robothell | (no subject)

Who: Megatron and Sixshot
What: Sixshot teaching Megatron da moves
When: Some time after Tarn's execution fiasco.
Where: D-con base
Warnings: Sensei sad doge.

Sixshot didn't feel exhaustion like most people did. He ran on a self regenerating fuel source and he was never low on energon or food. He was made of exotic alloys that were made to withstand the tidal forces of an event horizon and his joints hardly ever showed any sign of fatigue before the self repair got to it.

Exhaustion was a purely psychological experience. Emotional.

It's been a while since Tarn's exile and Sixshot's been trying to regather his composure, but it felt like the mental equivalent of slogging through an ocean of tar. He wants nothing more than to stay curled up by First Aid's bed side and maybe rust away for an eternity.

Unfortunately, there were things to do. And he suspects the clinic staff were starting to get awful annoyed with him anyways. And if there was trouble, he trusts Ratchet to call for help first thing.

Eventually, reluctantly, the Sixer drags himself back to the Decepticon base. He stays in the shower for a good hour, scrubbing the muck out of his joints, brushing the dust out of seams with a fine brush and going over minutae details of his appearance until his plating was spotless. There was no polish to apply (that would've been too formal anyways), so he just goes over his joints with lubricant and wipes off the excess.

Alright.

The Sixer pauses as he exits the shower, cycling in a deep breath and taking a moment to gather himself up.

Then it's off to find Megatron.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The silence that came this time was far longer as Megatron considered his options. Whether he liked it or not, his future would come to haunt him one way or another. He'd always be a target. At this point, it seems like he's always been one, since he began to circulate his writing.

And he'd be no use to anyone dead.

"Fine," he says, finally, fingers lightly brushing his forearm "Let me know what I need, and I'll find a way to make the adjustment. But you still haven't answered my question."

He looks up to meet Sixshot's aversive gaze,"What path do you see this being? How will it be different than before?"

Very gently, Sixshot places his hands atop Megatron's shoulders, looking him in the eye.

"I don't know this path." The admission was made with some amount of embarrassment, but there was a lightness to Sixshot's tone and he adds, "You've learned to be a medic, you've helped save First Aid's life. No one can know if this is the right path yet, it's too early. But know that it's not His. And for the better or worse, I will follow you down it."

He stares at Megatron for a moment longer, what was visible of his face lit up by a strange expression Then he seems to realize what he was doing and loudly resets his vocalizer, drawing his hands back.

"Our immediate concern is at least matching the strength of your body to what your spark can output." As he speaks, he slips a datapad out of his inventory, holding it out for the younger mech to take. "Until that point, we'll stick with something a bit more standard. Usually, new Decepticons are brought online with the complete basic Decepticon combat database already pre-loaded. Since we don't have that, I've made my own for you to download. I was hoping to streamline it a bit more after our initial spar, but I think it might be best for you to go through the unabridged version."

He watches Sixshot's expression, what he could see behind the mask, and finds a new certainty in his words. His own expression brightens, something that was happening less and less often, and he simply nods. He would do what he had to to help piece together some modicum of peace from the tatters of this war.

"Ratchet would know how to make the adjustment," he rubs the back of his helm sheepishly,"I don't imagine he'll be very pleased if I ask him."Ratchet would be able to tell right away what he was doing even before he explained himself.

He takes the datapad, tilting his head slightly.

"I would imagine so..." Sixshot had been meaning to discuss this with Ratchet and First Aid but he wasn't particularly looking forwards to it. He doesn't imagine either of them would be very happy about the fact that Megatron was going to go through with combat-related upgrades.

Gesturing to the pad, he says, "You'll have to download it. It's basic combat maneuvers, gun usage, strategy and tactics. A lot of it is skills that can be installed. Only the most basic level of skills though. I will have to train you if you want to become more proficient at sniper rifles or the like."

He looks down at the datapad as Sixshot explains. This certainly isn't the first time he's heard of downloadable packets like this, but overall starting combat ability isn't something he expected to just absorb in one fell swoop. After all the months he'd taken to train to be a medic, it seemed a little... too easy.

"That's it? I imagine I'll at least need a day or two to properly process all the new data."

"That's pretty much all there is to it," Sixshot says with just a bit of amusement in his tone. "When I woke up, it only took five minutes flat before I was ready and they launched me into my first battle. Even without the Sixer upgrades, I was able to level the battle-field in record time. Lord Shockwave was very pleased."

There was an odd, distant kind of pride in his voice, almost nostalgic.

"On average, MTO soldiers tend to be battle-ready straight from the freezer in about half an hour. Some take less, but it really depends on the personality of the mech in question," he explains, gesturing the pad. "I'm sure it'll go quite smoothly for you since you won't have the first shock of waking up in a new body. Once you're over the initial rush of information, it's really quite intuitive."