with (as much of) it later, but he had grossly underestimated just how much Carbine felt the need to complain. At first, he had nodded disinterestedly and muttered a few “Uh huh”s every now and then to humor the other mech as he ranted, but after a while he just couldn’t feign interest in his companion’s complaints anymore.

Sighing loudly enough to let his frustration be heard, Thundercloud pushed away from the wall he was leaning against and walked over to the smaller mech to stand beside him.

“Deal with it, Pinwheels.” He said flatly, before clapping his hand down on Carbine’s shoulder.

“We gotta blend in so the squishies don’t have an existential crisis about the universe havin’ more than one inhabited planet.” His tone was mocking, almost unnecessarily so given the optic-roll that accompanied the statement, which said enough about his opinion on the matter all on its own.

“Besides, at least it didn’t make you any uglier. Me? I went from a 10 to a 9 ½.” He shook his head solemnly as if he were quietly mourning some great tragedy, though his em-field belied his amusement.

“M’ a whole half ‘a point less bangable now. It’s a damn shame.”

[Carbine]

Why did he do this?

WHY DID HE DO THIS!?

The longer he was stuck like this, the more he wanted to storm to that medic called 'Ratchet' and have him reset his T-Cog back to manufacture default of his hover car. True, he was overreacting a bit, but really he had lost a big part of him, and he hardly ever coped well with losing things. Having something taken from him? Angered him. Stealing from him something he greatly cared about? And he would rage. But actually take something of HIS that was part of HIS body? Ohhh no no no...

It was his greed, his insatiable greed that demanded he be able to keep the boons of both worlds. He wanted to have the propulsion jets on his back that permitted him to maneuver so well. He wanted to be able to use the magnetic power there to throw his weight around. He also wanted the wheels to be spokeless so they couldn't get damaged easily by debris. He didn't want wings that were hitting everything. In addition? He ALSO wanted to have an Alt-Mode that fit in. Heck, he was basically wanting to be a Triple-Former Carrier, which was laughable. He was stretched two ways trying to grasp opposite objects in a room, his arms simply not capable of that in the slightest. It is because of this he was reeling internally, feeling like he was trapped in a tiny box.

Suddenly this expansive room felt so small.

Carbine was amping up in aggression, and normally? The panels of the hover components would have flared out and activated, the internals growling to life. Instead? The four wings akin to a dragonfly, fanned out rapidly despite his hand's grip, and the small turbine like motors now on his shoulders whirred to life with a revving roar. Luckily Thunder's hand on his shoulder drug him back down to reality again, and his processor backpedaled trying to root himself in place.

At the jet's words, Carbine let out an over dramatic heave, and basically threw himself to hang off of the larger mech's frame. His white fingertips dug into the top edge of his chest panel, his body hanging off as if he was going to start crying or some nonsense. This was all absurd though, as he let out a whining sound, displaying it was all pointless theatrics for no use other than to be obnoxious and express his distaste with at least a touch of humor to try to take the edge off.

"Why did we co?m?e t?o ?su?c?h? a backwater planneettttt.... We could have g-gon-g-went anywhere else, where I didn't have to get skinny p?i?pe ?wi?ng?s and you didn't have to become a flying fr?is?b?e?e?e?e."

He raked in an over dramatic vent, playing off the 'fake sobbing' still as the vague shape of his optic's glow through his visor squinted, the lower eyelid pulled up. His right hand shakily reached up to clutch Thunder's collarbone, permitting him to heft and drag his weight up the others frame to look at him. If they were human? It would be the equivalent of Carbine hanging off of Thunder's shirt, fingertips digging into the 'fabric'. His legs were limp behind him, the wheel of his right heel idly rolling in neutral.

"And your back things! The pan?e?l? ?sw?o?opy? ?things!"

His processor was glitching, and he completely forgot the word 'wings' even though he had said it just moments prior. He hated it, but he learned to dodge around it in the most ridiculous ways possible. But hey, so long as it works right?

"Your k?z?zt? ?sky flippers were all curved and awe-?a-?a?w?-cool and now they are squared off like steel off the manufacturing line!"

Oh hey a compliment. Too bad Thunder no longer had what he was complimenting.

Bolo meanwhile was sniffing around happily.

The canine knew his master was upset, he knew something was wrong, but it wasn't the kind of upset that meant anyone was in danger. It was just the weird social stuff he didn't know, and as such? He continued to trot around absently, paw pads clicking against the ground with a joyous almost bouncing gait. This was all a new place to explore and claim! All new areas to sniff and new scents to take in! Because of this he trotted over to one of the computers, and sniffed around it, his haunches wiggling a bit as if he had a tail to shake. After smelling, he rubbed the side of his face against it, trying to smear his scent on it to claim it as his. Really the small would be nothing any of them would ever pick up; it was just something he would know, boosting his pride of being 'top dog' even if he was 'only dog'.

