re_alignment_logs | quicksilver

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quicksilver - quicksilver

WHO: Sideswipe & OPEN
WHERE: The Junk Pile || OR || Around Vector's Temple
WHEN: RIGHT NOW (2/20)
WHAT: Training. Keeping in shape. AKA: Sideswipe is restless after recovering, and needs to move, or else bother Mirage forever.
WARNINGS: None.
Note: Two options for interaction! Note which one you'd like in the subject!

[A - Vector's Area]
[There is a sportscar tearing around the temple grounds. Faster than probably necessary. Louder than probably necessary, too. But he finally felt himself again. He finally felt up to moving about. And it was either this, or pester Mirage into wrestling with him.]

[He has a feeling that would do more harm than good, at this point. Things between them are awkward enough without him leaping on the red bot. So here he was -- driving around, stretching both his wheels, and, as he hits a corner hard, his legs. He slides into the transformation, turning the drive into a long-legged sprint.]

[It feels good to run. He feels better than he has in a long time, getting out and moving like this.]

[Do you approach or try to catch the speeding silver blur?]

~ ~ ~

[B - Junk Pile]
[And later, he takes his run out to the junk. There's no real place for him to practice his blade work, aside from this nasty place, and even after his run, there's still too much pent-up energy for him to go back to their room now.]

[There are a few large pieces of rubble standing upright as he pulls in. His headlights flicker for a moment, before he suddenly slams on the accelerator, and charges the nearest pillar. At the very last second, he transforms, sweeping a blade low, before yanking his arm up in a sudden, quick slice.]

[It carves a deep line across the pillar.]

[He swings around on one foot, coming back down in a stabbing lunge that leaves a hole straight through the pillar. But he doesn't stop there.]

[It's like some kind of madcap ballet, the way he spins and slices, kicks and stabs the imaginary enemies. Nothing is on his mind, for once, but the thrill of the fight. The excitement and energy from defeating your enemy, no matter if they were just practice or not. Where he is doesn't matter, the conflict between himself and his closest friend here doesn't matter.]

[There's only the fight. And he is utterly focused on it.]

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[It's hard to meet that look head-on.]

Meaning I am...ahead of you.

[I know what happens.]

I still don't see the point here.

[It's a very hard look, annoyed, really. Mirage never had a problem talking to him before...]

[Luckily he's got Sideswipe by the arm, in case the bot decides to run.

Because...this isn't going to be easy.]

We were betrayed, Sideswipe. By an Autobot...a PRIME.

[It's like everything in him--all his composure slips into something desperate. Bottled up despair that he can't possibly keep in any longer. He'd managed for a whole year, hadn't he...

Against everyone's wishes too.]

Ironhide...Que...they're both--

[He just... stares at him.]

[His face wars between anger, confusion, and utter uncertainty. Why is he doing this? Why--]

[Somewhere along the lines, the anger vanishes. The tension in his posture is no longer due to rage, or irritation. He looks, while Mirage speaks, as if the ground has been pulled out from under him.]

[And in a way, he has.]

You're... [You're joking, right?]

[It's less of a question, and more of a plea. Because that isn't possible. A Prime wouldn't -- an Autobot wouldn't do that.]

What are you saying?

[His plating shivers--a futile attempt to keep himself together as he remembers it all. As if it'd just happened yesterday. Those blue eyes were no longer confident, but that of someone who'd been wounded, whether physically or mentally.

Sideswipe needed to know. And now.]

Sentinel Prime betrayed us, Sideswipe. Merely moments after you and Ironhide took out those disgusting Cons on the freeway. The Prime killed him then and there. Claimed he had sided with the Decepticons.

I...

[He turns back to look at the Corvette, head shaking.]

I'm sorry. We went to war again, this time against Sentinel. And Que was...executed before our very eyes. Bumblebee soon to be next.

[Hands reach up to hold Sideswipe's shoulders, 'breath' almost laboured.]

And that is when I was brought here.

[When Mirage's hands go to his shoulders... they aren't there. Not because he's pulled away, but because he's simply... sagged. Dropped. As if his legs suddenly can't bear to hold his weight anymore.]

[There... is a very quiet, very uncertain stream of denials, coming from him. The words are almost hoarse.]

[Ironhide...]

