More Troubles

It's like everything went wrong all at once. One minute Whirl is trying to rob a guy for drug money, the next minute he has a girlfriend and, oh yeah, everyone she knew wants to kill her and also him by association (or vice-versa, it's like everyone wants to kill everyone) so he has to pack up everything and rush off to some other city to talk to some guy he's never met before and who knows what's supposed to happen after that. He didn't get much of an explanation but it doesn't really matter, anywhere's gotta be better than the awful city he was living in before. So, after an indeterminable amount of time getting lost in the underground tunnels, Whirl finally re-emerges on the surface. He takes a good look around, scanning the horizon and everything on it.
"What a shit hole. Why did I come here again?"
Whoa, whoa, whoa! That's Nyon you're talking about! Don't use that kind of language where Hot Rod can hear! Sure, it's a shit hole, but it's /his/ shit hole. He's out and about being terribly conspicuous in a totally innocent and not suspicious at all manner. From ahead, he's easy to spot because flames; from behind, he's easy to spot because spoiler. He's far distant from the others in his little band of misfits, meaning that they are probably up to nothing good -- which is the way it should be. Some enterprising soul has plastered a fresh layer of flyers over other, older pages. Megatron's writing features prominently. Hot Rod peels one of the sheets off the wall -- or tries, anyway, picking at the edge. A medic's hand might be better suited to getting under the edge.
A medic's hand could work but how about a freak's claw? Whirl has absolutely no problem spotting Hot Rod though he's not aware that he is in fact the one he's supposed to be looking for; he's just a guy with super awesome flames and bright colours and Whirl can get behind that kind of tackiness. "You guys have this crap plastered everywhere here too?" He pinches the edge of a flyer with the tips of he claws and rips it right off the wall, various flyers glued underneath coming off with it though it doesn't seem to even put a dent in the problem as there are just soooo many of these stupid things."I can't believe people are taking that guy seriously. Oh boo hoo hoo, the government is mean. Give me a break! It's not like he's the only one with problems, yet somehow he's the one that's getting all the attention." He gives Hot Rod a look. "Am I right? Back me up, guy."
Claws are surprisingly effective. Hot Rod goes, "Nice," and then reaches for the flyer with a short laugh. He looks it over more closely, but his expression suggests less interest and more amusement. "Sure, I'll back you up. He has great PR. Gets all the attention." He loses interest in the flyer fairly shortly to give his attention to Whirl, instead. He gives him a once-over. "You get that stuff everywhere around here. Can't say people aren't eager to hear it." He's fairly neutral about it, but there's a hint of his true feelings that sneaks through when he says, "It's a bit more than just the government being /mean/, but attention's going the wrong places." As in, not to him. That's terrible.'.
All this talk about Megatron causes a certain memory to resurface in Whirl's mind, specifically the one involving beating the crap out of him when Whirl was still a Rodion cop. There's a slight twitch of his head as he recounts this experience but he manages to put it out of his mind. For now. "Megatron's a chump," is all he has to say on that matter. He tears a couple more flyers off the wall just for effect. "You seem like you know your way around here, know some people. I'm looking for someone, maybe you've heard of him." He leans in, giving the other mech an intense stare. "Called Hot Rod. Know who I'm talking about?"
Hot Rod's smile widens to a grin to hear Megatron so labeled. Whatever his feelings on the /government/, he's still not a Megatron fanboy. He can't stand competition. "Soon as you walk away there are going to be ten more back up," he says as he watches Whirl tear them down. "Bigger. More obnoxiously colored." And he's clearly an obnoxious color expert.
Meeting Whirl's stare without effort, Hold Rod holds his gaze and laughs. "Yeah, I know who you're talking about." Rather than be really clever and coy and all 'why are you looking for him' or anything he just goes, "That's me. What'd you need?"
Rewind enters the scene, the small, unassuming gray and white mech making his way through the dilapidated city streets. His ever-present video camera is mounted on his helmet and he approaches this as just one big video-gathering adventure. It's taken him awhile to get this far, since not only do his small legs take longer to travel- but he stops at every even-vaguely-interesting person or landmark to capture footage of it.
