[ti]Ep 2.5[/ti]Cruor [Closed]

[Zercon]

There was a shuffle to Knock Out and Breakdown's side.

A lone Vehicon was standing off to the right of another fissure in the path where the two could choose to deviate from their intended course or not. His posture was straight and ridged, with helm held high and at alert, but at the same time there was a subtle lean back of his frame, a mild reeling sort of confusion in his posture. While there was no face to speak of, just a red visor staring out at them, a small cringe could be seen in the way he held himself, a miasma of differing emotions that swarmed around a tightly tucked emotional field.

He didn't say anything, he didn’t really speak, but he gave the two this awkward look before, and while, he started to move forward again to resume his patrol. He would try to walk past them, a hand raising up to gingerly place at the side of his helm as if he was sending a comm.

[Flatline]

Listening.

Waiting to see what would happen.

Flatline didn't move, not wanting to entice a response too soon, but while he didn’t maneuver down the hall more, nor turn to face Skywarp, what he did do was marginally flex his hand in nervous anticipation. A logical side dictated he should run, he should still seek cover to repair himself, he was bleeding a lot, but he couldn't feel the injury. Perhaps it was the overarching numbness that helped to keep him put, or just the war within his processor spiraling. What was certain however was that he didn't make an action, until he heard the thundering footfalls charging at him.

Once Skywarp made this choice, it cemented Flatlike's actions, the dark mech spinning about in a sharp reel to face the behemoth that was coming at him. His stance which had been mostly upright before, now hunched down, his legs spread wide from one another to give plenty of spring and bend to his digitigrade limbs. This left his arms fanned out on either side at the ready. He had effectively entered what he considered to be a fighting pose, as if he were going to attempt to go toe to toe against someone that easily tripled his weight if not more.

Thing is though, all that weight is what he counted on.

Much like Breakdown during his charge earlier, it would be tricky to try to stop. It would be a challenge to change the laws and fight against momentum. Skywarp seemed to have a lot of mass to him, but a significant portion was within his upper torso. Add in the large wing panels, and Flatline was willing to bet that he was obscenely top heavy, even if his lower legs had some heft. In fact, Flatline WAS banking on this, as he hunched a slight bit more, before launching off the ground to charge Skywarp  in return.

The plan of the upgrade medic was simple. He was going to aim to keep his frame low at the last moment, almost running on all fours so that he could scoop under the jet's grasp and try to ram hard into his lower leg. He didn’t need to stop the behemoth, and didn’t think he COULD, but he could disrupt his stride and ideally end with him thrown to the ground. Make Skywarp trip over him in a sense.

It also helped Flatline was planning to hit with his shoulder, where the docked harpoons lay at rest.

[Knock Out]

As far as verbal lashings went? Breakdown had gotten off very lightly – at least considering the present situation, anyway. The short, sarcastic sentence he'd snapped at his partner seemed to be the only hint that he was unhappy, and the only real scolding that Knock Out would give for asking such a moronic question. Normally the narcissistic cherry-red mech would've exploded after what'd happened to his perfect faceplate, but surprisingly that seemed to be the last thing on his processor.

He wasn't sure why Breakdown flinched like a scared sparkling and had chosen to trudge behind when he'd barely raised his voice, or even replied in a way that was anything to be unexpected or unlike his usual sass and snark. Maybe he was expecting the verbal lashing and reaction that probably should've happened, and acted prematurely. Knock Out didn't know. Nor did he care, at least not now – he had bigger, more important things to worry about than why Breakdown had possibly taken that one little sentence too far.

Like where the hell Flatline had gone. Because it sure as hell wasn't down this corridor.

Then there was the overwhelming feeling of dread at having to explain all of this to Megatron. As the Chief Medical Officer, Knock Out had to ensure that the crew of the Nemesis were in tip-top shape at all times no matter what. While most of the residents were good about getting themselves looked at, and sticking to their routine checkups as boring as they were? Flatline rarely made an appearance in the Medical Bay other than to try and 'borrow' things. He had a medical background just as Knock Out did, so did his own checkups and scans. Only if something was really troubling him, or if he needed something urgent like tonight, did he bother Knock Out for actual medical work.

And Knock Out liked it that way.

That wouldn't be good enough for Megatron, though. It was Knock Out's job to keep an optic on everyone, and Flatline had slipped through the cracks. Especially as this seemed to be a long term complaint given what he'd told Knock Out earlier. Then again with how normal Flatline seemed, how was he to tell just by looking at him!?

