129/My Brother's Keeper

**Phantom has posed:**
It has been about three quarters of a megacycle since the foreign seeker had run into Swivel while out on a test fly with Windcry, one of the students from the academy, so Phantom is back here, although rather later, as he has a habit of being dilatory with out reason. Swivel may have been sitting there for a few hours in anticipation wondering if he would even show at all, but perhaps just as she is about to leave, the sound of jet engines overhead can be heard.

 Protoforming before he lands in front of Swivel, he looks down at her, hands on his hips. "Are you ready?" he asks, frowning a little.

**Swivel has posed:**
Stay? Go? It was a hard enough decision to actually meet up with Phantom. Her cowardice prompted her not to show up. Her self preservation, however, reminded her that angering Seekers is bad. Then her cowardice agreed with self preservation, and so it was cowardice that delayed her, but also that brought her in the end. However, her resolve, as time dragged on, was on the decline. So when Phantom actually made his appearance, the femme almost jumped out of her armour in result to her wires being wound tight.

 And there's the question - is she ready? Swivel both honestly and glibly answers, "No."

**Windcry has posed:**
Windcry lands just shortly after Phantom does, making sure she's just a bit behind and to the side of the more experienced Seeker. She wears an expression of mild amusement on her face. "You're frowning again," she says to Phantom. "It's obvious the poor femme is scared enough as it is. Scowling at her won't make things any better you know." She glances over at Swivel, keeping her hands at her side in a neutral position rather than crossing them where she finds it most comfortable. After all, she doesn't want to give advice and then ignore her own words. But she lets Phantom deal with Swivel directly.

**Phantom has posed:**
"I am frowning because I don't know what I think of her yet," Phantom responds, still frowning. "Okay," he says to Swivel, "let's go, no more thinking about how you don't want to go." He scoops her up under her stomach gently then activates his boosters. He glances back at Windcry, nodding for her to follow his lead.

**Swivel has posed:**
"Whaaaa? No more thinki- meep!" Gentle as Phantom may be, the femme is not overly thrilled about her feet no longer touching the ground. Instinctively, her legs begin kicking out wildly as if trying to run away - which is fruitless since there is only air. Following this, she goes from struggling to sandbagging, becoming a limp mass in Phantom's arms. She can't make herself heavier, but she does manage to redistribute her weight in a way in which carrying her is awkward. THIS only lasts for a few moments, before she realises being dropped, even before he reaches his full altitude, is an AWFUL thing. Suddenly, the femme tightens up and she squirms in his grasp, trying to turn around so that she may latch onto him like a baby koala.

**Windcry has posed:**
"That's what neutral expressions are for," Windcry suggests with a faint shrug before she uses her boosters to follow Phantom and his 'precious' bundle. Shaking her head, she follows the unlikely duo, watching as Swivel changes posture and attitude rather rapidly several times in succession. And she manages to not laugh at the image of her trying to cling to Phantom. "Well, at least this trip won't be dull," she murmurs to herself.

**Phantom has posed:**
"H-hey!" Phantom protests when Swivel changes position on him, clinging to him as if death were about to overtake her. "You are making it hard for me to fly!" He banks left wildly, perhaps frighting Swivel. Well, at least his hand is on her back if she accidentally lets go. "Ugh," he says to Windcry, "do you want to carry her?"

**Swivel has posed:**
The turbulence caused by Swivel's struggling causes her to freeze for a moment. Finally, she manages to calm herself, somewhat, but still is tense and clinging to Phantom as though her life depended on it. She shuts off her visual feed to try and manage the vertigo that has crept up on her. "Eurgh.... oh... please... please dun try 'n 'and me off mid-flight. Please?" the femme entreats in the most piteous voice she can muster.

**Windcry has posed:**
"Is that an honest question?" Windcry asks. "If you order me to carry her, I will carry her." She shrugs. "But if you really want to know my opinion, I'll tell you that too." As for Swivel's opinion, well, she's already made that known.

**Phantom has posed:**
"Ugh!" Phantom complains. "You don't want to," he pouts, "that is not good. For me," he says. Apparently he didn't want to order Windcry to carry her. He isn't that sort, it seems.

 "Yes, yes," he says softly but impatiently, "I am not going to drop you," he says with a sigh, sounding exasperated.

 The ride is only an excruciating twenty breems for Swivel, after that, they land.

**Swivel has posed:**
The small femme is eager to get her feet back on something solid, and as they descend, she seems to almost try and reach the ground with her feet, as if by doing so, the landing would go faster. Once landed, Swivel looks about herself uncertainly.

**Windcry has posed:**
"If she was meant to fly, she'd have wings. Since she's not meant to fly, it was obviously terrifying for her," Windcry surmises. How's that for some Functionist logic? "Next time you do something like this, maybe think of a better way to carry the grounder before hand?" she suggests. Then she offers Swivel a brief smile. "You're still in one piece; that's something, now isn't it?"

