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| - With the recent discovery of the scrapyards in the Dyson Ring, Rodimus Prime has been in need of a consultation with an experienced salvager. They don't get much more experienced than the Junkions, and so he's here at Junkrassic park to consult with Wreck-Gar. That is to say, he *was* here at Junkrassic park to consult with Wreck-Gar. However, since matters are currently mildly less hectic than usual (which is to say, they are hectic, but not 'The universe is going to blow up in the next hour' hectic), he's also decided to take the day post-meeting off for a bit of R and R, and to this end, he's brought along several other Autobots with him. At the moment, he's strolling almost leisurely along the rides, a container of energon snacks in one hand as he casually pops one into his mouth with his other hand, eying the Transformer-scaled roller coasters. Interesting, but... it would have been more fun to just drive on the tracks! Jayson Redfield just so happens to be here. And where is he, at the moment? The arcade, of course! He's currently playing a version of Pac-Man, and doing rather well at it. He is, after all, quite the gamer. It was a 'diplomatic' mission, and thus by regulations the Autobot leader required 'bodyguards', even if the guy can kick enough skidplate to not really -need- them.... but it was good enough of an excuse for Sandstorm to come along for a little R&R after being patched up from yesterdays' fight. Needless to say, he already spent most of the time the two leaders were in a meeting to take advantage of a few of those thrill rides and was just catching back up with the Prime. "Man, if there's two things Junkions know, it's junk, and how to have a good time!" He has no idea HOW they managed to thin energon into a stringy form to make cotton candy like the half-eating stick of what he's got, but he's not complaining at it being mindboggling because its good! Grapple had never actually enjoyed theme park rides. For some reason, something bizzare would always occur whenever he decided to ride one. Still, theme parks had a particular part to them that he thuroughly enjoyed: the architecture, what else? Granted, it's all whimsy and usually unapplicable to real life, but architecture was an art! Whimsy certainly had a place! And, at the moment, Grapple was thuroughly enjoying himself looking at all the mismatched and unique structures the Junkions were known for. Fairway follows in Prime's wake, his hands folded behind his back. He looks with wonder upon the coasters, which must seem positively colossal to anyone viewing them on from human perspective. He is straightbacked and stoic of countenance, not being give to bouts of 'fun'. But he is not grave, and he gives a friendly smile to all who pass. He, too, was hoping to meet with the Junkion Wreck-Gar, as he is in dire need of a replacement tube of magic blue goo. Porsche 959 is totally not supposed to be out. He should be back at Alameda, recovering, under Spike's orders. But pshaw. This is Nightbeat. Orders are more like 'suggestions', and walking it off (well, driving it off) is the solution to everything. Now, it's up to Nigthbeat to determine that the theme park isn't haunted at all, and it's just some guy in a mask who want insurance money! Or is that... a different episode? He rolls up slowly, looking pretty terrible, his temporary armour obviously just a proxy for his usual smooth Porsche skin. VH-64 Gazette circles by high overhead, then descends to find a 'polite' place to land where his rotorwash won't overturn any snack stands or blop up the edges of tents. He transforms and then hurries over to the other Autobots, gesturing at one corner of the park. "They've got one of those bungie-cord rides!" He enthuses. "C'mon, let's go grab a spot in line!!" Whirl transforms into his reckless robot mode. Dee-Kal is half way up a ladder, repainting the advertisement board for the Star Fox ride. She adds finishing touches to blue vixen Crystal's green eyes and various adornments, tilting her head and checking her work. One fox, two fox; red fox, blue fox! Among other characters. Speaking of characters... the little Junkion catches familiar voices and faces below. She watches them mildly. Rodimus Prime grins at Sandstorm. "They do at that," he notes. He