[ 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

[towardspeace]

The look of furious incredulity Megatron turns on Rodimus would, in centuries past, have had Decepticons shutting down where they stood from sheer terror.

He tried, he thinks. No rational person could possibly blame him from leaving Rodimus to a fate he has clearly earned. And honestly, if this was anyone but Tarn, anyone other than this masked monument to Megatron's most catastrophic mistakes, he probably would just let the idiot get himself torn in half.

"You fool," he shouts, and with gritted teeth draws his pistol and fires – at Tarn's hand, at Rodimus's foot, honestly he doesn't care which at this point

[rodders]

Whatever Rodimus was expecting, it isn't this. He scrambles backwards the moment he sees Tarn lunging for him but his missing limb and the entire thing means he doesn't get out of the way quick enough, and the tank's strong grip grounds him. On the plus side: Tarn's so angry that Rodimus' has gotten him to stop using words. That's got to be an accomplishment, right? He needs to get free as soon as possible, and he focuses for a second, the air around him and his own frame heating up.

It's when Megatron starts shooting at him that he yelps again - trying to tug his leg free while covering his face with his remaining arm just in case he's gone full Decepticon. "Are you trying to kill me too?" If he is does that mean Rodimus gets the Lost Light back once he's exposed this?

Anyway. Attention back at Tarn, he aims a kick at his stupid masked face before, grit out through the pain: "Hate to break it to you, Tarn, but I'm just--" Wait for it, wait for it-- "Too hot for you to handle," he finishes, with the biggest shit-eating grin he can manage.

And then he literally erupts into flame.

[sparkwhisperer]

It all happens in sort of quick succession.

The sharp sound of the gunshot quickly draws Tarn attention as he turns to look at Megatron in consternation. Just as he turns, Rodimus's foot connects with the side of his helm causing Tarn's gaze to immediately snap back to mech who's foot was still firmly in his hold. he would like say it was Rodimus' stubbornly irritating attitude laced with the sort of over the top cockiness what one would expect from a pre teen boy in gym class, that surprises him. But really the cherry on top, the coup de grace, was when Rodimus literallybursts into flames with a cheesy one liner.

Tarn pulls his hand back with a hiss, scuttling away from the blazing inferno in front of him. He sits back bracing himself on his uninjured hand, pining Megatron with an incredulous look, equal to that he gave Rodimus.

He is confused, angry, his hand hurts, but god damn we would be lying if he wasn't a bit jealous of that little trick. Imagine the uses it could be put to...

[towardspeace]

Unfortunately Rodimus will still have to share – when Tarn drops him and backs away, Megatron's pistol stays trained on the Decepticon, his expression hard, optics narrowed.

"Leave, Tarn," he snaps, in the dim hope that, between the surprise of his victim setting himself on fucking fire like a jackass and the shock of being threatened like this by Megatron himself, he'll do as he's told where Rodimus wouldn't.

[rodders]

"Ow," is all he manages to say, once he's burned himself out and his HUD is giving him an exact rundown of the damage he did to his system with that little trick. Still, it did what it was supposed to do, and Rodimus grabs his detached arm and struggles to his feet. Ow, ow, ow do they even have medic here? Because he does not want to die like this. He doesn't want to die at all.

When he's not bleeding everywhere and barely standing he's going to think about the fact that Megatron effectively saved his life. But that's not really important right now, and instead he's a bit unsteady on his feet next to his - ugh - co-captain. Everything hurts, but at least Tarn will have to reach through Megatron to get to him and that's always an improvement.

Ha ha Tarn, you giant ugly Decepitcon loser. "Yeah," he says. But very emphatically. And okay he can't have Megatron have all the fun and it's more for show, but he does raise his remaining arm up so the exhaust pipes are leveled at Tarn. You know. Just in case.

[sparkwhisperer]

Tarn looks between Rodimus and Megatron, clutching his injured hand close to his chest. He considers going back and finishing the job with Rodimus, but he doesn't trust that the Autobot won't play up his fire trick again. So he goes with the other ill advised option and starts stalking toward Megatron.

He ignores the multiple weapons aimed at him and moves in a slow but purposeful way, trained solely on his old Commander. He stops a few paces away locking eyes with the pistol aimed at him.

"You have made a mistake, Megatron." he growls, curling his injured hand into a fist, ignoring the sharp sting. "You have betrayed the cause, those loyal Decepticons who have sacrificed their lives in your name, your followers. You have betrayed me."

Tarn bows his head just slightly. "I will mourn the mech you once were but I can not allow this egregious failure to go unpunished. It is my duty. I will not fail as you have."

[towardspeace]

"I betrayed my followers millions of years ago," Megatron growls. "I betrayed the Decepticon cause when I allowed it to produce you." He doesn't lower the gun.

[sparkwhisperer]

Tarn stares at Megatron as emotions flit across his optics, from sorrow, to
betrayal, to burning anger.

"Take care of it then, Megatron. Shoot me where I stand. Atone for your mistakes." He doesn't move away despite the gun still leveled at him, "Prove to me that at least you aren't a coward."

[towardspeace]

Megatron's expression hardens. He doesn't lower the gun. He considers it, for a second or two – considers the ever-more-familiar feeling of guilt that bites into his spark at the look in Tarn's optics – and then he fires.