But the archivist from the Hall of Records is here for more than video. He received a message from Hot Rod informing him he'd like to speak with him. The last time they talked involved traipsing down tunnels possibly infested with all kinds of nasty and disturbing monsters. For most people that might be a clue NOT to return, but to Rewind? It's just adventure- and adventure looks great on video, anyway!
He comes up to spot Hot Rod speaking to... wow. That must be an empurata victim. Er, survivor. Er. Hmm. He's not sure what term they like to use. The small 'Bot walks towards them, then stops politely and waits for them to notice him- and he makes a point /not/ to stare at Whirl.
Thankfully Hot Rod was honest and didn't try to give him the run around because Whirl has no patience for that sort of thing and he tends to get violent when his patience is tested. Everyone is saved a whole lot of headache this way.
"/You're/ Hot Rod?" He says it like it was really hard for him to believe. When Shiftlock mentioned him, she said he was the leader of some rebel group which led Whirl to believe he would've been a little different. Maybe more grisled. Maybe, a little more.. bad-ass? He's not really sure what he was expecting but a guy painted up in goofy flames wasn't it. "How do you know Shiftlock?"
It's at this moment that Whirl catches sight of Rewind in his peripheral vision (which is surely crippled do to only having a single optic, but nevertheless he manages.) He stares down at the little mech, head tilted to the side. He gets the feeling he's trying to avoid eye-contact. "Can I help you!?" he snaps with an unnneccesary aggressiveness in his tone.
With a name like 'Hot Rod', how could the flames possibly be a surprise. "Tell me she only said good things. You Whirl?" It's probably not hard to imagine what identifying features lead to that guess, but let's just ... move past that, eh? Hot Rod pulls his gaze away from Whirl's hands and back to meet his gaze. "Same way anyone knows her, I guess. She's a friend."
Following the turn of Whirl's attention, he counteracts aggression with welcome: "Rewind!" Hot Rod grins. "You made good time." Since it has already been established that Rewind, in fact, has not, one might assume he got distracted and lost track of time, since he certainly is unlikely to be /polite/.
Rewind flinches just a bit as Whirl turns on him. "Oh! Uh, sorry!" He takes a step back, then looks up at the cyclops. "I..I was just here to talk to Hot Rod!" He scratches at the back of his helmet a little nervously, then decides he may have unwittingly offended this guy. So he tries to alleviate the tension by sticking out his hand- offering a handshake. Clawshake. Whatever. "Hi, my name is Rewind."
He blinks up at Hot Rod. Hey, his middle name is polite! Maybe not "on time", but the small mech is used to being pushed around anyway. He's no doormat, but a disposable tries to let things slide when they can- they usually have to anyway. It's actually managed to make him a reasonably good-natured mech, happily enough. "Hi, Hot Rod! Uh... thanks. I believe you wanted to see me about something?"
In Whirl's experience, the way everyone knows Shiftlock is by putting their interfacing cable in her so this only makes him extremely suspicious of her and Hot Rod's relationship. He told himself he wouldn't be 'that guy' but years of crappy life experiences has conditioned him to expect the worse and he can't help but feel the sharp sting of jealousy. No, no.. he needs to put all those feelings deep down inside of himself so that he can have an epic blow up next time someone unwittingly bumps into him on their way past on the street. "Yes, I am Whirl. I am also one of her... friends. She told me you could help me. Give me a place to go. Give me things to do."
As for poor Rewind, well, Whirl is picking up on his discomfort and nervousness which only means he's going to go out of his way to make the poor guy feel even more uncomfortable and nervous. Nothing personal, Rewind, Whirl just thinks it's funny. He gives Rewind's outstretched hand a look before leveling an intense glare at the mech himself. "Is this some kind of joke?" His claws are shoved in Rewind's face, snapping together loudly with a sickening clang of metal on metal. "Do you think this is funny!?"