Once he 'claimed' the computer, he scramble popped with a few jumping bounds, almost as if he were hopping through the snow again. Really? He was just happy to be out of the shuttle and able to roam and explore once more. Having him trapped in stasis for many years? Then throw in a shuttle for even more? Had made the dog CRAVE the freedom he had now. Because of this he found a crack between some scaffolding and mechanics, and lodged his head in, trying to wiggle his narrow shoulders in-between after.

[Deleted]

Thunder was long since used to Carbine’s eccentricities: the overly dramatic reactions, the faux displays of emotion, the way he abused hyperbole to hell and back for comedic purposes...he was used to it all. How could he not be, after living in such close quarters with the other mech for as long as he had? It was impossible for him to not be familiar with the ex-cop’s quirks when he had been subjected to them on a daily basis for what was little over a few thousand years now.

That being said, he took Carbine’s theatrics all in stride, as if it were completely normal for one’s friends to thrust themselves upon each other and make melodramatic declarations of woe in a public space, in front of Primus and everyone who happened to walk by. Smirking, Thundercloud decided to play along with Carbine’s little act, and patted him consolingly on the shoulder as he lamented the modifications made to their frames.

Somehow, he managed not to let a chuckle slip out as the other mech went on and his statements became even more ludicrous, particularly when he struggled to find the words he was looking for and invented unintentionally hilarious substitutes to take their place. Honestly, the only reason he didn’t laugh was because he had heard the mech use “sky flippers” once or twice before - it was still funny, even now, but he had heard it enough times to be able to simply grin a little wider as opposed to chuckling outright.

“--You thought my wings were cool?” He asked, raising a brow as he completely ignored everything else the mech said and focused solely on that single line.

His smirk sharpened slightly, almost mockingly, and he cocked his head to the side as a wave of amusement rolled through his field. “What, you think about my looks a lot or somethin’?”

[Carbine]

While Thunder was accustomed to Carbine's over the top theatrics? Carbine was used to Thunder just seeming to tolerate it and not really visibly finding much humor in what was happening. It didn't matter though, he wanted to grieve his anger, and not delve down into complete rage which could happen if he didn’t check himself. He didn’t always have a temper, no, actually he used to stop at frustration and keep a cool head while on the line of duty. But after prison? After all the injustice he and Thunder had been shown? This capability for rage came from the darkness, something he had to grab and shove back away occasionally by means of more lighthearted situations.

Like right now!

The pat on his back simply enacted an overdramatic wheeze of a sob to rake out, as Carbine ran the act out longer. He was taking the jet's motions as an acceptance of the joke, and subsequent encouragement to continue on with it. Because of this, he remained hanging off of Thunders front, even if it was bothering his newly repaired shoulder a bit. It wasn't at risk of damage, but he could feel it.

Carbine had explained his side, and in the end of it? It was Thunder's turn to speak. The ex-cop wondered if he was going to complain about the half a point of 'sexy' he had lost more, or if he was going to comment on the weird wings he obtained, or maybe focus on Carbine himself? Point out the little... slivers... of wings he had no control over, or his more boxy shapes. Maybe comment on Bolo who was likely getting into trouble by now. No no... instead he focused in on the one compliment.

Figures.

The first comment alone was not much, and Carbine was going to reply for him to not look into it. Maybe he would raise his hand and smack the palm into Thunder's forehead in an attempt to knock some sense into his concussed-to-the-pit-and-back brain, but what followed? What Thunder had said next? Opened up an entirely different door altogether.

Yellow outlines of optics widened a bit as the tone and words sunk in, before they narrowed into thin slits that peered back up pointingly as if he had just become privy to some dark joke spawned from the pit itself. His joking laughter had cut short immediately, though he remained hanging off of the large mech's front, fingertips tightening the grip slightly.

Oh he wanted that game did he?...

Carbine cast a quick glance over his shoulder, seeing Bolo was the only other individual around that he could see, before he turned back to Thunder, ready to get started on the game of 'gay chicken' that would eventually kill one of them one of these days. As such, his right hand pulled off of Thunder's armor, letting his weight hang off of his left solely. His helmed head planted down to lean against him, while the right palm returned to Thunder's chest to pat on the armor almost affectionately.

"Well yes, y?o?u? ?know? how? much I appreciate having a s-st-r?o?-s-powerful mech at my disposal! And if they look ?g?o?od? That much better!"

Bolo meanwhile was transfixed on something he found between the gaps of machinery. His rump wiggled a bit in a sort of wag that was also trying to push him in between the crevice of the scaffolding and mechanics. He really wanted back there, but his shoulders were just too broad to be able to permit him to so do. He dipped down, jumped, and tried a new angle, before he gave up and backed up a bit, letting out a faint near inaudible whine. After this protest, he scooted off to the side, looking for another larger entrance to let him get back there.

