[ INTRO LOG ]

[robotsatan]

You don't know how you got here. One minute you were walking, sleeping, maybe dead -- then you're here, your feet suddenly carrying you down an empty street. Where's here?

Any Cybertronian would recognize this as their home planet, Cybertron, but it's not a Cybertron they've ever known. It has all the familiar hallmarks, but none of the specifics -- the city isn't one anyone here could identify, and even at a glance it's obvious that no one's set foot on the planet's surface in hundreds of years. The city and its surrounding areas all bear the marks of devastating war, of dust and rust collected over centuries. With no one in sight -- right at first, anyway -- there's plenty to explore. In fact, if you start walking, you'll find that your feet may just carry you in one particular direction.

A) The crater.
On one edge of the city is a massive crater left by some wartime weapon that seems to have taken out a large chunk of the surrounding metropolitan area. At the center of the crater it's broken through the surface of the terrain to reveal what looks like it might be a promising energon deposit. There is some strange but native vegetation growing around the edges, too, that no Cybertronian would be able to identify -- small, metallic, brittle-looking sprouts that bear a curiously organic-looking fruit of some kind that doesn't look like it's intended for consumption by any natives of the planet. In one rocky nook of the crater, light catches on the surface of a pool of water, which seems strangely out of place on Cybertron. On closer inspection, it seems that somehow an underground water source has formed a spring in the crater.

B) The center of the city.
If you follow where your feet seem to want to carry you, you'll find yourself in the middle of the ruined city. It seems that the center of the city was once home to a massive forum, and some of the pillars and structures still stand. At the very center of the forum is a massive, elaborately constructed fountain, although it has now long since run dry of whatever used to fill it. One of the low, inner walls of the forum has a terminal embedded in its surface, although it looks curiously ancient, out of place with the rest of the city, and unlike the rest of the technology still left around, there doesn't seem to be any way to power it on or operate it. There are a few scattered pools of water and a few of the strange metallic plants in the city, too, but they're not quite as plentiful as in the crater.

The planet was obviously once home to a massive network of communication relays, but those have all been long since destroyed. However, with the bits and pieces left behind and a few determined minds, it wouldn't be too hard to build a working, if rudimentary, one...

Comments

[auramatic]

A - The crater
Whoa, hey. This is…new. Definitely not the Lost Light. Did they land at some point? How would he not have known? He totally would have known. Besides, they only just got finished with that sparkeater business… If Drift didn't know any better, he'd say this was Cybertron. But that's impossible -- Cybertron doesn't look like this anymore, and they're light years and light years away from that region of the galaxy anyway, and…

The thought sputters out mid-sentence as he turns his optics up to peer at the sky, and -- those sure are a bunch of constellations he recognizes as viewable only from Cybertron. O-kay, clearly someone, somewhere has some explaining to do. Drift climbs onto one of the small rocky outcroppings at the edge of the crater to get a better look at the sky, trying to figure just where on Cybertron they are.

B - The city
Drift's optics are wide as he approaches the center of the city, the ruins of the forum. It's like a piece of Cybertronian history right before him, albeit poorly preserved -- he hasn't seen anything like this since…well, since before they'd destroyed most of their own planet. More than that, the layout of the city doesn't feel familiar to him at all, but this has to have been one of Cybertron's major cities. His face alight with curiosity, Drift makes his way around the fountain and toward the embedded terminal, his expression growing increasingly more perplexed as he examines the ancient-looking device. "Wonder how old this even is," he murmurs to himself, reaching to smooth his hand over the blank screen.

B

[rodders]

Out of all the places Rodimus expects to be, back on Cybertron isn't one of them. He's not even sure how he got here - he'd turned to talk to Perceptor about spark-types and then suddenly... he wasn't. Normally he'd blame it on Brainstorm, and technically he probably still could, but the control case was still with Nightbeat so he couldn't have traveled in time.

Right?

