Nexus. Lost Highway Springworks and The Sanctuary. Illness and Exiles
Chromia: *laying quietly in huge nest of blankets, Mira and Lumen cuddled in her arms and with a vague awareness of some warm rumble at her back* *then...* *SNEEEEEZE!!*
Mira: *squeak!*
Lumen: *awake!*
Ironhide: *sits up and proceeds to fuss over Chromia*
Chromia: *convinced she's lost hold of the little ones with the force of that sneeze. Just as she's found Mira...* *SNEEEEZE!*
Mira: *more squeaks, the sound getting more and more upset*
Chromia: I'm sorry, baby, I... *CHOO!*
Lumen: *worry worry worry!*
Ironhide: *doing his best to scan Chromia, knowing full well that he's no medic*
Chromia: *tries clearing intakes* Ironhide... it's cold. The little ones will be uncomfortable. *it's a nice warm and sunny day. And the dog is giving her a funny look for all the strange noises*
Ironhide: *soft rumble, calls Starchart and asks if the other mech knows where he can get some spare tarps for Chromia*
Starchart: *sounds so surprised* //Brother, she's already buried in enough blankets to cover my entire clan twice over.//
Ironhide: //She says she's cold.... And a virus is running amok in her systems...// *yes, that's worry in his tone*
Mira: *snuggles against warm Mama* *purrr*
Starchart: //A virus? I'll call for help.//
Ironhide: *soft rumble* //Thank you, Brother.// *going to fuss over Chromia a bit more*
Starchart: *a moment later* //Alright, Brother. Two of the medics from my own reality are coming.//
voices from outside: *approaching. One is a mech's voice, and the other is a female of some kind*
Lumen: *gonna abandon ship and hide with the puppies in the other part of the blanket nest, kthx*
Ironhide: *wary as he watches the nearest door*
Eve: *stands and slips through the dog door set into the organic size door. Is going to protect her family's space* *parks in front of the strangers and gives them a warning look*
Cat Scan: Awww... Ratchet, let me down. *total sucker for dogs*
Ratchet: *reluctant to do so, but will gently set Cat Scan on the ground and watch as she moves to approach the massive dog*
Eve: *ears back, and then stands to give a quiet growl. This place is her family's place, and Eve doesn't trust human smelling peeps anymore*
Cat Scan: *soothingly* Easy.... We're just here to help.....
Ratchet: *moves to crouch down near enough to Cat Scan that he can grab her and get her out of harm's way if it looks like the dog will attack*
Eve: *turns her head slightly to include Ratchet in her warning* *no. No trespassing. Eve will stop you*
Chromia: *from inside, softly and sounding a bit out of it* 'Hide... dog...
Ironhide: *whistles for Eve*
Eve: *ears up, head snaps around, and she goes back through her swinging portal. The sound of a puppy squeaking follows as she stops to kiss the one Lumen's hugging now*
Ratchet: *will lift Cat Scan up and move to follow the dog into the building through one of the garage doors*
Ironhide: *raised brow ridge as the door is lifted. Compares the green mech's construction to Chromia's*
Chromia: *gives another massive sneeze and groans* Oh sl... sorry, Mira. Shhh, baby.
brindle puppy: *got shaken out of blanket nest. Cries and crawls*
Lumen: *careful reaching, will gently lift the brindle puppy and tuck it in with the other puppy he's hugging* *clickstorms*
Ratchet: *soothingly* Easy.... We mean no harm...
Ironhide: *as Mira starts squeaking unhappily* You're a medic?
Ratchet: *nods* I am....
Chromia: *startles at the sound of the green medic's voice* Ratchet??
Eve: *hears puppies crying and goes to flop down in her bed and ask her boy to bring them to her*
Cat Scan: *moves to offer to help Lumen with puppy relocation*
Ratchet: *moves to crouch near the blanket nest* Easy, Chromia.... *scans the ailing femme and the sparklet in her arms*
Chromia: *it's not a Firebite, and it's not a Solar Flare, but it's something like that. A TF cold virus with attributes of both* *frowns up at the medic* Not mine. Similar, but not mine...