**Quantum has posed:**
The location Swivel has guided them to appears to be some abandoned warehouse, its windows shuttered and its walls dusty and cracked. In fact, the doors are stuck partially open, revealing an empty interior. Well at least it appears to be empty...

**Phantom has posed:**
Phantom shakes his helm at Windcry. "She can be afraid, she is not hurt, that is all that matters," he says a bit callously.

 He looks around at where they've arrived, looking unimpressed. "What the hell?" he says a bit grumpily. "This isn't where my brother is...!" Still, he approaches the warehouse.

**Swivel has posed:**
"Oy... I told ya it'd prolly be empty...." Swivel murmurs. Still, she walks in cautiously. "This /IS/ th'place." Swivel tries to remember when she first awoke in this structure. Pushing past the haze, juxtaposing a memory of Quantum's beaten form over the noew empty warehouse, she walks to the wall he once was chained to.

**Windcry has posed:**
Windcry presses her lips into a thin line and nods her head to show she heard Phantom. But she's not going to argue it now. Quietly she moves towards the side of the warehouse, indicating that she'll check around the side and back, just in case. After all, on Cybertron, things aren't always as they first appear to be.

**Phantom has posed:**
He goes inside, frowning. "Huh, really," he says, "where was he?" he asks, entering the warehouse and looking around. He glances up at the ceiling, then down around at his surroundings. "You better not be lying," Phantom growls at Swivel.

**Quantum has posed:**
Sure enough, that wall Swivel had awoken across from still has those chains hanging from it, though they are of course empty now. There are a number of crates lying around, most of which are empty (though perhaps it couldn't hurt to sort through them), and energon stains on the floor and walls. There's a small cart that wasn't there before, tipped over on its side. The window she'd seen before now has several cracks in its frame.

**Swivel has posed:**
"Wot good woo' lyin' do fer me?" Swivel ripostes as she tentatively places her hands on a wall. She looks at the chains, now hanging empty and impotently from the wall. "'E was roight 'ere..." she says. Swivel glances at the crates, but remains by the wall Quantum had once occupied. She brings the side of her head very close to it, and knocks on the wall sharply, listening carefully. Meanwhile, her optics go black but emit a soft indigo glow.

**Windcry has posed:**
Windcry is carefully counting her steps outside the building, just in case there are hidden rooms inside. Does she hear Swivel tapping on the wall from out there? That is a good question. Either way, she's looking for inconsistencies or clues. Now she just needs a cowardly turbo-dog and someone who turns into a garish van.

**Phantom has posed:**
Phantom glances over at Swivel, brow ridges suddenly furrowing. "What are you doing?" he asks. He comes closer to see what she's examining. "What's this?" he asks intrusively, peering at the wall she's tapping on. He looks around at the energon stains on the floor, but his gaze eventually rests on the tipped over cart. "..."

**Quantum has posed:**
The wall doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary, nor can Swivel hear anything else unusual. It seems for the time being to simply be an abandoned warehouse where some kind of struggle had occurred a while ago. And with all the tension going on, it should come as no surprise.

**Swivel has posed:**
A long silence comes from Swivel as she looks at the stains. She looks at the crates. She looks at Phantom. Then she looks at the chains again. She opens her mouth to say some inane platitude, but then realises how pointless and silly it would be to try and be encouraging. Instead she walks over to some of the crates to verify that they are all empty.

**Windcry has posed:**
Windcry continues her investigation outside. Sure, she's not trained for this, but she's not really thinking about what she can't do; she's thinking about what she can. Keeping the step count in her head, she progresses along the wall, looking for things out of the ordinary. Or even ordinary things that might have some significance. Her audials are strained in case there are sounds of conflict.

**Phantom has posed:**
Phantom arches a brow ridge at Swivel, seeing that she has not discovered anything that might be useful, he grows more skeptical. He stands up and walks over to the cart that has been tipped over examining it carefully, saying nothing to either Swivel or Windcry.

**Quantum has posed:**
As Swivel is sorting through the crates, most of them are in fact empty, though she does find one that has some random miscellaneous objects in it. Mostly trash it seems, though. Empty shells, casings to Primus knows what, broken tools, and defunct datapads.

    Outside, Windcry doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary until someone approaches her. The stranger appears to be a dull yellow color and similar in form to her, though she doesn't recognize him from the VFA. "Excuse me ma'am but are you looking for something?" he asks.

**Quantum has posed:**
The cart Phantom is looking at is broken in several places. Something violent definitely went down here. There are also some medical tools on the floor near it, as if they had been on top of it before. Scalpels, welders, and the like.

