That's Rough Buddy

++ Rust Narrows ++
Almost totally abandoned, the crumbling remains of Cybertron's former      
capital city now languishes in disrepair. Old buildings in silvers, reds   
and bronzes are discolored from the wearing of time, flaking and decaying  
into corrosion and rust, which blows around the streets with every passing 
vehicle, giving the area its name. The empty streets sometimes host illegal
races, and are a hotbed of criminal activity, ignored by local police      
forces. At the center of these narrow, wheel-spoke pathways is the         
Acropolex, the former capital building of Cybertron itself in the Golden   
Age.                                                                        
Head still ringing with the echoes of Whirl's increasingly incredulous variations on 'what the hell', Hot Rod now sits in the quiet of a plain room. There are neatly stacked crates of miscellaneous supplies shoved against the walls of the small room and it's two of those crates which serve as Blurr's bed, and another that serves as Hot Rod's seat. He has one foot drawn up on the edge of the crate. Leaning back against the wall, he uses his thigh to support a datapad that maybe he was once using to read or write or work on something, but now seems to be dinking around with some kind of processor-melting, mindless game.
The faded and worn decorations and molding on the room as well as the fading, rusted colors suggest Nyon, although it's not clear where, exactly, they are. Hot Rod has already placed two calls: one to Panacea, one to Feint. He has taken absolutely zero reasonable precautions given the last time that he and Blurr were alone together.
Hot Rod isn't much of a medic (or really that smart ok) but he can probably tell Blurr isn't in good shape at all. Which might be why he isn't taking those precautions. Or maybe because he's just...Hot Rod.
At any rate the speedster's sporting nasty-looking burns and scorch marks all over his body--and really, it's no more pleasant on a Cybertronian than it is on a human.
And it is this horribly scorched state that Blurr wakes to. It's not pleasant, to say the least. In fact, for a moment he might have thought he'd simply died and found himself in the afterspark or wherever terrible place came after for people who weren't perfect enough. Groaning, he tries sit up, and catches a glimpse of Hot Rod. Well maybe he wasn't dead after all. "Wh-where...?"
"Nyon." Subspacing the datapad with the fold of a hand, Hot Rod drops his foot from the crate to stand. He crosses to Blurr to offer him a hand to help him sit up. Because he's /smart like that/. "I let Panacea and Feint know where to find you." Leaning against the crate and giving Blurr a once-over glance, he says, "Everyone got out okay, if you care."
Blurr takes the hand and sits up, though a grimace of pain is still on his face. He glances around at the small moldy room momentarily. "wh-whatwhydidyou...n-noIdidn't...Ididn'tdo...therewassomebeastframeIdon'tknowwhoIdon'tknowwhyhewasafterme..." It's difficult to quite make out what he is trying to say, beyond sounding distressed.
Like the biggest soft touch in the world, Hot Rod's expression gentles at the distress in Blurr's words. "Hey, take it easy." He holds his hands up in a placating gesture. "You want to try that again? Maybe one thought at a time? You need anything? Besides a medic, obviously, which is kind of waiting on Panacea. Sorry."
Blurr stops, appearing to attempt to collect his thoughts, leaning back slowly against the wall. Finally, he begins again, putting forth great effort to talk at a slower pace. Well slow in his book, at any rate. "I didn't set the bar on fire, it was some beast frame type. He was after me. I don't know why. I don't know him..." A bit of the raw fear and confusion shows this time, with all that pain.
"You might not've set the bar on fire, but from that pile of high grade I saw, it looked like you were taking advantage of it," Hot Rod points out. He folds his arms over his chest and watches Blurr's expression shift, then sighs with a wave of his hand. "Oh -- never mind. Everyone got out. He probably went after you because you're an Autobot from what I heard. He was unhappy about them." He can't help but smirk, slightly. Boo Autobots, boo.