Knock Out had already been on the receiving end of Megatron's wrath for a backhanded compliment – and he really, really did not want to find out how their Warlord would react to something as huge as letting Flatline run rampant through the ship attacking the Vehicons and Primus knows who else. He'd rather take the twisted wheel arch again to whatever would come as punishment for letting this happen on his watch!

Then again, he may have been getting ahead of himself with his thoughts just slightly. So far only Flatline had been complaining of any issue, nobody else had any weird blockages, nobody else was acting strange or going completely batshit crazy. Maybe he hadn't even attacked anyone else! Maybe Skywarp had found him, or RGE-529! Maybe this could all be contained and nobody would ever know!

Except he'd squawk-yelped over the ship-wide comm. Ah yes. That. Frag. Well, he was known for theatrics and over-dramatics, he'd just play it off as an overreaction. Maybe, too, he could throw all the blame entirely onto Flatline for refusing to come for the routine and scheduled checkups and maintenance! Which was what led to this to begin with! Yes!

That made him feel a little better, although he was still very much on edge and tense because he didn't know where Flatline actually was.

So much so, that when Breakdown reached out to gently brush the back of his index digit against Knock Out's own servo? He flinched his arm up and away, yelping out with a surprised squawk as he tightened his grip on the Energon Prod in his servo – taking a scrambled step away to get away from the thing that'd made him jump - which sadly, was Breakdown.

“Don't do that!”

He knew Breakdown meant well, but now was not the time or place for it. Even if internally Knock Out was silently thankful that Breakdown was there, he was far too riled up to appreciate any little gestures like that.

“Of course we'll find him! The entire ship should be looking for him by now!” He grumbled, venting out a long exhale of a sigh. Again with the stupid-obvious phrases from his partner. Then again Breakdown had never been much for words. Knock Out knew he was trying to help and was doing his best, he really did. And if circumstances were different he might've returned the gesture, clung to him even, or let down his guard! But sadly he was just getting more and more frustrated, and it didn't help that he was hurting and no doubt hideous because of the scratch marks down his faceplate.

It was a good thing that he was so riled up and on edge, though, as normally he would've simply ignored the Vehicon that seemed to have come from nowhere. He didn't care for them, and rarely gave them a second glance let alone the time of day – but this one was being weird.

And weird wasn't good. He watched as the Vehicon tried to pass them before he realized that he should probably inquire as to what he was actually doing. He'd seen enough movies, and been around long enough to know when someone was being shifty! 

“You there! Ah-ah! Don't walk off! It isn't safe to be alone, you know! Not until Flatline has been found and secured.”

He hoped Breakdown would move to block the Vehicon if he kept going. He hoped Breakdown would pick up on this weird behavior too. Hell, maybe Breakdown knew the designation of this particular Vehicon – because Knock Out sure didn't – and would be able to use that to help get answers out of him as to what he was exactly doing alone in the corridor and... Avoiding them... and sending a comm.

Well, that set alarm bells ringing.

“And just who do you think you're sending a comm to there?”

He narrowed his optics, watching the Vehicon with scrutiny – curling and uncurling his servo on the Energon Prod, flexing his digits as if ready to use the thing should he have to. Maybe he was just being overly paranoid. Maybe he was being ridiculous. Scratch that, he probably was just being ridiculous - but he just wanted tonight to be over, and the less that happened between now and Flatline being secured in the Medical bay the better – weird Vehicons included.

[Breakdown]

     "Right. Sorry, Knock Out." Knock Out was on edge, scared, and as much as Breakdown wanted to ease the tension he could see in every nook of his partner's frame, he knew that there was a time and a place. At the moment he wasn't going to listen to any reason he gave so he would just keep back and let him come off his high when the time was right.

     'Just don't let yourself be blinded by your fear, Knock Out...' Not that he would say that out loud to where anyone could understand it, but he did let out a soft rumble of his engine from within his chassis to draw Knock Out's attention, indicating his silent concern. Just one of their quiet communications.

    Breakdown didn't know if Knock Out's lashing on the Vehicon was a result of his short fuse coupled with paranoia stemming from their push to locate Flatline but, either way, it was best to just settle this by having the sneaky little mech answer the questions before he went wandering off. Lucky for them, Breakdown was one of those bulky types that could easily push his weight around if need be. This was one of the cases where need be. 

