[ti]Flashback[/ti]Show Me How To Be Whole Again [ Closed | Knockout ]

[Breakdown]

     "Well, guess I can't ever lie to you, then! I'm alright, though. Just a little stressed, but who wouldn't be being retrained to a medical berth with a noisy processor? Nothing new."

     Knock Out was being careful, that much Breakdown was aware of. He had seen how he worked, with speed and diligence as needed for the situation he was faced with. This was much more delicate, as if he were handling the care of a new spark. Breakdown figured it wasn't only the physical pain that Knock Out was trying to spare him, but the mental strain as well. It was a smart move since neither of them were totally certain when he could snap, nor were they aware of what sort of snap it would actually be. A lot of times it was a fit of rage, in which a lot of stuff usually was smashed up in a short amount of time ( good when on the field, not so much when on the Nemesis ), but on occasion he could just huddle up in a corner somewhere and refuse to come out. The latter was a rarer reaction, but it could happen. Either wouldn't do them any good and he still had a medical berth to repair once this was all over and done.

     The dark blue mech continued to stare at Knock Out, watching as he grabbed his vice and placed it on his chassis. The force of the closure stung and though there was a level of pain with it, it was more uncomfortable than anything else. It probably would have been enough for someone else to cause one to writhe in pain and to ask it to stop, but Breakdown had been through much worse in the past so this was a cake walk. The initial pain would pass, as would the irritation to his sensors.

     There really wasn't much time for reaction to it anyway, as he was instructed to shut his optic right after a sound Breakdown was quite familiar with. The yellow dulled and the lid shuttered on command, just as Knock Out went on with the procedure. The bonding agent was felt first, followed then by the heat from his partner's soldering gun. This part added to the discomfort and sting for sure but Breakdown did his best to stay perfectly still while his partner worked. Knock Out wouldn't take more time than was absolutely necessary so, as requested, he wouldn't watch him. In the meanwhile his spark would skip a time or two under the stress of everything piling up but not enough to bring up a red light. He wouldn't say anything about it and save for a flinch or two? He wouldn't show any other indication of 'hey, this kinda stings'.

     Breakdown didn't open his optic to Knock Out's question. He figured he was just taking a break from work to double check on him. Maybe he'd seen a flinch and got concerned. "Everything's fine." The lack of further stinging from his chassis and odd silence hinted that perhaps Knock Out was finished. Then he felt the clamp release and heard it being stowed away. With the risk to his optic over he brought it back online and opened it. There was a blink or two given to refocus it then he found Knock Out where he stood and stared at him. "All's good to continue, Doc."

     Not that Breakdown would tell Knock Out to stop. He had been anxious for a while know and wanted his partner to finish so he could be unrestrained. If he had to stay in this predicament any longer there was no guarantee that he would be able to keep himself from yanking himself right off the medical berth. No doubt the restraints would give under the right amount of force that Breakdown probably could provide. 

[Knock Out]

Knock Out would've made a comment about how Breakdown shouldn't lie to him to begin with – but that would've been rich coming from him. Quite often he would leave the Nemesis to run 'errands' when it was really more like 'racing' or 'watching a drive-in movie and having some alone time away from the dimwits on the ship'. He had a sneaking suspicion his partner knew the truth, but was smart enough not to question it, as it'd only lead to Knock Out pouting – which would then lead to sulking. And nobody wanted that.

At least after this scare, he wouldn't sneak off quite so much. Okay... That was another lie. He would. He knew damn well he would! He'd just get better with his excuses, and try to sneak out whenever Breakdown was in recharge. He'd never know!

Once Breakdown opened his optic, Knock Out would smile down at him. He still wasn't used to the sight of the optic-patch, but at least he had impeccable taste so it looked good. The smile was a gentle and reassuring one, as he knew Breakdown was probably getting antsy being restrained to the berth for so long. The soldering iron would shift into his arm, replaced a moment later by his delicate servo. He'd flex his digits out, stretching them momentarily before curling and uncurling his servo into a fist a couple of times.

Placing his palm onto Breakdown's chassis idly as he hummed in thought, his index digit tapped the blue metal a couple of times. He'd linger a moment, before sidestepping away and unfastening the stasis restraints that had secured his partner; first the ones around his legs, then he'd sidestep again to unfasten the ones that bound his arms.

“I bet that feels better, mm? Sit up whenever you like - go easy though, and don't get off the berth. Since we had that little incident back there with the temporary stasis lock, we don't want to take any unnecessary risks like sitting up too fast; just incase there's some underlying issue with your neural net. There shouldn't be, but I'm being overly cautious.”

Overly cautious was an understatement. There was one mech on this ship that Knock Out cared about, other than himself that is, and that was Breakdown. After seeing what MECH had done, and almost done? Then the little scare on top of that? He was being cautious and overprotective – not that he'd ever really admit that out loud, but at least he could hide it behind doctors orders.

While he waited for Breakdown to sit up, he'd move across the Medical Bay and unlock a large cabinet.

“Mm, alright.. Weapons...” He hummed. This cabinet was usually kept locked for a reason, even Breakdown wouldn't have really known what was in here. Excess medical supplies maybe? Spare parts? Well that was technically correct, but these were... Slightly modified spare parts. He'd grab the handles and lean back, yanking the heavy doors open and taking a step back.

