A sort of Atonement
WHO: IDW!Megatron and OPEN!
WHAT: Magnum has escaped from the Hollow, and is going around the different Zones trying to do good deeds for people. He's very amiable in this state, and will probably perform any service asked of him.
WHERE: Zones 6-3, probably
WHEN: Now-ish
WARNINGS/NOTES: Doubt this will be an issue, but since I've been so darn slow ( Read more... )
WHAT: Magnum has escaped from the Hollow, and is going around the different Zones trying to do good deeds for people. He's very amiable in this state, and will probably perform any service asked of him.
WHERE: Zones 6-3, probably
WHEN: Now-ish
WARNINGS/NOTES: Doubt this will be an issue, but since I've been so darn slow ( Read more... )
He was trying not to worry.
There is no war here. You do not fear for your life. Even if the place abounds with strangeness... and even if ... even if he's not...
Perhaps best not to think at all.
He was so lost in his thoughts, or rather in attempting to avoid them, that he ran right into Magnum, without even seeing who it was.
"Oh, oh my, I'm terribly sorry..."
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He hadn't entirely meant to be painting, but he'd seen a small mech up to a tall job and knew it was going to be difficult for him to finish that, alone. They were both spraying the exterior of the parts-shop, now, giving it a fresh, clean look that he was certain would attract more customers.
It was red, besides.
He liked red.
The mech that ran into him was also red, and left a red smear across his arm as the paint can jostled and mis-sprayed a new swatch of color that he found himself staring at incredulously.
It didn't match, but...that was alright.
"I'm sorry..." He started, catching himself on the wall and leaving a hand-print in the paint...
and then reaching to steady Starscream, also, when he realized who it was he'd just been in the way of.
"C...careful. Are you alright?"
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He stared. Magnum? And still affected by the virus, he saw. How did he get out? Hadn't he been cloistered away by Soundwave?
"I'm perfectly fine, but thank you," he said. "I haven't seen you in... oh, my, cycles. Are you alright?"
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That didn't stop him from offering Starscream a smile, though, reaching out to poke him with a single red dot in the middle of his white forehead before he went back to painting, once again steadied.
"I'm redder than normal, but you did not hurt me. Th...thank you for asking, though. You seem to be doing very well, yourself. I am..."
He paused.
"I am sorry I have not been able to meet with you. Soundwave thought it best if I did not leave, and I had no desire to go against his wishes, but I found it was...difficult...to atone for that which I had done if I was trapped."
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Still. He had a job to do, here. Magnum was out, and... well.
"I am, yes. Well, there's been a mixup with my ID bolt, but I think that'll be solved soon enough..."
He nodded. "I see. Soundwaves can be terribly protective, can't they? In their own ways, of course..."
He rubbed his chin. Hopefully...
"Well, no harm done. You're here now, are you not? And we are meeting now, are we not? You could still take me to see the place..."
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"But I fear if we return, he will lock me back in my quarters and will either turn you away or do something terrible to you. I would not want that." His handprint slowly disappeared as he sprayed over it with slow, even strokes, working until the entire wall was once again red.
"I am nearly finished here, though. We...could still talk? I have quite an ample amount of funds, also, so I would be delighted to take you out for lunch, or to see an exibit somewhere, or...ah...what...is it that you enjoy, actually?"
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"I understand. Neither of those options are particularly desirable. Do you... do you want some assistance, here...?"
Talk... hm. Here, or elsewhere. Either way would be fine. And then he could...
...
Frag. With Magnum like this, he didn't want to. The fact that he looked so much like... and that he seemed so vulnerable this way. Taking advantage now would be to do exactly what Magnum had done to the others.
But too many have been hurt. He'll recover soon enough, and then where will you be? Justice must be served.
This was why he hated being a leader. If his Megatron had been here, he would have been given orders on how to proceed. He'd know the right course of action to take, because his Megatron always had sound judgment.
"I... very much enjoy seeing science and history museums. Particularly about the science of other worlds... and, do you need a hand with that wall?"
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He laughed, thinking on the memory and handing Starscream a spray can so they could get the last few little spots that needed touchups.
"But they were right--it did help me focus, when I eventually started doing the work myself. I...don't...really understand how I could go out there every day, and do what I did...but I do remember putting on the paint."
It had been red, like this.
"There is a curios exibit I passed a few minutes ago. It has interesting replicas of important cultural artifacts as described by Nexus residents. We could go and see? They have a sign outside advertising 'Dwarf Breads,' though I don't know what it means."
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"Huh! I have no idea," he said, laughing at the notion of 'dwarf breads'. "I'd be delighted to take a look."
As he painted, he fell silent, opening up his internal comm system and beginning to compose a message.
Direct memo to Cheetor - Urgent (concerning an offworlder criminal ( ... )
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Part of it was his worry, fearing Soundwave would be able to find him, and part of it was his need to have a place, or a job, or a direction. Having Starscream here helped with that--and Starscream was the first person all day who'd been this kind.
"We will have to figure out what they are, then. I...am glad to get to talk to you in this way."
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