Ratchet: *soothingly* She and I are similar enough in tech that I'll be able to help her....
Ironhide: *gruffly* Even the ugly slaggers of my own tech, and that little orange Servant can help her.
Chromia: *quietly, not quite fully focused* Your Ironhide... alive? *head turns to look for her new one, suddenly fearful that she's lost him despite his just speaking*
Ratchet: *quietly* Yes.... *will move out of Ironhide's way as the black mech gently repositions Chromia and Mira so he can hold them* *will get out one of the antivirus tabs and tinker with it a bit before applying it to Chromia*
Chromia: *flinches and gasps, her grip on Mira tightening* Cold!
Ratchet: *soothing sounds as Mira squeaks unhappily* *will reposition the blankets so they're covering Chromia even more*
Chromia: *shivering in Ironhide's grasp* Ch... check Mira... and H... HideCHOOO! *clang as the back of her head comes in contact with Ironhide's armour*
Ironhide: *slight wince, but carefully lets his temperature raise*
Ratchet: *soothing sounds for Mira, offers her a washcloth with some blue paint on it*
Mira: *muffled squeaks as she tastes the good nom*
Ironhide: *puzzled look for the cloth and the paint*
Ratchet: It's got minerals in it that are good for her... *soft chuckle at the pleased, muffled squeaking that's going on now*
Chromia: *sneezes again and shuts her optics off* ...Check on the little ones and 'Hide, Ratchet. Make sure... alright...
Ratchet: *soothingly* The little ones are alright....
Ironhide: *quietly* Get some rest, 'Mia...
Chromia: *moves her head restlessly and sneezes again* Check on 'Hide, too.
Ratchet: *soft chuckle, will examine the dent in Ironhide's chest armor*
Eve: *watching as her lady talks in a breathless, tired voice about having lost one 'Hide and having to take care of this one. Ears back and soft whine of sympathy
Lumen: *giving Cat Scan, or rather her hair, a wary, puzzled look* *soft clicks*
Stormshadow: *knows he's rumbled, but is holding very very still there under Mama's curls*
Lumen: *quietly* There's a little mech....
Stormshadow: *nonononono! ^_^ So not here unless Mama says differently*
Lumen: *small frown, looks to the green guy for confirmation*
Ratchet: *working on fixing a dent on Ironhide*
Cat Scan: *baby talk for the puppies!*
Chromia: *turns her head from where Ironhide has set her and Mira down* *softly and uncertainly* Lumen? What's wrong?
Lumen: There's a little bot....
Chromia: Where? *tries to lift head to see past the blankets she and Mira are encased in. Vision's a little wonky due to shivering*
Lumen: Hiding on the lady...
Chromia: *turns a bleary frown toward Cat Scan* ...What are you hiding?
Cat Scan: *calmly* My son likes to hide in my hair.
Lumen: *blink blink, doesn't know what 'son' means*
Chromia: ...Son?
Cat Scan: Usually, a male creation..... *slight grin* I got adopted...
Chromia: *quietly, as she lays back wearily* Ah. Adopted. ...Like me. *sneeze!*
Cat Scan: *glances to the big black mech for a few moments and nods, noting the differences in construction between the two adults* Yeah....
Lumen: *peeeeks at Cat Scan, is wearing a blanket on his head now*
Chromia: *sudden shudder and a groan* Ouch...
Eve: *worried dog sound from where she's sitting by her puppies*
Ratchet: *finishes repairing the dent on Ironhide, will turn his attention to helping Chromia*
Ironhide: *going to stick close and worry silently*
Chromia: *quietly* Take... take the baby... processor... drift... *shudders again*
Ironhide: *will gently lift Mira, who is still happily working on getting as much of the blue paint out of the wash cloth as she can*
Ratchet: *soothingly* Everything's going to be okay, Chromia.... *will scan the ailing femme again*
Chromia: *still showing the effects of being severely worn down. And now she's thrashing as memory files come to the front and present themselves as current reality* No!