In Knock Out's spare time, usually long after hours? He enjoyed tinkering on things. Creating things. Silly toys to improve his own quality of life mostly, like a holder for his morning cube of hot Energon that followed him around just so he wouldn't have to put it down and forget about it somewhere. There was another side to this spectrum, which also went back to his roots back on Cybertron – he made weapons. While the things he'd made on their home planet were sometimes questionable and without a doubt very much illegal in some cases, the things he made nowadays were a lot more within regulation. For the most part. He'd gotten better at it, too! They were less likely to do that random exploding thing that'd gotten him into a world of trouble more times than he'd like to count back in the day.

Servos shifting to his hips as he looked the contents of the cabinet up and down. There were all manner of weapon modifications here – ranging from tiny little blasters, to things that looked like they belonged on a sniper. There were larger cannons, even one that looked like a rocket launcher. If nothing took Breakdown's fancy, there were some stock models in another cabinet - the one that Breakdown was allowed in and knew about.

“Weapons, weapons... Weapons,” He mumbled to himself, swiveling on his heel to look at Breakdown, before taking a grand side step to one side so his partner could see into the cabinet from where he was sitting. “What kind of weapon are we talking here, Breakdown?” A servo shifting from his hip and extending out to gesture toward the cabinet, as if showcasing what was inside.

“You're spoiled for choice!”

[Breakdown]

     Breakdown hadn't tried to look around since he had opened his optic. When he felt the familiar sharp points of his the medic's digits on his chasis and heard the faint tap of them against the metal he still didn't do more than keep his optic trained straight above him where he saw the blurred silhouette of the cables overhead. It wasn't until Breakdown felt ease from around his ankle and wrist joints and heard Knock Out give him the clear to sit up- though attaching a cautious warning in the tone- that he finally made a bit of movement. He did as instructed, his frame groaning in protest as he sat up on the berth and rubbed at his wrists. His frame creaked like a poorly oiled machine while pistons and struts hissed angrily, trying to force out the tension that had formed from being restrained for what seemed like forever. It wasn't that Breakdown had any lack of confidence in the highly skilled Medic, but rather that spending hours being worked on in a medical facility was not the most ideal spot for him to be in.

     While he rotated his wrists he turned his helm to look at the very distorted image of Knock Out as he made his way towards... something. Breakdown's system was going through a quick re-calibration, trying to force the optic to focus. 

     Most were able to hear the tiny clicks and whirls from working parts within their helms, from the channels where their optics where when they would focus to moving bits where their lower jaws connected when they spoke. It was part of learning how their frames worked after their sparks came to life and the sounds that would be so foreign to them at first would soon go completely unnoticed in daily life. The hollow chamber created when MECH had drilled into Breakdown's optic screen and tore out the circular object itself had made the gears turning and twisting of gears as they strained to focus was no longer there much louder and quite annoying. It would have been a maddening thing to deal with. Now that Knock Out had disabled the useless sensors and wiring that lay beneath the optic patch there was complete silence. That was almost as discomforting as the situation of the former. 

     It was definitely odd to see things out of a single optic for a mech who was supposed to have two working ones. He could see just fine out of the right side but when he would try to see out of the side of the other? It was like hitting a sudden void. His right couldn't see past the crest on his forehelm and the other was just...

     Well, there wasn't a way to describe it that really made sense. It wasn't like staring into a dark space where someone could just turn on a light. No, this was like the completely absence of anything, like if one were to shutter an optic and then push down on the screen to interrupt the sensors entirely. It made the other optic useful for a very limited sight area and increased his blind spots even more than they were already. It was going to take a lot of getting used to and a some dedicated retraining to overcompensate for what most would call a crippling disability.

     "Huh?" A blink. "Weapon? Oh... um..." Slowly everything was starting to focus. He was able to see Knock Out more clearly, standing in front of a cabinet that Breakdown couldn't see into. "I don't know."

     What are you up to?
     
     Breakdown stood slowly from the berth and started to walk over, trying his best to plant his steps correctly. At one point he stepped too far to the blind side and bumped into one of the berths, indicating too much of a crooked walk. So he stared down at the floor, being careful to put one pede almost right alongside the other and held his right arm angled slightly to the side and out front so he could feel for anything that may be in his way. The dark blue mech's sight had almost returned to normal by the time he reached Knock Out's side and stopped, now able to see just what his partner was up to.

     "... So this is where you hide all your toys I find scraps of now and then. Good to see you haven't completely traded your hobby in." He looked around at the various weapons at his disposal, and though he knew Knock Out was very good at tinkering with things like this, he also recalled the last time he had grabbed up one of his partner's 'creations' and it had blown up almost right in his faceplate. Fool him once. "Uh. Yeah, whatever you got that's close to what I have now. Just faster. Maybe a bit more power? I ain't lookin' to blow up the planet, but being able to deal some damage to a Bot from a distance should be good enough. Or take out a small mountain. That might be cool."

[Knock Out]

So much for 'don't get off the berth'...

Knock Out would watch as Breakdown eased himself down from the berth. His expression spoke louder than words, of which he said none. He wasn't annoyed per se, just... Concerned that Breakdown was up and about so soon. But he knew that he couldn't really stop his partner. It didn't help that he wasn't aware that Breakdown couldn't see into the cabinet from over there, but if Breakdown had just said something, he would've gladly carried weapons over for him to inspect. Ah well, at least this way he wouldn't have to do any heavy lifting and risk some of the sharper weapons scratching his finish! Especially now Breakdown would have to rest, it meant Knock Out would have to – gasp, shock horror! - buff himself for a while!

