CRACKHOUSE

It’s an ordinary evening in Vos, and this megacycle, Rung is out and about in the city on a patient visit. Except this patient's hab suite is on the outskirts of Vos and rather difficult to find. 
 It's no consolation that dusk is falling, leaving the small, elfin psychatrist to wander the dark alleys at the city's edge alone and unarmed.
Thundercracker is heading back into Vos after another day of patrolling the area looking for his friend. He has no idea where Swivel has vanished too but hes worried about her. As he comes into the city limits his radar pings a ground mech, a small ground mech and one that shouldnt be here. The blus Seeker wingovers and drops down heading straight for where Rung is. As he gets closer, Thundercracker recognizes the mech. "What are you doing here?" he asks as he transforms and lands on front of the small headshrink mech.
Rung startles, dropping his briefcase. "Oh!" he cries. 
 But when he sees it's just Thundercracker, he mutters a bit unhappily. "Don't /ever/ do that again, you surprised me! Unpleasantly." 
 His expression then eases. "Ah, I didn't think I would see you again. How have you been?"
Thundercracker stares at Rung for a moment, "I didnt want to see you again either. How are you still alive? Why do you want to know how IVe been?"
Rung pauses. "That is a good question," he says, "sometimes I am not certain how I have made it this far," he says, holding up a finger. 
 "Well, it was a simple greeting. I take it you haven't been well."
Thundercracker flicks a wing and debates answering the smaller mech but finally he says, "I cant find a friend of mine. Why are you in Vos anyway?”
"I am visiting a patient," The psychiatrist says amiably, shrugging. "but I can't seem to find his house," he says, continuing down the street. "Would you like to help me?"
"Fine." Thundercracker says and starts following Rung, "So whats his name?"
"His name is Sky Byte," he says, tapping a thoughtful finger on his chin. "I've never met him before, actually, but recently I was passing through Polyhex and I met a strange fellow by the name of Bumsteer, and he urged me to add Sky Byte to the list of patients I ought to see. He said they were dear friends that that Sky Byte was going through a bit of depression lately--apparently a very artistic sort of fellow disappointed by the entertainment hiatuses. I couldn't say no, so here I am. I'm not exactly certain that he lives here, but Bumsteer /did/ give me this address." Rung hands Thundercracker a datapad with a very obscure address on it--and the seeker would know, he used to live in Vos...
Thundercracker takes the datapad and looks it over. "Yea ok I know where this is." he has no clue. "ITs that way." well hes got the direction right at any rate. He starts off that way, "And what kind of mech is named Bumsteer?" he laughs, "Must suck to be him.”
"Well," Rung says, looking uncertain, "I suppose it's the sort of name a mech who cannot give valid information might have.." 
 Perhaps Rung is too trusting. He just follows Thundercracker like a lamb. "He did have a nose ring. And dreads! I have never seen the like on a Cybertronian before…"
Thundercracker stops suddenly (look out Rung if youre behind him) "Wait a minute. How do you know he was even telling the truth?" he looks at hte address again and runs it through his data banks, "IVe never heard of a skybite either.”
Rung bumps into Thundercracker. "Oof!" He falls over. "Well, I don't usually just turn down a referral like that," the little psychiatrist says a little sourly. 
 He rubs his helm. "Just because you haven't heard of him doesn't mean he doesn't exist." He frowns. "He just said, 'you'll know him when you see him..’”
Thundercracker watches Rung his the ground and then shrugs "Ok then I guess we will." he turns and heads toward the address he finally pulled the location of out of his databanks, "Dont suppose youve seen a little femme with giant tires on her back lately have you? Shes a courier.”
"Oh so you mean the friend you were looking for was Swivel? I have no idea. I haven't heard from her since.. well, last time I saw she was in prison. It's most likely she got released and left the planet." Rung places a hand on Thundercracker's arm. "I'm sorry..."
"I hope they didnt kill her." The blue Seeker does sound worried, "She was just at the wrong place at hte wrong time. The Autobots are so pumpless you know. Its past time for them to be put in their place.”
"No," Rung says, "I don't believe she was killed. I do know that she got released from prison. After that, I'm not sure. Like I was saying before, she most likely left the planet. She's probably alright. At least, I hope so." 
 The psychiatrist suddenly stops walking. "Ah! Look, I believe this is it...!" He approaches the structure, which by Thundercracker's standards, looks a lot like a haunted house…
Thundercracker stops and looks at Rung, "Left the planet? Without telling me? Why-- thats a creepy place." he looks at the building.