then peers over at the bungie-cord thing. "Hmm. I wonder if it can take my weight," he ponders aloud. He is, after all, a bit weightier even than the typical Transformer. Then he grins. "Well, one way to find out!" he adds, heading that way. He looks down at Nightbeat. "Still stuck as a vehicle, Nightbeat?" he asks, but the motion of looking downward causes something else to catch his eye, as they happen to be passing the arcade. His optics flash. "Hey, Jayson! That you?" Fairway looks horrified when he sees Nightbeat roll up in his condition. He approaches with a chastising look. "Friend," he says, "if I may be frank, you look as though you should be confined a repair bay. Surely you've not been cleared to be ambulatory in such a state!" Tact fails him at this moment, and he seems to realize it. "Not to impose of course, to to embarrass you." He can't help but bend down and bring out his pen scanner to give Nightbeat a going over. Combat: Fairway runs a diagnostic check on Porsche 959 Jayson Redfield finishes his game and cocks his head slightly at the sound of his name being called. He grins. "Who else would it be?" he returns good-naturedly as he steps out of the arcade. "Hey, guys. What's up?" He is, at this time, in his usual civilian attire, as to be expected. Bungie cord ride? Oh, that would either be very good or very bad. Not that Grapple would ever get on one himself; he just knows someone is going to get violently ill on that thing. He then notices Fairway, gives a friendly nod -- and performs a double-take at Nightbeat. "..Shouldn't you be recovering somewhere instead of here?" Porsche 959 rolls to a stop and transforms, answering Rodimus Prime's question, refurbished *master armour concealing any injuries that Muzzle might yet have. He shoot a withering glance at Fairway and then Grapple, and he explains calmly, "If they wanted me to stay in the medical ward, they wouldn't make the locks pickable. Now then. What do we have here?" He places one hand on his hip and glances around, keenly taking in all the details and angles. The puzzle pieces of Porsche 959 rearrange into the hard-boiled Autobot detective, Nightbeat! Sandstorm just laughs a bit at Fairway's assessment of Nightbeat's condition. "Some 'bots just don't like staying in medbays. I doubt he's gonna get in much trouble here... Hey Whirl!" He gives the other Wrecker a buddy-slap on the back with his non-occupied hand. "'Course you'd pick the craziest ride in the park to try. Like Rod said, we oughta just go find out." Flashes a grin at Rodimus. "If he goes first and doesn't break off, we know it's safe," he teases. Dee-Kal descends her ladder and steps back to review her work from below. It looks good. A sharp nod-blink, and the ladder concertinas up and retracts into a small hatch in the top of the hoarding. She checks one more off her list of chores, and heads on to the Ghoster Coaster, hopefully intercepting the Bots while doing so. Whirl barks a laugh. "If it breaks off then I definately want to ride it! Let's..." he trails off when he notices all the optics on Nightbeat. "Um...what happened to him?" He must have missed the display of any injuries. "He looks like the same old Nightbeat to me." After a second he adds in a lowered voice, "/Sounds/ like the same one, at least." "Well, it's an amusement park! It could be a lot of people, Jayson!" Rodimus answers Jayson. Then he frowns back at Nightbeat as he continues to walk along towards the ride. "We've got some R&R, Nightbeat." And then he looks between Grapple and Fairway. "And to be honest, guys, sounds like he needs it more than most of us." Then he smirks at Sandstorm. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can let my heavy rear test first." He waves a hand absently. "I'm well aware of how much weight I've gained over the last thirty years." Mostly all at once about 25 years ago, mind you. Nightbeat can find trouble anywhere, anytime. It's a talent. But it's true, he's covered in temporary armour that doesn't really fit. Vintage Porsche parts are a bit hard to find, even for the well-connected Witwicky. Nightbeat deadpans, "I told Galvatron what I thought of him. He replied." Nightbeat moves closer to examine one of the animatronic dinosaurs, reaching a finger out at the teeth. Jayson Redfield bounds over to the Autobots. "Didn't