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WHO: Hot Rod & Ironhide
WHERE: Prima's Quadrant
WHEN: A little after the Pillar's destruction
WHAT: The Pillar left a parting gift...
WARNINGS: N/A

     He had been in a slight daze as to whatever had happened after he'd made contact with that part of the Pillar, but he at the very least knew for certain that it had been taken care of. Now if only he could just confirm that everyone else was all right and got out of the Core in one piece.

     Maybe it was also that he was tired out from holding off hordes robotic wolves, and everything just compounded now that things were done. Were they done? Hot Rod knew he wouldn't be able to relax until he knew for sure.

     He didn't notice the odd trails he was leaving behind at first, how the floor beneath his feet became oddly discolored, or the walls he brushed with his hand to steady himself as he made his way out of the Prima's temple. Emerging finally, he felt at least some weight lifted from his shoulders when he saw that the pillar that had stood at the center of the Junk Pile was now but a stump, the rest somehow eroded away from where it had stretched high towards the Lambda that threatened to split the sky.

     "...we did it..."

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You'd have to be blind and deaf to miss that show.

Anyone could have seen the Pillar coming down. But not everyone would have gone looking for the source. There probably would be some kind of celebratory nonsense later, but for now, there were comrades to check in on. If something that big had gone down, what did it mean for everyone involved?

It was all pretty hush-hush, but he had a fairly good idea where all the commotion was centered on. So toward Prima's temple, he trundled. People tended to talk a lot when they thought you were just a big dumb grunt.

Take that, Trion.

     Hot Rod stepped back slowly, still staring where the Pillar had once stood, feeling conflicted about its being gone, although he wondered if that was anything to do with his being in contact with it more than he had wanted to. It had to be done at the time though, and if he needed to, he would have done it again.

     Shaking his head, the Autobot turned to start walking...where, exactly? Wherever the others were, maybe. Were some of them still inside? Wait, they'd need him to use the elevator, wouldn't they?

     "Good going, you've really got your head on straight," he muttered, and could imagine Kup telling him worse as he started towards the temple's entryway again. The sound of Ironhide's approach stopped him. He didn't need a visual to guess who it was, but he waited either way.

Well, there was a familiar face, at least.

He transformed before he got near Hot Rod, opting to approach on foot, instead of on wheels. Seemed more appropriate. Or, at least, polite-er. Not that Ironhide really was terribly good at the whole "polite" thing.

"Hey, kid. Long time no see."

He marched over, lifting a hand in greeting, before reaching out to clasp Hot Rod on the shoulder.

"Everything all right out here?"

     Hot Rod cracks a tired smile at the older bot. "Hey. I miss anything good?"

     He nodded hesitantly, head turning to glance back towards the broken pillar. "...seems like we managed to do what we set out to. I was just going to head back to make sure no one got left down there-"

     Thoughtful as the gesture was, Ironhide would be the first of the two to realize that it was a bad idea. His hand would begin to feel a little tingly as whatever made contact with Hot Rod's shoulder started to freeze over.

"Nah. Nothin' going on around here worth talking about. Guess that's sort of good, though."

He glanced back as well, scowling. Good riddance to that thing. It hadn't brought anything good to this place. Surely getting rid of it would only be beneficial. He lifted his hand, shaking it out a little, before setting it back down.

It'd have to freeze more than that before it started bothering him.

"You all right? Everything in the green?"

     At least it was Ironhide and not someone else with a weaker constitution that ran into him first. Hot Rod nodded in agreement with the older Autobot's words. He'd been worried about what might happen up top while they handled things from down below, especially given what the scientists had discovered about any potential attacks directly made upon the pillar.

     "Me? Ah, I could probably use a recharge but other than that, I think I'm okay...?"

     His tone shifted as his optics fell upon the peculiar trail on the ground, realizing that it led right beneath his feet and seemed to spread even when he moved them. "What the..."

"Then let's..."

He was about to suggest they go inside and get him settled, because there was just something in his programming about looking after these dumb kids. But a crackling sound and Hot Rod's own confusion stopped him. He grunted, looking down.

His hand was frozen.

"What the scrap."

He jerked it back, shaking it out as the ice crust crackled. His fingers bent and flexed. "... What's all this?"

Hot Rod had turned his attention to Ironhide's hand, staring at what had happened. He took a step back, looking at his hands, then back down at the ground as it quickly gained an icy sheen underfoot.

"I don't know!" It was obvious that it was coming from him somehow, but why was it happening? Turning, he looked back along the way he had come, the almost crystalline trail still there, marking his path.

He kept on flexing his hand, feeling the ice crackling and popping as it came off his fingers. It glittered as it fell to the ground, shattering on impact. He gave Hot Rod a long stare, also looking back the way the kid had come.

"Stay calm, kid," he said in what he hoped was a reassuring growl. "I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say that ain't normal."