Because it is Cybertron, Rodimus is sure of that. Nothing else in the universe feels like Cybertron does, even if everything is wrong about it. He doesn't recognize the city, and even the planet is off - it's more like it was before the reformatting, like it was when they were all stranded there and then when Wheelie had taken them back. But he wanders around for lack of anything else to do - Lost Light not in sight and no one answering his increasingly frustrated comms.

Which is when he hears it. And then sees it. And then sort of stumbles to a halt. Because he knows that voice, he knows that autobot - er, former autobot - in front of him and he's missed Drift so much that he can't quite believe the other mech is here.

"Drift?" Well he's not instantly disappearing, so Rodimus figures that's a point in his favor. "Drift!"

[auramatic]

Drift knows that voice without even turning around -- but when he does, it's with a welcome grin. Okay, it's a pretty big relief to know he's not alone in this city -- on the planet, even -- and he starts toward Rodimus at quick pace, raising his hand in a wave. And hey, look at that, Roddy, he's still wearing his Autobot badge. Fancy that.

"Rodimus! I can't tell you how glad I am to see you -- for a little while there I thought I was the only one who wound up here. I've no idea how I got here -- have you run into any of the rest of the crew?"

[rodders]

"You're alive!" The Autobot symbol should be a big clue, but Rodimus isn't really paying attention to that right at the moment. Instead he's running to meet Drift, grabbing his upper arms and just staring at him. "Why didn't you call? I thought-- I mean you could have died, Drift. You could have been dead and I wouldn't have known."

Death by DJD is something that strikes home at the moment, after being told what happened to the other Lost Light, after Trailcutter. And Drift had just been, been wandering out alone in space - prime pickings for any overly zealous zealot who didn't get the memo that Megatron had switched sides. It had been bad enough losing one of his crew to Tarn, losing Drift?

Rodimus didn't even want to think about it.

He comes back to answer the question after a second, a shake of his helm. "No, no just-- just you."

[auramatic]

Drift looks a little taken aback at the way Rodimus grabs at him -- okay, yeah, Rodimus tends to be just a little prone to dramatics, but even so Drift can sense something's not right. Rodimus really was afraid Drift's life might have been in danger, in some way or another.

"Whoa, hey, what's wrong?" Drift's optics narrow a little in concern, and he reaches to put a steady hand on Rodimus's shoulder. "I couldn't reach the Lost Light -- long-range comm isn't working, I guess -- besides, I just saw you a few hours ago. Did you run into something on your way over here?" He glances around sharply, scanning the area for a threat -- but he hasn't seen so much as a skittering glitchmouse since he got here.

[rodders]

He still can't quite believe it. It's been months since he's last seen Drift, and Ratchet was supposed to have gone out to try and bring him back and Rodimus felt guilty about that too, since he couldn't go himself. Not with everything going on with Brainstorm. He had a duty, and as much as he wanted to go running after Drift he just... he couldn't abandon everyone to Megatron. One of his hands leaves Drift's arm to rub the back of his helm, mouth twisting down for a moment.

"Blaster isn't answering my comms either. _{I swear, if he thinks he can undermine my authority by ordering my crew not to answer my comms he's got another thing coming.}" Focus, Rodimus. He vents out his irritation in a sigh, casting a look around them for the first time since his arrival. "This isn't even the first time in forty eight hours the Lost Light's gone missing. Once I get my hands on Brainstorm I'm going to--" Wait.

A few hours?

"Drift-- I haven't seen you in at least six months."

[auramatic]

"That's weird. I wonder if there's something in the atmosphere that's interfering with the -- sorry, did you say six months?"

Drift boggles at Rodimus for a moment -- then he lets out a short but not very convincing laugh and claps Rodimus on the shoulder, shaking his head. "Come on, Rodimus, there'll be plenty of time for pranks later -- we really need to focus on getting out of here."

Cute, Rodimus, really! Drift's even good-spirited enough not to mind being the butt of a prank, but seriously, save it for later.

[warcorrespondent]

The walk to the city had been... draining to say the least. Aftermath had walk further and under worse conditions, but it didn't make this particular excursion any less miserable.

