HSV and the Backwater. Autobot Base and a Dungeon. Contracts and Crawls part 1

[dens_extra_pups]

((This log occurs around the same time as this log and this one)) ((Also, there are spoilers for 'Age of Extinction'))



Ratchet: *in a grouch mood. Is working on repairing Hot Rod again, after the idiot pulled an even stupider and riskier stunt than usual, and ended up seriously hurt as a result*

Hot Rod: *is actually just as grouchy as the medic, and started scowling the moment he came back online. Hasn't seen Rose since their second date, and he's starting to think that the long distance relationship isn't working. Stink eye for Ratchet as the medic's welder slips slightly*

Ratchet: Honestly, Hot Rod, were you even using your processor? *checking connections and welds*

Hot Rod: *uncharacteristic scowl* Get bent, you old lush.

Ratchet: ... *will set his tools down. Then he's giving Hot Rod a careful smack upside the head*

Hot Rod: *fist up and flying!*

Ratchet: *going to use the training Ironhide gave him all those vorns ago, as well as his size and weight advantage to pin Hot Rod* What has gotten into you?!

Hot Rod: *yelps and flails as the medic's weight puts pressure on damage* Owww. Get your lead aft off of me, Ratchet!

Panacea: *looks out of her father's office, scowling*

Ratchet: Are you going to settle down? *so serious, will move to get back to work repairing the younger mech* *also considering the conversation that he had with his ghostly alternate earlier this week*

Hot Rod: *calls him something quite rude and creative*

Panacea: *comes out of the office and clocks him right between the eyes*

Hot Rod: *pwnt*

Ratchet: *snort* Thank you, Panacea.

Panacea: *grumbles* Whatever. Can't I just recycle him? Then I won't need to babysit him.

Ratchet: No. He's still useful. Even if it's just to make sure I stay in practice.

Panacea: *grumbles* I'm going to go clean slag up in the storeroom.

Ratchet: Alright. I'll call if I need assistance. *turns his attention back to repairing Hot Rod. Will bring him back online only when he's good and ready to* *remembers when he asked Panacea to watch out for Hot Rod. Considers again what his alternate told him about having Hot Rod watch out for Panacea*

Panacea: *is the sound of stomping and cursing about a pack rat*

Ratchet: *snerks as he remembers how the time he met the Rodimus of ghostRatchet's reality, and how that Rodimus' mate, another Panacea, balances him, while he balances her. Thinks about how his own daughter is common sense under her spitfire temper, and how, despite her inexperience elsewhere, her spark is mature*

WakeJumper: *yelps from where he's been working on fixing part of Torque's leg. The hauler woke up unexpectedly and accidentally clobbered the orange medic*

Ratchet: *realizes he's been looking at a solution to the problem with Hot Rod all along* *finishes repairs on the red and orange racer and brings the mech back online*

Hot Rod: *wakes up swinging* You rusted out eyesore...!

Ratchet: *catches Hot Rod's fists. Scowls darkly* You.

Hot Rod: *usually laughing optics flash with anger that doesn't cover the lonely despair in them* Bite me.

Ratchet: *seriously* Hot Rod, from now on, you're going to keep an eye on Panacea, and keep her out of trouble.

Hot Rod: *optics flash with shock* What? No way!

Ratchet: Yes. You're going to keep Panacea out of trouble, end of discussion.

Hot Rod: *winces and rubs his forehead* That kid's a hatchet just like you.

Ratchet: Tough. *will help Hot Rod off of the table* And no trying to get someone else to keep an optic on her.

Hot Rod: *bitterly* No one else is that stupid. *cringes from the sound of crashing and cursing from the store room*

Ratchet: Go help her.

Hot Rod: *still cringing* Help her do what?

Panacea: *more crashing*

Ratchet: For starters, figure out what fell, and help her put things away.

Hot Rod: *looks nearly normal as he whimpers and creeps toward the store room*


Rose's reality


Scattershot: Rose, this is the bot I was telling you about. *indicates the pale green mech who's quietly admiring the flowers in the arrangement in his hand*

Galeas: *was minding his own business when Scattershot dragged him out and gave him an arrangement to hold onto before telling him to wait*

Rose: *irritated glance at the stranger, but then blinks and looks again at that slender, shapely, pale green and white form* Whoa, manly man.