It isn't enough, of course. He was allowed a weapon, but not one powerful enough that it would have gotten a job like this done. But he has a point to make.

[sparkwhisperer]

Tarn staggers back but doesn't utter a sound. The shot shatters one of biolights on his chassis, piercing the plating beneath. I hurts, of course, but he refuses to show that to Megatron. He can handle pain.

Tarn straightens the best he can, pinning his old commander with a burning glare. "At least I can count on you to not disappoint on one front. I have done everything you have wished of me. I have been exceedingly loyal. Have I disappointed you, my lord?" he spits the honorific like poison but takes another step back, glancing at Rodimus, before turning to leave. He is in no shape to take on Megatron. Soon. But, not today.

[towardspeace]

"No," says Megatron, meeting Tarn's furious gaze. "Never."

He lets him go. If Rodimus tries to stop him Megatron's going to smack him upside the head.

[rodders]

Rodimus has been watching this conversation with a bit of mild amusement (he might have snickered 'oh burn' under his breath at one point because Tarn's hand, get it?) but also a deep appreciation for Megatron being Megatron that he is actively choosing to ignore until later. Probably never.

"Nice seeing you, Tarn. Don't keep in touch." Ha ha ha. Well. That was a thing. Rodimus smirks at Tarn's retreating back before he turns to Megatron, attempting to clutch at his wound while keeping a hold of his arm. This-- is gonna be difficult. "Well that went well. I mean, nice job with the rejection thing - but we're still going to have to deal with him. Properly. When we get back."

Rodimus, no.

[towardspeace]

"'That went well'," Megatron repeats, looking at Rodimus as if he just scraped him off the underside of his huge metal foot.

[rodders]

Ignoring that look, no problem.

"Well yeah. Look at us, still in--" Well, okay. Not one piece. "Alive. And I kicked him in the face. How many people can say they did that?"

As he bleeds out.

[towardspeace]

"No thanks to you, you blistering imbecile!" Megatron snarls, snatching Rodimus's detached arm from his grasp and waving it in his stupid spiky face. "Do you think this is a joke? Tarn could have slaughtered us both where we stood."

[rodders]

"Hey!" He protests, trying to grab back that arm. No one asked your opinion, bucket head, and that's not yours. But his expression darkness. "What, as imposed to letting him walk? I'm not the one trying to make nice with the guy that killed Trailcutter. Or did you conveniently forget the death of one of your 'crew' while you were chatting?"

Rodimus he literally shot Tarn. That's not chatting.

[towardspeace]

Megatron's optics flash in rage. He holds the arm out of reach. "As opposed to trying to keep him from murdering anyone else, you fool!"

[rodders]

Wow, rude. He'd try and jump for it, but decides to press his hand against his wound instead. "Oh, right. Because he's totally just going to overlook everyone on that stupid List here!" It's Tarn. Rodimus does not think highly of Tarn, and therefore this makes perfect sense to him.

"You saw what he did to the Lost Light." Stuff he only heard second hand through reports. But it works for him. "And all they were supposed to do was kill Overlord, right?"

[towardspeace]

"He wouldn't be any more keen to overlook them if you were dead at his feet right now," snaps Megatron, waving Rodimus's arm angrily. "What were you hoping to achieve? Do you have any respect for your dead crewmembers at all? Is this just a game to you?!"

[rodders]

"Something, I don't know." If Megatron wanted to hit a nerve, he absolutely had. "Don't you dare act like you know what you're talking when it comes to my crew." Except he remembers how Megatron looked at Trailcutter's corpse, and for a moment Rodimus remembers-- well. The fact that Megatron look liked he cared. "It isn't, and stop acting like you know anything about me."

Because seriously, fuck you. Also he is five. As he makes another attempt to try and grab his arm back. He needs that goddamn it.

Feel free to hit him with it.

[towardspeace]

He does. He hits him with it. Or, well, throws it at him, with a look of disgust on his face.

"Like I know anything about you? I know that you needlessly antagonised a Decepticon neither of us could have defeated, with no sense of self preservation and no consideration for how your actions might impact others." His optics narrow. "But feel free to crow about how he didn't quite kill you. I sincerely hope you can find a medic."

[rodders]

Catching it is a bit beyond Rodimus at the moment, so he stumbles back - glaring at Megatron while he does so. "Did you forget the fact where he started it?" Come on, Megatron, god. But he scoops up his arm, ungainly as it is. Oh right, medic. He's going to need one of those.

"If you're here, there's got to be one."

Because the universe wouldn't give him Megatron over someone qualified to patch him up, right?

[towardspeace]

"Oddly enough I expected better from you than from Tarn when it comes to pointlessly escalating violence," Megatron responds. "I'll take care to adjust my expectations next time."

[rodders]

That actually gets Rodimus to flinch, compounded upon everything else Megatron had been heaping onto him. Fine. Just fine. It occurs to him that maybe he has made a mistake somewhere along the line, but he's not going to give Megatron the satisfaction of knowing that.

So instead he just glowers. "Fine. I'm going to find a medic. You do whatever it is you're doing. Standing around letting other Autobots get their arms torn off probably."

It's a petty, ineffectual comment but at this point Rodimus doesn't care.

[towardspeace]

"He'd have done worse than tear your arm off if I hadn't intervened and you know it," snaps Megatron. "I'm beginning to regret going to the trouble."