With the pain dampeners swamping his neural relays, his body had turned into a numb block of lead. To add insult to the literal injury, the pain from his wounded knee had subsided only to a barely tolerable slow-burn ache. If it wasn't the hallucinatory type of pain dampener, it sure was the poorly calibrated kind, good grief.

Leaning heavily against a wall, the truck-former takes a moment to rest- and to look around. The architecture was like nothing he'd ever seen on Cybertron, but still... familiar.

It was around then, in the middle of trying to figure out the strange sense of knowing the place and yet not, that Aftermath spots the pale figure behind the fountain.

"Hello?"

[auramatic]

Drift turns at the voice to see another Cybertronian -- well, not the first he's spotted so far, and at least he looks like he belongs here. Drift raises his arm to wave and...oh, the other mech looks injured. Drift quickly weaves his way around the fountain toward the other bot, noting the lack of any visible badge. That's probably a good thing, honestly.

"Hey -- what happened to you? You weren't attacked around here, were you?" Drift frowns, glancing sharply around the forum as he puts a hand on the hilt of one of his swords. Given the unpredictable variety of people showing up on this planet, he wouldn't write off the possibility.

[warcorrespondent]

"Oh, no, I arrived like this," Aftermath answers, waving off the concern. "Which isn't to say there isn't danger abound, unfortunately."

Now that the mech was closer however, Aftermath begins to realize he was rather familiar. Drift was very different from Deadlock, but the wanted ads that circulated what was left of the Decepticon communications networks were still pretty up to date. If nothing else, Decepticons were pretty efficient at keeping track of their traitors.

"... Tarn is here," he continues quietly. "And possibly Megatron too, although I'm still not ruling out that being a pain dampener induced hallucination."

[auramatic]

Drift relaxes a little when Aftermath assures him he hadn't been attacked, but his optics narrow at what the other mech says next. It's not a threat -- Drift knows a warning when he hears one. He regards Aftermath wordlessly for a long moment, his gaze shifting from the mech's damaged knee to his face. Drift knows an ex-Con when he sees one, too.

"I appreciate the notice. Thank you." Drift inclines his head in a nod of acknowledgment and gratitude, his hand still hovering over the hilt of his sword. He knows Megatron's here -- that was a fun encounter -- but Tarn, too? Well, that's just fantastic. He shifts forward, leading with his free hand to extend it in a peaceable gesture. "I think you've got me at a disadvantage here, though. Can I get your name, friend?"

[warcorrespondent]

"Aftermath." Admittedly, he... doesn't really take the gesture of peace with a terribly friendly expression. It was a bit hard when it was the infamous Drift he was talking to, and Drift with a hand on a sword no less.

"You wouldn't happen to know if there's any manner of clinic around here?" the truck-former questions. "Or whatever is left of one. Either or."

[auramatic]

Ouch, that's a bit of a cold reception. Drift winces inwardly, but he can't say he's all that surprised, either. He keeps it cordial, though, nodding in greeting.

"I'm glad to meet you, Aftermath. Unfortunately if there's a clinic around here, I haven't seen it... But I only just got here." Drift doesn't quite start toward him, but he moves his hand off his sword, reaching out to Aftermath. "But if you'd let me, I could take a look. I'm no medic, but I know a thing or two about first aid in the field."

A

[quantumechanic]

Other 'bots might be hesitant to a approach a guy carrying fourteen swords and standing dramatically on a (small, admittedly) cliff. Not Nautica. She jogged right up to the base of Drift's rock to say hello, wrench in one hand and Brainstorm's briefcase in the other.

"Drift, isn't it?" It seemed rude to point out he was dead.

[auramatic]

Hey, he's got company. Drift turns to glance at the other mech and greet him in turn, except...it's not anyone he's ever met before. Drift cycles through a few possibilities in his mind for a second there but he's pretty sure he's never met this person before. He blinks in surprise before offering a friendly smile and a hand, half-shrugging.