He'd grimace as Breakdown bumped into one of the berths. He still didn't say anything, not wanting to make his partner feel like an idiot. He was more than aware that adjusting to having an optic missing would mean there would be a lot more of this bumping-into-stuff happening in the near future. They'd both have to get used to it. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long for his processor to adjust and get used to it, though.

Once Breakdown was safely at his side, Knock Out would turn to face the cabinet, not bringing any attention to the fact Breakdown was a little wobbly on his pedes, nor would he mention Breakdown bumping into the berth. While he was one to tease others, he wouldn't poke fun at his partner.

Well, at least not for something he couldn't help.

“I don't hide them, just... I prefer to keep them safely locked away,” He chuckled. “While I don't have as much time as I used to for this, I don't think I'll give it up any time soon.” He was glad that Breakdown seemed pleased by the fact he still did the weapon design thing. He loved tinkering and experimenting, and did what he could, with what he could in the Medical Bay – which was basically recycling a lot of spare parts.

“Close to what you have now?” He scoffed, deadpanning to his partner and folding his arms across his chassis. “You need something bigger!” Honestly they should've done this a long time ago, the little blaster that Breakdown had was so unbefitting of such a huge mech.

He'd tap his index digit against his arm in thought, before unfolding his arms and beginning to poke at the weapons inside the cabinet. Muttering to himself as he did.

“No, too big.. This wont do... No.. This will explode... I haven't tested this one enough... Why is this one even in here..? Mm.. No...”

A short time and lots of rummaging later, his field would perk up with a brief glimmer of excitement.

“Ah-ha! Perfect!”

He'd turn around then to face Breakdown, and in his arms was what looked to be some kind of Pulse Cannon. It looked sturdier, and yet somehow faster than the weapon he currently had. He'd peer at it, tilting it one way, then another.

“Yes. This one. What do you think? It has a fast reload speed and packs quite a punch! I'm quite proud of this one if I do say so myself.”

Carefully he would offer it over – should Breakdown wish to inspect it. It was one of Knock Out's creations afterall, and Breakdown knew first hand that sometimes they... Exploded. This one however? Looked pretty safe!

[Breakdown]

     "Alright, alright. Something bigger." Not that he really figured Knock out was listening completely considering he was already diving into his stash.

     As of now Breakdown was just left to stare, watching Knock Out going around inside his locked cabinets of hidden treasures as he inspected this weapon and that one trying to find something that he considered 'perfect'. Breakdown always left this sort of stuff to Knock Out. His partner knew his little creations better than anyone else and while the cherry red medic did have a tendency to lean towards 'this looks nicer', he also didn't hold back on performance. Breakdown felt confident that Knock Out would find what he wanted, while keeping it to Breakdown's own small list of requirements.

     In the meanwhile it was a little comical to watch. While Breakdown stood there watching he couldn't help but to crack a small smirk at the smaller mech before him. He was so picky, shuffling through each piece he had that he laid a servo on and muttering what was wrong with it. The exploding part? That did make Breakdown clear his throat some and get a small nervous ping somewhere within his processor. Oh, he knew the one, and for a very rare moment he actually had to agree.

     Not blowing up was good. VERY good. 

     He started to reach out to one of the open doors to push it aside more and missed it entirely at the first go-around. The second time he bumped the edge of it with his thumb digit. That made him frown some and he pulled back as he refused to try again, opting to instead just stand there off to the side. Breakdown already knew that an adjustment was going to be required so he could get used to the missing optic. Bumping into things already meant that his processor was favoring to the right, causing him to travel too far in that direction. It would need to be amended quickly, because if walking alone was this complicated then trying to land a hit on an enemy wouldn't be any easier. It just wouldn't look good for him to be firing off too far and missing hitting an Autobot coming his way...



     Or a human for that matter, should MECH show their faces around anytime soon to reclaim what they'd lost. Breakdown only hoped that Knock Out had managed to destroy the tracker before the humans could pinpoint a signal...

     Knock Out's confident alert brought Breakdown back and he looked at what his partner had picked out. The weapon was definitely.. interesting, with what looked to be sections that would light up- probably during whatever time of charging was needed. Honestly, he didn't know how fast the weapon would work but Knock Out wouldn't set him up with anything that would take enough time to put him at risk. And, sure enough, it was certainly a good few inches larger than the small shoulder mounted gun he had now.

     Breakdown did reach out again, taking his time as he went to touch the weapon before him. He didn't miss it this time, landing his servo just at the side of it. It wasn't exactly where he was going for but at least he hadn't completely cleared it and accidentally bumped Knock Out in the faceplate or something. He leaned in close to it, running his thick digits over the odd ridges and traced the almost triangular shape it had to it. Certainly an odd piece- probably more so since he was more used to what he had and figured this would take getting used to. It definitely had Knock Out's artistic license to it. No doubt everyone would know who had constructed this.

     "Looks good. Feels solid," Breakdown said in rather matter-of-fact tone as he finished his inspection. He straightened up and smirked some as he looked past the weapon and stared at Knock Out now. "It's not gonna blow up, is it? Because I like my helm where it is, thanks." Of course it was said rather jokingly, but hey... never hurt to ask.

