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| - Shark is back in the refugee camp for yet another long cycle of patrols. Currently he's on the south end of the camp, pistol in hand. Basically standing guard as his scanners sweep as far out as they can to check for interlopers as big as the creature that is threatening the civilians. Shark is back in the refugee camp for yet another long cycle of patrols. Currently he's on the south end of the camp, pistol in hand. Basically standing guard as his scanners sweep as far out as they can to check for interlopers as big as the creature that is threatening the civilians.(re) The familiar sound of a car engine is heard off in the distance, a lengthy trail of dust rising in the general direction. A quick scan would show it was Torque, the femme colored dull yellow with black accents today. Once at the camp she'd shift out of truck mode, though a few guards held her back since she clearly didn't look like a civilian in need. "Erk.. I'm just here to see someone. His name's Shark.." The guards consult then allow Torque to pass. One is kind enough to radio to Shark that he has company. Of course he thinks it's probably Prime or Ironhide checking on things here. The appearance of Torque though is a pleasant enough surprise, "What brings you out this way?" he asks. Torque smiles brightly once Shark comes into view, the femme passing the guards and moving to give him a hug, "Just came to see how you were, silly. Plus, I've heard there's some sort of monster on the loose, so I wanted to make sure you were okay." Shark accepts the hug, getting a few snickers from the guards nearby cuz they know he hasn't talked to Starfire as of yet. "I appreciate that Torque. No sign of it as of yet. Maybe it decided to stick to other transorganics." Torque gives the guards a glare over her shoulder, but she says nothing, turning back to Shark as she finally steps out of the hug. "So.. How are you? We haven't talked lately..." Shark flashes a toothy snarl at the other guards, who shut right up. Then he addresses you, "I'm all right I suppose. Been doing some thinking, spark searching, trying to cope with all the.. stuff." he nods a bit, "Yeah.. I know. Sorry about that, not trying to avoid you." Torque's gaze shifts downward, the femme scuffing her feet a little as hands fiddled with each other, "It's fine... but can we talk somewhere a little more.. private? I wanted to talk to you about something." Shark nods, "Yeah, sure." he moves away from the camp so we can talk without others overhearing. "What's on your mind?" Torque moves with him, though trailing behind slightly. She obvious has something on her mind. Something not easy to ask. "I was just wondering... How do you feel about me?" She finally lifts her gaze to meet his own, a flare of mixed emotions in her dull blue optics. Shark had been thinking on that very thing for awhile now, especially after the beast femme has given him a talking to not long ago. Course he had been thinking about it before, but it was more fervent recently. That question is loaded though, he knows it. The pistol gets magnetized to his hip so his hands are free. He takses the hands that are fiddling with each other gently. "You have been there for me for bad and good, I cannot help but like you for who you are and to be honest I've been holding back getting to know you better because of Starfire. I haven't had the chance to talk to her in person, so I sent her a note to explain myself and how I feel about my relationship with her. I still want to be her friend, but she's not trying to be there for me as a girlfriend. You have made it clear how you feel about me, and I feel like a total dreka for not accepting it sooner." Torque stares up at Shark once he takes her hands and speaks, her lips quivering softly as she tries to fight back a wave of emotion. Vocals whirr with a soft sigh of relief at what he says, a light smile growing, "Silly, you can be friends with all the femmes in the universe. I'm not the jealous type.... Or the selfish type.." Torque bites her lower lip, looking indecisive again as hands squeeze his. "I've always put everyone before myself... but for once I actually want something. I want you, Shark... It's.. probably the first thing I've wanted for myself in a long time.." Shark's face was similarly going through a few emotions. Coming to his decision had been a long, hard process that had taken a lot out of him emotionally as well as spiritually. He squeezes your hands back gently. "I know, and I feel like