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WHO: Kagerou and TFP!Ratchet
WHERE: In the vicinty of Ratchet's usual haunt.
WHEN Soon after this.
WHAT: The good doctor meets the not-so-good ninja. Sort of like finding a pigeon on the street after it's run into a wall.
WARNINGS: Probably discussion of the Things Prism Does.

[He has no idea where he's going. To be honest, he isn't sure if he got away, or if he was simply released. Something tells him it's the latter. That... thing... hadn't let him move more than a scant few centimeters. It wouldn't have let him fully escape. No, it had held him down as he struggled, as he wrenched the joints in every limb trying to get away.]

[But it hadn't helped, in the end. In the end... it had started digging, started shifting through memories...]

[That was the worst. The worst anything could have ever done. If it could see them, if it could look at them, then it could harm them -- alter them. Delete them. Effectively killing him, and never once caring. It was supposed to be an AI too. It was supposed to be... safe.]

[He knows he needs to go somewhere familiar, somewhere quiet, and secure where he can sort through all of this, each and every memory he has. There was the place Deckerd had shown him -- but no. Not there. He isn't trusted there. He needs to make sure the memories are all accounted for -- but he's also panicking. He's walked, run, and half-flown in whichever direction he'd been facing at the time, and now he has no idea of where he is. He should wait, calm down.]

[But if something is wrong... if something is missing...]

[He ends up curling on himself, dropping to a crouch beside a wall, and gripping the sides of his helmet. He doesn't know where else to go. What to do.]

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Alright.

[ Ratchet brings out his scanner and lets it run -- it's just a soft wave of blue light that flickers up and down Kagerou's body for a couple seconds, completely painless and contact free. ]

Hm. Not reading too much physical trauma, but when was the last time you refueled?

[ The dead-eye he's aiming at you isn't as bad as it could be, but he can tell that you're running low, Kagerou. ]

[While on some level he recognizes this is different, the color, the light -- it's familiar enough, and he visibly flinches before settling himself.]

[The question catches him off-guard. Enough to deflect some of the panic.]

... Before arriving here. They said there wasn't any.

[Way before. As in, before his rampage across the city, before.]

There really isn't much gasoline around. I remember the other Brave Police had to spend most of their time scrounging earlier...

[ A short, sharp flicker of Ratchet's optics is the only give-away to his internal distress at realizing just how long it might have been since this mech fueled up. ]

Look, I've got a generator set up that I used to keep Gunmax conscious before I modified his engine to take energon -- the fuel that's most available around here. If we can get you to the medbay, I could hook you up there and get you less, ah, shaky?

[ And then they can get into more details about what happened. Questioning a starving mech about his recent attack seems like a bad idea all around. ]

[He shakes his head, stiffening slightly.]

I'm not -- [But that's sort of a moot point right now, isn't it? He quiets, listening, focusing. This is a more immediate problem, something to focus on instead of the panic and the What Ifs.]

[He nods again. He'll go. Besides, getting off the street right now doesn't sound bad at all. Less... exposed, at any rate.]

I will go with you.

[ Ignoring the bot's initial words, Ratchet nods. ]

Good.

[ He stands up from his crouch on the ground and offers a hand up. ]

Can you walk by yourself, or would you like help? No shame in accepting help when you're that low on energy, for the record. I promise whatever happens will stay between you and me.

[He stares at the hand for a moment, absently remembering when Perceptor had offered a handshake. At least there's one memory intact.]

[A beat, and he accepts it, gingerly, hauling himself to his feet.]

I'll be fine. [Though again, he hesitates, and ends up reaching for one of Ratchet's shoulders.]

... Maybe a little help.

Mm. [ Ratchet crouches to stay at his new patient's height, but he's done worse for longer periods of time in the name of medicine. At least the size difference means that he can take the weight easily. ]

Okay, we're going to be going this way. Let me know if you need me to take more of your weight, but it's not too far. Just around the corner down there.

[ It's really not that far -- only a 2 minute walk. Although, to be fair, it might take a touch longer depending on how fast this mech can move. Which reminds Ratchet ... ]

By the way, I told you my designation, but I don't think I ever got yours.

[It's so odd, to be one of the small ones, around here. He was used to being exactly the same size as -- and then when he'd actually met the other 'bots, he'd been taller.]

[For now, he leans. He focuses on walking. And, at least, those memories still seem to be intact.]

This way... Where am I? Where is... this?

[He wasn't paying that much attention when he arrived. He keeps a fairly steady pace though, keeping his mind on walking.]

Kagerou. I am Kagerou. [He glances at the other 'bot.] They told me about you.

[ The pace is slow, as Ratchet's letting Kagerou guide it, only steering to turn them when they get to the right corner. When he gets this bot's name, he turns his head to look him in the eye as he flashes him a bit of a smile. ]

It's good to meet you, Kagerou. I hope what you've heard about me wasn't too negative.