"Yeah, that'd be me. I don't think we've met before, ah..." Drift glances down and sees the briefcase, and he frowns slightly in thought. "Funny, someone I know has that exact same briefcase."

[quantumechanic]

"I'm a friend of Rodimus. And Brainstorm." Nautica held up the briefcase to illustrate. He wouldn't let just anyone carry that--never mind that she found it abandoned with the locks forced on the floor of a derelict Lost Light. Details could wait.

She tucked the wrench under her briefcase arm to free up a hand and accept Drift's. "My name's Nautica."

[auramatic]

Wait, a friend of Rodimus's? Drift thought he'd have heard of the guy, but the name's totally foreign to him. He accepts Nautica's hand with a friendly half-smile all the same, though, even as his optics narrow in slight confusion, glancing back down at the briefcase.

"Oh! Nice to meet you, then, N -- I'm sorry, that's Brainstorm's briefcase? I thought he never took that off."

[quantumechanic]

"Swerve makes him leave it outside the bar, but I think he locks it in some kind of exploding safe in his lab." You know, as one does. "Anyway, I found it in the lift right before I got here. Things have been...well, 'crazy' is not an exaggeration."

She looked at the empty planet around them. It wasn't an exception to that rule, but at least nothing was disappearing, exploding, or yelling.

[auramatic]

"Yeah, Swerve does tend to be a little -- wait, are you -- are you on the Lost Light?"

Drift's looking just a tiny bit alarmed that he didn't know this already, and terribly, terribly confused. Take pity on him, Nautica. It's been a very long day for Drift.

thinking b

[planate]

This entire experience for Pipes was, frankly, wonderful and nerve wracking at the same time. Why is Cybertron like this? Where's Starscream? How worried should he be, he can't tell.

At least until he spots Drift.

Still holding a few of the strange plants he'd picked up along the way, Pipes scampers over to the mech he considersoone of his best friends, "Drift! What a coincidence to see you here too! Is this a surprise mission or something?"

Re: thinking b

[auramatic]

"Surprise mission? What? No, we're -- "

It's a familiar voice, one of the crew, and Drift's responding without much of a thought before he even finishes turning to look, and then it all registers at once. Of course it's a familiar voice, it's Pipes. Drift's happy to see him for about a fraction of a second before he remembers what Ratchet had said, about Overlord and everything -- that Pipes had been one of the casualties. Pipes was dead in his future, and Drift had had a hand in it.

Drift feels his spark seize in his chest and his optics snap wide open, flashing. He looks like he's just seen a ghost -- because, in a way, he just has.

"Pipes! You're -- " Drift bites back the word alive at the last second. Pipes is alive. There's no way he'd know he's going to die, and Drift...isn't going to do that to him. He can't imagine something worse than that, not for someone like Pipes. "...You're okay!"

Nice save, Drift.

[planate]

"Why wouldn't I be okay?"

You know, surprise teleportation onto an apparently dead Cybertron notwithstanding. Pipes continues, blissfully unaware of his fate and assuming he'd just surprised Drift.

"Bit peeved I'm gonna miss movie night though, if I'm honest."

Y-yeah. This is why you're missing it, Pipes. This exact reason.

[auramatic]

Yeah, Drift's just gonna let that one slide smoothly by. Sshh, Pipes. Don't think too hard about it. Drift vents out in moderate relief, although honestly he's still unnerved by seeing Pipes whole and alive so soon after hearing about his untimely -- and, let's face it, it's Overlord -- probably gruesome death.

"You might be missing a little more than movie night, Pipes. We're not the only ones who've been mysteriously transported here -- and this isn't even our Cybertron."

[planate]

"Ooh, who else?"

A beat.

"Wait, not ours? How did you figure that out? ...How does that even work?"

[auramatic]

"Look around you, Pipes." Drift casts his hand in a sweeping gesture, his expression a little forlorn, but his optics are bright. "Does this look anything like the Cybertron we left? This isn't a city I recognize, and it's completely deserted. Besides, you can feel it -- the energies of this place are all wrong. It almost feels like home...but not quite."