re_alignment_logs | [Open] Where Everybody Knows Your Name

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[Open] Where Everybody Knows Your Name

WHO: Kup. Anyone who wants to.
WHERE: The bar.
WHEN: Now.
WHAT: Drinking.
WARNINGS: Alcohol consumption and crotchety-ness.

When a bot gets as old as Kup, (and mind you he knows there are a small handful that are older but he rarely runs across them), they've already either gone completely mad or learned to just go with whatever the multiverse throws at them. Kup has done both, incidentally, but the "going with the flow" instinct is the first one that kicks in here. After politely listening to what the acolyte had to say (hey, sometimes good storytellers can be good listeners too!), Kup asked only one question and then went on his way.

The bar. What a wonderful sight. This place was familiar and yet alien, but no bar was a stranger to Kup. He didn't make a habit of spending copious amounts of time at them (he has better things to do, thank you), but a drink in a new place always helped ease a transition. All of the most interesting beings could be met there, and it was always a hub of information.

So to the bar he went, thanks to the directions of the kind acolyte. He knew about the network and stuff and maybe he was supposed to make a call-out or something but really, what kind of a stupid waste of time was that? Letting everyone know your location. What a rookie mistake. No, the bar was the place. Drink with who you like, brawl with who you don't.

Anyone who entered said bar could find Kup sitting by himself at the far left side where he could see everyone and everyone could see him. No need to leave himself exposed.

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     It wasn't difficult to spot the younger Autobot once he entered the place; so long as he was even slightly in one's peripheral vision, his loud coloring was bound to draw any attention.

     Hot Rod came by the bar now and then if only because it was something to do in a place that was incredibly lacking, and whenever there were things to do, somehow it seemed he always missed the action. It was more than a little frustrating and ever always annoying.

     As much as the place was a public location to gather at, he never saw very many at the same time, only vaguely remembering when there had been more than ten bodies about. He glanced around almost disappointed, if only for the fact that he'd expected nothing more. He did have to pull a double-take at the lone bot at the end of the bar though.

     "No way."

With those colors? Not hard at all. And you'd better believe that Kup was tracking his movements around the bar the moment he entered. It was like looking at a muted version of the Hot Rod he knew, which was actually somewhat reassuring. Maybe this one wasn't so reckless. Or maybe he was worse.

The older mech tipped his cube in the direction of the younger in greeting, then gave a head-jerk to the seat beside him.

"Pretty sure I'm not the Kup you know, but we can't be that different."

Kup was aware of the multiple universes thing since, y'know, he actually listened to the acolyte and asked questions and all that. Maybe this wasn't the Hot Rod he knew, but he could still be good company. Kup wasn't taking any bets on seeing a familiar friendly face around here.

     Despite the words that only confirmed Hot Rod's suspicions, the invitation drew a lopsided smile from him. He made his way over to plunk himself down beside the older Autobot.

     "Probably not, but even Ultra Magnus is pretty similar enough to the one I know." Even those that had actually been brought from his world were from some time even before he was aware of, and they weren't even around anymore, so far as he'd noticed since his...unexpected return.

     "You been here long?"

"If long is a few hours for you, then yes. And if you're anything like the Hot Rod I know, then a few hours is long." The kid had the attention span of a gnat and everyone knew it.

"What about you? Know the ropes and want to give tips to a newbie? It's the only chance you'll ever get to tell me a thing or two." He grinned around his cygar, assuming by Hot Rod's statement that the Kup from his world was also an imparter of knowledge and world-class storyteller. That had to be a requirement for being named Kup or something.

     "Around here, even more so," he admitted with a sigh, dropping his chin into a palm.

     He wasn't quite sure how long he'd been here, not if he had to count the time he'd first arrived. That just complicated things and seemed like too much trouble to try and figure out. It didn't help that no one else knew what had happened then either.

     "...heh, that's something I'd never thought I'd hear," Hot Rod grinned as he glanced at Kup again. There were some definite differences from the old bot he knew, but the personality still seemed in tact. That was more than enough for him in a place like this. He straightened up in his seat.

     "I gotta admit, there's still a lot of stuff I haven't gotten answers for, but I guess when no one else has them either, I'm not too bad off. Otherwise, we're stuck on some version of a super-backwater Cybertron that they're still in the process of building up, headed by these guys called the First-Forged. There's supposedly a truce between what Autobots and Decepticons are around here, not that that's kept things from happening given the things that crop up on the Link..."

His intention had been to come and get a drink to help clear his head and maybe see if Dead End was around. He'd been quite busy, as of late, with appointments and the like and he really hadn't just stopped in awhile.

Even with the recent torture he'd been through; working just helped him keep his mind off things.

The little calico dragon that Barricade had made for him curled around his shoulders, Rung scratched the creature under the chin with a small smile as he slipped into the hub, distracted by the creature--so much so--that he didn't notice the mech seated at the bar.

At least not until he sat down and looked around for Dead End.

When his gaze landed on Kup the therapist froze, staring at him like he was..well..seeing a ghost. His little companion chirped curiously and nudged at Rung's head but he didn't reaction, too caught up in surprise--in shock--to really function much at all.