This is Cybertron, a planet several lightyears away from Earth. We got here through a dimensional rift that... so far seems to be one-way only.

[ Ratchet's eyes flick away then, unsure. ]

I hope you didn't have anything too pressing happening at home.

[He's getting used to these social comments -- the 'good to meet you' kind. Instead of questioning it, he looks up at the other. This line of conversation is good. At the same time easing some fears his memories have been altered, and distracting him from that fear.]

You're an engineer. A robotic engineer. And that you're to be trusted.

[As he equates 'engineer' with 'medic' at the moment. He keeps walking, determined to put one foot in front of the other until they get there.]

I heard that. But where... where am I now? What part of this world?

[He falls silent, looking over at him before dropping his gaze as well.]

No. I... think it was all finished. Everything was finished.

[Because he'd promised. He'd left. He remembers it so clearly.]

Hah, I ... suppose that's close. I'm definitely wht humans might consider an engineer, and I'd like to think I'm trustworthy.

[ He lets the conversation flow wherever Kagerou wants it to, more focussed on keeping him awake than on getting to a certain topic. ]

I'm not sure where we are on Cybertron, to be honest. It's very different from how the planet was when I was born -- a lot of the landmarks are different. Best I can tell you now is that we're in the Temple of Solus Prime right now, on our way to the medbay.

[ He doesn't comment on things being finished. It sounds... a bit too bittersweet to talk about. ]

I didn't know we could even become engineers at all. But they all said you were one.

[He sounds... more than fascinated by this. Everyone who worked on them back home was human.]

That was what the others said. That this place is wrong, somehow.

[Air cycles. He ducks his head briefly, before moving forward.] And this... this is where you live? Your home here?

We can become whatever we want! We're sentient beings, after all.

[ Ratchet has a suspicion that this mech is from somewhere like Noisy Boy's world, where robotic entities are treated as "less than". It's disconcerting. ]

This place isn't wrong as much as it's ... different. More of a second chance than a particularly bad turn.

[ That's what he'd like to believe, anyway. Ratchet laughs as he opens the door and helps his charge into the medbay proper. It's a large, well-lit room with rows of berths and soft music playing. Rather comfy, really. ]

Home? Hah, I guess it is. I've got a room off across the hall to sleep in, but the medbay's where I really life, it feels like.

Whatever you want...

[He can't help how it comes out -- hopeful, longing. It would be nice. To choose what you wanted. Even if he already knows what he'd have decided.]

[He doesn't speak right away, at the mention of 'a second chance'. It's not the life he wanted... but he's alive, isn't he? That's something.]

And your world... needs a second chance. Because there was a war, wasn't there...?

[See, he's been paying attention.]

[It does look nice. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but, this isn't it. Probably a repair bay. With those cradles you had to stand up in. Which weren't bad, but... this is very different.]

Where is it that you want me?

[Because despite hanging onto the bigger 'bot, he figures he should at least... try and make himself more mobile.]

It does... [ Ratchet sighs. ] It's a long story, though, and I think it's different for every universe. Politics, fuel, stupidity... there's a lot of ways to start a war, I guess, even though there's only really one way to end it.

[ Ratchet nods towards one of the closest berths, then starts guiding Kagerou over. ]

This berth will do. Just sit down and I'll get the leads out for the generator, so that we can get some power into you.

Someone told me it -- that it was because some didn't want to be what they were told they had to be.

[Sort of a roundabout way of putting it, but he's trying to paraphrase an entire conversation about purposes and awkward things.]

[Which would be better, he thinks, than jut blurting it all out.]

[He nods in return, and does as he's told, sitting on the very edge of it, his arms going around himself, and wings flattening down. He would like very much to get up high, get out where he can see the sky, but... it's necessary he's here.]

Right. Power.

Perhaps in part. War... is a many-faceted beast. Why ours in particular started, well, that could take vorns to recount.

[ He smiles weakly, not really interested in rehashing the whole terrible history of his people right at this moment. Instead, he focusses on pulling out the wiring to hook into Kagerou's system. ]

Okay. I've hooked these up to some of the other mechs with similar builds to your own, so this shouldn't hurt. If it does cause undue distress, though, just let me know.

[ He reaches out for Kagerou's hip -- it's around there that he'd connected the wiring to Gunmax way back when, so it should work now ... ? ]

... What's a vorn?

[Maybe that's a better question to ask. Since it's not about war or anything like that. He looks down, watching the wires.]

It should be... it should be all right. If it worked for the others...

[He's just watching. Waiting to see what's going to happen. It should be fine, and he'll feel it, soon enough.]

It's a Cybertronian measurement of time. Don't exactly remember the conversion to human units off the top of my head, but... I'm fairly sure it's longer than an hour?

[ lalala have a cop out answer, Kagerou, because a certain mun doesn't even know how to find the answer ]

Right. Still, everyone's unique, so just in case. Let me know.