[Deleted]

A good spook knew about all the nooks and crannies a mech could hide themselves wherever they were stationed. Zoom-Zoom had been putting this into practice these last couple of weeks as he made himself scarce whenever he was off shift. Either he was jammed into hiding spots he'd found, or more recently, far, far away off-base due to a slight easing off on some of the terms of his probation.

This cycle found him curled up tight in recharge in the comms room, hidden behind a gap in the wall and the computer databanks. Generally, comm shifts were subdued affairs, so he'd started using the place as a temporary recharge spot. It wasn't going to last though, Zoom-Zoom didn't want to rely on it too often in case Mirage figured out where he was. He was cycling through locations randomly, trying to keep things mixed up. Zoom-Zoom was no stranger to recharging in odd locations, infiltrating enemy bases could sometimes take cycles to achieve after all, so the cramped conditions he was often finding himself in didn't bother him.

It was with no small amount of alarm for voices to penetrate his light recharge. The minibot booted up instantaneously. The voices didn't match any of the 'safe' parameters he'd set for himself before shutting down, so he came online with battle protocols bristling. Zoom-Zoom did not move though, his optics did not flick on in case he was being observed. There was no discernible difference between him now and when he was in recharge only astroseconds ago.

The minibot listened carefully, identifying two voices jabbering on and complaining about alt modes. Privately, Zoom-Zoom concurred on their sentiments. Earth based alt modes sucked. Autobots, he figured. New. The pair that had Red Alert and Fort Max stewing in some black moods recently. The pair that were also on Red Alert's list of mecha Zoom-Zoom should keep far, far away from. The only other mech currently on that list was Wheeljack.

The value of his current hiding place ranked higher on Zoom-Zoom's priorities than slagging off Red Alert or getting to know new mecha. Zoom-Zoom kept listening -after all, you never knew when you might overhear some blackmail material, which was always useful to have- and settled in for a long wait.

A set of pedes too light and too many to belong to an ordinary mech approached. The cassette. He'd forgotten about it. The minibot scowled but otherwise did not react as it began to investigate his position.

I don't exist. Leave me alone. Go away.

[Deleted]

The moment Carbine glanced over his shoulder to check for witnesses, Thundercloud knew exactly what the smaller mech was planning, so he prepared himself accordingly. He steeled himself, trying to keep a straight face so he wouldn’t immediately lose The Game by breaking into laughter on the opening line. That had happened to him once or twice before, and Carbine had never let him hear the end of it either time, so he wasn’t about to give the mech the opportunity to rub his loss in his face for a third time.

Instead of breaking into a grin as Carbine laid that god-awful line on him, Thundercloud’s mouth simply twitched slightly at the corner, refusing to grow beyond a sly smirk.

“I knew there had to be a reason you kept me around.” He replied wryly, before deciding to see just how far he could push Carbine by slinking his free arm around the smaller mech’s waist.

“Guess being eye-candy isn’t the worst job in the world. Better than the last one I had.”

How he managed to say that with an arm around Carbine’s waist without snorting at the absurdity of it was beyond his comprehension. He supposed he just really, really wanted to win this round, if not for the bragging rights, then for the satisfaction of making Carbine lose.

It was with that thought in mind that Thunder decided to up the ante and push the ex-cop even further, just to see how uncomfortable he could make him before he either burst out laughing or yanked away from him while letting out a stream of curses. There was usually no in between; it was either one response or the other, or a combination of the two.

He was looking forward to seeing which option Carbine took this time, when he inevitably lost. Which he would.Thundercloud absolutely refused to crack first.

“Least this time I got job security.” He added, with a deliberately insufferably smug smirk. “Not a whole lotta competition around here.”

[Carbine]

Bolo was absolutely transfixed on the area Zoom Zoom was hiding. His entire life, his entire point of existence became finding the way in, and getting to him. In his mind? In his little toddler like processor? He suddenly thought this was a training exercise. He had been tasked to track down an injured soldier on the field and whether they were hurt or not? In the end? He would get a treat and praise and all sorts of head rubs for doing a good job. It is because of this the open maw that somewhat made a happy panting smile? Had closed.

He was determined.

Small paws 'tak'ed on the ground, as he walked about the machinery, his head dipping occasionally to sniff, only for ears to rotate and spin listening for the 'victim' to make a sound. They were quiet, which just made him think they were pretending to be dying or in stasis lock, which meant the sooner he found them? The better treats. If he didn’t do so quick enough? He would lose his treats! That would not happen!

Carbine meanwhile was far too distracted to pay heed to Bolo. Truth be told? After Bolo had locked onto Zoom Zoom? The mech had sent out a silent alarm for the canine to notify him if anyone new came into the area. This was all fine and dandy, if the dog didn't assume that excluded the training target, and as such, Bolo ignored the notification barks he would normally do. Alas... Carbine didn't know this was going on, and focused on trying to win the game.

