I'm getting Nightmare Before Christmas vibes, here.
Characters: Optimus Prime, anyone who's around. (Open)
Content: A lonely cruise leads Optimus to the center of Iacon, where a bizarre sight awaits.
Location: Iacon center
Time of day: Late night
Warnings: None yet.
Status: Active.
( When patrol is an excuse to do some thinking... )
Content: A lonely cruise leads Optimus to the center of Iacon, where a bizarre sight awaits.
Location: Iacon center
Time of day: Late night
Warnings: None yet.
Status: Active.
( When patrol is an excuse to do some thinking... )
Plus! Someone had to do some scouting right? Right.
So, having slipped away from base, Hot Rod had set out to do some exploring in his alt mode, curious to see what else was all weird and new about Iacon. His thoughts were also still being plagued by that Rodimus bot he had met, not really sure what to make of that whole thing. He never in a million years would have even considered that to be possible but Rodimus was walking proof that somewhere there was a version of him that the Matrix apparently wanted to get to know better. How did he even compare to someone like Optimus?! Sure, Hot Rod thought quite highly of himself but definitely not on that level.
Skidding around a corner, he didn't notice anything was odd about the road until it was too late, Hot Rod slamming into a rather large pumpkin that exploded on impact, showering him in guts.
"HEY!" he yelped, hitting the brakes and skidding some, spinning around halfway before jerking to a halt. "Oh man that is beyond disgusting." He really had no choice but to transform if he wanted to get everything off so he did just that, immediately shaking his arms then one leg and the other, face twisting in disgust. "Nasty stuff. What the slag is it doing here any...way..." Looking around as he ranted, Hot Rod realized that there wasn't just the one pumpkin but thousands of them....on Cybertron. "....Ah...."
Turning a circle his optics scanned over the 'field' of orange dots, confusion plastered on his faceplate as he rubbed at the back of his helm.
"Now I've seen everything," he muttered with a sort of half laugh. It was then that his scanned picked up a signature in the same general area as him, the young bot perking up a bit. //Optimus? Ah, sir.\\
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Regardless, Optimus had caught a glimpse of a mech that very much resembled Hot Rod back at the base, so chances were that the young bot had snuck out too.
He almost contemplated commenting on the fact as he approached the familiar signal, but he rememebered he'd done the very same.
Chuckling lightly to himself, he replied to the communication.
/Hot Rod? Why out here? I guess I'm not the only one who could not recharge tonight./
He lowered his rifle, ready to subspace it as soon as the identity of the other was confirmed.
The orange mech - made even more orange in places by traces of what appeared to be pumpkin - was indeed the one he'd seen earlier that orn.
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Wiping off more of the pumpkin guts with a grimace, he started to wander over towards the Prime, carefully stepping over and around the orange vegetables to avoid adding any more to his collection.
//Mind if I ask what's keeping you up sir?\\ Hot Rod was fairly certain, considering the way the other bots had seemed to gravitate towards him, that this Prime wasn't his Prime but a Prime was a Prime right? //Or is that being a little too nosy because I'd completely understand.\\
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"Nothing important," he cautiously said, "I just had my future laid out in front of me by Perceptor, and it was... surprising." To put it mildly. But there was no need to be overdramatic.
The Prime took the chance to observe the younger mech more carefully. He could tell there was something off - but whether this Hot Rod was the one he knew or not, he was most certainly an ally.
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His gaze swept over Optimus, noting a few slight differences which reaffirmed his suspicions that this definitely wasn't his Prime and he had to wonder what it would be like should his Prime show up; he'd already heard that there were two wandering around as it was.
"So what do you make of this?" Breaking the silence, the younger mech absently kicked one of the pumpkins, sending it rolling into another. "Definitely not what I was expecting to find." He was trying to lighten the mood a bit, in true Hot Rod fashion, flashing the Prime a grin. "Kinda spooky isn't it?"
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He let his gaze wander on the eerie pumpkin patch, glad to dismiss other worries for the time being.