Eve: *barks!*
puppies: *squeal with fright*
Lumen: *will cover the puppies with his blanket and protect them*
Ratchet: *careful and gentle restraining* Easy, Chromia, everything's alright.
Chromia: *trying to put up a fight, but her body just isn't really up to it*
Ironhide: *hand on Chromia's shoulder, will ping her comm*
Chromia: *sends back garbled static and thrashes more*
Ironhide: *worried, will gently touch Chromia's face* //Everyone is safe, Chromia. We are all safe...//
Chromia: *bucks and flinches at the touch* No, no!
Stormshadow: *is a tiny whisper of movement down the back of Cat Scan's shirt*
Ratchet: *doing his best to restrain the distressed woman, finally decides that the best course of action is to sedate her. Will get a tab out of a storage compartment and tag Chromia with it*
Ironhide: *startled look for Ratchet*
Chromia: *goes limp with a sigh*
Eve: *growl*
Ratchet: *will gently lay the woman down* She'll be alright with rest... *gives Ironhide the antidote tab and explains how to use it, and when*
Ironhide: *still slightly suspicious, though he will store the antidote tab where he'll be able to get to it quickly*
Mira: *realizes Mama's napping, wants in on that! Squeak!*
Eve: *snaps head up to look at baby*
Ironhide: *startles and gets furiously squeaked at* *soothing sounds, will gently tuck Mira in with Chromia to see if that will calm the bitty down*
Stormshadow: *issa peek fromma cuff*
Cat Scan: *soft snerk as she watches*
Mira: *squeak! Squeak! Yaaaawwn, snuggamama*
Chromia: *systems settle down into what sounds like nearly a normal sleep sound*
Lumen: *peeeeks, soft clicks*
Ratchet: *quietly* We'll get out of your way.... Make sure she refuels and gets plenty of rest... *sends Ironhide his comm frequency* Call me if her condition doesn't begin to improve or gets worse...
Ironhide: *slight nod, is going to gently smooth Chromia's helm and it doesn't seem likely that he'll be moving from her side any time soon*
Ratchet's comm: *high priority ping!*
Ratchet: *startles and responds to the ping*
First Aid: //Ratchet, you need to come home home now! Something's happened to Fidelia, and Cobra Commander is trying to kill her!//
Ratchet: 0_0 *will grab Cat Scan and PINpoint home*
Eve: *buh? expression. Quiet whine and looks at her master*
Ironhide: *soft rumble*
Lumen: *carefully shucks his blanket and focuses on re-making the nest for the puppies, does a quick head count and then settles next to them*
Over at the Primus sanctuary
Hormah: *comes hurrying out of the room where she was tending to three Beachbreaks and looks at the bot that Pi is trying to keep from bleeding out all over her floor* Slaggin' Screamers anyway.
Starscream: *very brief flicker of a cracked optic. The other optic is dangling uselessly. Heard you, Hormah, but can't do anything else to respond*
Hormah: *grouches and has a hand at helping her son as she scans the patient to see the full extent of the damage*
Starscream: *got in way over his head, it looks like... Either got mauled by something bigger than him, or took on a bot with more firepower and a bad attitude. There are torn fuel lines, torn coolant lines, torn hydraulics, severe damage to his frame, and what's left of his armor looks like it could dissolve at the slightest touch. And that's not even accounting for the big hole in his chest... Though his spark is still going, somehow* *even with as much pain as he's in, there's still a bit of smugness to his attitude*
Pi: *looks at his mother*
Hormah: *looks at Pi*
Pi: Spark pot?
Hormah: Spark pot.
Pi: *goes to get*
Hormah: *scratches at a bit of pinkish paint on a shattered edge of Starscream's armour. Slight smirk*
Starscream: *and there's that slight flicker again. Is quite pleased that he ticked the mech that that paint belongs to off to the point that he became the primary target for awhile*
Hormah: *chuckles at what she's feeling from the damaged mech, then leans back and calls down the hall* Rap, ye wanna bring t' yeller bit into here?