Galeas: Huh? *looks up, blinking with confusion*

Scattershot: Rose, this is my friend, Galeas. Galeas, this is my daughter, Rose. *trying so hard not to snicker at Rose's assessment of Galeas, but his winglets are giving away his amusement*

Galeas: *shy little smile* Hi.

Rose: *rumbles and goes grumpy again* What do you want, Dad?

Scattershot: *as Galeas starts to get distracted by the pretty flowers and murmur softly about the different types* I was going to give Galeas a tour, but I think it'd be a better idea if you did it, Rose.

Rose: *scowls down at her dad like a thundercloud*

Scattershot: *quietly, and calmly* Galeas needs someone to keep him from getting lost.

Rose: Whatever. *shoulder to the Dad. Yes, she's still young enough for attitude*

Galeas: *sticking his face in close to the flowers to get a better look, squeaks as he gets pollen on his intakes* *sneeze! Sneeze! Falls over onto his aft*

Scattershot: *chuckles and helps Galeas to his feet, then heads off, whistling*

Galeas: *quietly confused as he watches Scattershot go* *looks to Rose* Where is he going?

Rose: *grumpy* He's got a job. If he's not going there then he's probably gonna polish his aft to catch Mom's eye.

Galeas: ... Oh. *still confused*

Rose: *turns and frowns down at him* Did you hit your head or something?

Galeas: *blinks and shakes his head* I didn't hit my head... The medics said it's an irreparable coding glitch in my personality matrix.

Rose: *studies him, reading the quietness and innocence of his spirit in his eyes and his stance* *sighs* You realize Dad's trying to hook us up?

Galeas: ... So that's why he made me hold these. *will indicate the flowers* He's trying to be sneaky. *slight quirk of a grin as he shakes his head* Scattershot's still lousy at it.

Rose: *blink blink* And he still forgets that it's not me and Mom who likes flowers. You can keep those.

Galeas: ... *bluntly* He can be an idiot sometimes.

Rose: *stares, and then laughs so hard that she's got to put her hands on her legs and wheeze a bit between whoops. Never expected that much blunt truthfulness from someone so gentle seeming*

Galeas: *blink blink* *thinking over what he said, is trying to figure out why being honest about his friend is so funny*

Rose: *and then straightens again with a sigh* Did Dad tell you about the Backwater?

Galeas: ... *headshake* Is that the name of a bar?

Rose: *slight smirk* No. The bar's the Black Dog. One of your alternates works there.

Galeas: ... Alternates? *raised brow ridge. Is curious, and still a bit confused*

Rose: *blinks and frowns at him puzzledly* Mention of nexxi and alternate realities are part of standard school curriculum.

Galeas: *quietly, ducking his head a bit* I got pulled from basic classes because of the glitch. *quieter* I couldn't absorb data in a classroom environment because of it.

Rose: Oh. Well, have you ever seen any sci fi shows?

Galeas: A few... But they were all about time travel, and kind of boring.

Rose: *grunts and shakes her head, then tells him about alternate realities and nexuses. Keeps it simple and to the point, but doesn't dumb it down*

Galeas: *expression brightens as he processes the data*

Rose: *finishes telling, then puts out a hand* Let's go.

Galeas: *trustingly puts his hand in hers* Okay. *smile*

Rose: *takes him to the Black Dog porch and perks as she hears a familiar voice raised up in unfamiliar ire* *quiet and gruff* Good. I can dissolve that contract now.

Hot Rod: You can't just let off explosives at random!

Panacea: *right up in his face* You're just slagged off because you screamed like a slaggin' little girl!

Hot Rod: I did NOT!

Galeas: *startled squeak, hunkers down a bit on reflex*

Panacea: *belts Hot Rod one* Out of my face, you mis-programmed cretin!

Rose: *scowls and watches this, one hand absently going to Galeas' shoulder in reassurance*

Hot Rod: *yelps and rolls as he's socked*

Galeas: *meep*

Rose: *pat pat Galeas, and then walk over and haul Hot Rod to his feet* *gruffly* We need to talk.

Hot Rod: *blink blink* Oh, hey, Rose.

Panacea: *right up in the face of that alien slab of muscle* That's mine!

