Erase and start again.

[iplaywinner]

WHO: Jetstorm and Anyone
WHAT: Jetstorm returns to the 'bots, visiting his brother and trying to resettle
WHERE: A clinic in Zone 2, the Auto-base, wandering around...
WHEN: Now-ish
WARNINGS/NOTES: Pretty much anyone can interact with him here, I don't mind. He'll mostly be at his brother's bedside, but I imagine that, until Jetfire wakes up and

Comments

[calledthemedic]

Prime had sent along the coordinates and Ratchet hadn't wasted time - though he had spent a few moments contacting Santori and making sure his credentials with the hospital would carry weight with the clinic. It helped to be working for the very best, at least in some ways, and they assured him he'd have no problems.

That was good. Ratchet wasn't much in the mood for any problems at all.

The clinic was a good one, and Ratchet appreciated the medics and doctors' professionalism as he was directed, lightly questioned, and given the files he requested. Jetfire was in bad shape, but they'd stabilized him well enough and frankly the medics here were more familiar with Malgians (even if they hadn't seen programming changes like Ratchet had, because they never looked) than he was. Jetfire had a good chance of repair with the return of his brother, Ratchet suspected, but it would be some time to see. And Jetstorm was why Ratchet was here, now

[iplaywinner]

There'd been mechs walking in and out for most of the day, especially Doctors. He'd had enough time to notice the different ways they walked--the differences between quick, light footsteps that carried them in quickly and back out quickly, to the heavy, considering ones that looked like they had too much on their processors already.

Ratchet fell right in the middle of this, and it startled him, briefly, when a familiar face walked in, confident but not hurried.

He didn't even feel the scan.

"...Medic-bot! ...is...is being good to see you!" He sat up, noticing the way Ratchet's optics didn't even flicker at his new body, and wondering if that was because he looked Primaxian, now.
"...Prime is wondering...if...you can maybe be helping me."

[calledthemedic]

"It's good to see you too, Jetstorm." Ratchet smiled at the jet-turned-cassette and offered out a hand, stepping right next to the berth and seemingly undisturbed by the pair resting on it. "Prime asked me to take a look at you, yes, and I'm sure there's a few things I can help you with right now. I'd like to do a full scan of your processor first though, if that's all right?"

For Prime: to see if Soundwave had left anything (though Ratchet doubted the player would have to one of his own cassettes) and for himself: to see just how the reprogramming of the cassettes processor had carried over (if at all) into the new body.

[iplaywinner]

"...if you can be helping now, am not objecting..." He looked at the hand in surprise at the direct-ness...

But it wasn't so different from Red Alert, back on his Cybertron, and he'd let her into his head to check several times. He'd let this Ratchet in before, too, so it would be fine now, right?

"...am...not sure how you can be to connecting, though." He poked at his chest, and at the back of his neck. "The leads...are all being different. Am still learning this body."

[calledthemedic]

"Well, that's why I'm a medic, Jetstorm. I know all about these things." He grinned a little brighter, doing his best to make the small mech feel at-ease. "And it just so happens I'm familiar with cassettes myself. You should have a lead in right at the top of your spinal strut." Ratchet let a panel in his wrist retract, and a cable slipped out, ready to act as a line-in.
"And you seem to be adjusting in your new body well enough, Jetstorm. That's good to see." The small mech has his motor functions, speech, and sensors all working, which was better than some newly-minted cassettes he'd seen.

[iplaywinner]

"You are supposed to be knowing these things!"

But then Ratchet did know about the neck connection, and he couldn't say anything else to that because it was true. He turned, still sitting on the berth but wanting to make it easier for Ratchet to connect.

"...is....not...right, though." He shuddered, as he suddenly compared this body to the last one and remembered everything that was supposed to be, and wasn't. "...am not....am not able to be hearing brother."

If Ratchet was connected by the time he said that, it would be very, very obvious how much it bothers him.

[calledthemedic]

Ratchet took the line in, ignoring the small voice that reminded him that this was how he'd gotten in trouble in the first place. Jetstorm had given his permission - more or less - and this needed to be done.