     Just to make sure.

     "Otherwise it looks good to me. I trust your expert opinion and judgement. If you say this will be suitable for me, than I will go with that."

[Knock Out]

Breakdown was correct in his assumptions in that Knock Out wasn't really listening to him, then again he knew the cherry-red Mech well! So it was probably why he hadn't said much of anything in terms of a reply, or offered any other input as to what he exactly wanted in terms of a weapon – as it'd fall on deaf audials!

Knock Out was honestly excited that Breakdown was finally getting an upgrade, and hopefully one of Knock Out's own design if he chose as such – even if he didn't outwardly show it. The stress and pain still lingered from what he'd seen earlier while doing the surgery on his partner, but the fact that Breakdown was up and about – despite being told not to, mind you – was promising. He'd still hold Breakdown to that week of medical leave, though. Which was something he didn't hand out freely or very often. Oh the Vehicons tried to pull a fast one on him sometimes to get out of work, but he was always one step ahead of their silly games, and would only issue medical leave from duty if something was really dire.

Then again in Breakdown's case, it really was for Knock Out's own peace of mind more than anything. He had no idea what the long term effects would be of whatever MECH did to Breakdown. The fact he'd entered the Medical Bay to find Breakdown cowering behind a berth, to watching said berth get thrown across the room... To almost getting pulverized by a hammer? Meant he would be keeping a close eye on his partner for the weeks to come – and even when he was back at work it'd just be very simple tasks to start out. It was his weird little way of showing he cared, because he really wasn't one for overly open displays of affection – not that he'd even risk such things on the Nemesis to begin with. It was a sign of weakness. And in the dog-eat-dog world of the Decepticon ranks? Who knew who would use Breakdown to get at Knock Out, and vice versa.

He'd been so focused on picking through the weapons that he hadn't actually noticed Breakdown reaching out to push open the door of the cabinet further. He didn't notice him miss, but his attention would shift briefly as Breakdown made contact with the edge of his thumb due to the tiny 'clunk' it made due to the metal on metal. He'd frown in response, but wouldn't bring attention to it – knowing Breakdown was probably beating himself up enough for it without Knock Out commenting. He knew this would be a weird adjustment period that would take some time - and that things would probably have to be tweaked a little so his processor could adjust to the lack of optic, but that could be done during tomorrows cycle once his systems had had time to recover from all of this today. Breakdown had been through enough, and while Knock Out was all in favor of getting everything done in one go? He didn't want to stress out his partner any more than he already no doubt was.

He watched closely as Breakdown reached out for the weapon, and while his partner didn't grab at the air or miss the thing entirely, it wasn't perfectly coordinated. Still, it was better than nothing. He'd shift a servo to his hip proudly as Breakdown looked over the weapon, nodding in approval at his comments. At least Breakdown seemed to like it, then again he could've just been saying that for Knock Out's benefit.

“Some of my best work!” He'd grin, taking ahold of the weapon with both servos to keep it steady. He couldn't help but gently scoff at Breakdown's added comment, but he wasn't annoyed – the flashy grin still on his faceplate. “And no, it isn't going to blow up. And even if it did? You're lucky in that you've got me around to fix you right up!” Because that was totally reassuring.

He'd give the weapon a look over himself, tilting it this way and that. It was nice that something he did in his spare time was finally being put to use – and on Breakdown no less. What an honor... For Breakdown!

“I suppose if you'd like to make your way back to the berth I can install this for you, and then I will officially be putting you on medical rest for the next week.” He wouldn't bring up the fact that he also wanted to do some minor tweaks to Breakdown's processor so he'd adjust faster to the missing optic, but he knew that Breakdown would probably falter at returning to the medical berth and knock into a thing or two, so he'd gently bring it up then.

One thing at a time.

[Breakdown]

     "I don't know, Knock Out. The fact that you end a statement about something maybe blowing up on me with 'I'm here to fix you up' doesn't reassure me to the safety of this thing."

     To most that would have been the signal to 'nope' right on out of the situation with a hand gesture and a 'see you later'. Breakdown? Maybe one would call him stupid but he knew better. Knock Out said a lot of scrap but if there was even the slightest chance that the weapon was of any concern, his partner wouldn't even amuse the thought of allowing the big lug anywhere near it.

     Breakdown also knew that as Knock Out was walking away he was probably thinking of something self-centered.

     The dark blue soldier stared at the cherry red medic as he walked away, lost in thought. There were several things rolling through his processor, though the more pressing question was the one asking how long it was going to take to adjust to the missing optic. It was alright while he was standing still since the other could scan about and figure where everything was. The other side was a different story. It was like staring into a black void that just wasn't there. It was empty space, as if that side of the room were completely sliced out and just non existent. That was certainly an odd thing that he was trying to figure out. While he knew his other optic wouldn't just start picking up signal from the other side and be able to do a full frontal scan as if the missing optic were still there, he was still curious as to how it would compensate for it.

