WHO: Jetfire, Ironhide, maybe a Drift
WHAT: Ironhide and others search for Jetfire after
THIS.
WHERE: Back alleys of zone 2.
WHEN: ....now? As soon as the robots are turned back to normal.
WARNINGS/NOTES: Locked to people who know they are involved; potential wibble-fest and trauma within?
(
The memory now is like the picture was then;
When the paper's crumpled up it can't be perfect again )
Not once. Even when he'd been human, he'd gone looking for the alleyway. He'd watched the feed so many times, he had the transmission memorized, looking for any sign of something familiar. Nothing. No sign of the little one anywhere. They had to be alive--there had to be some sign of them. Something.
And now that he was his rightful self, it was easier to patrol. Easier to push his frame beyond its limits. He wasn't going to give up. Not until he knew for sure one way or another. He'd lost track of how many days he'd been out here--he hadn't been back to the apartment since waking up in his rightful form. He wasn't going to let this happen. He was going to find the little ones, and destroy the one responsible. They didn't deserve this... they were his to protect.
But even his huge body had limits. He had to stop, or collapse. He transformed, pausing for a moment to lean against the mouth of an alleyway, waiting for overtaxed systems to cool down.
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Only when the wind shifted, breeze flowing back out of the alley and bringing with it the rustle of trash and the stench of stale energon, did things get interesting.
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"I spoke with Prime. Jetstorm is currently in Soundwave's possession. Jetfire is missing. We should focus our efforts on him first- retrieving his brother will be the bigger challenge."
He angled his head towards the alley, squinting into the dark. The breeze did bring some interesting things forward. "Do you smell that?"
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Despite his tone, he was grateful for the help. Drift had been a benefit to their side. An addition to their forces was always welcome. Although his news caused the big Autobot's engine to kick on with a warning growl. "We will," he said, his voice pitched low, dangerous. "And then, danger or not, Soundwave will be made to pay."
He followed Drift's gaze, pulling air into his intakes. "Yeah..." Before he'd finished the word, he'd pushed himself forward again, into the alley.
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He'd told Perceptor he had no intention of confronting Soundwave if he could help it- and he didn't. But looking for a way around a confrontation didn't seem to be an option the larger mech wanted to hear. He would keep it to himself for the time being. At least until they located the missing twin.
So, he followed Ironhide into the alley, one hand resting on the hilt of a blade. Just in case.
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The path further in is tacky under the rubbish; sticky in spots with drying mech fluids. It only gets worse further in.
And the trash isn't high enough to completely cover a robotic leg, which sticks out of the largest pile back against the furthest wall.
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It didn't take him long to assess the scene. And when he did, every strut, joint and piston in his frame went deathly still. He knew this alley. Knew that corpse. That streak of paint...
No.
Without another word, he charged forward, snarling. Ignoring the drying fluid, the sticky bits of things attaching to his hands, he tossed trash around. Here! It had been here! "Answer me... say something... come on, little one!" Another sign, another clue. Please...!
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There was nothing but more trash beneath. He had to stop, then, huge shoulders sagging, cooling fans working overtime in defeat.
"Not here..." he heard himself say.
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"We'll check every inch of this alley if we must, but we will find him."
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"We will. C'mon," he said, finally, straightening up with a creak of worn joints. "Lot of ground to cover."
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Not quite a needle in a proverbial haystack, but bad enough.
But Ironhide and Drift were not the only beings in the area. Disturbed by the weapon master's mad, noisy scrambling through the trash, something squeaked in fright; a flit of blue popping out of the nearest broken nook before vanishing...and reappearing mid-air before latching on to the side of Ironhide's head with a chatter.
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The other Autobot had a blade half-unsheathed- he wasn't about to try to cut down something currently latched onto his comrade's face, and he didn't doubt Ironhide's ability to fend for himself anyway.
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... And something smacked into the side of his head.
Ironhide's first instinct was to snarl and swat at it. Possibly to crush it flat with one huge hand. He didn't take kindly to assault of any kind, let alone one by an unknown organic. Snarling, he lifted a hand--only to stop short at the sound of the chattering. Somehow... it was familiar. Hadn't he heard it around Jazz's apartment after the little ones had gotten that egg...?
"What is this?" he growled, opting to shake the thing off instead. "Who are you?"
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A dog somehow projecting a worried air about it. It, of course, could not respond otherwise.
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He tracked the lizard's movements- from face to air to cannon- frowning slightly as it rested on its final perch. Drift was no expert on animals, organic ones at that, by any stretch of the imagination, but one would have to be completely stupid not to see that something clearly had the small creature distressed. "Do you know this animal?" The question was directed at Ironhide, though his optics never left the other Autobot's sudden passenger.
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