     He stepped back and to the side with those large pedes of his, managing to slip his way right in the path of the smaller retreating figure who seemed to be nothing more than on patrol. There was a bit of wiggle room, but then Breakdown put his servos on his hips. That blocked off a lot of the hallway which would have made it quite difficult for the Vehicon to move around without having a bit of a fight on his servos. If he tried to get around without any answers, then even Breakdown would know something was up ( or rather, heck, even SKYWARP would know something was up ) and would do what was necessary to restrain and prevent any hopes of retreat.

     "Best to just answer the questions," Breakdown said as he looked down at the Vehicon. While from this spot he was literally looking down on him, it wasn't the attitude he was putting out. Breakdown couldn't help that he was larger than most on this ship- both in height and girth. "We have other things to do, so don't waste our time." That was a little more aggressive. While he thought the Vehicon wasn't really doing anything that constituted Knock Out's paranoid little burst, he would at least heed to the pause of his partner's mission to locate Flatline and deal with this situation first.

     While he waited for questions to be answered he was busying himself with looking over the Vehicon. He knew all of them by their characteristic frame flaws. While they all looked the same to the bare optic, Breakdown spent time with them and knew every different personality- as slight as it may be from one to the other- and all the little dings in the frame from scratches to dents that identified them. He was just looking for those subtle little hints that would direct him to which Vehicon this one was so he could address him by his designation instead of 'hey you'.

[Deleted]

Skywarp rarely planned ahead in a fight. He lived moment to moment, driven by whim and violent impulse. Try a thing, see if the thing hurt a lot. If no: do the thing again, if yes…uh maybe consider not doing it again.

That being said, when the seeker has lumbered into motion, he did have some inkling of his next move. Not because he'd spontaneously gained an appreciation for thought-out battle plans. Oh no, this was driven purely by his sense of mischief, arguably one of Skywarp's core impulses.

During his first encounter with Flatline, Skywarp had terrorised the mech with his teleportation ability. The urge to do so again was intoxicating and undeniable.

Skywarp had some idea of what he wanted to do -charge at the spindly mech, then teleport behind Flatline so that the spindly mech wouldn't have any idea of what hit him. It seemed like a hilarious idea in his head and that's what Skywarp going to do.

Only - Flatline bursting into motion as Skywarp committed to this plan of action wasn't….part of the plan. The spindly mech swung round, settled into some sort of fighting stance theeeen…

…the spindly mech charged at him.

…Okay then.

Skywarp didn't even ponder Flatline's actions, why the mech was running at him or why he'd gone low. The seeker had already decided what he was going to do and this was not going to alter his decision. Once Skywarp had set his mind to something, he was slow to change it.

While Flatline was correct in thinking that Skywarp would have difficulty in stopping, the seeker did have the ability to completely physically relocate himself in an instant. And make use of that ability he most certainly did. He vanished in a flash of light, leaving the hallway empty behind him, and reappeared further up the corridor, even past where Flatline had been standing originally. Things got iffy in his head if he tried to teleport too close to his starting destination.

The seeker's stride didn't break as he came charging out of warp with built up momentum, now behind Flatline. Now, however things kind of fell apart on him, as Flatline was moving away from where Skywarp was and he'd ducked low, no longer a stationary target that the seeker could slam into.

Ah well. This was why Skywarp wasn't big on that thinking ahead thing. Guess he'd just have to chase the mech and run him down now.

[Zercon]

Oh no! nonono!

The Vehicon was ready to head out of there. He had heard what was yelled over the comms, and he knew Knock Out was paranoid and spazzy. He also knew that what he saw could possibly get him in trouble, so the second he was spotted, he tried to pick up the pace and spring into a longer stride, only for Breakdown to block his path. Freezing before a collision, the Vehicon abruptly stopped and spun about, his stance shifting face to square off with the Chief Medical Officer. While he did so, his hand that had been raised up to the side of his helm to send a comm, now slid to the forefront to make a crisp salute to the higher ranking Decepticon. Everything appeared normal in his stance, a typical soldier just standing at attention to await a directive.

When Knock Out spoke of Flatline, with a wary sort of pseudo fear in place, the Vehicon's helm flinched slightly to the side, as if trying to awkwardly glance over a shoulder in hopes another one of his brothers in arms would be around. Sadly, no others seemed to be, and he was now trapped with the paranoid soul that seemed to be over exaggerating. Maybe the bleeding made him delusional... some Vehicons did joke that if Knock Out had his finish completely bashed, he would lose his mind...