[ It's a quick procedure, really. Ratchet just opens up a piece of Kagerou's plating and plugs the connection in. The converter's already calibrated for a mech around Gunmax's size, so there shouldn't be any undue pain past a bit of a surge at the beginning. ]

You... all use that? Even if you're not all from the same place?

[That's strange.]

[He does go tense, though, when everything is plugged in. It's startling, not painful. And as the power starts to flow, he begins to relax.]

No. It doesn't hurt. It's... better.

Well, all Cybertronians use those time measurements. It's as standard for us as the seconds-minutes-hours system is for humans.

[ Ratchet watches Kagerou's responses carefully. Body language is just as telling as spoken words. ]

That's ... good. That's good.

[ He backs away, giving Kagerou a bit more room to breathe and find his balance. ]

That's all I can do for now for you, I'm afraid. There's not much gasoline around here. The other mechs from your universe had the same problem. I had Gunmax lying around on a berth for days before I was able to upgrade his fuel-intake system.

Even across the worlds...

[He says it more to himself than anything.]

[But despite feeling better, he starts to draw himself up again, pull his limbs back in toward his chest. It's more comfortable. It feels a little safer, to be all curled in.]

... You know him?

[How do you even tolerate him.]

I understand. They, and I -- [Not 'we'. Never 'we'.] -- were made to run on what fuel human beings use. I... can wait. Use this thing.

Edited 2012-09-03 01:22 (UTC)

Well, to be fair, we all originate from the same one.

[ He hesitantly pats Kagerou on the shoulder when he curls in, trying to comfort him in his distress. ]

I do. He's a bit on the wild side, but he's a good mech... And I never give up on a patient in need, even if they're mouthy.

[ A smile. Will you smile back, ninjabot? ]

Well... you're welcome to stay hooked up to that as long as you want, but there is another option if you're interested. I've managed to alter the fuel systems of the other mechs around here in order to let them run off of energon. It's different fuel supply from gasoline, but it's a lot more plentiful around here. With your permission, I could do the same for you?

But all look so different.

[He doesn't mind the contact. If anything, the curled position is just... more comfortable. It feels better. More comfortable.]

He's angry with me for something I have no control over. I... don't see how he's tolerable.

[... he'll have to take a rain check on that smiling thing, Ratchet. It's not looking likely.]

[Especially at those words. "Alter". "Different". There are others here, certainly. Others who have had this done. But he's not like them. He's made to be like someone who isn't here. Who... won't be altered.]

[... and then there will be all the more difference, all the more distance, between them. It makes something in his AI twist, painfully.]

If there's time... I want to... think about it. I can't -- [He shakes his head.] -- can't decide now.

We look different, but we're all pretty similar inside.

[ It's... comforting, in a way, that even though different universes, all Cybertronians seem to carry sparks. The uniformity, at least, means that Ratchet's medical knowledge transfers easily, and it soothes him spiritually as well. Just a little. ]

I understand your hesitation, and I don't want to rush you into something you don't want.

[ Ratchet puts a hand on Kagerou's shoulder, gives him a little squeeze. ]

You can stay here as long as you need while we try to figure out if there are other options for you. In the meanwhile, though... would you like something to read?

[ His collection of datapads is, admittedly, quite small, but he's found the odd one or two now and then when he ventured out onto the junk pile, and he'd had a few more in his accessory databanks when he came through. Hopefully Kagerou likes texts on therapeutic massage? ]

It must make engineering easier... make the repairs more smooth.

[That's familiar enough. After all, they'd been so much alike... One of them basically the blueprint for the other. Maybe -- maybe he's not really that alone, after all.]

[He looks up, at the hand on his shoulder.]

I would be different. Not the same as anyone still left back where I come from. Wouldn't I?

[His head tilts.]

You keep books here?

Well. Sometimes. [Ratchet rubs his helm, thinking.] In most situations here, though, patient compliance is my biggest problem. I can't fix things if people don't come to me for help.

[This is a long-running peeve of his, Kagerou, sorry.]

But as for your frame... I can't say that it's similar to that of a Cybertronian's, but it does have a lot in common with those of the Brave Police. I've worked on the three of them already with no undue effects, so even with your unique traits, I should be able to perform without unnecessary danger to you or your ability to function.

[Blink? Oh!]

Oh! No, we don't use books. Makes it hard with no trees around. Give me a second.

[He walks off towards another desk, then returns with a pad in his hand. A flick of his fingers over the surface makes it light up with text, just like a computer screen.]

It's a datapad. A little more to our scale as well, yes?

Why not...? You're the engineer. The mechanic. Why wouldn't they want your help?

[It just. Makes absolutely no sense to him. He shakes his head, though, frowning. That wasn't exactly what he meant by becoming different... but maybe he just doesn't know how to explain it.]

I'm not concerned about that. But... thank you for saying so, regardless.

[He tilts his head, watching him until he returns. Then the datapad has all his attention. That's... fascinating.]

[He reaches out for it, expression openly curious.]

I haven't seen anything like this.

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