A smile on his lips and an answer on his tongue, Hot Rod loses what he was going to say when Rewind's introduction goes so poorly. First things first: he puts his hand between Rewind and Whirl and pushes the archivist back and behind him so that he can stand between them. "Hey, terrify the guy later. Yeah, I can help. But first rule is that we don't attack each other, okay? Keep your anger focused on the people who put us here. I need his help with something, first." Glancing back over his shoulder, he asks, "How far back do your archives go? Can you get into the really /old/ stuff? Nautica could probably use your help." Looking back at Whirl, his expression grows thoughtful. "So you're done with the Senate work?"'.
Rewind blinks. Wait... wait... this isn't going well. At all. Rewind's not sure how to react to Whirl, but being a disposable means he's still trying to stay polite. It's not like he wants to get in a fight with this guy. Rewind's no coward, but he's not stupid either, and little data slugs like him are not exactly equipped to deal with big guys with snapping claws- menacing claws that are snapping right in his face currently. "N-no! I-I'm sorry, I...Uh..." He glances towards Hot Rod, looking for help.
Happily, it arrives, and he's perfectly fine with getting shoved behind flame-bedecked mech. Ok, that might not have been the most dignified thing like ever, but hey, he'll take what he can get. "Thanks. And really?!" he perks up. "Yes, my access to archives is like- second to none!" The small 'Bot puffs up with a little pride. "I've got TONS of records, and I'd be happy to do my best to access even more. What do you need help on?"
If Whirl really wanted to, he would put those claws around Rewind's neck and severed that adorable little head of his and parade it around town already but he really doesn't want to do that; he just wants to screw with him a little bit. Even though Hot Rod seperates them, it doesn't stop Whirl from making more threatening gestures with his claws in Rewind's general direction and laughing about it. What a jerk.
At Hot Rod's inquiry, Whirl just snorts. "I was done with Senate work the second it started, I just wasn't allowed to leave." Only half true. Whirl hated the Senate and anything about it, especially being forced to work for them but sometimes it gave him an excuse to get his anger out in a productive way (just ask Megatron.) "Now it's my turn to ask questions. Just what the hell is your little group all about anyway? Does your mission involve entirely of ripping posters off of walls? Because I could've done that at home."
"No idea," Hot Rod admits to Rewind, which -- great, right? WHY'D HE ASK FOR HIS HELP THEN. "Except that it's old. Nautica's really the one with all the details. You'd also probably love the place we hang out, too. It's old, too." Old things for an old bot who likes old stuff. PS: old. "Here: Nautica's frequency." That's right. He's just /giving it away/.
Turning back to Whirl, Hot Rod flashes a quick smile. "Nah. That particular poster just really had it coming. We're -- helping, I guess." He'd be better at this if he had finished that speech Exodus wanted him to work on, BUT OH WELL. "Everyone says it's getting worse, that it can't last: well, when the storm breaks, Nyon's going to endure, and we're going to make sure of it. Along with anyone else who needs help. Right now that means arming people, training them, and making sure we've got the supplies to see through the worst of it." Does that sound recklessly idealist and poorly thought-out? OH WELL.
Whirl isn't confident that this little group is right for him. Hot Rod seems kind of.. what's the best way to put it? Young? Naive? Way too optimistic? Naive? Wait, he thought that one already. Anyway, the point is that although he doesn't think Hot Rod's motley crew of misfits is going to get anything done, it's still better than living on the streets in Dead End so he'll take it.
"Okay, sounds great, whatever." So rude. "You guys have a base of operations or anything like that?" Yes, Whirl is already trying to find a place to crash in like an unwanted stray cat.
Rewind blinks again as Whirl keeps snapping the claws, but as long as Hot Rod's there he thinks he's probably safe. Probably. The small mech keeps alert just in case- keeping Hot Rod between him and the cyclops. Mostly, though, he tries to focus on Hot Rod. And- wait, what? That's not helpful, Hot Rod, but you did just avert possible disaster so you're forgiven. Rewind taps his chin. "I see. It sounds interesting! So, like, they're old ruins or something? Have they been explored much? Find any artifacts? What about Old Cybertronian texts? Pre-Nyon and after?" He rattles on and on about obscure ancient and geeky things that probably go over most other people's heads.