"Heyyy... Nothing weird here, nothing to report!"

The Vehicon spoke nervously, a voice that while not high, had a somehow mildly 'nasally' attribute to it that was accented by strain and anxiety. His frame like many others of his kind, had numerous small marks and etches over the paint from fights, scuffs on the peds and shins from labor, and larger marks of battle. The most notable, and possibly the 'signature' that would tell Breakdown who it was ((If the voice didn't already)) was a ripple in the metal on his shoulder where he had been shot in combat and been patched up quickly. The bare metal was still exposed, a spot of dark silver.

RJO-243 was known to be neurotic, anxious, fearful. He would do what was asked of him, and could blend in with the others, but when cornered by a higher up, he tended to get anxious as if he anticipated being hurled off the Nemesis because of mistaken identity of being someone else. Witness enough cannon fodder getting trashed, and it was bound to leave a mark. He was also known to be a horrific gossip, and would mill around trying to get every bit of information he could to share and snitch to his siblings.

"Just reporting to a buddy... yeah... Any sign of Flatline?"

Conversation diversion.

[Flatline]

Flatline had kicked off the ground at the last minute, lobbing the full extent of his mass forward at the larger Cybertronian. He was going to turn his shoulder into a damn battering ram if he could, and while it wouldn't hit for a TON due to their size differences, a canine running into a human could still knock them clean off their feet. Alas, this had failed, and he was unable to make contact with anything, a blinding bright burst of light drowning out his sight, before everything he was aiming for was gone with curling trails of distortion.

With the anticipated impact missing, it was like taking the last step off of a stairwell, only for there to be an extra step that was not known of. A moment of panic, of disorientation, gravity took hold and he swung down towards the ground abruptly with the grace of a bolder. With a loud bang and a clatter, Flatline had rammed shoulder first into the floor, his eyes pinning closed and teeth gritting while the side of his face ground down with the impact. The thing was though, his upper body was significantly heavier than lower, so when his frame hit, his lower body was higher up, and the sudden friction stop of the hit, meant he toppled heel over head with a dramatic display.

A popped flounder, a horrible roll, digitigrade limbs and gangly arms flared out in a frantic attempt to grab himself, this all lasted only a fraction of a second, before he reeled his legs in and crooked his head down. A sound of transformation rang out then, limbs pulling back towards the Decepticon's core, while plates and panels shifted around his body. By the time gravity was trying to take him down to get acquainted with the floor again, he was structured not unlike a wheel, and hit hard into a spin.

A whirl of the gyroscopes was all that was needed to fling him into a fast roll down the hallway, moving back where he had originally come from, and the Medical Bay, but also going faster than Skywarp was currently striding. Good thing though the brute didn't need to worry about that however, for after stability was regained, Flatline popped up while he uncurled into the air and landed with a steady thump upon all fours once again.

His frame shifted some, plates partly sliding back into position while he hunched on all fours, trying to figure out what was going on and how to counter it. The side of his face and his shoulder was now visible scuffed; black and red paint peeled back to show some dull traces of silver. It was nothing severe, akin to a scrape, but it showed how hard he had bit the ground before he could right himself. Alas, the harpoons on his shoulders clicked active, and he edged back to put his back towards a wall. Each Harpoon aimed in different directions, anticipating another teleport, but to where he had no clue.

[Knock Out]

Knock Out huffed in response to Breakdown's apology. The big blue mech had been around Knock Out long enough to know him well – so hopefully he understood that Knock Out being overly jumpy was simply because he was more than a little scared. Not of Flatline, oh no... Not anymore. Not with Breakdown here to protect him. Just what would happen if they didn't find Flatline – because it'd fall back on Knock Out for letting him out of his sight. Not that he'd really had a choice in the matter, the three Vehicons had failed their damn job! Flatline had managed to outsmart and overpower three combat trained mechs!

Okay, maybe he was a little scared of Flatline. At least this crazy-feral version of him.

He didn't hear the rumble of Breakdown's engine – which was probably for the best or he would've told him to cut that out, too. It was bad enough that Breakdown had reached out and touched his servo. He meant well, yes, but... Ghhnn. No. Knock Out was more paranoid than Breakdown when it came to things like that. Breakdown was his conjux – that much was true. But it was not public knowledge, nor would it ever be. Not on the Nemesis. Decepticons fed on weaknesses like that, and it would only take one little slip up for it to be used against them. It wouldn't take much for them to hurt Knock Out to get to Breakdown, or vice versa.