This was a bit difficult when Thunder looped his arm about his waist, causing Carbine to have to ease forward a bit less he look like he was wrenching away. Oh boy did he WANT to wrench away, but like the pit he would. He refused to lose first on this new planet. As such the only response to the motion? Was a slight narrowing of the optics that was not visible because of his helm's rested position against the Jet's chest.

"Well your past jobs were sketchy g-g?u-?g?-protector duty, prisoner, and frontliner, all crappy anyway, am I k?zz?t? ?and great so..."

He trailed off with this, as if it were obvious, patting his palm down against Thunder's chest with a light clunk once more. Carbine knew he couldn't just idly reply though, he had to add to the game, he had to make it absolute HELL for Thunder to endure. If he wanted bragging rights? If he wanted to say he won this first on this new planet? He had to not just up the ante, but hurl it into the sky.

All things considered? Thunder normally won. Carbine was the one to wuss out first. However? That was typically when his helmet was shelved or in storage while he was in prison. Having that shield protecting his expressions and face gave him a bit of a feeling of invulnerability. It was a defense and boon Thunder didn't have, and Carbine was going to exploit it. At the jet's last words? He finally acted, a light chuckle forced out.

"Well, we haven't met EVERY?O?NE? who knows, there could be someone b-b?b?-?be?t-superior..."

At first it seemed like an insult, but his hand on the jet's chest? Moved to lightly slip up in order to rest on the side of Thunder's jaw line. He ran the palm against it somewhat, anticipating and expecting Thunder's features to contort into a disgusted look.

"But it never w?a?s? ?just? app?e?ar?an?ce?s? that count. Pe?rh?aps ?I j?ust l?ike your abrasive aft p?e?r?so?nal?it?y??"

His voice was forced lower, almost a purr, though the static from stress and anxiety was weaving in forcefully. It couldn't be helped though, it isn't like he could just turn off his glitch even to win a game. Nonetheless? With his gentle grip on Thunder's jaw line? He lifted his head up and pushed up onto his toes, forcing his helm's 'face' way too close for comfort. He was daring to try to get optic to optic while being on the absolute point of his peds. If Thunder didn't pull back? Didn’t lose the game? And let Carbine drag him to his level? He would move forward to place his fore helm right against his, feeling invulnerable with the opaque black facemask down. Then again... being THAT close? Thunder could possibly see a vague outline of features through the glass, Carbine's expression contorted into a mixed look, his maw stretched into aggressive glee, while eyes just showed how uncomfortable he was.

Bolo meanwhile found the opening Zoom Zoom must have used to enter into the secret hidey hole, and once he did? His back legs squatted a bit, rump wiggling in preparation as he calculated the jump. With a bounding hop he leapt up and through the hole behind the machinery, chest banging against the lower edge of the breach before he managed to slip in. The canine didn’t waste any time, and eagerly bounded over and through the cables and wire of the machine's back, trying to get to the little red mech that was 'tangled' up in it.

Whimpering as for one moment he got a foot tangled, the self pity didn’t last long as he wrenched it free before getting to ZZ. Suddenly? With no warning? Bolo slammed his paws down onto the minibot's chest, his hydraulic press of a maw parting so that he could lick at the individual's face happily. All that went through the dog's processor? Was 'Yay' 'Win' 'Did It' 'New Friend' 'Person' 'Praise!'. All he knew? Was that Zoom Zoom was alive, and he just did his training exercise well, trying to nuzzle against him for congratulations pats. 'REWARD!'

[Deleted]

…are they...flirting…?

Boredom was Zoom-Zoom's immediate reaction to the words he could hear from the two Autobots near by. When you've hidden yourself in as many nooks and crannies as the minibot had, you saw and overheard a lot of weird slag. After the first few hundred times, it lost its lustre. This, by Zoom-Zoom's measure, was really quite tame and he settled himself for a long, uninteresting wait.

The minibot's attention was more focused on that cassette, still shuffling about and trying to investigate. Zoom-Zoom kept still, tracking its movements with his audials. It was a lot faster than he expected though, one moment he could hear it scrabbling about the entrance to this little spot, then suddenly he had weight pinning down his front and something was attacking his face-

Sheer reflex and still jumpy battle protocols from his interrupted recharge almost had him whipping his shock baton out of subspace and jamming it into the back of the neck of his assailant. Only the split second remembrance of Autobot/cassette/ally made him realise what a disastrous move that could be. Instead, Zoom-Zoom clamped down on all combat protocols, pulling his field tight against his frame and remained absolutely still. Spook training kicked in, only move when you had to, until then gather information, assess, determine a plan of action-

The insistent nuzzling made the cassette's intentions clear. Zoom-Zoom peered down to glare at it with one incredulous optic. Seriously? The minibot's body language currently broadcasted sheer distaste over the invasion of his personal space. His frame was stiff and his EM field was completely flat with his unhappiness. Despite this, he awarded Bolo a few obligatory pats.