Rose: *glances at her* *quietly* Not till I let him go, he's not.

Panacea: *frowns and looks at Rose funny*

Hot Rod: *0.o look for Panacea* ... Well, at least we're on the same page.

Galeas: *hesitantly edging closer*

Rose: *heavily* Yeah. The long distance thing isn't working. And it looks like a girl from your reality's paying you attention now, anyway.

Hot Rod: *nods* Yeah... Definitely isn't working. Who's your friend? *nods toward Galeas, who is now trying to hide behind you, Rose*

Rose: *shakes her head and smirks slightly* The boy my dad just gave flowers and introduced to me. Who's the battle ax?

Hot Rod: Panacea. She's Ratchet's daughter.

Rose: *lifts a brow ridge* You mean like that one Rodimus is married to?

Hot Rod: ... I guess? *is plotting REVENGE on Ratchet now, kthx*

Rose: Since we both have potential snog partners from our own realities, should we just call it friends?

Hot Rod: Works for me. We can still go blow slag up together, right? *too busy plotting to really hear what she said about snog partners*

Rose: If we ever slaggin' manage to meet up to do it. *reaches back and stops Panacea hand from poking the Galeas*

Panacea: *amused snort*

Galeas: *big optics from behind Rose* *kind of clinging to her, too*

Hot Rod: Right...

Rose: *looks around* Since we're here now, you wanna have drinks and then go a few rounds in the dungeon? *spots his welds and pokes one* Or are those too fresh?

Hot Rod: *slight shrug, squirming a bit* I'm ready to kick some aft, if you are.

Panacea: *suddenly has a grip on his audio* Are you out of your slaggin' mind???

Hot Rod: *YELP*

Galeas: *HIDES*

Rose: *brow ridge quirk*

Hot Rod: Panacea, lemme go! *flail*

Panacea: Do you realize how fast action will break open those welds? *twists the audio*

Rose: *other ridge goes up as she thinks she catches a grin on Hot Rod's face*

Hot Rod: *squawks and protests the twisting*

Panacea: And who do you expect is going to repair that?

Hot Rod: I'll buy you choccy... *grin*

Panacea: *pauses and scowls at him* Buy me choccy for what?

Rose: *reaches back and absently pats the hand she feels clinging to the waistband of her kilt*

Hot Rod: For fixing my damage if I get any, and not telling Ratchet?

Panacea: *snort* Are you trying to bribe me?

Hot Rod: Stuff like what you set off on my aft work well in the dungeon, and slimes look really cool when they explode.

Panacea: *interested* Who yells when you blow 'em up?

Rose: *thinks that femme mustn't be as old as she looks*

Hot Rod: The slimes're the only ones that yell. *smirk*

Galeas: *quiet squeak*

Panacea: *thinks about it. Pokes the welds, then lets go the audio* Fine.

Rose: *snerks and reaches back to pull Galeas out of hiding*

Galeas: *more squeak, but he'll stick close to you, Rose*

Hot Rod: *grin for Panacea* This is gonna be awesome!

Panacea: *snorts at him* The pain killer tab hasn't worn off yet, has it?

Rose: *sputter. Snerk. Take Galeas around the shoulders and lead him to the bar*


Later


Rose: *standing over at the healer's counter in the dungeon store* See, Galeas. If you play the healer you don't have to get into the fight. You just stand behind us where we can protect you, keep our red bars full, and throw up a few illusions to confuse the really tough monsters. Think you can do that? *is holding a cheap, filmy, healer's robe with gold lace trim in her hands*

Galeas: *thinking muchly on this before he's nodding* I think so...

Rose: *holds up the robe* You want this one? Or a different one? *nods toward the other robes hanging on the wall* Pick a cheap one, okay?

Galeas: *will look at the robes, clicking softly to himself*

Hot Rod: *looking over the various DPS classes*

clerk: *holds up a sword that looks like a dragon* How about this?

Hot Rod: Ooooooo, how much?

clerk: This is one of the cheaper ones. Fifty dollars. It's just painted stainless steel.

Hot Rod: *gets money out to pay for it* What class is it for?

clerk: DPS melee soldier.