"I--" Blurr's optics widen suddenly as if he'd only just remembered what he'd done back there. "Ohno...Didtheydiedidanyonedie??" The speedster suddenly bolts off of the makeshift birth Hot Rod has set up, but ends up on the floor due to the injuries. He stares frantically up at the other mech. "H-hot Rod..."
"Blurr!" Startling when the speedster bolts only to hit the floor, Hot Rod crouches to offer him help back up. His smirk is wiped by dismay, and maybe even a trace of guilt -- which is /kind of ridiculous/, but there it is. "Primus, look at you. Why don't you just sit down until someone gets here who can help? No, no one died. Everyone got out okay. What about you? What's going on with you?"
Blurr tries to scramble back onto his feet, but only manages to sit back up and slump against the wall farthest from Hot Rod. "Oh...ohgood..." He seems at least somewhat relieved by this news, even though Hot Rod -had- said it very clearly just a moment ago. "But-but...whydidyouhelpme? Ialwayshurtyou...Ialwayshurtpeople!!" He curls up against the wall, as if trying to put as much distance as he can between himself and the flame-painted mech, even in the small room they were in.
After watching Blurr a moment, Hot Rod steps to the side. He very pointedly, very obviously places himself away from the exit. If Blurr wanted to run off -- if Blurr were in shape to run off -- then it would be easy to get past him and get to the door. Who knows what's past the door, mind you, but whatever it is that's out there, Hot Rod's not in the way. He sits down on the floor, although he settles rather more relaxed than Blurr.
"I helped you because you needed it, and because I guess I hope you don't really want to hurt people," says Hot Rod, glancing away and then back again with a touch of unease. "But I don't know what's you anymore."
"Idon'tIdon't...Idon'tknow..." Blurr almost wails. "IwanttohelpandIwanttomakethingsright..." He blurts, sounding very small. Finally he looks back up at Hot Rod. "I don't even know what I am any more, either." He confesses, his voice quivering. Then after a moment, he nods slowly. "Th-thank you."
Venting a long sigh, Hot Rod gives Blurr a smile that he parts with almost reluctantly. "Yeah. You're welcome." After a moment, he shifts, stretching out a bit. He's not exactly blocking the way out, but he's making less of a clear effort to avoid doing so. "Do you think you're helping? Do you think you're making things right? If that's really what you want to do -- are you?"
"Idon'tknow..." Blurr moans. "SometimesIthinkIamandsometimesI'mnotevensurebutIdon'tknowwhatelsetodoIdon't!" He exclaims fervently. "Hot Rod," The racer stares pleadingly at him. "H-how did you ever find yourself?! How did you know what was right?! Did you teach yourself everything or did you learn from someone and if you did then who?"
Eyes glazing over as he tries to parse the rapid-fire pace of Blurr's words, Hot Rod eventually says, "Yeah, it's confusing," because that seems like a fair answer to what he managed to glean from it all. He shakes his head, then admits, "I'm still figuring it out too, you know. I don't know about /finding/ myself. That sounds kind of--." He breaks off, then shrugs. "But I decided what I wanted to be. And yeah, it's the kind of person who helps people, and makes things right, so I get it. I get wanting that," he says, earnest as he looks back at Blurr. "But who gets helped, and who gets hurt by what you're doing?"
"I don't even know. How do -you- know? How did you figure it out?" Blurr inquires, his tone genuine. It's not even questioning his judgment but actually an honest question. "I want to make the world better, to make things right. To protect the people I care about and protect people in general and this is how I was told I could do that but now I don't even know but I don't know how -else- I can do it!" Is he even making any sense?
"Ugh." Hot Rod tips his helm back to rest it against the wall. "I'm still figuring /that/ out, too. But no one's letting you figure out anything, not really, and whenever you try someone else comes along behind you to tell what you /should/ be thinking, instead. You don't need that to help people. You really don't. It's got to come from you, not from what people tell you to do."