There. Now that he'd petted the damn thing, maybe it would leave him alone. Zoom-Zoom currently had no intention of moving, he didn't want to interrupt the pair near by or alerting them to his presence. He didn't particularly care about what they were doing, right now, he just wanted his little spot to remain hidden and secure.

[Deleted]

Thundercloud should have hedged his bets. He should have planned a bit further ahead, been less confident in the effectiveness of his maneuver. He should have figured out what he would do if Carbine not only didn’t give in, but counter-attacked with a move that was twice as effective as his own had been.

He should have, but he didn’t, and he quickly found himself on the losing end of their battle-of-wills because of it. The moment that hand slid up to caress his jaw, Thunder found himself immediately regretting his decision to not push Carbine harder than he had, so the mech would have given in and he wouldn’t have been able to make such a strong comeback. His optics flared briefly, his jaw twitching slightly before he checked himself and smothered the urge to lean away from Carbine’s hand.

Though he was incredibly discomfited, he tried not to let it show; he kept his field even, and forced his expression to return to a cocky smile after it’s split-second change to what can best be described as “Oh god no what are you doing, dude, sick, DUDE--”

Then Carbine just had to go and mess up his expression again by speaking in a low tone, a near-purr, causing Thunder to nearly completely lose his slag. Instead of being made uncomfortable that time, Thundercloud instead felt a sudden, almost violent surge of hilarity rise up inside him at the dissonance between Carbine’s (attempted) seductive tone and his prominent vocal tic. The two clashed so terribly, so perfectly, that Thunder very nearly made himself lose the game by breaking character and laughing at the sheer ridiculousness that was Carbine trying to be sexy.

Instead of laughing outright, Thundercloud simply let out a faint snort, which he was quick to play off as amusement towards the thought of his abrasive personality being likeable, rather than a meta-expression of amusement towards situation they were in.

“Don’t try to flatter me, mech. We both know my looks ‘er the only thing I got goin’ for me.”

He managed to say this with a straight face, despite the odd, conflicting mixture of discomfort and amusement welling inside him as Carbine lifted himself up to press their foreheads together. Or rather, to press his visor against Thunder’s forehead. The cheating fragger. He got the benefit of being shielded from direct facial contact - Thundercloud was not quite so fortunate.

As distinctly uncomfortable as that made him, however, Thundercloud was not going to give in. He refused to back down so soon; as much as he wanted to win, he would only let himself back out of the game after he reached his absolute breaking point, and this? Was not it. He wasn’t about to let Carbine win the first game on the new planet quite so easily, nor was he going to let him have a victory without making him be horribly uncomfortable in order to obtain it.

Hence why he decided to go for broke and just rustle the hell out of Carbine’s jimmies by pouncing on the opportunity the mech laid out before him.

With the mech standing up on the tips of his feet as he was, he did not have a solid connection to the ground, which was perfect for what Thundercloud had planned. His smile suddenly turning sharp at the edges was the only warning Carbine would receive before he reached down to loop a hand beneath the mech’s right knee and hoist it up against his own hip, before leaning forward to dip the ex-cop as if they had just finished a tango.

“That, and my roguish charm.” He said this with a sly smile, his field practically radiating wicked glee.

'Your move, Patches' he thought as he adjusted his grip on the mech’s back so he wouldn’t accidentally drop him. The last thing he wanted was for things to end in a draw because Carbine fell and they both had to laugh themselves stupid over it.

[Carbine]

It was for the best Zoom Zoom didn’t follow through with first impulses here. If he had struck Bolo? That was one thing. To strike the dog with a shock baton? Would be another thing altogether. He would have not only had an angry, confused, and hurt dog trying to bite him in the small cage of a hideaway, he would also have Carbine reeling against him so fast it’s a miracle he wouldn't have given himself whiplash. The mech would be tearing at openings trying to grab the little red bot, intending to rip him out of his hidey hole, or tear the limb clean off in some over inflated act of revenge.

But it didn’t happen and ZZ was safe. For now.

Bolo could sense the minibot's displeasure. He didn’t know what was wrong though? He had found him! He had located him like a good rescue dog during training exercises! He had managed to locate him before 'death'! So why was he upset? Why wasn't he getting pets? Why weren't things going as planned!? The canine would narrow his optics if he could to glare out at the small mech, but he was incapable, the expressionless face peering at him pointingly as he tried to calculate stuff.

A couple pats!? A couple PATS!? That was HARDLY a reward! That was just a pity 'you failed' action that the dog didn't appreciate. His ears pulled back a bit, and his frame changed posture. The changes were immensely subtle, but there was a bit of aggression in play. He did good, he DESERVED a reward right!? What more could he have done!?