I took advantage of that when I knew I hadn't addressed things with Starfire. But now that I have, it’s like a burden has been lifted and now all I can do is wait to see what the consequences are, if any, when it comes to her. I didn't want to hurt either one of you." he explains, then a nod, "I realized that when you told me you loved me Torque, I just wasn't ready to hear it or acknowledge it then. I can now." "It's fair enough though, what you asked when I said I loved you. We haven't known each other for very long... But for once in forever, my spark actually gets this feeling whenever I see you... Like it's sprouted wings and is fluttering around.." Torque's cheeks were bright as she admitted these things to him, having never spoken like this before. "But my words are true.. I do love you.. and all I really want is yours in return.." Shark nods, remember the very words she's referring to when they were together. "We haven't, and when we were together in my room that time.. and we.. you know... I felt like I may have lead you on.. I felt so bad about it. Like I betrayed not only myself, but you and Starfire too. I beat myself up over it since. I only just recently was able to forgive myself. All I can ask from you is to forgive me for being weak.. for not giving you what you deserved.. and that Torque was a honest mech who truly wanted to be with you for love." he tells you, "I would like to return it and make you happy... if you still want me." "I was a little rushed with that myself... I didn't mean to push myself on you like that. But I don't regret it. I still cared for you a lot at that point, and still do." Her gaze rises again to meet his own after he speaks, the thin shimmer of tears beginning to form beneath her optics, a bright, wavering smile growing on her lips. "Of course I forgive you. And of course I still want you. Would I be here if I didn't? Silly, mech." The femme moves forward quickly, embracing him in a tight hug, her facing resting against his chest as she tries to hide her face to keep from crying. Shark nods his head in understanding, glad that she too had a weak moment. He accepts the hug, returning it gently. "Thank you, Torque. I appreciate you forgiving me." he whispers softly into your audio. "I could take off early if you'd like to go somewhere." he states, stroking a hand over your helm. Torque manages to blink back her tears, calming herself enough to speak though she keeps herself against him. "I'd.. like that. But I don't want you to get in trouble..." She looks up to him from his chest, looking concerned. She didn't want him to get yelled at by a higher up or something. Shark radios over to the other guards, "My shift is almost over, I'm gonna get some energon." There's a snicker then, "Yeah, okay, go do that Toothy." Shark sighs and smiles at you, "So where to Torque?" he asks. "Why don't you pick this time? Maybe something on the surface. I.. don't come up here very often." Torque looks a little embarrassed at that fact, rubbing the back of her neck as she shuffles her feet. She's rather cute when timid, which is a rare occurrence. Shark hms softly, considering. The barracks isn't exactly private unless you got your own room, even then there's always a chance of running into others and having to explain yourself. "Hmm, how about the river?" he asks. Torque's antennae perk up a little at the suggestion, smiling softly as she nods. "That sounds good. Only been there once or twice, so it'll be good to see again." Shark nods, "Shall we drive or walk?" he asks. Torque smirks slyly, starting to look like her old self as she places a hand on a jutting hip, "Let's drive. I'll race yah." She then shifts into her tow truck mode, engines revving up loudly as she turns in the direction of the river. Shark chuckles and transforms as well, giving your side a nudge then powering off toward the river. "You are so on!" he chuckles. Goa blends into the scenery pretty well, from a distance ... from the right side. From the wrong side, he's a garish pile of orange and green, but as seen from the local bank, he may as well just be an oddly-shaped lump of metal in the shallows. The Decepticon is hunched over a data pad of some sort that casts a glow on his front. There is hardly a rumble as the small, large-wheeled vehicle comes into the area of the river at a leisurely pace. Upon rolling to a silent stop, it unfolds into the unmistakable form of Swivel, who then slowly walks towards the river, looking around frantically. At first she does mistake Goa for an odd