**Swivel has posed:**
"Junk..." Swivel says, idly tossing a screwed-up screwdriver over her shoulder. However, she's lived off of junk before, and she fishes around among the crate a little longer, pocketing expended shells and the defunct datapads, but leaves behind broken tools. She knows a few people that could make use of this stuff.

 "Nuttin' much 'ere... but..." Swivel wanders back over to the places where Quantum was, looking at the old energon stains. She looks for directionality, such as drag marks, that might indicate which direction he was taken once removed from the chains.

**Phantom has posed:**
Phantom's brow ridges crease and he begins sorgin through the medical tools and welders, his concern mounting. "What the hell.." he mutters, suddenly growing angry at the prospect of someone using those tools on Quantum. "Hey!" he says to Swivel. "Did you see what they did to him?"

**Windcry has posed:**
Windcry holds up a hand. "Shhh," she says. "Counting." Then she makes a slightly exaggerated expression of concentration as she keeps moving and counting. She doesn't know the mech, so she's not about to get all confidential with him. So she does what she's always done: she lowers expectations.

**Quantum has posed:**
As Phantom examines the tools, he finds they are soiled with fuel. Without further testing he can't prove whose it is, but they have certainly been used.

    As Swivel continues to search through the 'junk', it's not much longer before she finds something familiar--in fact, it looks just like that case she'd been given. Only this one is cracked, open, and empty. There's actually a label on the inside, with small printed letters that read: "Thymesis Munitions" along with a contact hailing frequency and a set of coordinates located near the old Thymesis mining facility on Luna-2.

    The stranger frowns and steps in front of her, barring her progress. "No, seriously what are you doing? This area is restricted. It's not like some bar--people don't just hang around here for fun."

**Swivel has posed:**
"Nuh-uh. I dinna see wot they did, jus' th'results. An it wun good. 'En they said if I din d'ther job, I'd end up loik 'im or worse," Swivel recounts. She takes a moment to glance over at the spilts medical supplies, and her optics light up. But then her hand closes around something that feels familiar. She looks at the case and immediately knows that case. "Oy! I jus' kinna b'rid o'these!" the femme exlcaims. She squints reading the information. "...Ugh... Luna-2."

**Phantom has posed:**
Phantom expression darkens and he clenches his fists. "I am going to kill them. All of them," he growls, optics flashing. Then Swivel picks up something interesting and his attention snaps back to their investigation. "Hey--! That's just like that other one they gave you!" He snatches it, frowning. "Luna 2... that is the moon right?"

**Windcry has posed:**
Windcry triggers her radio as subtly as she can, but not the reception, tight beaming to Phantom. She's not talking to him directly, but she's hoping he's bright enough to pick up what she's trying to convey. Instead, she talks to the person interrupting her progress. Putting her hands on her hips, she gives the mech an annoyed, yet somewhat vacant look. "< Now you've made me lose count. How am I supposed to get BACK to where I was? >" As if it was the WORST thing in the world that this mech did and it's all on him to fix it.

**Swivel has posed:**
The little femme nods dismally. "Yeah, out there..." Swivel says quietly, making a subtle indication towards the ceiling, and by extension, the sky with the bob of her head. "Yer grabby. 'Enone e'er tell ya that? I dunno if it's normel where ya come from, but 'en I used ta grab things I'd get whacked. That's 'en I was a newspark. Jus' sayin'...." Swivel says, sounding as though she is trying to be genuinely helpful rather than annoyed.

**Quantum has posed:**
"Look, stop acting like an idiot." The mech is starting to get impatient. "Tell me what you're doing here. Are you alone?" he demands, his body language becoming a bit aggressive. He's ready to use force if he has to, it seems.

    Sure enough, Phantom will also notice the label Swivel has just discovered. It is kind of damaged and therefore blurred, but still legible.

**Phantom has posed:**
Phantom back away from her, as if to protect himself. "Don't hit me," he says arching a brow ridge at her. He continues examining the case. Then Windcry radios him, and he frowns, setting the case down.

 "<Who's outside?>" he asks, quickly sidling up to a window to see what's going on.

**Windcry has posed:**
"< It's just me out here. And you, of course, whoever you are Yellow Guy. >" Windcry sighs and taps her foot on the ground. "< Are you security around here, or do you just like harassing femmes and making them loose their steps? >" Stalling seems to be her best plan right now, and she keeps her expression annoyed and vacant.

**Swivel has posed:**
"Wuh? I wunna gonna whack ya, I as jus' sayin' tha's.... ah nevermind." Swivel pushes out her lower lip petulantly as she examines the medical tools for anything that might be useful. For some reason, the sight of the scalpel unnerves her more than the other objects. Her pouting dims until she wears a blank expression.