Rap: Sure, baby. You jes' tell me how ta get 'er out from under the bed. *soothing music*
Hormah: ... *facepalm*
Starscream: *optic starting to go dark. So tired right now.... going to rest, and stay put*
Hormah: *grumbles, but takes the spark pot from Pi and then gently sedates Starscream* Not like he'll know 'er any road. She was jes' after bein' one 'o a whole lot o' slaves 'e freed.
Pi: *head tilted as he watches the working of bot insides*
Starscream: *shell is barely working, and a lot of his internals are a damaged mess. Spark is calm and resting due to a combination of his own tiredness and being sedated*
Hormah: -[Alright now, God. Please help me get this guy moved safely. And thanks for getting him here.]- *gently and skillfully moves that weary spark into the spark pot* 'Kay, Pi. Git t'is trash outta here.
Pi: *drags the mangled body out*
Hormah: *heads for the room where her mate is hunkered down talking to something under the bed*
Rap: *as a growl comes from under the bed* Whoa... what's that for?
Moonshadow: *backed as far away from the blue mech as she can get, has her optics mostly shuttered in an attempt to make them stop hurting*
Starscream: *slow, steady pulses, continues to rest*
Hormah: *hunkers down and shoulder bumps her mate aside, her yellow optics twinkling* Hey, now, Moonie. Ye pickin' on me ol' man? Ye after tryin' t' give t' jerk some kinda complex? *chuckles*
Moonshadow: *warily watching you now, Hormah. Still has her optics mostly shuttered*
Hormah: *soft and soothing sounds* Ye know t'at big golden guy ye was after wantin' t' see? T' one I as said I'd git fer ye?
Moonshadow: *working the words over in her processor before she slowly nods* *softly* Yes...
Hormah: *slowly holds out the spark pot* He ain't after bein' so big no more.
Moonshadow: *so confused now* *slow headshake*
Hormah: *softly, in simple words and with much repeating, patiently explains that the golden warrior was hurt badly, and that he will need care until he's well again. Right now she needs someone to take care of him while she goes to get him a new body. Will Moonshadow take care of him for her?*
Moonshadow: *hesitantly reaching for the spark pot once she understands what has happened*
Hormah: *gives her the container* *gently* Ye wants t' pain t' stop some?
Moonshadow: *carefully holding the spark pot close, small nod* *softly* Yes...
Hormah: *knows better than to try using the sedation gun for the pain relief, instead takes out a tab and applies it slowly and gently* How's t'at after bein'?
Moonshadow: *small nod as she unshutters her optics a bit more. Will turn her attention to clicking softly to the occupant of the spark pot*
The next afternoon
Pi: *comes into the room where Moonshadow is snuggling her self appointed charge* *quietly* I have fuel and another blanket. Can I come in? *waves the bowl of mud so that the cinna scent drifts toward the occupants of the bed*
Moonshadow: *peeks over Starscream's chest, click*
Starscream: *very soft sound as he catches the cinna cent*
Pi: *perks as he catches that soft sound and brings the prizes in. Seeks to distract Moonshadow by giving her the blanket first. Blanket is fleece... and covered with baytech Starscreams*
Moonshadow: *gonna study the blanket now and click softly*
Starscream: *trying to turn his head towards the source of the cinna smell, can only twitch for now*
Pi: *soft beeping* Shhhh. *touches the wounded Seeker's head as he scans him*
Starscream: *still tired, but he has stabilized. It's taken the better part of the time between when he was put in his new shell and now for his spark to shape the features, but there's no mistaking his identity. Trying so hard to unshutter his optics to see who is there*
Pi: *slight grin, and then pokes a spoonful of calcien mud into Starscream's mouth*
Starscream: *doing his best to take in fuel. Very slight, pleased shiver at the flavor of the cinna flavored calcien mud*
Moonshadow: *distracted from the blanket when she sees Starscream getting fed* *clicks and tries to figure this out*