"You think? We've sparred how many times and I've never seen you frost over any of those times!" The reassurance wasn't working. Hot Rod seemed intent on maintaining his distance from the other bot as well. Sure, Ironhide wasn't acting like it had bothered him much, but the guy lived up to his name!

"Well, I dunno! People are poppin' up with all kinds of weird scrap around here..."

It trailed off in a grumble as he shook his hand, glowering at it as if his hand were at fault, instead of Hot Rod.

"Quit jumping around." It was giving him a headache, trying to keep the kid in sight while he fidgeted around. "Calm down. You're not gonna hurt me here. We established that."

     Weird didn't even begin to cover it.

     At least the other Autobot seemed to make an effort to calm down, forcing a nod as he looked at his hands again. He tried to ignore the frost he caused with each step as he approached the wall of the temple. There he placed a hand, optics widening as he watched the color change beneath his palm almost instantly. He drew it back.

     "....is this... Do you think it's because of that pillar?" That was his go-to explanation for any bizarre occurrence for now. It seemed fitting enough, but what he didn't get was why when the thing was gone?

"I thought that thing quit changing bots," he muttered, also peering at the spot Hot Rod's hand had been. He poked at it, but the frost didn't leap onto his finger.

Weirder.

Big shoulders rolled in a shrug. "You feel it at all? Any colder or anything?"

It didn't spread, but the frost and part of whatever material the wall was constructed of crumbled just a tiny bit from that prodding. Hot Rod eyed it, shaking his head.

"No, I...don't feel any different at all. I thought it was weird though, when we were down there. I had to make contact with the pillar again, help distract it so that the others could take care of the parts that had spread within the Core. It didn't seem like anything much had happened to me, then."

"Well, there's that, I guess."

It'd be more worrisome if there were physical effects on the kid. Right? If Hot Rod was suffering because of this. That would be worse.

But then he went and kept talking, and Ironhide resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands.

"You touched it?" he asked. "The thing that's been givin' us five million different kinds of problems? You went and touched it? The scrap made you think that was a good idea?"

That tone said enough even without the gestures being made. Hot Rod managed not to flinch. He knew why he did what he'd done, and Ironhide didn't.

"Yeah- I had to!" He wasn't going to mention that the first time he'd done so was on accident...and could have been potentially bad if Rose hadn't been there with him. "-it was the only way we could do anything, otherwise!"

"You had to."

It didn't come out accusatory, he hoped. He wanted to make sure he'd heard right, mostly. His head lowered, optics flickering in thought, as he folded his arms.

He was really not the one to handle this.

"Maybe we should get you to see a medic or somethin'."

     Hot Rod nodded firmly, about to lean a hand against the wall before he stopped himself. He let his arm fall to his side as his gaze drifted towards the ground, as though he could melt the ice that marked it with a look.

     "It wasn't just me. Some of the others did the same. ...I wonder if anything happened to them..."

     A medic. "What good's that going to do?"

"If somethin' happened to you, it probably happened to the others, yeah."

He watched the younger Autobot, frowning. He really didn't know what else to do, here. He wasn't a scientist. He wasn't really a researcher, even. It was probably best to hand it off.

Big shoulders twitched in a shrug. "Somethin' more than I can do for you."

That didn't exactly make him feel any better about the situation. If he froze things by the briefest contact, what might the others be going through?

Realizing that Ironhide was trying to help somehow at least, Hot Rod lowered his head, shoulders sagging with a sigh. "I didn't... Sorry. Maybe you're right...."

"Yeah, I am."

Except he really wasn't sure if he was right. But he had to pretend he was, at least, confident. It worked out better that way.

"C'mon. Let's get movin'."

Hot Rod nodded, too tired to argue, and hey, it was better than any ideas he had, given that he had none to begin with. He motioned for Ironhide to lead the way, still mindful on keeping some distance between them.

Well, now they just had to hope there was actually a medic on hand. They seemed pretty few and far between, the last time he'd been in their area. All the more reason for him to keep out, when he could. If they actually had someone there, maybe there was a chance of getting Hot Rod's problem solved.

He jerked his head back the way he'd come.

"Walk or drive?"

Belatedly, Hot Rod wondered about that as well. He figured, if anything, Ironhide would know better than him who all was yet around. The only one that he'd ever spoken with himself was Glit, and that felt like so long ago.

"Let's take a drive. I've been walking enough today." That and he hoped that maybe there was the off chance that he wouldn't freeze things if he went fast enough. ...well, he could hope, anyway.

"Right. Don't go speeding off."

Part of him was sure the kid would, even if he gave the warning. Just because that's what kids did. Especially when they turned into cars like that.

His own vehicle mode was a lot less stylish. More like a tank, than anything.

     Aw come on, Ironhide! What was the point of driving if you couldn't speed?

     The warning was met with the faintest smirk, which was an improvement from his earlier mood, if only fractionally. He dropped down into his alt mode.

     "I know you can't keep up with me, old man. I'll give you a head start."

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