Rung sighs. "I don't know, I'm just guessing, I haven't heard from her. I'm really sorry. But you ought to try to move on." 
 And as if it weren't already creepy enough, dark and mysterious music akin to a horror house piano ballad can be heard coming from a side window. 
 Rung doesn't seem particularly afraid. "Come," he says, "this will ease your mind." And he walks up to the front door, looking for all the world as if nothing is wrong.
Thundercracker cycles some air through his intakes, "Ease my mind? This? Youre nuts." he begrudgingly follows the small mech inside and then looks around cautiously. "And what if i dont want to move on? What if I want to find out what happened to her and where shes at?"
"I'm sure she's alright," Rung consoles, "you can endeavor to find out, but what if you don't? You'll be so burdened, my friend." 
 Rung knocks, but there's no answer. However, the door, improperly locked, drifts open. The psychiatrist steps inside. The inside of the house is dim and empty, and several ceiling beams above them are broken. The creepy music is louder now--it really sounds like someone is playing out their spark on some Primus forsaken stringed instrument that's out of tune…
"I wont know unless I try." Thundercracker says and the makes a face. "The music can stop any time now." he looks at hte broken beams, "Maybe someone came and got this mech and beat his aft for this horrible music." yea what he says makes no sense as the musics still playing but he doesnt care.
"Well I wish you all the best," Rung says with a quiet nod. The psychiatrist frowns. "You know, this music /is/ rather off-putting," he says, agreeing with Thundercracker. "I wonder...hmm.." 
 The small orange mech wanders closer to the source of the sound, and if Thundercracker follows, it won't belong before he'll start to hear the sound of someone sobbing pitifully..
Thundercracker does indeed follow Rung and hears the sobbing. "Guess you found Skybite." he says quietly.
Thundercracker may be rather surprised to find that this so called Sky Byte is a multicolored shark with optics like British teacups, which are spouting a fountain of tears like a broken hose. However, as soon as they enter the room, he startles, bowling over the strange string instrument he must have been playing a moment ago. "AGH!" he cries, "I was having ME TIME! EXCUSE ME!" 
 Rung deadpans at Sky Byte, not sure what to make of the weird shark. "...are you alright?" he asks timidly.
Thundercracker stares for a moment and opens his mouth to say something but then changes his mind. He just keeps staring.
The multicolored shark wipes his face, frowning. "Don't be RIDICULOUS, OF COURSE I'm FINE. After all I can hardly ever cry without those ATROCIOUS Empties bothering me, gathering my tears like I'm some sort of.. D'oh, I don't know, energon fountain!" He scowls, and somehow, he hovers a good four feet off the ground. Then he notices the stringed instrument lying on the ground and looks dismayed. "Oh no...! I've broken it.. again." His pupils dilate. He notices Thundercarcker staring at him. "What are /you/ looking at?!" 
 Rung attempts to right the fallen instrument, but his frame is too slight. "...ahem. I heard you were in great need of... some help...emotionally..."
Thundercracker huffs, "Thats an understatement, Rung." he stares back at Skybite. "Im staring at you."
"Ah..." Rung looks around uncertainly, perhaps starting to regret having invited Thundercracker to join him. "Well, it's not /that/ bad...now, would you like to tell me what's on your mind?" 
 The seeker's comment seems have made the shark extremely insecure. "W-what?! U-Understatement!? And what are you staring at me for?! I-I..." He stares back at Thundercracker, optics wide, fins trembling. Then he frowns, suddenly looking contemplative. He somehow props his chin up with one of his fins, while twisting the other one impossibly to support the other. "Hmmm, you may be a suitable test subject..." He doesn't appear interested in answering Rung's question.
Thundercracker frowns, "Whos a suitable test subject? Not me.”
"Yes, yes, YOU," The shark says, grabbing Thundercracker's arm suddenly, "...yes. This can work. If I can just PROVE that they look suitable, perhaps our underground performance WON'T be a flop." He starts dragging the seeker towards a ramshackle looking storage closet near the back.
Rung is being ignored. He sighs, and gives Thundercracker a look that could be read as, 'Help me, get his attention so that I can help him.’
"Hey wait a minute!" Thundercracker says and resists the pull by the shark. "What are you talking about?" he loks at Rung. "Help you? Whos being dragged away here?”