He receives the frequency, storing that away for safekeeping. "Thanks!" He listens to the rest, tilting his head. "Really? What are you planning for here? Can anyone come?"
"More or less." Hot Rod's cheer thins in the face of Whirl's dismissal. He shifts his attention to Rewind instead. "Anyone who wants to help, anyone who believes in making a difference, yeah. We pool our resources, but everyone has to chip in and help out." He shifts so that he can face them both, although he still makes an effort to stay between Whirl and Rewind. One might get the sense he moved just to make sure that Whirl caught that last bit. /Maybe/. "That means different things to different people. But here's the important part: our loyalty is to the people, not to the government."
The best thing about all this rust and corrosion is that orange and black is a major part of the color scheme. See Shiftlock. See Shiftlock blend in to her surroundings.
She's been sitting apart from the others between one of the old government buildings in the narrows, quiet and morose, trapped in her own head. The sounds of talking finally reach her. She suggested Whirl come here to find a place to hide, perhaps fit in with the bunch, but she's still thinking better of it now. She can't guarantee he isn't crazy, and she's doubting her own judgment a lot lately.
Whirl doesn't want to be a huge asshole and make Shiftlock look bad for suggesting he come here but it's just really hard not to be. Can you blame him? Dude is pretty messed up. "I don't know what you have planned or how I'm supposed to help," he starts, already giving an impression that doesn't instill confidence in anyone. "But I can fight. I can fly. I can shoot a gun. I'm not afraid of anyone or anything. I have no known weaknesses." Obviously he is using this as an opportunity to brag. "Oh yeah, and I have no problem doing the really dirty stuff I'm sure you'll come across. I'm talking about killing. I'll kill people if you need me to."
Rewind listens thoughtfully to Hot Rod. The idealistic mech reminds him a little of Dominus... and Alpha Trion... the way he speaks of change and doing what's right for the people. It's enough to give a near-disposable like him a little bit of hope. Slowly, his head nods up and down. "I...I would really like that. You really want to help *everyone*? Even people like me? What if... the government doesn't like that?"
Then he hears Whirl speaking and.... this guy is most definitely NOT Hot Rod. The archivist finds himself scooting just a bit back behind Hot Rod again at the mention of how Whirl loves "killing people." Though how does he follow up after that speech, anyway? What can HE do? He offers: "Uh... well I.... archive things."
"You can fly, huh?" All the things that Whirl lists, and it is that point which catches Hot Rod's attention rather than the fact that he is UNVULNERABLE or up for murder. "What if you had to carry someone who was injured? Or fly a bunch of medical supplies somewhere? Or take weapons somewhere that the Senate doesn't want you to go?" BORING, RIGHT? Hot Rod lists off these totally boring chores with passion, like it actually matters. "Everyone says it will come to fighting, and they are probably right -- but that's not where we are now. If the Senate comes down on us before we're ready, everything goes up in smoke. So can you walk /away/ from a fight if you have to? Can you help other people get ready to fight?"
Hot Rod rests his hand on Rewind's shoulder, and asks him, next, "What about you? You willing to learn how to defend yourself, and defend other people? Archiving is why I called you, sure, but it's not going to stop there. When I say we help everyone, I mean it. Don't care about caste, function -- or even if you're an Insecticon or whatever. I don't care what the government says, except that I don't like an awful lot of what they do say."
Nope, Shiftlock isn't saying anything yet, she's too busy struggling internally watching all this play out. She's afraid if she comes out and speaks Whirl will get his guts ripped out again. It's just a bit soon.
As boring as that stuff may sound, Whirl is particularly pleased that his gift of flight hasn't gone unnoticed and is enjoying the little bit of positive attention he's getting. If he had a face, he would have the biggest shit-eating grin plastered on it right now. "Oh yeah, sure, I can help people get ready to fight," he says, convieniently ignoring the question that came before it. Truth is, he doesn't think he could walk away from a fight. If he hadn't been blacking out from energon loss, he probably would've kept that fight with Barricade going until the very end. "I was actually considering giving Shiftlock some lessons. I think she has the potentional to be a really skilled fighter, she just needs to be eased into it. Smoothly. Gently... Softly.." He snaps his claws together. "Mmm, yes."