[He doesn't want to believe it. He wants to jump up, to shove Mirage away and flat-out deny all of this. Deny those words, that admission. But he can't. He knows him too well. He knows Mirage would never lie to him. Not about someone so important--]

[Ironhide.]

[He's staring at his hands, by the end of it. He doesn't even hear Mirage finish speaking. There's a rushing sound in his audio receptors, a hissing static. He feels... sick. Dizzy. Like something has hit him and hit him hard.]

[There... just aren't any words.]

[Except one. And he doesn't even realize he's saying it. It comes out strangely lost.]

Ironhide...?

[His eyes sadden at seeing the soldier so downtrodden. Of course this would impact Sideswipe, he knew it more than anyone on this planet. It's why he kept it for so long. And in a way, he wished it'd stayed like that.

But he knew that Sideswipe had to know. Lying to him wouldn't solve anything, and if someone else told him...Mirage didn't think he could bear to face the silver bot if that happened. His fingers go to Sideswipe's face, gently stroking his cheek as he stands there, his other arm snaking around his waist for support.]

Ironhide. He was betrayed be Sentinel in front of our very eyes.

But he went down a hero, a soldier.

Mi dispiace, [He takes a moment to collect himself.] For lying. I didn't mean...

I just wanted to see you happy for as long as I could.

[He just sags there. Even if he wanted to move, he couldn't. It's like every ounce of fight and strength has simply been drained out of him. He feels numb -- numb, hurting, terrified, all at once. Something cold has settled in his chest, like a heavy weight.]

[And it's dragging him down with it.]

[He doesn't even seem to register the touch. He honestly seems to be staring right through Mirage. Like the red bot has cloaked himself. He's... shaking. Very slightly. But in a frame as slender as his own, the tremors are obvious.]

No... no, he... he can't.

[Kids, even teenagers, tend to live under the impression their parents are invincible. Indomitable. The strongest people in the world. Sideswipe in particular had seen Ironhide bounce back from... everything. Anything. He shouldn't be able to be hurt.]

[And now he's just been smacked in the face with the reality his mentor, the one who saved his life, the greatest figure in his entire world... was gone.]

[Killed.]

[When he finally looks at Mirage, his optics are wild, uncertain, absolutely destroyed.]

No... no. No, I...

No.

"Sideswipe..."

[He knew how much the bot idolized Ironhide. He'd been more than just a mentor to him--he was a savior, a teacher, a father, and as much as Mirage liked to assume he knew what it was like with Que, it was nothing compared to the bond these two had.

And for as troublesome as it was being on the outside, being the one Ironhide had taken every precaution to keep the bot away from him, he'd be lying if he said he didn't somewhat look up to him too.

Maybe wanted some of that.

And to see it taken away from Sideswipe, who was close enough to even be the equivalent of a son, it broke his spark. When fearful eyes meet up with his, all he can do is pull him closer, hand wrapped around the back of his neck.]

I'm so sorry, Sideswipe.

I'm so sorry.

[It shouldn't be possible, to feel this numb, and this wounded, at the same time. His spark should just pick one, dammit, and go with it. That would be so much easier... if any of this was meant to be easy.]

[He doesn't realize he's repeating himself. That the chant of No, has never stopped. He's trying to rationalize this. Trying to make sense of it. His mind wants to race in too many directions, unable to focus.]

[... there's no fight here, no war, to ground him. To give him purpose as the ground is pulled out from under him.]

[When Mirage pulls him close, holds onto him, he might as well be a statue. He's stiff, his expression unchanging. Even when the other's hand holds the back of his head, he just stands there.]

[Shaking.]

[And slowly starts to sink down to the ground, long legs unable or unwilling to support him.]

[He doesn't fight Sideswipe to try and keep him up. No, a hand holds his back to him as they both sink to the ground together, cradling the bot as much as he can. Even if Sideswipe didn't give anything back, he wanted him to know that he was here.

In case he was needed.

He'd been through this, and had to grow up fast. Sideswipe...it would be more difficult for him, he knew that.

But he wouldn't be alone.]

I'm here.

I'm here, mio amore.

[Despite his lack of responses, his almost comatose state, he's leaning into the other's chest. Though whether or not it's purposeful is difficult to say. Maybe he wants it, that comfort. Or maybe he's simply lost the will to sit upright.]

