(Untitled)

[wolfinbotsarmor]

For a fellow who detonated a bomb in his chest several weeks ago in order to save one associate and avenge the death of another, Klank appears surprisingly whole. Seated in a large Nexus armchair, slouched back with his hands clutching the ends of the armrests like a sulking monarch on his throne, the Decepticon grumbles to himself as he watches

Comments

[onemorebounty]

First the former, then the latter.

[wolfinbotsarmor]

"And who is it you care so much about that you would jeopardize the chance to take down your enemy once and for all? An inquiring mind would like to know." The question is not meant in mockery; Klank would actually like a genuine answer if this particular Nexusite has one.

[onemorebounty]

My daughter. And my enemies are too numerous for one dying run to bring them all down. I could only hope to make the largest hole possible.

[wolfinbotsarmor]

"I suppose that makes me somewhat fortunate in that I only have one enemy I would like to see take a fall. He has his share of alternates and allies, but ultimately he is the only one that matters out of them all," he says thoughtfully. "At least you are willing to take responsibility for something you had a part in making. The only one I have left in this mortal realm who matters is an accident who was thrown away by those responsible for creating him."

[autobot_amy]

"The... the first." Amy is trying hard not to show her reaction to his condition. "I'd do the first."

[wolfinbotsarmor]

"An Autobot..." The corners of Klank's mouth twitch upward in an amused smirk. "I'd expect such an answer from one of you. Such thinking is what turned me against your kind in the first place."

[autobot_amy]

She frowns slightly. "Everyone's Autobot where I come from. And I was thinking of having to put up with someone I didn't like forever."

[wolfinbotsarmor]

The smirk quickly twists into a frown. "My, how the mighty have fallen."

He shifts his weight in the chair slightly, causing a few rusting chunks of metal to fall away from his body and crumble down to the ground. "Tell me how it is that a group with such limited thinking was able to win the war. Or perhaps someone finally wised up and did whatever it took to win, regardless of consequences or the usual moral boundaries?"

[kyliencreed]

Victory studies the giant robot carefully; he doesn't look or smell like a Sentinal or an Infinite (which is good 'cause he'd be a REALLY BIG Infinite if he was one). She considers her answer.

"One shot, huh?" she asks, then shrugs. "Don't know...you pick the option of being with your loved one an' you end up leaving them hurting 'cause they see you get taken away again. But takin' out your enemy, at least that stands the chance of maybe doin' some good -- well, dependin' who your enemy is. If I could take Apocalypse out before he got the chance to come to power, maybe that'd stop everything but it could just make it worse, y'know?"

Kylie, on the other hand, ignores the question and creeps closer to the big not-Sentinal/not-Infinite robot -- or more correctly, toward his armchair. She's gonna climb that sumgun...

[wolfinbotsarmor]

"That is perhaps the most sensible, in-depth answer anyone has given yet," Klank acknowledges, studying Victory with the barest hint of a smile. He's not sure what she is, but the scientist in him would like to know... Unfortunately, not all of his scanning equipment is operational in his current state. "I had two close associates before it all came crashing down. One of them was killed outside of the Nexus, torn to shreds by feral creatures. The other is still alive, somewhere. I self detonated to avenge the death of the one and save the other. The one left, however, is not the brightest mech I have ever known. If there is one soul left among the living I have no desire to hurt, it is him, and seeing me like this may hurt him more than just about anything

[kyliencreed]

Victory isn't entirely sure what to make of Klank either; he vaguely reminds her of some children's toys that she kind of remembers were popular a few years before the world...correction, her world went to hell, but on a much grander scale.

She nods along to his story and also in acknowledgement that her opinion is sensible -- she knew that, but it's always nice to have it confirmed. "'Course it won't bring him back," she says. "It's not about bringing your buddy back; it's never about bringing the dead back, it's about making sure that the reason they're dead doesn't get the chance t'do what they did to you to somebody else ever again."

Kylie really wants to climb that giant armchair and some small part of her might remember the symbol. Why? Because, like any great height, it is there. Klank's growl catches her up short. If Klank were, say, Victory's size, Kylie might risk pressing forward and seeing what happens for no other reason than to see how far she can push Klank. It's one of the few ways she has of understanding the

[wolfinbotsarmor]

"Oh, the reasons Drakkan is dead are dead and gone, themselves. I made sure of that when I blew myself to the Pit and took them all out with me," Klank replies, his gaze still on Kylie. As she rejoins her companion, the Decepticon studies them both with mild curiosity.