Rewind finds a smile slowly growing on his lip plates as he continues listening to Hot Rod. Wow. Okay, now he's starting to see why this guy seems to keep landing the "leadership" position in the group activities section. He looks up as the larger mech places a hand on his shoulder. And considers what he says. He's sensing that big things are afoot- though he's been sensing this for awhile. "I know something's been building lately... and I know things might get ugly before they get better." He glances around, then looks back up. "I've been kicked around a lot in my life. Been treated like I didn't matter. I know what that feels like."
Rewind straightens up, a steely look in his optics. "Hot Rod, I want to help. I'll learn to defend people. I'll learn how to take these ideals and...and manifest them into a reality we can all benefit from. I... I can't promise I'll be a great fighter or anything, but... I /can/ promise I will give this better world everything I have to give- I will give it my best."
Could it be that Shiftlock is actually -traumatized-? Yes, for the first time in her scrappy little life this bundle of endless energy and enthusiasm has been effectively crushed; the little fire in her belly has been drown by the roaring black tidal wave of Barricade's accusations. Now she sits among the rust and shadows as muddy ash.
She really /does/ want to say something but the words won't come; it's as if her body has seized up and she can't get the engine to turn over and stop. She just watches and listens helplessly, hugging her knees to her chest.
When Whirl dodges, Hot Rod pushes the point: "What about the rest? I'm glad you'll help with the training. We could definitely use it. Enthusiasm only gets you so far in a fire fight." He is the voice of experience, here. His tone sours before he says, "But we've got one person helping out with that stuff already. So you good to help with the rest? She can't do that. Only you can." He weights it heavily -- it's all up to you, Whirl, only you can help.
Meeting Rewind's enthusiasm with warm approval, Hot Rod glances over with a grin. "/That's/ the right attitude. You'll love it there. Total nerd heaven. Not everyone can fight -- but everyone can do /something/."
Whirl does not like to be pushed about anything and it shows. When Hot Rod presses him, there's a change in Whirl's posture. A shift in weight so subtle that it may not be noticeable at first but most definitely is after he opens his (non existant) mouth. "What are you implying, /Hot Rod?/" He says his name like he was using it as an insult, that kind of sarcastic tone like when you call a stupid person 'Einstein.' Yeah, just like that.
The cyclopean mech gets in close to Hot Rod, the helicopter canopy that makes up his impressive rack scraping against the other mech's chest. "You don't think I can do it? Think I'm not good enough or something? Well I can do it. Yeah! I'll do the /hell/ out of those things!"
Rewind feels his spark soar. The archivist has dealt with prejudice, the crushing loss of a /conjunx endura/, and the daily struggles of a "mere" data slug in this functionist society. He's had the kindly help of Alpha Trion recently, but beyond that he's been alone- and a bit adrift. His job has been his whole life, and fortunately he does love that. He's a damn fine archivist- and his passion for that job is a large part why. (Also his incredible storage capacity.) But he wants something more. There must be something more out there... and he thinks to himself now that he may just have found it.
He nods enthusiastically. "Awesome. I can't wait to meet this Nautica and see those old ruins..." He's practically hop-stepping with anticipation. That stops when Whirl gets close again, and Rewind starts running through his archives to see if he can find out more about this mech....
"STOP!"
It comes from the alley not far away where Shiftlock has been watching all this go down. When Whirl gets up in Hot Rod's face she finally has the energy to speak, and it's to try to prevent a reoccurence of the violent assault she witnessed a few days from happening again. She's choking up inside, terrified that yet again, someone is going to be hurt, and it's going to be because of her.
Hot Rod's reaction to challenge is to get right back up in Whirl's face (such as it is). He doesn't back down, but humor brightens his gaze when he listens to what the other says. He might meet the challenge, but he doesn't escalate it. "You think so? Then I'll expect that you're the /best/ at it, Whirl. You've got to be just that good, because people are going to rely on you." He only steps back when Shiftlock bursts out of the alley, and he seems oblivious to her distress when he greets her with a cheerful, "Hey, Shiftlock! You didn't mention Whirl could fly. That's going to be /awesome/."
