What the hecky happened

[luckyfaceplate]

Who: Optimus and YOU!
Where: Anywhere from Red Alert's Clinic to wandering around
When: Before Sentinel and Megatron/Rodimus log
What: Optimus finding out just what went down while he was gone from various people, or if they need to talk to him about anything.
Warnings: None

The trip wasn't a complete loss, that's for sure. Optimus has somehow contacted the planet, and while it was rather vague, he found out quite a bit about their mission here. Way more than he would have just grasping at proverbial straws. The objective, however, wouldn't be easy. In its own way, Cybertron had told him that they had to work together, that they had to get along.

You can already see what's wrong with this equation, and to be honest, it left Optimus feeling a little doubtful on his return.

Speaking of his return. That's a thing that happened, and right now he's trying to gather his bearings for being gone for....oh...a week at most.

You can find him all over, scouting around for anyone who might be around to ask for information. But if you need him first--well...he stands out, at least.

Comments

[chickscream]

"... I'm surprised that there can be different versions of people here," she tells him, her smile fading a bit as the worst-case scenario passes through her head. Gaggles and gaggles of her brother, all arguing/flattering/cringing together, a dozen Starscreams in the center of it all--

She shivers in genuine horror at the thought, head ducked for a moment, then shrugs it off. "That's good to know, I suppose," she says, "and explains why you're so... familiar." As for the other thing: "And I wouldn't know. I've never seen Cybertron before I was here."

She does, theoretically, have memories of the planet, but they're eons old and not actually hers, so she doesn't count them.

[luckyfaceplate]

It's not like Optimus is a party animal, anyway. Most of them are constant no matter the universe. If that's of any benefit to Starscream.

"I'm not exactly sure. But something tells me it's the latter." There's no body count, but after seeing the destruction...and the fact that it's so barren...one can only assume the worst case scenario.

"I'm surprised you haven't gone to see Megatron yet."

Any of them. There's four to choose from, you know.

[luckyfaceplate]

"I'm more worried about Rodimus. He's capable, certainly, but..."

...Okay, he has to admit something.

"Bumblebee informed me Tarn was on this planet. He'd only just narrowly escaped when we gathered." And...well, as much faith as he puts in Rodimus, he's certainly not DJD-battle-ready.

[arnhaid]

"But it's Hot Rod. Under all the flashy name and stuff. Still a kid."

Which is a problem. Just like what Prime says next.

Ironhide's optics narrow, and he draws himself up, scowling and looking ready for a fight, if need be. "So what's the plan? When do we take him out?"

[luckyfaceplate]

"Rodimus," he corrects. "His name is Rodimus, Ironhide."

No matter what anyone says, there's pride under there for the bot he met in Nyon. He's young, he's confident, and in some ways he's afraid that he'll fall and Optimus won't be there to catch him.

But if there's one thing Rodimus has earned, it's his name.

"I have to speak with Megatron."

[arnhaid]

"... Right. Sorry, Prime."

He's way more conciliatory toward Optimus than Rodimus. Then again, when last he saw the latter, Rodimus was.... not Rodimus. It's hard to keep things like that in mind.

He squints over at Optimus.

"So. We're not just goin' to town on him?"

[planate]

He's trying the proper way. He'll refrain from telling Optimus when he finishes, no matter how proud he may be.

"Oh! Cybertron quest update! What did it say? Why are we here?"

[luckyfaceplate]

Those eyes narrow. Ah, how he missed that sass from you, Sixshot. "Is it so out of the ordinary that I'd prefer your cooperation and reformation?"

There's no naivete in that voice--he knows damn well how a Phase Sixer works. In some ways, it was just proving who's the real team player here. He watches at Sixshot circles, eyes never leaving the Decepticon. Completely on guard.

"Mmnemosurgery is an option, although not one I prefer. Personal issues. I doubt you would understand."

[luckyfaceplate]

"It's a surprise to me too, honestly," he says airily, as if finding that out certainly didn't make things easier on him. Don't worry, Slipstream, he thought of the millions-of-Starscreams thing too. It's definitely somewhere on his top ten list of things that absolutely suck.

The shiver gets an 'eyebrow' perk out of him, but at least for the moment she doesn't seem like a threat. More like...two Cybertronians stuck in the same situation. He could work with that.

"This is your first time on Cybertron?" Those eyes widen, looking out at the landscape a moment, before they sadden slightly.

"A shame you have to see it in this state."

[luckyfaceplate]

"It's alright." Rodimus, on the other hand, would demand that correction. Every time. If there's one thing Optimus has, it's patience, and he's willing to help out his old friend with remembering (or learning) things as they are.

...

"No. He's joined the Autobot cause, and is a..."

He almost says friend. It almost comes out too easily. But he can't say it now, as much as he wants to. Things like that...they take time.

"An ally."

[luckyfaceplate]

You should anyway, Pipes. He'd certainly be....proud. Like when your son squishes a really big bug.

"We're here because it wants us to...work together."

He seems to grow more weary at that last part.

[arnhaid]

For a long time, he just looks at Optimus. Studies him. There is a lot in that silence, and despite the fact Ironhide knows Prime as well as he does... he can't decode it all. So he watches him.

At length, he finally speaks, edging closer. His hand rests on Optimus' elbow.

"Prime..." He huffs a bit. "You still wanna make things right, don't you? With him, I mean."

Even after everything that had -- or would -- happened, he can see it. In the pause, the way Prime shifts a bit.