"Humans consider this kind of landscapes creepy, for some reason," he mumbled, "I admit I could never really see why until one sprung up on Cybertron."
He returned Hot Rod's smile, though his own could only be guessed at. "I suppose we should not be weirded out; after all, none of us should be here to begin with, so why not pumpkins as well?" He made a defeated gesture with one hand, allowing some of his bafflement to ease into amusement. "At least they do not seem like a threat."
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Oh well.
"It's kinda spooky in that 'what the slag is it doing here' kind of way too. I mean, I was pretty sure organic things needed soil or something like that," the younger mech mused, tapping his foot against the ground before kneeling down to pick up one of the pumpkins. "But you're right--" Like always with Primes. "--at least they aren't giant killer pumpkins or something like that." Another grin was shot Optimus' way as Hot Rod started to gentle toss the pumpkin up and down absolutely, moving to stand back up.
"This has to do with that holiday of theirs right? Hallo-ween. The one where monsters are supposed to wander around and gobble up human kids right?"
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He scratched the side of his facemask, thoughtfully. "I have heard of that celebration," he eventually added, "though I do not understand it. From what I have seen, the kids are the monsters. Humans feed them treats to send them away." He shrugged, but his voice was tinged with amusement - humans were so quirky, at times, it was fascinating.
"I certainly hope we will not run in any monsters, here." Or kids, for that matter. It would be immense trouble, of that much he was certain. "We should scout the area, just in case."
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Glancing down at the vegetable he held Hot Rod gave it a slight test squeeze then held it out to Optimus.
"Sounds good to me! Best to find out if there's anything lurking out there before it gets the jump on us right?" With a grin the younger mech started to wander ahead, seemingly fascinated by the various sizes the pumpkins came in.
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He accepted the pumpking offered to him without much hesitation, tossing it a couple of times in the air and seemingly testing its weight.
"It is our duty to make sure Iacon is safe, be it from Decepticons or creepy pumpkins. Let's go, Hot Rod."
With that, he took two quick steps and threw the unfortunate fruit a little ahead, aiming for a much bigger one that was smashed on top, offering a poor substitute for a hoop.
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"Yes sir!" he replied, watching as the pumpkin was tossed onto the larger one. He could help the slight tilt to his head or the lift of an optic ridge. "I'm going to guess that's not what they're used for but looks like it could be a fun game."
Chalk it up as another thing you shouldn't show Hot Rod.
"Speaking of 'Cons though," the younger mused as he knelt slightly to scoop up another pumpkin, slightly surprised to find a face carved onto this one. Odd... "Have you seen any around?"
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Remembering the damage they'd sustained the last time they'd crossed paths with Megatron, despite their relative victory, only reinforced his intentions to make sure a surprise attack couldn't happen again - inspecting the whole area was necessary.
That didn't mean they couldn't do it at their own pace. He threw another pumpking, observing with visible satisfaction as it hit the bigger target square on top.
He gave Hot Rod an expectant glance, but before he could invite the younger bot to throw his own carved pumpking, he seemed to pick up some anomaly - he turned his head towards the far reaches of the patch, listening.
Maybe they weren't alone, after all.
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His optics followed the motion of the pumpkin Optimus had thrown, tossing the one he still held up and down some. The glance was met with a grin but said expression faded some as something seemed to catch the Prime's attention, Hot Rod's grin disappearing all together as he realized the other was listening to something.
Wait. He was picking something up now too.
The pumpkin dropped to the ground as the younger mech moved closer to Optimus, optics narrowing just a bit as he tensed up some.
//'Cons?\\
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//The energy signature seems vaguely familiar, but unrecognizable. Let's approach with caution and try to see them before they see us.//
He wanted to add something about Hot Rod blending in well with their surroundings anyway, but this was not the time for light-hearted jokes.
He made a small gesture with his free hand, indicating that they should advance towards the unknown targets as quietly as possible. There seemed to be more than one - so much for the place being deserted.
(ooc: feel free to continue in the thread below if you want! Didn't know which thread you wanted to use.)
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