It wasn't worth the risk.

Knock Out hid it well – he was his usual snarky self even toward Breakdown when they were working together in the Medical Bay. He'd insult him, and speak down to him just like he did any other on the ship. To an outsider? They'd have no clue as to the secret they both kept – and Knock Out wanted to do anything possible to keep it that way. He kept Breakdown at arm's length, so he was more than a little irked that Breakdown had made an affectionate gesture – as small as it was.

However, luckily for Breakdown? Knock Out was more than known on the ship to be a vain, prissy thing. If anyone had seen the touch and questioned it, it could so very easily be played off as the Chief Medical Officers assistant just double checking that things were okay with the cherry-red Mech. He was bad enough to work with on a good day – let alone when he was being a paranoid, raving lunatic with his perfect faceplate scratched like it was.

Not that he figured that's what this Vehicon was acting so nervous about. Maybe this one was smart and had taken the call over the comm seriously and knew that there was a very scary and very real threat somewhere on this ship.

Knock Out would narrow his optics some at the salute – and the voice still gave him no clue as to which Vehicon this actually was. He wasn't on friendly terms with them like Breakdown was, and didn't particularly care to familiarize himself with them – unless they seemed to go out of their way to impress him or genuinely flatter him.

It was a shame he didn't know which troop this was, or he might've known this one was known to be somewhat anxious and fearful of things. Knock Out took his tone of voice wrong, and would continue to glower at him.

“The only thing weird here is you. Of course there's nothing to report, as there's nothing in the damn corridor!” He huffed, not taking his gaze off the poor Vehicon.

“Which brings me to my next question. If there is nothing to report like you say, just what, exactly, are you reporting to your buddy?”

Game. Set. Match.

The Vehicon had messed up there. Knock Out was of quick wit and mind, and he'd noticed the discrepancy instantly. The Vehicons diversion had failed – Knock Out wouldn't even answer the question. No, no... This Vehicon knew something. Something about Flatline probably. No doubt telling him that Knock Out and Breakdown were coming this way and was letting him know so he could hide!

[Breakdown]

     The mark on the shoulder, the pitch in voice... these things did not escape Breakdown. He was in the habit of taking note of all those silly little signs that others usually overlooked. On a ship full of Vehicon siblings who all looked alike, it was nice for an outsider of their group like Breakdown to be highly aware of them. In that regard, when he spoke that sealed it for the dark blue mech just who was standing before Breakdown. RJO-243. Oh, peachy! This one. Not that he really had a problem with them, as the Vehicons for the most part were busybodies who shared their rumors amongst themselves ( and at times, with Breakdown as well since he spent a good majority of his time in their company ). This particular model he felt had a very familiar short somewhere in his processor. Sometimes he reminded Breakdown when he would have his own little paranoid moments.

      Which meant association and figuring how to handle this. At the moment it was not in their favor as Knock Out seemed to only become more and more agitated and suspicious. His partner was scared, probably silently terrified, and that made him dangerous. It did neither of them any good if Knock Out lost it.

     "Knock Out." Breakdown used THE VOICE on him. Not just any calm, monotone one. Nope. This was a tone set aside for rowdy little sparklings that didn't listen to their creators and had to be reprimanded. That simple way of saying the medic's name was coupled with a very blank expression in which his optic was slowly narrowing. To Breakdown, this was starting to be way too much. "You need to calm down. He's not in cahoots with Flatline." Sure, he'd probably be in trouble later and told to never speak to one of Knock Out's rank like that again - blah blah blah, in other words- but Breakdown didn't care nor mind. His partner was starting to slip rather out of hand. And this was only the beginning.

     "RJO-243," Breakdown said as he stepped past the Vehicon to make his way back to Knock Out. He looked back at the Vehicon and motioned with his helm in the opposite direction to where the partners had been heading. "Make sure to inspect the corridor to your left thoroughly. Look for any signs of damage or way of escape, like a pried ventilation shaft or something. After you're done, meet up with some of your other Vehicons. It's better to handle this situation in higher numbers. If you find anything or hear something suspicious, comm me directly. Don't take this situation lightly; it's serious. Flatline is very dangerous right now and we don't know what he'll do. Now move out and make sure you and the others stay safe."