[chickscream]

She ignores the brow-quirking; if he wants to hear that horrifying idea, he can ask. "Yeah, everything I know about the place I know second-servo." She looks around, too. "What a scrap-blasted place to fight over, isn't it? I'd rather be back on Earth."

Ah, Earth, wonderful Earth, Earth of laying low and not bothering people and not being bothered... though she supposes the company here isn't that bad.

"You ever been to Earth before?" she asks him, a little curious.

[luckyfaceplate]

When Ironhide says it, it only solidifies it for the both of them. Optimus had been trying to say it was the trial. That Megatron had somehow found a loophole and the he was only abiding by the law, like Ultra Magnus had done.

But they'd had a talk. They'd worked out an agreement. Optimus had granted him an extended life, even if it'd only lead to death eventually.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Ironhide. No one is impossible to redeem."

Except Sentinel.

[luckyfaceplate]

"It's a shadow of it's former self, Slipstream." He can't help but continue to gaze, ultimate sadness washed over those eyes. "The cities used to glow, and at night...radiant didn't even begin to describe it. Life flowed in every part of this world..."

His eyes cast down at the dirt below them.

But at her question, he nods, finally taking the time to catch her gaze. "I have. In the fight against Decepticons."

Hopeeeeffully that's not too awkward.

[phase6kindofbot]

"Considering the laissez faire attitude you and yours have had towards the usage of mnemosurgery, you'll have to forgive me for disbelieving." Sixshot had a high enough security clearance to know. Had been sent to destroy some of the Autobot mnemosurgery facilities himself.

"Besides, how else are you to reform me?" Dark, bitter humor shadows his words, the Phase Sixer's voice pitched low, bordering a growl. "And what am I to reform into, exactly?"

[chickscream]

Man, how... dramatic. She almost wants to heckle him for it, but something about how serious he is stops her.

Instead, she looks again, trying to imagine it full of life, full of brightness... "If I ever was going to see it, it wasn't going to be like that," she tells him, a little more subdued. No Decepticon would have been allowed on Cybertron without killing their way to the surface, after all. "At least it's peaceful?"

Considering that she opened the conversation by telling him he looked like someone she had shot, being told he'd been fighting Decepticons wasn't even close to the most awkward this conversation could have been. Instead, Slipstream nods and tells him, "Can't blame you for fighting them. Bunch of jerks, aren't they?"

[planate]

After being on the Lost Light for a few months... Pipes shakes his head and puts a hand on Optimus' knee.

"I'm so sorry."

[arnhaid]

"Y'know that's gonna be hard for a lot of us to take," he says, slowly. He's actually thinking about the words, for once, choosing them very carefully.

After all, he's including himself in there. He's still not sure he likes this idea even the slightest bit. Optimus... he'd give his spark for the bot in an instant.

But sometimes it's as if Prime saw a little too much good in the other side.

Still, Ironhide will stand with him. His hand tightens on Prime's arm, as if to cement that.

[aerospacecommander]

Oh good. That means there's probably left over technology around for him to swipe and claim as his own. But he's not going to comment on that one, not out loud.

"... It's not like I'm buddy-buddy with Megatron or anything. And if you're talking about that one with the weird teeth going on -- he's a little out there."

And you know if Starscream says there is something off about a person, it's probably really bad.

[luckyfaceplate]

"There is a difference in using it in wartime and using it to perpetuate a system." It was a sensitive subject with Optimus, certainly, but one he'd had to come to accept was a method needed during the war. Shadowplay...that certainly wasn't his intent. Not after everything that'd happened.

"I had hoped that with knowledge of the war ending, you would find yourself with no purpose."

Unless he's mistaken on the whole stabby stabby kill machine Phase Sixers take pride in identifying as. "And a new one to join Megatron on a quest of redemption."

[luckyfaceplate]

It's okay Slipstream, you wouldn't be the first to. Not that he'd take notice anyway. Sometimes he was often lost in his own thoughts about what could have been. About what their world used to be. "Mmm, that it is. And brimming with a new hope, at least here."

Something about what she says pings him, though, and his next question comes out rather softly.

"You're not like them, are you."

[luckyfaceplate]

The touch and comment are very much appreciated, Pipes. Because he's currently sorry for himself as well. And very much unsure of how to handle the situation.

"It seems we'll have a lot of work to do."

Crying on the inside now.

[chickscream]

Her gaze turns to him, startled, and she opens her mouth to speak, then pauses. Not like them? She's as branded as any of them, literally created already filling the role--

But not by her own choice, and not by her own loyalty. She wasn't sure she had loyalty, without a source to draw it from.

"I know what I'm not," she tells him, after an awkward silence. "No liar am I, or egomaniac, or coward, or boot-licker. What remains after that..." She shrugs, slowly, a contemplative frown curling her mouth downwards.

What does remain after that?

"I am treacherous," she tells him, with open clarity, "and prefer life to death; anything else is the... the dregs of personality I was left with when all the things I'm not were taken from the cup. And it wasn't a very deep cup!" She laughs, a bit bitterly, but mostly at herself and her creator. "I don't know if that makes me like or unlike any other Decepticon."

[luckyfaceplate]

"I understand completely, Ironhide. By all accounts, he should have been executed already." And he says that with certainty. There's no doubt that Megatron got a better deal than he deserved. "But he played by the law and won."

He swung a trial in his favour, and Optimus had to settle for compromise. He didn't have to, of course. No one on the Autobot side would have cared.

But Optimus did what was right. Not what his side wanted. Sometimes you have to choose between being a hero and being a leader.

And he hoped he made the right call.