     Thoughts were pushed away when Knock Out spoke. The berth? Yeah, he wasn't too happy with having to be on that thing again. One time was one time too many for him this cycle. His frame shuddered and he stayed planted right where he stood as though maybe that would help him somewhat. Maybe Knock Out would get the hint and do it later? Or perhaps return to his side and keep him away from the berth altogether? No. He watched him make his way to the berth and vented loudly. Loud enough that Knock Out would probably be able to hear it. He made his way to follow, doing so slowly so he could look around his pedes to make sure he didn't bump into anything while feeling around in the air with his servo. This time was much more successful with not tripping over anything that would make him look like a complete klutz but it was certainly taking a lot longer. Teeny, tiny little steps were taken all the way to the berth, his pedes sliding across the floor so that they would only brush against anything that he happened to not take notice of. When he finally got to the berth he sat down, gave Knock Out the most disgusted look he could ( which was equivalent to little more than a pout since he could rarely even must enough anger to be frustrated at his conjunx ), then flopped back heavily and started to look around at the ceiling.

     "Oh, the ceiling. How familiar this feels... I wonder why. Oh wait."

     There, Knock Out. That was as much sarcasm as Breakdown could dish out. Not that he could be blamed for it.

[Knock Out]

“Oh please, Breakdown,” Knock Out scoffed, rolling his optics and making no attempt to hide his not-so-subtle grin. “Do you think I would be so stupid as to install something so dangerous on someone who is practically my shadow? You'd take me out with you!”

Not that that was any nicer to hear – as it meant that Knock Out was only looking out for himself; then again that was to be so very expected of the cherry-red mech.

As he made his way over to the berth, he'd set down the weapon next to it on a bench – letting it sit here until he actually needed the thing. He'd shifted back into work mode once more, and began picking up and inspecting tools – cleaning them off with a rag if he felt it was needed, inspecting them, and cleaning them again. His processor wandered slightly as he completed this task – thinking of his partner, thinking of everything he'd been through and no doubt had yet to come. They'd both made so much progress with Breakdown's paranoia – his little outbursts were becoming rare. But this? This thing with MECH? Primus only knows how far Breakdown would've slipped because of it.

Not that Knock Out could blame him – he would've been an absolute mess if he'd had an optic taken. He would've been totally inconsolable over the entire thing! But Breakdown? He seemed... So level. So oddly calm. Had it not fully sunken in yet what'd happened to him? Everything had looked normal when he'd been hooked up to the machine. A little bit of stress here and there as Knock Out worked, but he didn't seem to be freaking out. He'd flat out refused to take a replacement optic, too, whereas Knock Out would've been screeching for one.

Knock Out didn't understand it. It'd remind Breakdown of his failure and his weakness, sure... Pride, whatever... But... Ghnn. Would it also trigger more panic attacks and paranoia induced moments? There were a lot of reflective surfaces in the Medical Bay and their shared quarters thanks to Knock Out's perfectionism and vanity – meaning an almost constant reminder of what'd happened almost everywhere Breakdown went.

Only time would tell what effect it'd have on his partner. Knock Out would be there for him no matter what, though.

Breakdown's loud exasperated exhale of a vent drew him from his thoughts and he'd turn to look at his partner, setting down the tool he'd been cleaning to watch him curiously. He'd stare down his partner with slightly narrowed optics, showing that it had no effect on him – this was happening whether Breakdown wanted it to or not!

He remained quiet as Breakdown made his way over, quietly smug that he'd 'won' and Breakdown had relented, knowing that Knock Out knew best and wouldn't budge his stance on doing this now. He wanted to comment so badly at how ridiculous Breakdown looked almost tip-toeing across the floor as he shuffled over. He didn't trip or bump into things, no, but he moved at the speed of molasses – and looked absolutely absurd while doing so. There was no way that Knock Out would allow Breakdown to remain in this state. He wanted his assistant to be fast and on the ball! Not taking twenty minutes to move from one side of the room to the other!

Breakdown probably wouldn't like that, as it meant he'd have to stay on the berth a moment or so longer than what he would've wanted – but he'd have to deal. Luckily with all the technology the Nemesis had? The Medical Bay was equipped with the best of the best, so it really wouldn't take long to do a slight reconfiguration to Breakdown's processor to help him adjust.

He'd wait until Breakdown had settled on the berth before there would be the all so familiar sound of a small transformation as his servo shifted and was swiftly replaced by the drill.

“At least you aren't restrained this time, mm?” He smiled, glancing up at the ceiling. “You can look for spots you missed while cleaning or something!”

Lovely. Such care. He meant well – if he gave Breakdown something to focus on, maybe it would make this all go by a lot faster.

“Also, once I've done this... I'm going to be tweaking your processor just slightly to help you adjust to the missing optic.” He added bluntly, not giving Breakdown any real room to argue what else was going to happen. “Watching you shuffle over here was painful and so while I have you here, I figure why not!”

Then the drill would turn on, the shrill sound cutting through the overly quiet Medical Bay – meaning Breakdown would have to shout any words of protest over this new development – but whether Knock Out chose to listen or pretended not to hear remained to be seen. Knock Out really was the worst sometimes, but he knew best. He'd lean in to start dismantling the weapon that was already attached to Breakdown.

[Breakdown]

     Breakdown had hoped it would have been as simple as any upgrade should be.

     - Get on the berth.
     - Have the upgrade done.
     - Get off the berth.
     - Run away from the medic.
     - Run FAR away from the medic.