rock, but her intuition causes her to give it a double take. She walks over to the shore and cups her hands over her mouth, shouting. "HEY!" Goa jerks upright, destroying any cover he might have had. Of course it had to be that voice -- he fumbles at the pad, operating on reflex to turn it off and set it somewhere ... augh, anywhere ... he settles for stacking it between his legs and hunching over it. "Yes?" He looks over his shoulder, but not by much, optics hidden. "WOOHOO!" A loud cheer rings out through the forest, the sound of crushing debris and a roaring engine following with it as something races closer and closer to the river. One would think it's an animal, but not for long once the familiar tow truck form of Torque comes crashing through the trees and launches off a bank. The truck is sent soaring, the femme laughing heartily as she shifts back to robot mode while still airborne before landing in the idle river with a cannonball maneuver that sends a wave up onto the shores. Swivel raises her optic ridges at the scattered, fumbling motions of Goa, perching her hands on her hips. 'What are you doing back in there Goa?" She asks. She takes a few steps into the silvery liquid when she hears the loud holler. She whips around to see someone pelting out of the forest with the sort of gusto she herself once had. She is captivated as the femme transforms and then splashes into the river. She brings a hand up to shield herself instinctively, although none of the splash reaches her. She then applauds, her attention momentarily taken away from the suspiciously behaving Goa. Shark is following right after the tow truck, chuckling at her crashing through the debris like it wasn't even there. But when he hits the same bank, he goes farther than she does and spots the river is going to claim him. The form he takes? Submarine of course, splashing down with a tremendous wall of river water that goes sailing into the air around him. He chuckles at Torque's cannonball though. "Hmm I'll give you a 9 for entry and a 10 for form." he laughs. Goa can't duck any further, so he just sort of flails when Torque barrels by overhead. A wave washes halfway over him -- he nabs the tablet he was hiding and holds it in the air, just in case. Of course, just as he's regaining his composure, Shark launches by. Oh cool another wave -- and now Goa looks like a drowned turbo rat, mercury rolling off his face to reveal a very nonplussed expression. But hey! The tablet was dry! "Generous," he mutters. Torque's antennae stick up out the water before she does, twitching playfully before she finally surfaces and grins to Shark's scoring. "Guess I win the grand prize then." However, the sound of clapping catches the femme's attention, making her turn his way and that until she spots Swivel and Goa. "Oh! Sorry, didn't know someone was here already." Optics peek over at Goa, a smile curling on her lips, "Hey there, Goa. What's shakin'?" You paged Torque with '&MODEDESC_1 me=Torque borders near the low end of normal sized transformers at about 21 ft, but her strength is a force to be reckoned with when push comes to shove. Her build isn't exactly battle worthy, but she's surprisingly tough despite her looks, which consists of a sleek design of her upper body. However, her hips and legs are heavily armored in a clunky fashion to give the appearance of 'baggy pants', while some more covers her upper torso to look like a 'belly shirt'. This femme wasn't above getting details and temporary tattoos either along with a fresh paint, seeming to always have a new and more optic-catching design each week. Other details are two tone hands akin to fingerless gloves, a helmet resembling a square-brimmed baseball cap with goggles atop it, and a pair of headphone looking headgear with mini antennae that sweep back at an upward angle. An interesting feature with her hat is the ability to have the brim fold down with the goggles to form a welding mask for protection while doing repairs, and even battle purposes. A myriad of close-knit cables jutted from beneath her helmet in hair-like fashion, giving her a short yet choppy cut along the sides and back, with a side-sweep of bangs partially covering one optic.' Covers her face again when another wave comes, this time a little of it spattering on her. She just shakes it off and laughs. "So refreshing to see people having fun!" she remarks, eyeing Torque more or less. She then turns her attention back to Goa. Wait... was that.... "Goa! What do you have there!?" Goa's arm remains locked in the