As he was positioned to do so, Kup saw Rung the second he entered the bar, and his gaze locked on to the lithe mech and didn't move. Rung. Of all the mechs to be here, one of his dearest friends. But was it his Rung?

Rung would see Kup staring intently at him, elbows rested on the counter before him, his hands holding a cube between them with his mouth hidden behind his fingers and the cube. His face was impassive, but his spark was beating like crazy. He had never even hoped for a klik to find someone like Rung here, and yet there he was. If he was the right one. Kup dared not hope, really.

When he saw that he was noticed and was getting a similar reaction to what he was feeling, the green mech stood and made his way to the other, cube in one hand. When he reached Rung, he took a second to awkwardly try to figure out how to greet the other, and finally settled on reaching out with the unoccupied hand to grasp Rung firmly but friendly on the shoulder.

"Rung. Good to see you."

When the other got up and moved closed, Rung didn't move. His gaze followed Kup, but his entire frame was frozen in place, his vents cycling heavily as he tried to pull himself together--tried to prepare himself for this being a dream or maybe it wasn't even the Kup he knew--

But that hand on his shoulder, that voice, was his undoing, the therapist letting out a shaking exvent as he pushed himself out of his seat and pulled the other into a hug.

Primus was this going to seem weird if it wasn't the Kup from his universe.

"I didn't--when you disappeared--I never thought I'd see you again."

Ok, so they were hugging. That was ok with Kup. His arms moved around the smaller bot to embrace him, still mindful of the cube in his hand. He let his head rest against Rung's a bit. Yes, this was his Rung, or so similar he couldn't tell the difference.

"Hey, I'm here now. Stop that, okay?" Of course, Kup didn't expect to be seen ever again either when he went into that... whatever it was. Stupid Prowl. He would have done it on his own, the ass didn't have to use him like a cheap puppet. Ass.

"C'mon, let me get you a drink and you can tell me what's been going on here, unless you just got here too," he offered, finally pulling away and motioning for Rung to retake his seat as he took one directly left of it.

"Sorry it's just...A part of me kept hoping that maybe you'd find your way here," he admitted, squeezing the other closer before drawing back slightly, a warm smile lighting up his face. On his shoulder, the little calico dragon chirped curiously and stuck it's neck out a bit to try and get a closer look at Kup, tail flicking as a low little coo escaped him.

"Yes, a drink--a drink sounds wonderful right now," the therapist mused with a bit of a laugh as he reached up to touch the dragon's head, Rung still clearly shaken by all this as he sank down onto his seat again.

Kup. Kup was here and okay and...alive. Primus he was alive.

"I don't even know where to start with all this. I've been here for almost a year now but it's still all so hard to believe."

"I always found the best way to tell a story is not to start from the beginning, but to start from the interesting part," he suggested after taking a sip from his cube.

The dragon had caught his attention before, but he hadn't been curious or comfortable enough to touch it until now. Kup reached up and used one finger to scratch under its chin tenatively, ready to pull back quickly if it decided to bite him or breathe fire or whatever.

Don't worry, Kup. No fire breathing here. Rung's little pet is too docile around those his master is comfortable with.

It chirps happily instead, happily soaking up the attention as the therapist chuckles softly before it fades as he focuses on Kup again.

"This place...is a mess," he admitted, vents cycling softly because, yes, this was the interesting part. "If there aren't bots dying or getting tortured then there's weird things going on and it just never seems to stop anymore."

His life has been reduced to, essentially, three things: hunting for Tarn, tinkering in his lab, and hiding in the bar. There's a certain amount of truth and oblivion to be found at the bottom of a cube, although, with their resources so tight, it's not one he allows himself to indulge in that often. And Rung doesn't like it when he mews himself up in his lab for too many hours/days at a stretch. And there's only so much hunting for Tarn that he can get away with before someone forces him to go... somewhere else.

Three is a good number. It allows him to cycle from one to the other to the other without having too much free time forced on him. Because when he has free time, then all he does is think.

About how he's screwed up everything. How he's been left behind. Again. How he deserves it. Kup and Drift and Prowl and everything just pecking away at what shreds of himself are left.

So he goes to his lab and works on a dozen different ways to neutralize Tarn. And then he goes out with his rifle and tries to find Tarn to simply end him. And then he comes here to fuel up, maybe overfuel once in a while, so that he'll either be ready to take Tarn down...

Or forget why he's so dedicated to eliminating Tarn.

It's basically torture. Self-torture. If Tarn succeeds in killing or hurting Drift, then Drift won't be around (once he's back from... from that) for Perceptor to see every day and mourn the loss of him. So, really, everything boils down to Drift.

And that's the thought that is circling his processor like a sharkticon on the hunt as he pushes open the door to the bar and trudges in. Today might be a day that he allows himself to indulge just a bit more than usual.

He's halfway across the open floor, tossing a brusque nod toward the other occupant, when the faded green paint actually registers.

"...kup?"

He's standing, stock still in the middle of the bar, openly staring... frozen to the spot.

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[Open] Where Everybody Knows Your Name

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