 Swivel has no idea that Windcry might be in trouble. After all, she's not receiving the transmissions.

**Quantum has posed:**
Phantom will catch sight of Windcry and a dull-yellow colored seeker frame through the damaged window. He looks rather agitated. "Listen, it doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that the only reason anyone would be hanging around here is if they were after something or someone," he says, gesturing toward the vacated warehouse before drawing a gun on her. "So why don't you tell me what that something is, and whether you're with anyone else while you still -can-." he threatens.

**Phantom has posed:**
Phantom's optics narrow and he reaches for his blaster. "Don't go anywhere," He says to Swivel, then phases through the wall, hiding behind some piles of scrap and junk, watching the situation with Windcry unfold, his photo rifle ready should things go to hell in a hand basket.

**Windcry has posed:**
Pfft! "< Oh, guns. I have those too, >" Windcry says, bringing one of her arm lasers upwards. Catching sight of Phantom, she gives him a barely perceptible nod, but doesn't otherwise react. "Was there anything else you wanted to compare?" she asks the Yellow Mech, as though she hadn't been threatened at all. Even so, her optics are watching his micro movements, ready to spring into a dodge if she has to.

**Swivel has posed:**
'Don't go anywhere?'

 The command echoes and bounces around in Swivel's processor. But she doesn't want to be alone if there is danger, and pulling out a blaster means danger. Swivel frantically looks about herself, and then looks at the wall Phantom phases through suspiciously. Swivel walks over, tentatively placing her hand on the wall, wondering if it was an illusion. But if so, how would Pphantom have known about it? Swivel taps the wall lightly, and then presses against it with more force. She then experimentally punches it with a loud WHACK. Instantly she retracts her hand, holding it tenderly and letting out a small cry of pain.

**Quantum has posed:**
The mech curses when Windcry also draws her own weapons and fires immediately. Given that she's so close, the shot hits. However, since she was prepared for such an attack, she manages to avoid taking too much damage, the blast grazing a shoulder.

    Swivel's punch actually causes the wall to crack and crumble in the spot where her fist impacted it. It seems the structure was already in a weakened state.

**Phantom has posed:**
Phantom draws his weapon as well, and fires, also striking the yellow seeker. "Where is my brother, Quantum?" he growls, optics flashing. When Swivel strikes the wall and gives out a small wail, his attention is momentarily diverted. A hint of concern crosses his features, but as quickly as it comes, it disappears. He reaches for the mech's arm. "Tell me!"

**Windcry has posed:**
Windcry flinches at the shot, but doesn't cry out in pain. "Jerk," she says. "I happen to like my shoulder," she further complains. Then Phantom bursts into action and the jig is up. "Okay, fine, you got me," she adds to the Yellow Mech. Taking action herself, she moves to grab the mech's other arm.

**Swivel has posed:**
Being fairly weak by cybertronian standards, Swivel is surprised when she sees the impact she had on the wall. She looks incredulously at her scuffed knuckles, and back at the warehouse wall. Then the sound of gunfire startles the femme, and without thinking, she dives amongst a pile of crates for cover.

**Quantum has posed:**
Phantom's shot also hits, though it is only a glancing blow, scraping the mech's armor but not doing much more than that. He turns around to glare at the other seeker. "I don't know what you're talking about." he replies. However, while he was distracted by Phantom, Windcry manages to grab hold of his arm. Once again he turns to face Windcry, but this time he attempts to grab the arm that is grabbing his, throwing his weight into it to try to twist hard and push her to the ground.

**Phantom has posed:**
Windcry manages to do what Phantom had attempted to do a moment ago and grab the mech's arm. When he seems uncooperative, Phantom loses his patience and turns on his heel, phasing back into the warehouse and grabbing Swivel by the wrist, tugs her out from pile of crates, heading to exit the premises. "We are going," he says, "this is good enough for now."

 "<Windcry, we are leaving. Leave him alone. I don't have time to waste on him. We should be looking for Quantum already>"

**Windcry has posed:**
Windcry manages to keep upright and tries to pull the arm behind the mech's back to consolidate her hold on him. "< You sure? He might know something. He seemed pretty paranoid about me being so close to the building. But you're the boss... >" She doesn't let go right away.

**Swivel has posed:**
Being caught completely off guard, Swivel cries out in alarm when her wrist is grabbed. Apparently, she didn't hide so well. At first she pulls away, her instincts telling her she was found by one of THEM. However, as soon as she realises it is Phantom, she ceases her resistance and gallops along beside him to keep pace as he strides to the exit. "....Are we gunna fly again?"

**Quantum has posed:**
"I don't know anything about this slagger Quantum whoever he is and even if I did wouldn't tell you scrap." The stranger sneers, struggling against Windcry's grip.