What? Blurr has to come up with these things all on his own? This idea is completely foreign to him. All his life, he's been told everything. From what he looks like all the way to who he talks to and who he ignores, and what kind of engex he is allowed to have and when, too! "B-but...how else am I supposed to know? What if I'm wrong?" Because clearly Hot Rod must have it all figured out himself. "At least you--you seem to -know- what you believe..."
"I'm wrong like -- at least once a day," Hot Rod says all humble, and smug about how humble he is being. Then he adds, "Well, maybe more depending on who you ask." He pauses to think about it and winces just slightly imagining the numbers that other people might come up with. Answer: more than once per day. "But you can't really get it right if you never have a chance to get it wrong. I know what I believe, yeah, but that doesn't mean I always get it right, how to get there. I mess up, Blurr." A little more quietly, he says, "Sometimes I mess up a lot, and people get hurt."
Wait did Hot Rod just admit to messing up? Holy Primus almighty what is this world coming to??
"But I don't even know -that-." Blurr sighs. "I thought I knew, but now I can't be sure. I always do what I'm told. It always sounds so right. But then I always end up hurting people. I-I can't be around you, I always hurt you. Y-you shouldn't have helped me..."
Shh, don't tell. It's a secret.
"Maybe you should try not doing what you're told," Hot Rod says with a hint of a smile. "Except then those slaggers at the IAA or whatever would probably just melt you down for parts, so -- hey, don't listen to me, either." Straightening away from the wall, he leans forward. "You've hurt me, yeah. But you've helped me, too. And I think the part of you that wants to help is a lot bigger than the part of you that wants to hurt."
Blurr looks surprised and somewhat confused. "I--I helped you?" He seems to loosen up just a little bit at this, well anyway as much as the pain will allow. "When did I help you with anything?" he asks, tilting his head slightly.
"Feint," says Hot Rod. He tilts his head to the side, nodding once, and then again more broadly. "The Institute. If you weren't there, we couldn't have gotten her out -- and if we'd had to get her out, we might not've been able to get out with the data that let us go back and shut that place down for good." He shakes his head, and with absolute belief says, "Whatever else you've done, you /helped/ with that."
Blurr's optics light up with the memory when Hot Rod brings it up. Oooh, yeah! That. "Oh that's -right-." He recalls, almost sounding happy and smiling just a little bit, even through all the pain he's in. It's been a while since Hot Rod's seen that of him. "Heh, that -was- a good time!"
Reflecting Blurr's happiness with a grin, Hot Rod says, "Yeah. See? And that was big. It helped a lot of people." He settles back, and his expression fades to a lingering smile. "It felt good, you know? Everything else since just gets more and more complicated but that was -- good guys, bad guys."
Blurr sighs longingly, the smile fading. "Yeah everything was so much simpler then..." He brings his knees up to his face and buries it behind them. There's a brief moment of silence, before a loud pounding can be heard on the outside of the door. A demanding voice is heard. "Open up!" It might sound vaguely familiar to Hot Rod. In fact, this situation might seem sort of familiar, in general...
Hot Rod hisses something low and incredibly rude. It's gutter language of the worst sort. He reluctantly pushes to his feet to face the door. He does not open up. "Blurr," he says, turning away from the door to face his friend. "What do you want?"
Blurr pushes himself up against the far wall, his face in a panic. "N-no...Iknewtheywouldcome...Iknewit..." He doesn't exactly make it very clear what he wants. But he does look frightened again, so maybe Hot Rod takes a hint.
Whoever's on the other side of the door isn't patient, however. There's a blast and part of it buckles in on itself. It's not going to hold up much longer. "Ohnoohnoohnoohnoohno...." is repeated more times than anyone can count.
Hot Rod takes a hint. There's shivering whine just on the edge of hearing as the weapons on his arms activate. The silvered pipes warm and there's a glow within. "Yeah, okay," he says under his breath. Then he calls out, "One second. I'm opening the door."
Maybe. If it will even open now.
Hot Rod releases the lock and kicks it a little with his foot, calling, "It's stuck!" Then he shifts to the side, lifts his arms to level a shot, and waits for the door to open.