Hot Rod: *grin, pays for the sword* Sweet.

clerk: You need any kind of armour, or armour tags? *glances toward the sound of rummaging and muttering where that white aft is sticking up out of the bargain bin*

Hot Rod: *considering look*

clerk: Tags are cheaper, and make your own armour register in the game.

Hot Rod: How much?

clerk: Thirty. *eyes widen slightly at a word that just came out of the bargain bin*

Hot Rod: *looks toward the bin, blinking* Wow. I didn't even know that one, Panacea.

Panacea: *snorts* What sort of slag am I looking for in here? I have no slaggin' clue what "ranged DPS" means.

Hot Rod: Stuff like bows, crossbows, or blasters.

Panacea: I have my blast caps. Wasn't I going to use those? *dig dig dig. WORD*

Hot Rod: A ranged weapon means you can hit the enemies without having to get close to 'em.

Panacea: *rights herself and frowns at the sling in her hands* My explosives will work with this.

Hot Rod: That's a ranged weapon. *nodnod*

Panacea: No scrap, Sherlock! *snort* Now I need some of those armour tags, right?

Hot Rod: Yeah. *to the clerk* A set of armor tags for each of us. *grin*

clerk: If he chooses a robe, he won't need the tags. And there's a Valkyrie outfit in the bin for twenty bucks.

Panacea: ... *dives into the bin again*

Rose: Hey, that one really shows your legs, Galeas.

Galeas: I like the color. *small grin as he tries on a simple green robe*

Rose: *admires the dark green peasant shirt with the billowing sleeves* Is there a belt?

Panacea: *out of the bin and sticking pieces of sturdy plastic armour onto her armour. Finishes with the loincloth style skirt and the winged crown* *scowls and looks at Hot Rod* I look like an idiot.

Hot Rod: Lemme see if I can find something, too. *grin*

Panacea: *steps aside* Be my guest, glitch head.

Galeas: *going to look for a belt now, clicking thoughtfully*

Rose: *turns and studies the healer staff selection* What kind of stick do you want?

Panacea: *can no longer contain herself. Kicks the aft sticking out of the bargain bin*

Hot Rod: *yelps and falls into the bin*

Galeas: Umm... *will look at the staff selection, has a simple belt in hand*

Panacea: *wanders over to look at the staffs herself* What does he need something like that for?

Rose: Healers have 'em.

Hot Rod: *picking himself up out of the bin, heard that question* Apparently, it's supposed to "focus their healing powers" or some scrap like that.

Rose: In this case it just lets out the energy I pay for, so he can recharge our red bars.

Hot Rod: Oh. Okay. *shrugs and goes back to searching the bargain bin*

Rose: *grabs a wood look plastic staff with fake leaves and cherry blossoms on it* This?

Galeas: Ooo. *will reach for the staff to see how it feels in his hand*

staff: *weight of the mechanisms is right where his hand would sit while holding it. The weight nicely balances the weight of the ornaments at the top*

Galeas: *likes the texture of the staff* *small nod*

clerk: You can't hit anything with that, or it'll break.

Rose: I thought healers didn't hit things.

clerk: Tell that to the blanket maker.

Rose: *snorts at the clerk and offers Galeas a string of fake emeralds for a belt*

Galeas: *blink blink* But I have a belt... *holds up the belt he found* *confused look for the clerk* Blanket maker?

Rose: *looks at Galeas' belt* Yeah, I like that one better. *tosses the emeralds back on their hook*

Panacea: *making sure with the clerk that using explosives is alright and being assured that it's fine, but that she's responsible for damages to her own team that she might cause with them*

Hot Rod: *emerges wearing tacky-looking plastic centurion armor, complete with helmet* :D

clerk: *looks at the armour* You went right to the bottom, didn't you?

Hot Rod: Yup! *so proud of himself*

clerk: *snerk* Ten bucks

Hot Rod: And how much for Panacea's armor? *getting more money out*

clerk: Like I said. Twenty.

Hot Rod: *nods and pays the clerk for the weapons and armor for Panacea and himself*

clerk: So you have a healer, two DPS, and ... *looks at Rose*

Rose: *absently flexing in a mirror*

clerk: 0_0

Hot Rod: A tank. *grin*

clerk: ...Does she need a weapon?

Rose: *is now cracking her knuckles and scowling at her reflection instead of listening*

Hot Rod: Nope.



Continued here