expect to run into you guys here," he remarks. Then, upon hearing Nightbeat, he tilts his head back to look up at him. "Wow...really?" He sounds pretty impressed. "Did he cannon you?" Grapple only gives Nightbeat a strange stare. Then, he shakes his head a little as he takes stock of Rodimus's words. He had the feeling Nightbeat was going to loose more parts simply being in the amusement park. The bungee ride in the distance is given a smirk, but he resists from encouraging the insanity. Although, highly amusing insanity. Fairway stands, frowning at Nightbeat's seeming dismissal of his concerns. He stashes his pen scanner and, in lieu of further harping, simply breathes a heavy cycle and decides to enjoy himself while he's here. He raises a hand to Jayson and Grapple. Deek he's met, but still doesn't know all too well. "Courageous," he replies to Nightbeat, "is one way to describe such an act. I hesitate to assert that one could also say 'foolhardy'. You look a bit worse for wear, yes, but you clearly walked away from the experience intact. That is a feat." Sandstorm pauses for a moment, and then -laughs- hard at Nightbeat's explaination. "'Bout time more Bots did! Ya shoulda seen the other night in Mexico." Sandstorm makes a spinning motion with his finger to indicate his chopper-mode rotors. "I threw so much sand in his optics he shot the other Decepticons more than he did us!.. and he wasn't -trying- to shoot them." Chuckles a bit more at Rodimus. "It's okay, Rod. The girls don't seem to mind you've got more junk in your trunk these days." And his sharp attention catchs glimps of the junk-femme wandering by, and tosses a wave in Deek's direction. "See, there's one now, probably com'n to get your autograph." Or not. He's just having fun ribbing the Prime a bit while he's actually in a non-businessy mood. Dee-Kal calmly joins the group. "All rides are safety-tested on a regular basis and guaranteed fully operational," she recites cheerfully. "Money back if not completely satisfied with your ride." A sidelong glances in Nightbeat's direction. The animatronic Dinosaur gives a snort and snaps at the invading finger. "Careful. He bites." Nightbeat guess that human teens dig shoddy armour. Who knew? He drawls, "No, he sprinkled me with pixie dust. YES, he cannoned me. Turned into a big, fat space cigar." He draws his finger back just before the animatronic dinosaur can snap, and he looks over at Rodimus Prime, and he hollers, "hey, bossman! I went ahead and awarded Eject the Medal of Valor. From what I hear, the kiddo's got some real cast iron manifold. Dunno if you wanna present it or what." He raises one finger and corrects Fairway, "'Alive' is the word I'd use. 'Intact' is pretty generous." Jayson Redfield winces at Nightbeat's reply. "Sorry. Dumb question." He slips back and decides that Nightbeat is a bit irritated, so Jayson's going to hang out by Rodimus for a while. Nightbeat is a jerk. That makes him easily confused with 'irritable' to those not in the know. His optical band narrows, and he asks, "So, what is the likihood that the park dinosaurs will achieve sapience and go on a car-hating ramapge, because they hate that we guzzle gas made from dead dinosaurs, unaware of the irony that they themselves are electronic-based beings?" Fairway shrugs and finally smiles. "What could follow is a lengthy philosophical discussion about whether intactness is confined to the body or to the processor, but I shall stay my heavy hand for now, as it were, and simply say that I am glad you are up and about." With this, he follows Jayson and finds his way toward a huge, circular ride over which hangs a sign reading 'Gravitron'. "What is the function of this apparatus?" He asks Jayson. No doubt, the loosely Cybertronian name of the ride is confusing him. Rodimus Prime smirks at Sandstorm. "Well, I have more trunk, too. It holds a giant gun." The smirk grows wider. "And you're right about the girls not seeming to mind that!" He looks back at Nightbeat and holds up his right hand, giving the detective a thumbs up. "I'll be sure he gets it, Nightbeat!" he calls, then gives Dee-Kal a nod. "Well, I feel more comfortable, then!" he answers convincingly, although he really doesn't. He considers the Junkion idea of 'safety' a bit suspect. By this time, his casual stroll has taken him to the