Rewind turns his head to look as someone yells *stop!* from nearby. Spotting the orange and black femme, Rewind looks a little confused at first, but Hot Rod's reaction puts him a bit more at ease. He glances from one to the other and waits to see what happens next, since walking up and introducing himself doesn't quite seem to be the order of the day here- not until this spat gets resolved, at least.
Shiftlock looks nervously between Hot Rod and Whirl. "You guys weren't -- you weren't fighting right?" she asks very timidly, curled up against the wall on the ground.
"Nah, Shiftlock." Hot Rod takes another step back from Whirl with an easy, open-handed gesture. Look! Friendly. We're all friends, here. "Hey, have you met Rewind? He's going to be working with Nautica on stuff." You know, nerd stuff. This is called changing the subject. Behold the subtlety with which he manages it!
Rewind looks up at Hot Rod, then to Shiftlock. He waves a hand briefly... just makes sure that hand doesn't go near Whirl. "Hi, nice to meet you!"
"It's nice to meet you too, Rewind." And then Shiftlock is suddenly depressed because if you painted Rewind a different color he'd look like Rumble. She scoots more into the alley and into the shadows, the lighted lines along her frame the only thing visible. "I'm just... just gonna stay in here awhile. Don't mind me."
Whirl's head snaps around when he hears Shiftlock's voice. "Me!? Fighting!?" He swings an arm around Hot Rod's shoulders whether he likes it or not and pulls him in close. Uncomfortably close. "Naw, you were right about this guy. He's pretty okay." Normally people who try to stand up to Whirl get punched in the face, but he totally digs Hot Rod's style even if he thinks the guy is kind of a naive idiot. "I'm sure we'll have to fight at some point but.. it's a mech thing, you know?"
Without any way to convey emotion, it's impossible to tell but Whirl is a bit distressed at Shiftlock's current state, even more so when she slinks back into the shadows. Whirl shoves Hot Rod away like he was old news and turns all his attention onto Shiftlock, shuffling his way into the alley and disappearing into the mysterious shadows after her. "What are you doing? I can't see your pretty face when you're hiding out like that!"
Rewind tilts his head at her reaction. He doesn't know why Shiftlock suddenly looked sad at the sight of him. There's another glance towards Hot Rod, because he's THE LEADER and LEADERS SHOULD KNOW EVERYTHING, RIGHT? Then back to Shiftlock as she scoots away. "Uh... did I... do something wrong?"
Hot Rod glances over at Rewind in third wheel solidarity as Whirl goes after Shiftlock. "Nah. Just some complicated stuff." One might get the feeling he says 'stuff' a lot to encapsulate all manner of complications. "Whirl and Rewind'll be joining us," he says in a louder voice. "You guys want to head back so we can start showing you around?"
"I'll uh -- I'll be along! Might have to take the underground path OKAY I'LL CATCH UP WITH YOU IN THE BASE-!!" Shift panicks and drops down into a sewer grate, dissappearing TMNT style.
"Wait, Shiftlock! I-" BUT IT'S TOO LATE. Whirl can only snap his claws at where Shiftlock used to be before she disappears underground. At the realization that she totally ran away from him, his shoulders slump and he hangs his head low. He also knew deep down inside that someone actually liking him on an intimate level was too good to be true. He messed up and he messed up pretty bad and it's caused him to lose the only decent thing he's had in his life since he lost his hands. "Yeah.. I guess we should be going," he says, re-emerging from the alley, body still slumped.
Rewind nods to Hot Rod. "Oh, I see." He doesn't, really, but... he does. People are complicated, he knows this. He'll just have to roll with it. He feels bad though- he doesn't like seeming to be the reason someone is sad.
On that weird note, Hot Rod says, "Okay!" He forges ahead as though a sunny tone can light them through these awkward times, leading the way to secret bases and explaining things as he goes. There are a number of introductions to make when they get there. Hopefully they get through them without any actual fighting.