[It starts to dawn on him, slowly, that someone else is here. The rushing sound in his audios starts to ebb. But the trembling remains. If anything, it starts to get worse.]

[This... can't really be happening.]

[He crashed. He was racing and he'd crashed. This isn't real. This isn't happening. Ironhide wouldn't...]

What now...

[If he's at all aware of how lost he sounds, it doesn't seem to register.]

[Until told different, Mirage is going to go with the former. He'd like to think he's making a difference here somewhere, despite how he felt he'd done the opposite. Sideswipe was just fine before--how was telling him the better option?

But he doesn't let go. Letting go would be the worst thing he could do.

Sideswipe needs a pillar right now, and while Mirage might not be the best for the job, he's the only one the bot has right now. The only other one who would understand in this strange world.]

We hurt. And then...

We heal, Sideswipe.

We heal.

[Of course it's those words that register. Those words that pull his attention back down to earth, so to speak. His frame shakes a few times, shuddering, really.]

[His head falls back, and his expression is that same hollow, lost look he'd had since the news smashed into him.]

Heal.

Right.

[It's not really a laugh that follows. It's too bitter, too fractured, to be anything like laughter. It does nothing to ease the trembling tension. His fingers tighten into fists, scraping over Mirage's armor as if trying to find a hold. Something to grip.]

[Something real.]

Like it's easy.

[He doesn't say anything at first, merely trying to brush something invisible off of Sideswipe's face. Perhaps just to give the other robot something to feel.

Those blue eyes couldn't be any more apologetic if they tried, massaging that plating as gently as possible.]

It's not.

It hasn't been.

[Because trying to heal from it himself and putting up a face for Sideswipe was one of the hardest things he's done. Cloaking is easy. Masking your emotions...not so much. That's a whole new level of stealth.]

But Ironhide trained you. His longevity exists in you.

I do not want you to let him down.

[His optics flick vaguely in Mirage's direction, still unfocused. Still distant and hurting. Mirage may as well be cloaked right now, for all he looks at him.]

[Those words earn a flicker of something -- recognition, understanding -- but it's quickly drowned out. He can't even begin to process how to feel right now. It hurts too much to really think, let alone empathize.]

[He'd fallen quiet. Still.]

[At least until those last words.]

[Then his head bows, his arms draw up over his head. There's a quiet, distressed keening sound he doesn't seem to be in control of.]

[Let him down. Has he already -- how would he ever know -- he's not ready for -- this can't be happening.]

I don't want -- This can't be --

[He pulls Sideswipe closer, gently running his engine--to give him at least something to feel. Something warm to comfort him.

It wasn't Mirage's turn to speak. Not until Sideswipe was ready.

But he does nuzzle the poor bot's face.]

Sideswipe...

What can I do?

[Something to feel. Something... to feel. It's better than nothing. Something just to focus on for now. He doesn't want to think of beyond now. Eventually that vibration, that heat, will leave.]

[Just like --]

[He shakes his head. He shakes it too quickly, and too many times. If this were war -- if the fight were here, he could have held himself together. He would have been needed... Now there's nothing. Just this so-called peace, and no place for him.]

[It feels like his world has collapsed again, like that day on his colony, and this time, there is no Ironhide here to haul him out of it.]

I don't know. I don't know.

[It comes out too quickly, too harshly.]

[Feeling the trembling bot beneath him had to be one of the hardest things to accept about all this. Sideswipe was so strong--a cannon. A glass cannon, though. Ready to break at a moments notice if his world fell apart.

And that's just what happened here. All Mirage was doing was holding the pieces together, hoping that if they stayed long enough, they'd form again.

And it'd fire with the same power as it always had.

But that was a lie, and he knew it.]

Let me take you back.

[Mirage could have said "Let's go to the moon", and he'd have nodded. It's debatable whether or not he's actually listening at this point. His mind keeps running in circles, trying to figure out what to do with himself, and failing.]

[There's no war. There's nothing for him to fall back on.]

[It would be so much easier if he had that. If he had anything.]

[Which is when something in the hold, in the support, of the other Autobot seems to click in his head. He actually looks at Mirage, then, like he's surprised to see him there. One hand touches the red bot's chest, hesitantly, like he's expecting it to go right though it.]

[When it doesn't, he sags into him, clinging again, and nodding.]

[Mirage is here.]

[Like an anchor.]

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