air. He wipes his face off, looks at his hand, and sighs to himself. Swivel showing up was enough for his battered processor, now Torque and the Autobot too? The cycle was unsalvageable for him, may as well just go with it. This train of thought is reflected by a stern stare into space, and then another sigh, before he looks over at 'Bubbles'. "Something of yours, Swivel." "Hope we're not interrupting somethin'. Just came on over for a dip." Torque smiles softly to the two, not knowing what had been going on previously, or really caring. Instead she swims over to Shark in his submarine mode, the femme making bubbles in the water with her mouth as she moves. Once Torque is beside the mech she pretty much clambers atop him, perching there like he was a horse as her legs straddled as best they could. "Ha, you're my loyal steed now." You say, "Did you want to stay?" he asks, knowing that she knows the other grounder and didn't want to upset her if she wanted to talk to the mech. Then a hmm as she approaches, transforming back to sub form so she can climb on top of him. "Steed? So you going to ride me under water hm?" he asks. Such a double meaning there!" Swivel is quiet for a moment or two, but then she hurriedly wades over to Goa, upsetting the current in her wake. "Oh! Oh oh! I was looking for that! I thought I'd lost it for good! Thank GOODNESS you found it, Goa! I..." she pauses as she closes the distance between herself and Goa. "Um... were... were you reading it just now? Is that why you were so startled and fumbling and looking like you were hiding something?" She has her optics wide and curious, and her mouth pressed so small. She waves a hand over to Torque. "No no no not interrupting...." she says without looking away from Goa. She barely even acknowledges Shark, despite being familiar with him. Sigh. "Yes, Swivel." Goa switches hands, holding the tablet out to her, now addressing Torque. "The usual. Haven't caught you in a while. Good to see you well." He tilts his head at Shark. Well ... there are weirder alt modes. Torque gives a nod to both Swivel and Goa as she smiles, giving Goa a quick glance while saying, "Same to you. Though you look a bit roughed up.. Surprised you haven't been to the shop." But of course she's caught off guard by Shark's comment, making her blush and sending him an embarrassed glare while knocking on his hull. "Shaark, there's people.." Torque leans down to lay against the hull, sort of guessing where his audial unit is as she says quietly with a smirk, "There's time for that later, yeah?" Shark chuckles a bit and offers a softly, "Right, sorry about the whole flirting thing." he muses, powering up his quad screws to push further into the river. Drawing closer to where Swivel and Goa are seated, but still out where he can float without grounding himself. "He's always roughed up." he chuckles. Swivel quickly takes the tablet upon it being offered, and hugs it to her chest plate. She is quiet for a moment, her optics still wide and wondrous. She tilts her head to one side at an extremely slow rate, her eyes glancing beyond Goa for a few moments. She then turns her attention back to him. "Oh... um... why?" The question isn't accusatory, but she sounds purely bewildered that Goa would read her journal. She then seems to suddenly remember that there are two others in close proximity and she finally cranes her neck to look back at them. 'Doesn't seem like he's actually having much trouble with femmes to me' is her first thought. She then slowly looks back at Goa, imploringly. Goa overhears bits of the conversation between Shark and Torque courtesy his antennae. Ironic, considering their constructor... odd. Well, at least whatever issue they were having, they'd resolved. This warms the Decepticon's sense of humor. "You know, you're kinda right," he says, scratching at his helmet crest. Which he momentarily turns toward Swivel. He shrugs. "You don't get roughed up as much as me without havin' more curiosity than sense." "Just be careful with that. Curiosity killed the cyber cat, after all." Torque recites poignantly, teasing the green mech as she lounges atop Shark like a beach blanket. "Oh. Knew I forgot something." She taps the side of her head with her palm, looking over to Swivel with a large grin. "Name's Torque. Nice tah meetcha." This girl was obviously just as fun and spunky as the other. Shark hms softly, "Or the cat kills the curiosity." He turns slightly do he's facing toward the other two, his engines working to keep him steady in the flow of the