Finally, the door caves completely, the metal suddenly blown out of the center. And there stands someone Hot Rod will definitely recognize from his previous encounter in Kaon. Yep, it's Quantum, that mercenary who ran contracts with IAA from time to time. Well really for anyone who wanted dirty work done. Because he was -good- at the dirty work.
He doesn't look too shocked to see Hot Rod, either. "You," he almost laughs. "You again? Seriously mech what is -with- you?"
The impulse to squeeze of a shot at the sight of Quantum's smug face is hard to overcome, but somehow -- somehow! -- Hot Rod manages it. "Who were you expecting?" He flashes Quantum an easy smile, but the threat of activated weapons aimed at his face is hard to miss. "Back off. He doesn't want to go with you."
Quantum smirks. "And who said he had to -want- it?" The mercenary shoots back. He shakes his head.
"Listen, I have a -job- to do, and you're getting in the way. Now -you- back off, so that I can get my client their -property- back." he snarls. His weapon was already out from assaulting the door, so now he just levels it at Hot Rod. "Don't you remember what happened -last- time you got in my way?"
"You're in Nyon, mech." Hot Rod waves his hand at Quantum, gesturing him to step back and generally /get out/. "And you forgot to bring a pack of buddies. You're on my territory, and I'm the one with friends here. Go get another job." He positions himself between Quantum and Blurr with daredevil certainty.
Quantum scoffs. "I'm sorry, I don't think you understand. I used to have a different job, but then I became that thing called 'obsolete'. So now I'm stuck doing -this-, because it's the only thing I can make any reasonable amount of money off of. I have to live, you have to live. Everyone wants to live. So get out of my way."
This time though he doesn't even wait for Hot Rod to move, because clearly he's not going to. Willingly, at least. He lunges forward, swinging his weapon in an attempt to clock his foe in the back of the head with the barrel of the gun.
-Combat- Quantum hits Hot Rod with a melee attack!
"That's rough, buddy," Hot Rod says with a complete and absolute lack of sincerity. Rather than get out of Quantum's way, he charges into him: he gets hit, sure, and it is a solid clonk to the head, but it's not enough to stop him. He drives his knee (his pointy, pointy knee) up into Quantum's midsection to push him back and force him away from Blurr.
-Combat- Hot Rod hits Quantum with a melee attack!
"Ungh!" Quantum is forced back, and his back smacks against the wall. He chuckles, shaking his head. "Mech you are really something. Look, I don't have anything personal against you. Why would a low caste manual labor class like you risk his life for a rich snob like him? What's he ever done for you, huh? Trust me, he isn't -worth- any of this." He trains his blaster at Hot Rod, going for a ranged attack this time.
-Combat- Quantum hits Hot Rod with a ranged attack!
"He's my /friend/." Hot Rod grunts, turning into the shot. It blasters past his back, peeling paint and melting metal. He knocks Quantum's gun arm to the side and reaches to grab him by the collar and slam him back into the wall again, harder.
-Combat- Hot Rod hits Quantum with a melee attack!
Quantum is slammed into the wall, grunting in pain. Little pieces of debris and dust are loosed and fall to the floor. "Hah! You think he's your friend? Don't flatter yourself." He lunges at Hot Rod again. "Primus just let do my job!"
-Combat- You hit Hot Rod with your melee attack!
-Combat- Quantum hits Hot Rod with a melee attack!
"Not going to happen! You're obsolete here, too." Hot Rod laughs in Quantum's face even as he's forced back by Quantum's lunge. He crosses his arms to take the blow, then bring his hands down and to the sides. The primed weapons fire, aimed at Quantum's limbs: one blast from either hand to either arm.
-Combat- Hot Rod hits Quantum with a ranged attack!
Quantum is shot in both arms, energon flowing freely now to add to the mess that's no doubt already building up on the floor in here. "Gah!" He glares at Hot Rod. "I'm obsolete -everywhere-, glitch. If I weren't, I wouldn't -be- here." He turns sideways and attempts to drive a shoulder into his opponent.