The jet's processor was actually in better shape than he'd feared, and he'd settled into the myriad connections with the full intent to do a proper sweep for Soundwave's little surprises and checking the code against the copy he'd made of the jet previously when Jetstorm's unhappiness hit him like a wave, and suddenly there was something even more important to take care of first.

"Jetstorm..." He sent comfort along with the name, and laid one hand across the cassette's back, curling over him protectively. "Jetstorm, your brother's processor is trying to... parse what it felt happen. It's going to take him some time to wake up, but he's still here. Your connection to him hasn't changed, even if your chassis has."

[iplaywinner]

The permission had been given, which meant Ratchet wouldn't be attacked instantly upon connecting...

But despite this, there is still a signal transmitted on Soundwave's band, warning him of the intrusion, and there are many common pitfalls to avoid. Most of this is...familiar, however, to a mech that has worked on Soundwave-processed beings before.

Everything was pretty normal beyond that, too. Jetstorm's core personality and memory programming had been copied almost directly, and then integrated slowly by Soundwave when the Decepticon shell had caused fail-safes to prevent rebooting. Now, it was functional.

"...."

And he'd just...look over his shoulder at the medic, and shake his head, slowly.

"...but...am...am not feeling him right. What if he is not waking up? What if he is waking up, but is...is not knowing I am brother...?"

[calledthemedic]

Soundwave's hallmarks are everywhere, and Ratchet does what he can to dampen the signal out even if the player had technically given the cassette back. There's a few dozen fail-safes quietly panicking, but no longer active in Jetstorm's processor, which made sense too - the Autobots certainly wouldn't have built their programming to withstand this easily.

"You are still connected, Jetstorm... here..." He switched to transmission, his voice soft and certain. ::Shut off your sensors. All of your data input for a second. Turn them all off. And then see if you can feel your brother's spark.::

The medic let the little one reach, and the moment he felt Jetstorm make the connection he explained ::The resonance is different, your spark in this much smaller chamber, so it feels not quite the same as it did. Even so, your brother is still a part of you - that can't ever be changed, not by Soundwave, not by me, not by these Transtechs. And when he wakes, he'll know you are Jetstorm, because he'll be able to feel it. I promise, Jetstorm.::

[iplaywinner]

Hearing Ratchet in his head caused him to flinch away for a moment, thinking about Soundwave...

But...this was Ratchet, and Ratchet was fine.

Ratchet was fine...and...Ratchet was giving of good advice.

Slowly, he shut down his peripherals, blocking out noise and light and touch as much as he could, and just focusing on his spark....

And activating both optics, brightly, when he felt the nearby touch of Jetfire.

"It is! Is...is still being here, and there...and we are....still brothers..." He glanced over, reaching for the orange form lying still.

::He will know this, too?::

Was...nevertheless, an important question.

[calledthemedic]

Ratchet couldn't help himself- he reached out and hugged the small cassette, holding on for a moment before letting him focus again on his orange twin. "Yes, Jetstorm. He'll feel it too. It may take him a moment or two, but he will feel you and know who you are, even if you never said a word to him. You're brothers, and there is nothing I know of in this universe or anywhere else that can change that."

Still connected, he started to focus on the programming shifts he could tell Soundwave had made - all of which seemed entirely to make failsafe programs lie dormant, or else the Jet's processor would have never rebooted inside this new body. That was... comforting to know. It would be worrysome to see how Jetstorm's programming shifted on it's own though...

[iplaywinner]

"...th...thankyou, Ratchet-bot."

Jetstorm nodded, just...curling into the hug, so glad to be hearing that from someone that he trusts, from someone who should know, and who knows everything.

"Is...just...being so good, to know that."

He went back to nestling next to Brother when the hug was done, but made sure to stay sitting easily so that Ratchet could do his job, letting him continue. There would be plenty in his head to check up on, and plenty more to worry about when he got back into the right body...

But for right now, he was safe, and for right now, he was okay.

That...was important.

That made all the difference in the world.