     Oh, but NO! No, it wouldn't be that easy. Instead, as Breakdown eased himself onto the berth in preparation of the installation of the new weapon, Knock Out broke out with the wonderful news that he was going to be diddle daddling with his processor. That did make him a little frustrated and he vented with a very definite tone of irritation as he shot Knock Out a side-optic glare. He didn't like to be tricked into further fumblings considering that he had already spent most of this cycle between one berth the next. He was more than over this positioning that left him more or less helpless. 

     "I really hate it when you do that scrap..." Breakdown grumbled as he kept staring at Knock Out. He didn't get into what 'that scrap' was, but he figured that Knock Out already knew. It wasn't the first time that his partner had prepped him for one thing then surprised him with something else. Only these surprises were not the kind that he enjoyed. Not that a surprise from Knock Out was anything enjoyable most of the time...

     Who was he to really be able to fight him, though? He could have gotten up, said screw this crap and flipped the berth then stomped out of the medical bay... but what would that solve? He would have to fix the berth and he would still be on forced medical leave. That also meant that- while on said leave- he wouldn't be able to actually do anything that would give him an excuse to avoid the medic. And his conjux did have that really creepy way of stalking someone until he got what he wanted. That was almost as bad as having all the sharp metal instruments coming right at the single optic he had left.

     Okay, well. He wasn't going to go anywhere so he figured it'd be best to just get it done. No sooner had he vented again than he heard the drill going, and then the shrill cry of protesting metal as his weapon was dismantled and removed bit by...

     CLANK

     ... bit. Or just have it fall apart, which it did not that long after Knock Out started to loosen it from its fixed spot on his shoulder. The top just came right on off, as though it were barely there to begin with. Certainly was gonna be an easy project for Knock Out to take care of.

     "Can we NOT break me into pieces?! Just because my designation is BREAKDOWN doesn't mean I actually WANT to be BROKEN DOWN..."

     The shouting was not to only make sure he was heard over the drill, but to make sure that Knock Out knew he was more than done with being torn into pieces that day and wanted his partner to be just a TINY bit more careful.

[Knock Out]

Knock Out had hoped it would've been as simple as any upgrade should be.

  - Get Breakdown on the berth.
  - Surprise Breakdown with the fact he was going to do yet more work on him.
  - Turn on saw so Breakdown can't whine, protest, or complain.
  - Replace Breakdown's weapon with this vastly superior model.
  - Do the simple procedure to tweak Breakdown's processor.
  - Let Breakdown go.
  - Maybe.

And? So far so good! Which was surprising. He'd gotten to step two with relative ease.

“Aaah, no you don't.” He purred, just before switching on the saw.

Step three was a go.

Part of him was still seriously considering trying to gently persuade Breakdown to replace his optic while he had him here on the berth. He could use an excuse, something about how it'd make him better on the battlefield, or how it made him look nicer having two optics instead of a patch. And Knock Out should know! Given how much he looked at his assistant and partner on a daily basis.

That may be pushing his luck, though. This most definitely wasn't the first time he'd done this to Breakdown, and he had a sneaking suspicion that once he was done with the processor tweak – if he even got that far – that Breakdown would probably up and leave. It wasn't like he could stop the bigger mech once he'd decided on something. Sure, he had rank and authority but Breakdown certainly pushed his limits there sometimes, and ignored the prissy Chief Medical Officer and his orders. At least when they were alone.

Although he couldn't blame Breakdown for not wanting to put up with his slag today. Especially after all he'd been through at the hands of MECH. Outwardly, he was brave. But it was the moments that came much later that he usually crumbled, and Knock Out didn't want to make things worse for his partner - or himself - later on.

Maybe he'd leave the mention of the optic for another time. It was mostly just Knock Out being selfish and vain, anyway. He knew that he would've had the thing replaced as soon as possible. He didn't want to wear his battle scars as a constant reminder! They tarnished his immaculate frame when he had such high standards and appearances to uphold!

CLANK

He'd honestly zoned out a little there, and was quickly brought back to the task at hand. Not that he wasn't paying attention to the point of doing a bad job or hurting Breakdown – he'd just done so many weapons upgrades over the years that he'd mostly been relying on autopilot. He may have cut off a bigger chunk of the top of the weapon than he had originally planned. But hey? At least it would get this over faster, which Breakdown could appreciate!

“Oh RELAX. I'm not going to BREAK you DOWN. If I was GOING to do that, I'd KNOCK you OUT first!” He'd shout right back over the shrill screech of the saw. He couldn't help but laugh at himself. Even though this wasn't really anything to be laughing about.

At least... He wasn't breaking him down on purpose. He'd pay more attention from here on out, though. The part that'd come off was supposed to, and it wasn't like he'd sliced into anywhere that'd hurt – all Breakdown would be able to feel would be the occasional tug, and things feeling lighter on his shoulder as the weapon was removed.

Once he was done with the saw, he'd quickly shift it back into his forearm – to be replaced by his servo. Things were quiet again, and he would gently ease off what remained of the weapon.

“You should've upgraded this thing so long ago!” He hummed, musing aloud as he set it aside. “I suppose I can use it for spare parts later. Unless you wanted to keep the thing for nostalgia sake...?”

He asked, casually. He was doing that talking-as-he-worked thing again, and would lift the replacement weapon up carefully and, unless Breakdown began to protest now things were quiet? Would start to move it into position so he could affix it to his partners frame.