-Combat- Quantum hits Hot Rod with a melee attack!
Just outside of the location that Hot Rod sent off to Panacea and Feint, there's a fight in progress. Hot Rod and Quantum brawl just a stone's throw from Blurr, just outside a door that has been shot open.
The drive of Quantum's shoulder forces air from Hot Rod's vents in harsh exhalation. He falls back another step, and earns another dent. "You've got to up your banter game," he says with a grunt as he surges forward and back into Quantum to slam him back into the wall. "This fight's /not worth it/."
-Combat- Hot Rod hits Quantum with a melee attack!
A medic's work is never done. Panacea knows this very well, especially with the planet plummeting towards war. So she's not too surprised when she gets a summons that Blurr is injured. Now she's finally gracing the scene, slowly and cautiously to make sure that there are not threats to her person. First rule of aid: don't get injured yourself so that you can't help anyone. Those who notice her will see a strange, flat-backed vehicle with rails driving into the area.
"Hnnngh..." Quantum is pinned against the wall, but presses his arm-mounted blaster up against Hot Rod's side. But then Panacea shows up, and he looks somewhat relieved. "Ugh, finally." He mutters, and tosses the medic a clear tube. It rolls across the floor toward her. "...Give him his medication, will you? And hurry it up." He says through a clenched jaw as he strains against Hot Rod.
-Combat- Quantum hits Hot Rod with a ranged attack!
Hot Rod's relief at seeing Panacea lasts right up until Quantum tosses something toward her. "What--" He turns, gaze tracking the tube rather than his opponent, and there's nothing he can do to stop the point-blank shot. And /there/ goes all the work put in by his last medic, repairs unwound with a shot. Metal cracking, melting, might be enough to stop someone more sensible, but this is Hot Rod. So he just grabs Quantum's arm to slam it up against the wall, trying to smash the blaster before he can get off another shot. "What /was that/? What are you doing to him?"
-Combat- Hot Rod hits Quantum with a melee attack!
Panacea doesn't have a clue who Quantum is, and frankly, she doesn't care. Driving over to the tube, one of her 'arms' detaches itself from her cab to pick up the 'medicine'. Then she rolls over to Blurr and more arms detach to scoop up the injured mech. Some of the 'hands' busy themselves with fixing him while the one with the tube administers the contents...assuming Blurr himself doesn't fight her. Meanwhile a scope snakes out of the top and 'peers' at the combatants. "Would you keep it down!" she insists!
"I'm afraid I can't tell you Hot Rod; patient confidentiality," she says to the rebel. "Though if you both desist with all this fighting I will see to each of you after Blurr is taken care of."
Quantum looks relieved, even as Hot Rod slams his weapon hand against the wall in an attempt to destroy it. The barrel cracks, though these are attached to his body. Mission accomplished, so now it doesn't matter any more. He shoves Hot Rod off of himself and pulls away, rather worse for wear but it's nothing he can't handle.
He laughs, shaking his head. "This is really none of your business, mech. Best not to get tangled up in it." The mercenary nods at Panacea. "Let's get him out of here."
As for Blurr, he must have passed out from fuel loss or pain, or something. Which is probably why he's been so quiet the entire time.
Hot Rod seems thrown off as much by Panacea's easy acquiescence to Quantum's request as by Quantum's shove. He stumbles back two steps and stands still and disbelieving as he looks into the room. Energon drips from the wound at his side, the worst of the dents he's taken. "Do you even know what that /is/?"
"I'm not going to tell him not to get tangled in it; I'm not his mentor or superior," Panacea says to that guy, whoever he is, that had given her the 'medication'. "But I will say that now is not the time." The scope on the top of her cab looks around. "What in Primus' name happened here anyhow?"