Carbine was not blind. He could see that faint flicker of disgust that played out across Thunder's face, and the following amusement at what had been said, and he enjoyed every second of it. He just hoped, HOPED what he was doing would be enough to win the game, as he really didn't know what more he could do that wouldn't make he himself backpedal out and abandon ship. But what disgust was there? Faded out into amusement in tandem with Thunder's own, having to try to stifle back a laugh.

He wanted to break the game so badly now, to say 'Well you aren’t much to look at so you must have a rock for a processor' or other insults to take advantage of his statement, but he couldn't he simply couldn't let himself fail. He had to follow through, he had to brush off the bait, and he had to try to keep focused, reminding himself he was safe behind his riot helmet and that it made him near invincible to some degree! That is... until he was grabbed.

Optics that were squinted into faint crescents of amusement, suddenly flared into perfect circles as his leg was grabbed onto and hoisted up. His frame toppled back swiftly, and the one leg on the ground? Spun its wheel across the flooring a moment, before he was dipped at too far of an angle and it was forced into the air. This caused the limb to lurch and kick out spazztickly twice, the wheel spiraling in a faintly audible rev as it frantically hunted for traction it would not be able to get.

Against Carbine's will, his hands had lurched up and clutched onto Thunder's shoulders, to try to keep himself from swinging back and down into the ground where he would hit his head. Granted, he didn’t NEED to, Thunder had grabbed him properly so he couldn't have fallen, but the motion was there as his field surged out in surprise and alarm while he tried to process what had just happened.

Nope nope nope all the nope and then some.

A straining whine of sound whirred out, and his optics squinted as his head tilted away a bit, as if Thunder was covered in some disease and he really didn’t want to be by him in the slightest any longer. But... the game... he had to win... but, this stance, the pose, he was dipped back like a femme with his one leg hoisted up awkwardly, the other weakly slumping down to barely touch at the flooring below, taking absolutely none of his weight. The rotors on his back, had flared out upon his 'fall' and now tried to pin back in anxious disgust, the two panels closest to the side Thunder's arm was, clunking against the limb that obstructed their retreat.

He opened his mouth to speak, but the sound was just a popped garble of static, formulated into absolutely nothing viable to be translated by audios. He realized a moment later, his glitch was betraying his desire to abandon ship, and so he swallowed hard, resetting his vocalize a few times.

"W?el?l?.?.?. t?h?at a?n?d?.?..? ?Bol?o!?"

He suddenly snapped his head to the side at the name of his cassette, opening his eyes wide. His widened optics were supposed to try to emulate alarm and shock, but really? He was looking for an excuse to bail out, that would not qualify as a loss. If there was external interference? Than the game wasn't legit right?... right... close enough...

When his master called him, Bolo perked up a bit, before glaring back at Zoom Zoom. It took the canine a moment, before he put two and two together. He hadn't been properly rewarded, because he didn’t tell master where the injured mech was! That’s right! He had to notify it! The dog felt bad for a moment, that he had truly failed and was not any good, until he realized the mech was still playing alive? This meant he hadn't FAILED yet, it just meant his time won't be as good!

Bolo pushed upright to stand beside Zoom Zoom, as he puffed out his chest a bit. He gave one notifying bark, and sent information through their bond so that he could try to report what he found to him. The words behind the communication were never there, Carbine couldn't truly speak to Bolo, but their bond made emotions and general thoughts transferring possible, because of this? Carbine's mock expression of surprise, twisted into a legit one.

"Wait... W?H?AT??!?"

The tone of voice turned into that of concern and genuine confusion, as if something important had just been hissed to him through the void. His right hand lifted, before plunking unceremoniously against Thunder's faceplates, to try to shove him away while he twisted. He would try to pull up onto his feet once more, but simply ended up being dropped unceremoniously with a heavy clunk onto his back.

Carbine laid there, a bit in shock as he had landed on his new rotors and the posts that supported them, as well as his general lack of armor when Bolo was ejected. It made the fall somewhat painful, a subtle whir of a squeak popping out a moment before he held still to listen. It is because of this, he just stayed downed, arms fanned out on either side in a pose akin to a scarecrow, with legs splayed from the crash.

"...Someone's with k?z?zt? Bolo...?"

He sounded legitimately confused, though was a bit too stunned with discomfort, and the whiplash of the situation to get up yet. Bolo let out another pop of a bark, the sound disjointed almost like a beacon chirping to be noticed than an animal making noise. As he did this second alert? The bio-lights across him rippled, the blue and red speckling the interior of the hiding place to try to draw attention.

[Deleted]

Zoom-Zoom had stopped paying attention to the drama going outside his little hidey hole and was focused completely on his unexpected companion. It had been cramped already before the cassette inserted itself inside. Now it was stifling, the mecha-beast generated a slag ton of completely unappreciated heat.