flowing river. Flicker. Blink. Now a steady glow of purple. She continues to hug the tablet for a moment or two, then she finally tucks it away someplace. "Well far be it from me to rough you up... I'm just too small, sweet, and pitiful to do that," she says, finally allowing her smile to grace her features. It's best to save face right now. Talking about, well, asking how much Goa read with others listening just wouldn't be ideal. So she turns to the others, bowing a little. "Torque? Ah, m'name's Swivel!" she says in cheerful, high pitched tones, bubbling high enough to sound like a small critter or child. "Good ter see summun enjoyin' life fer a change, innit?" Yeah. Cyber cats. Goa smacks his palm to forehead, and chuckles a few laugh-sobs. He drags his hand down his face, stretching out his features. "Innit." While everyone's paying attention to Swivel, Goa gets a wicked grin on his face. He stands up, folds his antennae all the way back into his helmet, and dives into the river, disappearing smoothly under the surface. "Mmmhm. Too true." Torque nods in agreement, though she'd give a few blinks as Goa suddenly disappears. "Hm? Now where's he off to?" The femme finally rolls off of Shark's back, making a light splash into the mercury water where she'd move up beside Swivel to relax. Shark is using his sonar to pick on Goa's movements. "Nothing good I'm sure." halfway tempted to transform, but waiting to see what the grounder is up to. Swivel is also not fooled by Goa's slip into the water. However, she doesn't try to stop him. She just keeps her optics now focused upon Shark and Torque - especially Torque as she makes her way over. She finds herself grasping at how to start a conversation, which is usually easy for her. However, her mind is reeling from the thought that someone had read her personal log where she put some of her most hidden feelings. Pushing aside the uneasiness she maintains her smile and extends a hand out to Torque. "Wellum... watcha do fer a livin', Torque?" Goa might be revealed by sonar to be a speedy swimmer, using his arm guards as oars to push himself through the mercury near the river floor. He really wanted to get out of that situation, and Shark provided an excuse. There's no bodies of liquid on Cybertron an alt mode like that would be useful for... are there? He scans. Something he wasn't looking for shows up on his scan. A violent scuffle underwater is only hinted at on the surface by some bubbles and crackling of electricity. Shark blinks at his scanner. "Uh oh." he dives down to see what that's all about! Torque smiles softly to Swivel, "Mechanics. Or well, medical. Sort of both , I guess. I work outside of Cubi. You?" Though she's cut off at the distinct snaps of electricity. "Slag.. that can't be good." And of course it could only be one thing, seeing as the warning sign nearby clearly states that electrogators live in these waters. As Shark dives down to see what's going on, Torque shifts a few pieces on her body to bound her back cables onto her shoulder and the armor surrounding it shaping into a short crane arm that the hook dangles from. "Let's see if I can fish him up." The femme muses, casting her towing line and hook off into the water where Goa supposedly was. Goa is at the bottom of the river, locked in combat with what looks to be a young electrogator. He has a scythe in it, good and solid, but it's flailing in the water, and it has a very solid clamp on his leg. The Decepticon is producing a lot of garbled, seaspray-esque curses and roars. "Slagger slagging HURTS! Leggo!" Swivel smiles and nods to Torque. "Oh, jus' this'er that... whatev' I kin get as work, usually jus' running messages 'n packages," she explains. Then, Swivel hears something. A spark maybe. Yes, a crackle. Little gets past her audial receivers, although she usually plays dumb to most of what she hears. Sometimes her mind honestly filters things out, but this gets a reaction out of her. She turns. "Goa? Goa?" Seeing Shark dive in, she also follows suit. However, she doesn't dive, she just wades as quickly as possible to the source, putting her arm in front of her, a frosty nozzle extending from her wrist. She stands by alertly, to see if Shark or Torque, both of which who are probably more capable of dealing with what is down there than her, manages to get Goa out... assuming it's him causing the disturbance. In fact, Swivel begins wonders if she shouldn't just get out of the water. She hears garbled noise, but the water muffles and distorts it beyond recognition. Deciding