"Just what are the two of you, anyway?" he finally asks. Minus functional scanning equipment, he might as well just take the easy way out.

[primus_seeress]

*Auspex regards the decaying mech with a solemn, sad gaze. What strange and cruel manner of spell, to return a passed spark to a dying body...*

Vengeance is not worth your time, my friend. If you are concerned for the one you care for, watch over them; if your death was unexpected, if they can bear to see you, in this... state - go to them and speak with them. Wasting your limited time hunting an enemy is fruitless; everyone dies, he will die in his own time, and so will your loved one. Better to see that the latter is living, than to see that the former is dead.

[wolfinbotsarmor]

This take on the situation genuinely suprises the Decepticon. He sits in silence for several seconds, bringing his clawed hands together and steepling his fingers in contemplation before responding

[primus_seeress]

*her optics flicker at the mention of the name. She knows several mechs named Ratchet; the one he speaks of has apparently been through circumstances that do not match the ones of those she knows well. One of the other Nexus Ratchets, perhaps, or someone new.*

*After a moment of thought, she speaks softly* That is not precisely what I meant... but I am a servant of Primus, and I do not wish ill on any of my lord's people. Life has its sorrows, as well as its joys.

*she winces slightly at the sense of his weariness and regret* Returning for a brief moment, in this state... is not something I would wish upon you, either, and I regret the pain it causes you. *another brief optic flicker* But, now that you are here, you have a choice before you: live these moments in sorrow, or in content. You have a faithful friend: if you cannot thank him for what he's done for you, at least remember it, and cherish it, and the things that brought you joy.

[wolfinbotsarmor]

The conversation is starting to make him uncomfortable. Long ago when he was at his most reckless, Klank convinced himself for a time that anyone who followed the Covenant was following a dead god. Or perhaps one that never even existed. The appearance of Unicron in his own reality rattled that belief of his enough to make him think twice. That anyone would introduce themselves as a servant of Primus and speak like they mean it is only serving to further undermine Klank's previous beliefs. One might think that his own death would have brought him face to face with Primus...but it did not. A vast expanse of darkness and nothingness was all that was there to greet him; a realm where the silence was so loud it was deafening, like an infinite sensory deprivation tank with no way in or out. That was what death was...wasn't it? Feeling and knowing nothing, forever? Eventually losing ties to one's conscious self and rejoining whatever strange, spark similar energies ebbed and flowed about the universes

[attair_al_fada]

"I'd fix things so my 'second chance' was a lot less limited," comes a certain cold, shrill voice that may well be familiar to Klank. Or not; this former Air Commander wears the half-hexagonal wings of an F-22 jet rather than the angular wings of an F-15.

Starscream smirked at the chained Decepticon. "Curiously enough, I was in a situation much like that a while back. I did all three: protected my... ally, sought revenge on my killer, and regained my body."

He points a pale blue finger at Klank. "The smart thing to do now is use this time to, ah, repair yourself. Then you'll have time to do whatever else."

[wolfinbotsarmor]

Slag. If there is one face aside from Ratchet's that Klank is not interested in seeing at the moment, it is Starscream's...regardless of whether or not it's an alternate of the one from his destroyed home reality. The medic scowls at the other mech, claws digging into the armrests of his chair

[attair_al_fada]

"I'm thrilled for you," Starscream says sardonically. Having the circumstances of his own death subtly thrown in his face (as he sees it) puts a slight damper on his apparent friendliness.

He recovers, and seizes on obvious point. "A-ha! It's always the spark. Your's--you, the part of you that isn't just a talking drone CPU--wants to stay dead, obviously." He tilts his head slightly and taps his chin with one pale blue finger.

"Yet you complain like you wish it were otherwise. Conflicted much? Perhaps that's why you're here--you've something to sort out, something to do." Starscream leaned forward slightly. "I didn't mean mere physical repairs, idiot. I meant getting back to a living, functional state, but apparently I was too subtle for you. I also made an assumption that you wanted to live, but now I'm not sure."

"If you want to live, figure out why you want to die," Starscream said. He glanced up, red optics narrowing slightly at the sight of a familiar white figure wandering inevitably nearer. She never could resist a mech in