Things got worse when the damn thing barked. Zoom-Zoom levelled an incredulous stare at the cassette just before one of those voices rose. Slag, it sounded like his position was blown. Zoom-Zoom was still pondering a suitable course of action -keep still? Crawl out now? Strangle the cassette?- when it barked again AND lit up with a damn light show.

The minibot regarded it with a dirty look. This thing was just the worst. And, by the sounds of it, it seemed like the other two mecha outside had definitely began to clue in to his presence. Or at least one of them had.

Zoom-Zoom had the sinking feeling this cycle was just about to get a whole lot worse.

[Deleted]

Thundercloud had been so sure his move would have been Carbine’s undoing.

He had been confident that the ex-cop would give in upon realizing that the only way for him to stay in play would be to escalate things even further , past the uncomfortable point they had already reached. Thundercloud knew from past experience that Carbine generally drew the line at getting overtly handsy, usually giving in before he had to force himself to take the game to its next gruesome level and start getting uncomfortably touchy-feely. Because he was a wimp.

But despite all their previous games suggesting that Carbine had reached his breaking point, the mech didn’t yield. Thundercloud had thought he was going to, for a moment, when the mech’s optics flashed bright in surprise and his systems whined in protest, the rotors on his back flailing in abject disgust. He grinned like a shark down at Carbine, expecting him to finally throw up his hands and admit defeat. Instead, he got a burst of garbled static, which was almost as satisfying as a declaration of defeat, if only because it meant he had succeeded in unsettling the mech to the point where he couldn’t even formulate words.

Normally, mecha didn’t take amusement in the discomfort of their friends. Normally, mecha didn’t find the act of making their friends squirm and mentally run around screaming to be an incredibly satisfying pastime. Unfortunately for Carbine, Thundercloud was not a normal mech, and their relationship (which they generously described as a friendship) was not a normal one.

Hence why he flashed a wicked smile down at the other mech as he swallowed and attempted to speak once more; he was already assured of his victory, and as such, he was preventively celebrating it by enjoying the absolute hell out of Carbine’s discomfort.

To his surprise, the words that came out of the ex-cops static laced vocoder were not an admittance of defeat. Instead of calling an end to the game, Carbine instead wiped his head around to look off towards the other side of the room, sounding surprised as he spoke Bolo’s name.

Thundercloud immediately called bull.

It was just too much of a coincidence for Bolo to be getting into something at the exact same moment Carbine was about to lose the game. The sneaky fragger was just trying to pull one over on him, end the game without having to admit defeat - Thundercoloud was sure of it.

At least, he was until Bolo barked, and Carbine spat out a genuinely confused “WHAT?!”, at which point Thundercloud began to suspect there might have actually been something going on. His suspicions were reinforced when Carbine began to twist in his grasp, even shoving a hand against his face to push himself away. Now, Thundercloud appreciated the hand pawing at his face even less than he appreciated their game being interrupted, so he gave Carbine all of three seconds to stop poking him in the optic with his spindly digits before unceremoniously dropping him on the floor, without a word of warning.

He then rubbed at the side of his face Carbine had touched, as if the mech’s hands were contaminated by something foul he did not want lingering on his mesh, before dropping the hand to his side and planting it on his hip. He frowned down at the other mech, then poked his side with his boot to prompt him to speak and give a damn good reason why he had just forced them to reset their scoreboard.

Much to his surprise, Carbine actually had one. At the mention of someone being with Bolo, Thundercloud’s optics widened a bit, alarm flaring briefly in his field as he realized that someone could have overheard their entire exchange. His alarm faded as quickly as it came, replaced instead by calm and determination. He glanced around the room, searching for where Bolo could possibly be, before the cassette alerted them to his presence by barking once more, and giving off a light show. Good boy he thought, as he turned his attention back to Carbine, now that he no longer needed to search.

“Well then, up ya get, Patches.” He began, sounding oddly nonplussed about the situation. “We got a witness to take out.”

He was joking.

... Mostly.

[Deleted]

Yup. The cycle was definitely going downhill. The minibot shot Bolo one more dark look. Then he started wondering how the slag he was supposed to be getting out of this one. Hope that they wouldn't be able to drag him out, kicking and screaming? It had taken quite a bit of contorting to get him in there, the other Autobots might have difficulty reaching in.

But there was the cassette…

Zoom-Zoom eyed Bolo. Could it be able to drag him out there? Zoom-Zoom didn't feel like finding out. So the minibot shoved Bolo towards the gap to give him a bit of space, then scrabbled up the wall, shoving his back against one wall and pushing up with his pedes. It was absolute hell on his paintjob but Zoom-Zoom ignored the damage, 's what you simply did when you were a spook. When he'd reached the ceiling, he pushed out with his servos to keep himself up there.