     Breakdown left it at that. He stated his usual concerns for the Vehicons, dismissed the lone straggler, and turned his attention to Knock Out, who he was frowning at yet again. He would't say anything aloud right now besides what had already come to open air, but he had no hesitation with telling Knock Out to chill the hell out.

[Deleted]

Skywarp had exited warp only to watch Flatline overbalanced himself and go tumbling down. It was a full on faceplant, followed by legs flying over the rest of him, all the good stuff.

The average mech would have seized this advantage for what it was worth and tried to catch up. The average mech would not have allowed themselves to be distracted by this turn of events, no matter how silly it looked.

Skywarp…was not that mech.

Flatline's fall was so over the top ridiculous that Skywarp forgot about that running thing and instead squandered all that momentum he had built up. He began to skid to a stop instead, because really, that was plain funny. if there was one thing that came up on top of all Skywarp's priorities, it was the need to be entertained. It was why his opening move in this encounter had been to teleport, because it had seemed like a hilarious idea at the time (and yielded a pretty great result too, even if it was not the one he was going for).

Yes, things had certainly been weird this evening and perhaps Skywarp should be taking things more seriously but it was Flatline, the spindly mech. He just didn't rate highly as a threat in Skywarp's optics.

Come on, the mech had just tripped over himself, this was freaking great.

Flatline was a ball of flailing limbs at this point. As the seeker slowed down, he heard the sound of transformation. The next moment, somehow Flatline had turned himself into a weird looking wheel thing and was flinging himself down the hall.

Not that Skywarp cared, even though the mech was getting away from him because come on.

A wheel. Who turned themselves into that, this was freaking amazing.

Flatline was pretty much the gift that kept on giving because honestly, Skywarp had never seen anyone turn themselves into something like that before. And then roll away in such a ridiculous manner.

The seeker was grinning now, bouncing on his heels even as Flatline unfurled himself. "That was great," Skywarp laughed. He raised a hand and pointed at the spindly mech. Never mind that Skywarp was meant to be subduing the mech and Flatline was totally out of his processor and couldn't comprehend him.

"You should totally do that again!"

[Zercon]

Well... they were in the corridor...

So there wasn't nothing...

But he opted not to point that out...

Either way, RJO-243 had messed up badly with the discrepancy in his words, or did he? He didn't really have a chance to reply, nor do anything to tell Knock Out what he was doing or even try to defend himself, before Breakdown had spoke and cut in. This was unexpected, and to see the mech who was essentially a sidekick scold the higher ranking official? Oh, this was good. This was fabulous! I mean... RJO-243 was nervous because it meant he could be hurt in some way or thrown into the incinerator for seeing ranks being challenged, but if he survived he'd have plenty of things to share when he got back!

For a brief moment the vehicon considered piping up, to agree that he wasn’t working with Flatline, and that everything was peachy, but he opted to try to fold back into the scenery. He eased away some from the other two towards the back wall, trying to mimic Soundwave... or a chair, both of which easy to be overlooked in the shadows. He wanted the other two to have their own little quarrel and leave him be, but all hopes of slipping away during the discussion were crushed when Breakdown zeroed back in on him.

"Yessir!"

Said fast when his name was stated, RJO-243 turned to face the blue mech, his hand clipping back into place into a salute to play nice and play subservient like a proper Vehicon was expected to do. This posture only laxed when he got directives, relaying them all to memory, before passing a quick glance in Knock Out's direction. He didn't want to wait around for the protests he knew were probably going to come, so he kicked off the ground into a half jog to start to get down the hallway and try to get away before he could be yelled at and called to heel.

Luckily, Knock Out wouldn't recognize him once he got with his siblings...

He hoped...

Mental note to change voice pitch around the medic.

[Flatline]

It did not take long for the world to stop spinning, the large gyroscopes within his torso countering the spiral he had done moments prior and evening him out once again. But even though he had his balance, Flatline remained hunched down low to the ground, one palm fanned out to brace himself better and root down in place, while the other gingerly lifted in preparation for the unknown. The hand that was still grounded was done more to root mentally in preparation, for no weight was resting down upon it, his mass rolling back onto the pronged hooves once again.

He could remember Skywarp well, even through the haze that clouded his mind and blended one moment into another into a dull smear. The abilities, the strength, the frustrations... the large jet was both burden and boon, and could grate at him to test his patience. Now was no different, the way he pointed and laughed, begged for more chaos like he was an entertaining clown there just to amuse. The concept itself wasn't really new, clouded memories of having to do repairs and 'perform' on cue to spoiled towerlings back in the day... but this was different.