Sky Byte pulls on Thundercracker's arm even harder, protoforming so that he can leverage his weight against the seeker. The shark's primary mode is weird aft as well--somehow, his dorsal fin ends up being an extension of his helm. "It's not like it's going to be PAINFUL or anything!" he insists. Once they're in front of the storage closet, Sky Byte flings it open. A multitude of showy costumes tumbles out of it, nearly burying the seeker. 
 Rung grumbles. "You could resist a bit mightier.." But a large crown tumbles out of the closet and knocks the psychiatrist on the helm, bowling the small mech over.
Thundercracker cant help it and busts out laughing when Rung gets his bell .. rung. Then he looks back at the shark and raises an optic ridge at his helm and then tries to untangle himself from what fell out of the closet. "What is your damage, mech?" he asks fially.
Rung huffs, entangled in a massive, pink cape. "Very funny," he mutters grumpily, wrangling with the cape. 
 "I'm not DAMAGED! I'm FUNCTIONING, you fool! Hmph," The multicolored shark harrumphs. He continues to rummage through the closet, tossing out each unwanted item. "no.. no.. no..." he mutters. Most of them will continue to either knock Rung over or get flung into Thundercracker's face. Finally he produces a horrendously ugly mask that is supposedly representative of Zeta. "This! It should fit PERFECTLY!" He then attempts to put the mask on Thundercracker…
Thundercracker smacks the mask away, "I dont want to wear that! What are you trying to do anyway?”
Rung, who has managed to free himself of the pink cape, has stood up again only to get knocked down by the Zeta mask that Thundercracker has smacked aside. "....!" He is bowled over once again. Thank you, Thundercracker, you're so considerate. -.- 
 "Ack!" The shark fumes. "Careful, you almost BROKE it!" He scowls. "I'm trying to prove that it CAN look good, if one has the struts to try it on!" He picks up another mask, this one supposedly representative of Orion Pax. "You ought to audition," he sniffs, "my colleague and I are putting on a musical satire of our governmental body, can you SING?”
Thundercracker watches Rung get bowled over by the Zeta mask, the look on his face unreadable then he looks back at the shark. "No I cant sing! Why would I want to sing?"
"Because, singing is GOOD," Sky Byte says in a sing song voice. "La la la la la~" He hums, trying to make Thundercracker wear the Orion Pax mask. He skips over to the fallen piano and rights it, starting to bang out a jaunty melody on the out of tune instrument. "When you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything~~" 
 Rung looks over at Thundercracker sourly. "You're not helping..."
Thundercracker smacks the pax mask away as well and shakes his head, "Im not singing." he looks at Rung again, "Your the head medic, this is your job to sort out not mine. Im not even sure why Im here." 
 "Ugh!! You are simply INSUFFERABLE!" Sky Byte cries, transforming out of frustration. He curls his fins scroll shaped little balls and takes a jab at the seeker, thoroughly annoyed. "First you BARGE in here, UNANNOUNCED, disturbing my ME TIME and PRIVACY! And then!! You refuse to do me a simple favor. Sure, it's ILLEGAL and the show is supposed to be SECRET, but STILL!!" He waves his fins emphatically, looking a lot like the left shark at Katy Perry's Superbowl show. 
 "I'm .. .DISGUSTED!" 
 Rung sighs. "I suppose it was very sweet of you to accompany me in here. But you aren't helping me engage the patient." He stands up and approaches Sky Byte. "Calm down," he says, "I'll help you find someone who will willingly sing a song for you and try on all your costumes," he says, "if you'll agree to have a session with me back at my office in Iacon. This atmosphere is.. non conducive to therapy.." 
 "THERAPY?!" The shark's optics dilate into giant red saucers nearly a hand span wide.
Thundercracker folds his arms, "Hes not my patient." he looks at skybyte, "Yea you need therapy. Ther-a-py.”
"I know," Rung says, "but if you didn't intend to help me at all, you wouldn't have accompanied me here," the psychiatrist says, patting Thundercracker's arm with a small smile. "Now.." He reaches for Sky Byte's fin. 
 Sky Byte jerks away, optics nearly bugging out of his processor. "N-no!! I don't need therapy!! And I HEARD you the FIRST TIME! What do you think I am, DEAF?" the shark looks like he might burst into tears. Again.
Thundercracker looks at Skybyte the looks at Rung, "What kind of therapy are you going to give him? Was it like when you got in my head?”