[Breakdown]

     "That is NOT funny!"

     Okay, so the reference to their designations WAS funny. They had sometimes threw those out at others when they were poking around for entertainment sake, though it was usually kept between themselves. They were the only ones who ever got the joke really. An inside thing that they shared. If anyone else had any slight bit of a sense of humor perhaps they would have gotten it as well.  Still, Breakdown was busy trying to look serious so he wasn't going to laugh at their exchange.

     He was currently shooting a glare at Knock Out as a warning for him to be a little more careful than he was. The clank had startled him and now the empty space he had on his shoulder almost had him toppling over when he attempted to sit up. He was so used to his normal distribution of weight that having anything missing- even something as minor as that tiny weapon mounted on his shoulder- really threw him off. Coupled with the missing optic? He was going to have one heck of a time recovering and realigning his systems.

     When Knock Out asked him about keeping the old weapon he turned his helm so he could look at him while he responded. His words were halted by the placement of the new weapon in the place of the old. There was a definite weight difference! Having not expected it, Breakdown had almost been sent tumbling right off the berth in the direction of his partner! Frantically he reached with his opposite servo to grasp to the side of the berth as to stop that from happening then laid right on back down. Now that he was watching and could see what the heck was going on? He was able to regain some composure and released his hold.

     "I don't need to keep it." Settled in, he could finally respond. He vented softly and watched his partner while he worked. Breakdown had often seen Knock Out do this for others but having it done to him while he was conscious? The perspective alone was weird. "You can toss it, use it for scrap, whatever. Figure you may be able to use it for something useful. You're always tinkering with stuff." 

     Watching him work was too weird so he returned to staring at the ceiling. 

[Knock Out]

“Well I thought it was amusing, even if you didn't.” He'd smile. Some humor was needed, especially after what Breakdown had been through. Even if Breakdown didn't laugh, Knock Out had gotten a decent chuckle out of it. He certainly needed it, even if Breakdown himself wasn't ready for humor. Then again, Breakdown had started it, so it was only natural that Knock Out had finished the joke.

The glare from his partner made his chuckle taper off, though, and he'd clear his throat. Right, he had to be super serious at all times. Although after everything that Breakdown had been through today, he wasn't at all surprised that he just wanted everything over and done with. He couldn't blame him. Even when he was in the safety of the Medical Bay and under Knock Out's caring hand, it hadn't exactly been a smooth road to recovery. But, they were almost at the end now – at least as far as physical recovery went, anyway.

“Hey, easy now.” He'd hum, frowning gently as Breakdown turned and almost tumbled into him - thankful he'd managed to catch himself before doing any damage. “It'll take some getting used to. We can go out and do some target practice once you're fully recovered, if you'd like. You can get a feel for the gun, and get used to being without an optic.” That might be nice. While he did prefer his solitude when driving around on Earth, he did sometimes wish Breakdown were with him.

Once Breakdown had settled once more, and had given the okay to throw away the old weapon, Knock Out would nod – and go about finishing up attaching the new weapon to Breakdown. It was a rather simple process, simply reconnecting wires so that his systems would recognize it as being there, and bolting it down so it wouldn't come flying off once it was fired.

“I'll keep it, I suppose. I'm sure I can find some use for it. Maybe I'll upgrade it.” He mused out loud, smiling at the comment about him always tinkering with things.

Once it'd been bolted and soldered into place, and he was happy with the results? He'd take a half step back to admire his work.

“Looks good. Suits you.” He'd nod in approval. “Aside from the weight difference, which you'll get used to – how does it feel?”

While Breakdown couldn't exactly shoot the thing in here to get an idea as to the firepower, he could at least get a feel for its movement and weight.

“If you're happy with it, we can go on with the next step in adjusting your processor just slightly to help with the lack of optic. Which won't take long, I promise.”

[Breakdown]

     It may have been amusing at the beginning, but that final comment from Knock Out did sort of twist Breakdown's gears the wrong way. "You would!" Breakdown looked absolutely annoyed by the comment and even the tone he used reflected that. "You weren't the one bein' torn apart by those disgusting little fleshbags. Try that out and see how funny it is afterwards!" There was a growl that followed that. Breakdown's angry side was starting to come out now, which meant that rage wasn't far behind.

     What started off as probably lightsparked humor had quickly turned into the opposite. This was what Knock Out would have to deal with now. As long as Breakdown had that need for revenge in his system there was a risk of him snapping and turning the medical bay into a wasteland. Honestly, this wasn't something that was uncommon for the brute, as he didn't let things go as easily as he should have and things that really bothered him would just stay with him, giving the voices he heard ammunition to turn his generic passively looking self into an uncontrollable powerhouse that could tear through the walls of the Nemesis as though they were made of paper. Such an act hadn't bee shown so far since they had arrived, but this recent event with MECH certainly would be enough to put it at the forefront.

     ... And Breakdown knew it.

     So instead of talking he just focused on his vents, looking up at the ceiling and trying to count the imperfections he saw there. It was good exercise for his optic. Breakdown was attempting to compensate for now being entirely reliant on the single one by going in and out of focus to try and sharpen it each time. The field of vision usually overlapped one another so there was nothing to be done about that, nor the fact that he had a wide area missing from his peripheral.

     At least the weapon was on the side he could still see out of.