The second Skywarp held out his hand, there was a bang.

A shot, a blast, the harpoon was launched once again with violent force at Skywarp's extended arm. The weapon traveled quickly, and crossed the distance between them in just a brief flicker of a moment, made even more fleeting with how near they were to one another. There really wouldn't have been time to really react much, least not enough to make it count, for the barbed post of metal instantly tore through Skywarp's exposed wrist with ease.

The harpoon's momentum and force caused the rod of metal to shoot completely through the wrist, chips of metal, wires, and strapping that once acted as tendons bursting out the opposite side with the post that seemed content to keep on its merry way. It didn't even seem to be hindered by the obstruction, for it wrenched through cleanly, and only slowed when the links of chain that followed then grated and rasped through the wound to turn a clean puncture into a ragged mess of twisted metal. All speed coasted off quickly because of this, and the post hung down on the opposite side.

'CLINK'

Three prongs on the far end of the harpoon snapped out from the post abruptly, locking into place to make it so that removing the weapon the way it went in, would be a very gritty, messy, and painful process. This was something Flatline seemed to be banking on though, for if Skywarp were to look down the way at the smaller Medic, than he would see that the black mech was now standing with a borderline psychotic grin on his face. One hand held the opposite end of the chain, the metal cylinder that would anchor it into his systems, now resting in his palm detached, the other? Well... his free hand was resting onto one of the light maintenance panels, his fingers curled behind its latch.

To think Flatline would have the gall to pull and manhandle the chain to try to tear up the significantly larger mech's wrist and hand would be laughable. But for what Flatline lacked in strength, he made up for in wit and clever determination. Like an animal he can be complacent and harmless, but when cornered...well... he was dangerous, and he made this apparent in the way he wrenched the latch open and off to expose part of the transportation system for the Nemesis' internals.

The Nemesis was an absolutely massive ship, and it had a lot of parts to it that moved and functioned like a living entity. Large pipelines of fuel, weaving wires that branched like nerves, substations of power and processing that acted as organs, and tunnels and pathways to allow maintenance to keep all of this functional and beneficial, as well as structures that served for convenience.

One of the conveniences that served workers well, were the weaving transportation lines that trailed along from one major station to the next, used to send parts or materials to other portions of the ship, without needing to hand run it there. It cut down on time, and boosted efficiency, the system acting like a rail gun so that if a hatch was opened for maintenance, the air pressure loss would not hinder functions in other sectors. It was this system Flatline breached into, and with a darkly gleeful chuckle, it is this magnetized system that he dropped the disconnected end of the chain into...

The pull and violent power of the rail system would grab hold and jerk.

[Knock Out]

Maybe if Knock Out had been a little more levelheaded, he might've realized that the Vehicon could've been reporting that the corridor was, in fact, clear and free from a certain deranged and feral lunatic. The cherry-red Chief Medical Officer worked well under pressure, he really did. He thrived in it! He loved it! ...When it was medical related, anyway. This whole situation? SO far out of his comfort zone. He was panicking, stressing, and being more irrational than usual.

So when Breakdown used 'the voice' on him? He swiveled on his heel to stare up at the bigger blue mech. Optics narrowed into a piercing glare.

“You don't know that!” He snapped. “And you would do well not to speak to a superior like that in future.” His tone biting as he inhaled sharply, trying to calm himself somewhat - not that it helped any. He may not have had 'a voice' like Breakdown did, but he didn't have to. Breakdown probably knew then and there that he was in deep slag for speaking to Knock Out the way he'd just done, and in front of a Vehicon no less.

He turned his attention to the Vehicon as Breakdown addressed him, optics still narrowed into a fierce glare. He was furious. RJO-243? He'd remember that. While he only half-cared to remember the designations of those that impressed or flattered him, he also held grudges against those that'd slighted him. And RJO-243? Oh yeah. Have fun at your next medical checkup.

He remained strangely silent as Breakdown ordered the Vehicon around. Excuse me? Who is the superior officer here? It certainly isn't you, you big lughead. Then again, he would no doubt use this as yet more ammunition for later when he no doubt exploded at his partner. He had to take out his frustration on somebody, after all. And they still hadn't found Flatline!

Not that he would've been so nice with his order if he'd been the one to dismiss the Vehicon, so it probably was better that Breakdown had taken the initiative here.