not to take her chances, she begins to back up towards the shore. Shark transforms and moves to get the gator in a head lock from behind with his arms and using his legs to push at the lower jaw with all his might! Torque moves her cable this way and that, but doesn't get anything. "Frag. Gonna have to go in." She retracts her cable and shifts it all back into its proper place, a cutting tool being pulled from her subspace before diving in. Once she was beneath the surface Torque makes a speedy swim for the two, nastily sharp blade in hand as she reaches it forward to thrust at the gator's mouth, trying to cut it enough to make it let go. Goa pulls his blade free, and uses both his hands to wedge the electrogator's mouth open just the little bit more required to get its teeth free of his leg. He stares at Shark just a moment ... Why was he /helping/? Torque too? ... before jetting away in a short burst of bubbles from his un-gnawed leg. The Decepticon drags himself out of the water, hunched back plate surfacing just before his helmet, then crawls clear, fans clicking on and gurgling to clear the mercury from his engine and intakes. Upon seeing Goa emerge from the water, Swivel rushes back in to the water, keeping her optics wary of any additional disturbances that might be another electrogator coming. She attempts to take a hold of Goa, preferably by an arm, to drag him out of the water to safety. Shark can see Goa get away via his scanners, he waits until the mech is clear as well as Torque before he frees the beasts jaw and swims quickly for shore himself. "Never a cyber eel around when you need one." he notes, grimacing a little. The beasts teeth had dug into the bottom and tops of his feet. "Now I know how Sparky felt." he murmurs. Torque gives a few audible coughs after she surfaces, trying to clear her vocals of fluid, her engines revving to expel mercury from her tailpipes. "Well.. that was adventurous." She trudges ashore, kicking liquid out of her joints. "I'll patch you two up quick. Can't have you gettin' to base all mauled up, now can we?" Shark nods to Torque, "Sounds good. Sure don't need the docs wondering why I was bit when I should know better." Goa didn't get out as easy as Shark. His leg is a wreck, stripped to the frame in two rings where the gator tried to spin him around. The golden exhaust structures are cracked or torn out, and the entire thing is trickling energon. In spite of all this, he takes Swivel's tugging as assistance in getting /up/, not getting /clear/, and he stumbles to his feet as such. "Grrrr..." Stupid, stupid, stupid ... of course he couldn't get out of somewhere he didn't want to be. Cybertron wouldn't let him. Goa trips back to his hands and knees. "Torque," He gurgles, then clears his vocalizer so it doesn't happen again. "... sure." He glances at Shark again. Know better? You think? At least he /could've/ gotten himself out of that without help... "Thanks... Shark." 'Autobot' crossed his processor, but didn't seem like the right word. Hm. "Swivel?" Swivel helps Goa to the shore. "Yes Goa?" Swivel tilts her head to the side. Of course she'd help him. It was the right thing to do. But she wasn't a electrogator wrestler, so in that she was useless, but help a mech get clear is something she can do. Aside from it being the right thing to do, she could not let him sneak off so easily. No siree. "You jus' relax 'til Torque 'ere patches y'up right noice." Shark nods his head to Goa, "Next time leave the diving to the mech with the underwater mode okay?" he asks with a flash of his teeth. After Torque patches up the holes in his feet and moves to attend to Goa, who got the worst end of the deal. "I better get back to base and get a recharge in, take care okay Torque?" Torque shifts over to her truck form, her towing cable stowed away this time to leave plenty of room in the bed area for a single person to sit. "Here, put him in the bed and I'll take you all to the shop. You're a little too banged up to do a quick fix, Goa." Engines idle softly as she waits for Goa to be put in, the mech clearly worse off than all of them. Once everyone was set she'd move to the head of the pack to lead them all below Cybertron's surface and towards the shop. Torque would nod in her truck form if she could, but she does her best to put that smile in her voice before leaving as she speaks to Shark. "Alright, hun. I'll catch yah later. Hopefully you won't get in trouble for that damage before I can fix yah."
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