Sky-Byte trembles. "G-get inside my head? O-oh Primus...." the shark starts shaking from nose to tail. "DID HE READ YOUR MIND!!!" Sky Byte invades Thundercracker's personal space rudely, optics still wide. 
 Rung sighs. "... Ah, no, it wasn't like that." He places a hand on his helm. "Thundercracker... you're /really/ not helping..."
Thundercracker suddenly has a shark up close and personal in his face. "No but he —“
Then Rung makes his comment and Thundercracker says instead. "It just felt like it. Besides why would a flying shark be scared of him?" he motions at Rung, "You backfire and you’ve knocked him down.”
"..." 
 "...you're absolutely right," Sky Byte says, his gaze sliiiiiding over to Rung then back over at Thundercracker. "...Th-there's n-no reason to be afraid.." But he still looks absolutely mortified. 
 Rung tsks. "You don't need to be afraid," he says, "and, I can assure you that Thundercracker is /not/ going to help you feel any less insecure, or remediate the fact that the lack of public entertainment has your mood in the pits." 
 Sky-Byte leaps into Thundercracker's arms (or tries to) "HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT!!" 
 "H-help me!" he begs the seeker. "HE'S READING MY MIND.'
Thundercracker gets a shark in his arms suddenly. He stumbles a step back. "Hey! I might not make you feel worse but Im not going to be your taxi either. And he just took a good guess about whats on your mind. He cant read your mind." though TC isnt so sure about that.
"YOU TRICKED ME?!?!" The shark seems to have assumed that Thundercracker's statement about getting inside his head had meant mind reading. "How DARE you!! Why would you lie to me like that?! I don't UNDERSTAND!!" He leaps out of Thundercracker's arms, and attempts to slap the seeker silly with his tail. 
-Combat- Sky-Byte hit Thundercracker with a melee attack!
 Rung tries to intervene. "He didn't trick you! I don't read minds, only outliers possess abilities akin to wireless interfacing!!" Unfortunately, the psychiatrist is too slight, and is unable to stop the Predacon from attacking Thundercracker.
Thundercracker is so confused and then gets his bell rung by a shark fin. "Hey you didnt say anything about bodily injury, Rung! I was just suppose to find this mech for you." he glares at the shark. "I hit back! Dont do that again!”
Rung looks frustrated. "This ... didn't go as planned," he mutters, sighing. "I'm sorry..." 
Sky-Byte shakes a curled pectoral fin at the two of them. "Enough of your shenanigans, you hooligans! I don't need THERAPY!" And with that, the shark flies out a window indignantly.
Thundercracker raises a hand toward Skybite as if he was going to say something and then changes his mind as the shark flings himself out the window and flies off. He looks at Rung, “Whuu?"
Rung simply rubs his helm. "Don't ask. I'm as much at loss as you are," the psychiatrist says, watching as the shark flies off in a huff. 
 He checks the time. "Hm, well unfortunately that's all the time I have. I have to be back in Iacon for another patient visit," the psychiatrist says, "but it was nice to see you. I wish you well with whatever comes next," he says hopefully.
Thundercracker flicks a wing, "Yea, right...Im doing my brothers job now."
"Oh dear, that sounded resentful," Rung says as he packs up and heads for the egress, "I'd assume it's not something you like doing?"
Thundercracker shrugs, "I dunno. My brother said his job was meant for me but he got it and now I got it -- its ok i guess. I cant get that block head Ramjet to listen to me though.. hes a moron."
"May I ask," Rung says patiently, "what the position and title is?"
Thundercracker says quietly, "Air Commander."
Thundercracker adds, "All the Seekers have to listen to me."
"Ah," Rung says quietly with a small smile. "Leadership isn't easy my friend. Some may see it as an opportunity to assert authority and act superior, but an excellent leader is one who knows how to carry burdens and make sacrifices for the group as a whole." 
 The small orange psychiatrist steps over to the public transit platform just as a transport pulls up. "I hope that helps you," he says, as he boards.
Thundercracker nods a bit, "It might. I will think on it." he watches him get on board. "Will you make it back in one piece? Zetas a nutcase from what Ive seen. And youre going right back to where hes at.”
"It's alright," Rung says with utter calmness, leaning out a window to place a reassuring hand on Thundercracker's shoulder. "I'll make it back in one piece, don't worry." 
 He smiles, and then the transport takes off, heading back towards Iacon.