He still remained silent as the Vehicon glanced at him. The glance would've been met with a hateful glare, and Knock Out's lip curled up in a distasteful, but painful due to his scratched faceplate, sneer. As unmenacing as Knock Out was at first glance? You should never, ever piss off your Medic, especially one as petty as Knock Out – and while the Vehicon hadn't really done anything? He'd annoyed the Chief Medical Officer immensely.

He wouldn't bother calling the Vehicon back as he jogged away. All that would've happened was Breakdown would talk down to him once more and call him ridiculous again, and the whole situation would've derailed further no doubt – because Knock Out wasn't about to let that happen twice.

He flexed and curled his digits around the handle of the Energon Prod, turning then to look at Breakdown.

“Don't do that again.”

There would be more to come no doubt, but for now, he left it at that.

“Let's keep going. Flatline may not have come down this way, but if we can get to the control room we may be able to s-”

BANG!

Knock Out flinched, tensing up in alarm as he looked this way and that frantically as the loud bang cut him off mid-sentence. He knew that noise. He'd heard that noise only moments earlier in the Medical Bay! That was the sound of Flatline firing one of those damn harpoons! And it sounded like it came from one of the other corridors!

Knock Out wouldn't finish his sentence, nor would he bark out an order at Breakdown to follow – he turned on his heel and ran, and just hoped his partner would follow.

Someone had found Flatline. Knock Out just hoped that whoever it was kept him busy and distracted enough until he and Breakdown arrived to help.

...Well, just Breakdown. Knock Out wasn't planning to get too close to the feral mech. 

[Breakdown]

     So.

     Knock Out was angry. That was to be expected. He was expecting the rebuttal from the smaller medic immediately so when he was snapped at? Well, he didn't really pay much attention to it. He was used to backlash from Knock Out so he didn't let it bother him. If he did? Well, he probably wouldn't be here right now because he definitely would have walked out on the medic a long time ago.

     Breakdown also knew that more was going to come for him once this ordeal was over and done with. Knock Out wasn't finished with him by a long shot. At least he was being courteous enough to not chew him out in the middle of the hallway. Then again, they did have a Flatline to look for so they didn't have the time for it. If that had been the case Breakdown would have brought the medic back to the important matter at hand. But it didn't hurt to poke him to get along and get all of this mess over with.

     BANG!

     Breakdown was following behind the smaller mech when the sound interrupted the other in the middle of his sentence. Well, they had definitely heard that. And no, he didn't flinch the way he saw from his conjux since it didn't really stir him up that way, but he still recognized the sound.

     And they were off!

     Knock Out was faster on his pedes than Breakdown was and he wasn't expecting the smaller mech to take off like a bullet in the manner he had, but he wasn't going to fall behind more than he had to. He followed, his heavy pedes thundering as he ran after his partner, even without needing the command to do so. He knew that if Flatline was this way, there was no way he was going to let him anywhere near his partner again.

     He'd tear him limb from limb first.

[Deleted]

Skywarp was having the time of his life. Flatline was just so hilarious in everything he did.

Or so Skywarp was thinking. What happened in the next few short seconds quickly reversed that opinion.

There was a bang and before Skywarp could comprehend what was going on - excruciating pain erupted from his right hand, forcibly ejecting from his fun-time happy zone. He flinched backwards, trying to pull his hand away from the pain which didn't help at all. There was the terrible noise of grinding, grating metal as Flatline's harpoon tore it's way through Skywarp's hand, shredding its mechanisms and rendering it inoperable.

It hurt! The spindly mech had hurt him! Him! Every fresh throb of pain from Skywarp's wrist fuelled a tide of anger and rage. It surged to the forefront of Skywarp's processor, burying the pain away. The spindly mech had hurt him! This couldn't stand. This needed to paid back at least twice-fold. Immediately before the spindly mech did anything else.

Skywarp glared at Flatline. Whereas before he'd responded with smugness Breakdown's loathing, now he did feel hate. The spindly mech was holding something but Skywarp's enraged mind was too addled to put together what Flatline was planning to do. He just wanted to be over there, now, ripping the mech limb from limb.

Skywarp drew his leg back. Then he vanished in a flash of light, just as Flatline dropped the chain. The warp would sever the chain that extended out of its immediate area, though the harpoon remained embedded in Skywarp's hand.

The seeker would come out of warp right in front of Flatline with a powerful kick aimed right into the mech's midriff. Let the spindly mech try and dodge that!