     Knock Out was talking but Breakdown didn't acknowledge him. At least not until he heard him say that he was done. That was the green light that he needed. He sat up slowly, trying to avoid another head rush from hitting as it had before. Breakdown just attributed it to the missing optic since before that he hadn't experienced it before. An annoying side effect, though one that would pass.

     "Weapon's fine. Processor's fine. Optic's fine." The short sentences should have been enough of a red flag to Knock Out to leave well enough alone. Breakdown was rarely short of words with him so the fact that he was at the moment? Don't push the issue. The only way it would have been more obvious would have been if Breakdown had just come out and say it.

     Now sitting up he found himself to his pedes and stood with them spread apart a great deal. He was attempting to keep balance and figure out how to place himself without running into things. As he turned his arm almost took out Knock Out, and would if he wasn't smart enough to get away from it. He would walk- sort of- across the room, feeling around with his pede and arm on the blinded side for any objects that were in his way. His movements were slow but at least he wasn't... -

     - ... and there went the table with some of Knock Out's tools.

     Turned over, tools scattered around. Still Breakdown didn't do anything more than look at it as if blaming the inanimate object for jumping out in front of him or something. He would just go on with walking around the medlab.

[Knock Out]

Knock Out didn't know straight away that he'd annoyed Breakdown. Sure he looked and sounded annoyed, but he figured that was at the situation, rather than at him. Breakdown had technically started it, he'd joked around his own designation and Knock Out had just carried it on! He was trying to lighten the mood, and clearly, it'd failed.

The growl was what made Knock Out pause, brow furrowing into a frown. He did have to commend Breakdown, he'd done well to last this long without losing his temper. Considering what'd happened to him? He'd been relatively calm. Who would've thought that some lighthearted banter would be what set him off, though.

“Breakdown, hey now,” He murmured. “I”m almost done, I-” He frowned further as Breakdown cut him off mid sentence. Talking about how he was fine and that things were fine – with short and to the point sentences. He knew then and there that he'd pushed his limits almost to breaking point, and would take a half step back and away. It wasn't that he was scared, no... He'd dealt with an angry Breakdown before many a time, he just wanted to show his partner that he understood, and was willing to give him the space he needed.

His servo would shift from the soldering iron and back to normal, and he'd watch as Breakdown swung around and sat up. He hoped it'd end there, but Breakdown was clearly done with everything for today – and dropped down to his pedes. Knock Out half opened his mouth, to tell him to be careful, but he knew it would be pointless. When Breakdown put his processor to something? He wouldn't stop – especially when he was angry.

All Knock Out could do was stand back and watch, hoping that Breakdown made it out of here and back to their shared quarters in one piece. It was wishful thinking, however, as there was a slam moments later as a table was crashed into, tools flying and scattering all over the floor. A moment of tense, he waited to see what Breakdown did – would he snap further, or would he continue?

Thankfully, after a glare at the table – he'd keep moving.

“It's alright! I'll pick those up! You ah... You should probably go back to the quarters, yes? I believe we're done here for today. We can do the rest next time you're up for it – you did well putting up with me and what I did for as long as you have!” He tried to sound cheery, lavishing praise on his partner for being so patient and sitting through so much – but he was also being careful with his words. He didn't order Breakdown to go back to their quarters, merely suggesting it and hoping that Breakdown decided it was the right thing to do.

[Breakdown]

     The statement made about returning to their quarters had come with a very familiar word usage that Breakdown recognized immediately. He was making a suggestion instead of giving an order. The medic was being cautious, not out of fear of what Breakdown could do, but rather to allow him to make the decision on his own on what he was going to do. He was putting the ball in Breakdown's court just to ensure he didn't anger him further.

     Not that Knock Out had really been the cause of his anger in the first place. Really it was just his own tempter intermingling with the difficulty of this predicament he found himself in. None of this would have happened if he hadn't been captured in the first place. Humans had done this- Humans! No wonder Megatron hadn't wanted to come for him... the embarrassment of having one of his crew being apprehended and held by mere fleshlings was certainly understandable. That was part of Breakdown's reasoning behind his choice of the patch instead of repairing the missing optic. He would be reminded of his shame as insurance that it would never happen again.

     If it did? Breakdown may as well never return to the Nemesis again.

     The bulky blue mech wandered about a bit more, trying to get a feel for how he was going manage walking out of the medbay. If he left here he would still be stumbling around and everyone would notice. He'd be poked fun at probably or at least someone would have something smart to say once they realized that Breakdown wouldn't be able to hit them easily. ONE comment about not being able to hit the broad side of the Nemesis would set him way off the deep end. Maybe it would be safer in here... if just for the time being. He could recharge here since he was technically on medical leave anyway. It would give him at least some time to relearn everything.

     "It's... it's alright. I'll pick them up." Breakdown vented loudly then went to where the tools had fallen and attempted first to pick up the table. He felt around, grabbing an area of it that wasn't where he had aimed for but he didn't fuss about it. He turned it right side up then knelt down to begin picking up what had been scattered. Breakdown knew how everything was laid out and trying to do something this minuscule would at least prepare him for the larger things later. It would also do well to keep him out of trouble... as long as he could keep his temper in check.

     So he just went about putting the tools back in place on the table, straining to do so but not asking for assistance. One at a time he went and squinted from time to time with his good optic as he forced himself to pay as close of attention to the change in perspective.