Pi: *softly* Easy, Mister. Just take it slow. *beeps to Moonshadow and offers her the second spoon, holding the bowl where she can reach it*
Moonshadow: *think think, think think think, reaches for the spoon*
Pi: *carefully puts the handle into her hand, and then checks to see if Starscream's ready for more* *still keeping up the gentle beeping*
Starscream: *just about ready for another bite*
Moonshadow: *helping herself to some of the mud now*
Pi: *ping for Starscream's comm*
Starscream: *slight twitch* *heard your ping, Pi* *quiet response ping*
Pi: //Can you hear me now?// *what do you mean, he watches too much TV?*
Starscream: *quiet, with faint amusement* //Too much....TV....//
Pi: //No such thing, sir. I only watch an hour a day.// *voice is young and full of laughter*
Starscream: *very slight :P face* *almost inaudible chuckle that earns him a few quiet clicks from Moonshadow*
Pi: *a little more seriously, as he gives Starscream another spoonful of mud* //Do you know where you are?//
Starscream: //Hormah's....//
Pi: //Yeah. You arrived in our front room yesterday morning. It's evening now.//
Starscream: //...Slag..... Slept..... long time....// *working on that spoonful of mud*
Pi: //Well, you had a lot to do. Like stabilize and make this new body ugly.//
Starscream: //Pot... kettle... black...//
Pi: *beeps with laughter* //Careful, you'll damage my tender self esteem!//
Starscream: *silent for a few moments as he considers his words* //Still.... not as ugly... as Sentinel.... Scumbag.....//
Pi: //Yeah, well, he's really ugly now. Optimus hit him with his own goop gun after you got through with him.//
Starscream: //....Heh.... Good....//
Pi: *quietly* //Yeah. Good. More?//
Starscream: //Please...//
Pi: *gently gives another spoonful* //Oh yeah. You're married.//
Starscream: //...How?//
Pi: //Well, do you hear that clicking?//
Starscream: //...// *listens* //Yes...//
Pi: //That lady claimed you in front of me, my folks, and my baby sister and brothers.// *more food?*
Starscream: //...Who is she?// *opens mouth*
Pi: *feeds carefully* //You've never met her. She was in that batch of prisoners you freed in the ruins of Trypticon.//
Starscream: //....// *trying to remember when that was*
Pi: *senses the struggle* //Don't worry about it. She's pretty, anyway, and has wings. Her name's Moonshadow. You're about the only thing she remembers of her life on Cybertron right now.//
Moonshadow: *looks back and forth between the bowl of mud and the blanket, is trying to decide what to do next*
Starscream: //Moonshadow.... Pretty....// *very slight flicker of optics as his systems start to register the fuel*
Pi: //You can't get your shutters up?// *scans again and hands the bowl to Moonshadow as he sees that Starscream has had enough for now*
Starscream: //Tired....//
Moonshadow: *oh hey.... Nom!*
Pi: //Yeah.// *gentle pat pat for Starscream's shoulder, and then pulls the blanket that they already had up over the wounded bot's chest* //Get some rest. You can see Moonshadow later.//
Starscream: *very slight nod, slipping into a sleep cycle*
Moonshadow: *clicks a bit* *knows where this other blanket needs to go! Will try and cover Starscream with it, which might be easier if she put the bowl down....*
Pi: Are you through the mud? *reaches slowly and non aggressively toward the bowl*
Moonshadow: *click* *considering look, will give Pi the bowl* *attention back to trying to cover Starscream with the new blanket*
Pi: *sets the bowl on the bedside table* Here. Lay down. I'll fix it. *soothing beeping*
Moonshadow: *slight frown as she works this over in her processor, and then she's moving to snuggle against Starscream* *contented purr*
Pi: *grins and hops up on the step stool there to cover both the bots on the bed and tuck the big soft blanket around them* *soft beeping* Theeere we go. :D
Moonshadow: *soft purr continues as she snuggles and shutters her optics happily*
Pi: *and his grin continues as he grabs the bowl and then rides that wheeled stool right out of the room*
((written with random_xtras))