Turning the scope towards Hot Rod, it bobs in an aproximation of a nod. "I do," she says. "And again, it's not my place to tell you." She looks over his injuries, trying to assess how much he is at risk. During this whole time her many arms have been working away at doing first response repairs to Blurr's unconscious form.
Quantum shrugs. "No idea. Guess he'd know." He jerks a head toward Hot Rod and moves toward the door to the room. "Now come on let's get going." He drags himself out the door, leaving the rest of them in the room.
Blurr finally seems to come to, and surprisingly he seems a lot more calm.
"Blurr blew up a bar and I pulled him out of the fire," says Hot Rod without even /trying/ to sound anything but bitter. Or sullen. Or sulky. He meets the wall of Panacea's 'patient confidentiality' with all the respect one might expect from him. See also: bitter, sullen, sulky. The inner fire that had him fighting with Quantum only moments ago is nowhere to be seen now. He looks unusually subdued as he watches her perform her repairs and watches as Blurr stirs. His expression suggests something between resignation and resentment as he folds his arms.
"He blew up a bar? How many were injured?" Panacea asks Hot Rod in alarm. Then her scope peers at Quantum. "Who /are/ you anyhow?" she asks, perhaps a bit suspiciously. When Blurr stirs her voice is all kindness. "How do you feel?" she asks, arms hovering protectively over her charge.
Blurr nods at Panacea. "Much better." he says evenly. The racer manages to get back on his feet, although a bit haltingly. "Thanks." He turns to Hot Rod. "And you too."
Quantum turns back momentarily when Panacea asks him who he is exactly. "It's Quantum. I'm a mercenary, I guess. IAA wants dirty work done, I do it." He sighs. "I'm gonna assume you've got this handled, now." And with that he flies off.
"I--" Hot Rod had a little help, actually, but, uh. Hot Rod. "--cleared the area. He's the only injury." He returns Blurr's thanks with an uncomfortable nod and glares after Quantum. He's still glaring into the sky when he says, "I guess -- I'll leave Blurr with you, then." He sounds vaguely disappointed, but the resignation lingers. "Okay, Blurr?"
Panacea would make a face if she had one at present. Mercanaries = ugh! "It's good that you are feeling better," she says to Blurr. She just stares at Hot Rod for a few moments. "You did well then Hot Rod. Minimizing injury is a great help." Her tone is kind, but since she doesn't have a face right now, it's the most he can go on. "Are you sure you don't want me to have a look at your injuries while I'm here?" she asks.
Blurr nods again. "Yeah." He smiles, but it's definitely not the same smile he'd had earlier when they were talking about the time they rescued Feint from the Institute. It looks more like one of those smiles he'd plaster on if he were posing for an advertisement or something. He pats Hot Rod on the back. "Don't look so disappointed. I'll be okay. You on the other hand," He looks the other mech up and down. "You should get those looked at."
"I'm sure." Hot Rod's tone is firm bordering on harsh. While she might not have a face at the moment, he does, and his is quite expressive: at the moment, his features shift apologetic as the tone registers. He shrugs. "Thanks, though. I've got someone who can take care of it, anyway." He gives them both a curt nod and then heads off, leaving Blurr in Panacea's care. Alas.
Panacea is NOT going to get involved between these two; she's a medic, not a mediator or psychologist. They've got issues and they're not for her to fix. Bodies, now those are something she can fix. "Be well, Hot Rod," she says, meaning well, but her tone falls a little flat. It's clear the mech is upset, and she wishes there was some cheer she could offer him. As it is, however, it is best to just let him go. "Do you feel well enough for transport?" she asks Blurr.
Blurr nods again. "Yeah, I think so." he replies, watching Hot Rod leave. He looks kind of...upset himself for a second because Hot Rod seems to be greatly saddened by something but he's not exactly sure what. But finally he pulls his gaze away, brightening up. "Let's go."
The rails on the back of Panacea rise a bit and she starts driving away. Still, there is something spark stirring about watching Hot Rod wander off on his own.
Category:Kaon Uprising