The minibot glared down through the gap. Ain't no way he was coming down there.

[Carbine]

Carbine had been so determined not to lose. True, he wanted to give in badly, but he wanted to be sneaky about it so he could go about it a different way in round two. It was only by some grace of lady luck that when he had used Bolo as an excuse? Something had actually been going on with the dog. The shock of this was pretty high though, and through the nonsense that occurred moments after this realization? Carbine was stuck upon his back staring up at the ceiling as he 'spoke' with the canine.

The mech could 'speak' basics through their link. They were not actual words however, but more so certain preset commands and feelings that clarified general aura of the statement. Bolo? Could throw the same back at him, creating a warped swarm of a wordless communication that could probably confuse anyone else if they got stuck in the center of it. While he had this conversation? He blankly looked up, the unseen rotational plates in his optics twisting and flicking idly as it focused on nothing in particular.

:Rescue found!:

:Rescue...?:

:Rescue found!:

:What rescue!?:

:Rescue found!:

:I get it!:

:Rescue found!:

Carbine let out a heave of a frustrated vent, as his hands slid up to plant on either side of his frame. A few whirrs of inner mechanics, and he hefted himself up somewhat. It was a bit tricky with the newfound wings; he couldn't just bend upright into a sit, without having to fan them out first. The posts were like straight rods of a backboard trying to keep him down, and it became frustrating quickly until they spread out on either side. After wrestling with the rotors, he slid up onto his feet, turning to square off with where Bolo was.

"Rescue found..."

He mumbled this out to himself in confusion, but also to offer Thunder atleast something to gleam what was going through his processor. Stalking in a straight line towards the machinery the two were hidden behind, yellow optics latched across its surface, moving, bobbing his head, until he saw an opening he thought Bolo had went in through. It was large enough for a cassette, but not so much another mech? Unless it was another small thing... With this thought Carbine moved before the opening, clutching his hands on either side of the hole to try to peer within.

All the ex-cop could see was a slew of wires and cables, a few connecting struts supporting the mechanics to the wall behind it, and then Bolo. Bolo was draped over the mechanics, his head upright, and ears straight with a look of happiness and joy flowing through the field. He was so confident he had done good! He had found the 'hurt' minicon! And he hadn't even been aware he was supposed to! But... the thing had climbed up, and Bolo's head tilted to look up in an area Carbine couldn't see.

"Get over h?er?e? you..."

Once more he was mumbling under his breath, snaking his arm in the opening. White fingertips clamored around a moment, trying to reach bolo who seemed adamant to want to point with his snout up at zoom zoom. Carbine's hand could possibly be seen by the minicon, almost grasping at mechanics to help pull his arm deeper into the hiding area to try to reach the dog.

:Rescue found!:

"I K?N?O?W?! You found someone! Quit it!"

Finally Bolo turned to sniff at Carbines hand, wondering if he was offering something, only for the palm to clasp over his snout and drag him forward with a squeal of metal paws trying to dig down. He wasn't worried about harming Bolo this way, the dog build sturdy and his head and neck strong. Once Bolo was in range, Carbine grasped the harness on his back, and pulled, dragging the cassette out from its hiding hole with a heaved grunt. The mech wasn't too amused with this, still trying to sort what was happening.

Once the dog was pulled free, Bolo was moved to be turned towards his carrier, to be held with a hand under each arm at the 'ribcage'. Forepaws were pulled up against his chest, while hind legs dangled down limply from their gears. While Bolo had no face to show true expressions, he seemed amused, happy, wanting some pets and rewards finally! Instead he got drug into another 'conversation'.

:Did good! Reward!:

:No Rescue...:

:Reward?...:

:No task. Report.:

:No... rescue?...:

Pointed antennae of ears, flicked, rotating back before his head reeled to peer at the hole.

:Person!:

:Threat?:

:THREAT?!:

Before Carbine could try to clarify he was trying to inquire if it WAS a threat, and not DECLARING them a threat, Bolo had swapped gears entirely. The Dog whipped around in his master's hands, long legs kicking out to plant against his chest to try to use it as a springboard. He started barking aggressively, the hydraulics in his maw causing the panels to part, only to slam together with a hollow clank displaying the power it could show. Carbine managed to keep a grip on the squirming dog, wrestling it to pin up against his chest with its legs splayed out forward.

"I clue got k?z?z?t? no what? ?is? i?n there Thunder, I couldn't see anything past Bolo and I can't read his report... But its small, an?oth?er? casse?t?t?e???... Or is there organic sla?g? that can get in here?"

He tried to offer this idea, speaking over Bolo's tantrum, hoping maybe Thunder could think of something. Really, he wanted Thunder to look himself now that the dog was out of the way. Perhaps moving the machine would be... easy? Unless it was bolted down? They didn't want to break something...