bungee ride. "All right, let's give this a try, shall we?" as he stands in line. Hmm, not too long today! Sandstorm just stares at Nightbeat for a few long moments.... but then breaks into a laugh. "Y'know, that'd actually be a half interesting ride in itself. You should give the Junks that idea for the park!.. Com'n, Rodimus is getting ahead of us." He works on finishing his energon cottoncandy while trotting off to catch up to the flame-decoed Prime. Grapple hangs back a short distance to watch both Rodimus attempt a bungee ride and Fairway possibly end up in that strange ring ride. This was just bound to be entertaining. Although Grapple wasn't malicious, he just knows that this was bound to be hilarious. He leans against a wall with posters stuck all over it to watch the ensuing mayhem. Dee-Kal tilts her head and arches a brow at Nightbeat. "Switch to de-caff." The junior Junkion then focuses on a human; and a pretty cool humie to focus on at that. She automatically follows after Jayson, and falls into line right behind him. Jayson Redfield becomes aware of Dee-Kal following him. He tilts his head back to peer up at her. "Hi." Nightbeat stares at Sandstorm, his expression clearly asking, 'Are you for real?' Then, the detective shuffles on over to a trash can, and he starts picking through the junk, nevermind the fact that the whole park is made of junk. He looks up at Dee-Kal, a sneer on his face, and he insists, "You'll pry the coffee out of Muzzle's cold, dead hand, girlie." A steady diet of coffee, booze, and doughnuts, that is what Muzzles are made of! Dee-Kal has moved on and simply fails to notice Nightbeat; the Bot fades to irrelevancy. And she has better company. The little Junkion drops gently to one knee alongside Jayse and gestures benignly, linking her hands together at ground level. "May I..?" It doesn't seem to take /too/ long to get to the front of the line, and Rodimus quickly finds himself getting strapped up in preparation for being dropped from an incredible height. All in all, he's done plenty of dumber things. He absently tests the cables himself by pulling them, though he's careful not to pull too hard - in his case, he's actually stronger than he is heavy. He then grins back at Sandstorm. "Well, here goes nothing!" Fairway continues to stare at the enormous Gravitron. Receiving nothing in by way of acknowledgement from his fellows, he decides to just fall in line and hop aboard the ride. It isn't long before he disappears into it, along with a number of other randomly painted generics Autobot cars. With its complement of riders aboard, the Gravitron elevates to a 45 degree angle and begins to spin! That's right, folks...it's naught but a giant centrifuge. Whirl crowds around behind Rodimus, peering down at the last person to have gotten off of the bungie ride. He looks like he's torn between throwing up and passing out. "This is gonna be so cool!" Whirl gushes. Nightbeat watches Rodimus Prime get strapped in absently, and he considers. Just weaken a few of the cables, and... SPLAT. Be a shame if an assassin got into this place. There could be one even now, lurking about. Nightbeat reckons he ought to be on the watch for one. The trash is plenty interesting, though. Grapple looks on at Fairway as he.. Spins and spins and spins along with a dozen or so other theme park goers. Well, Fairway seemed to be having fun, at least, and no one else in the ride is getting violently ill and leaving a horrible mess. So, he looks to Rodimus instead. "Those should have coushins beneath the ride.." Rather than the inflatable giant air mattress that likely wouldn't do very well with their mechanical selves. Rodimus Prime is pretty confident that he'd do more damage to the ground than the ground would do to him. (He's pretty overconfident about a lot of things, when it comes to that.) "Well, here goes nothing," he grins at Sandstorm and Whirl as he's hoisted a considerable distance. This bungee ride is even taller than most, in order to accommodate giant robots. It takes some time to get the riders to the proper level, but once they do... WOOSH! "WOOOOOOOOO!!!" Rodimus screams, mouth open in a wide, youthful grin as he plunges towards the ground. Then, not far above the air mattress, he's jerked back up, rising back into the air. "YEAH!!" he shouts as his progress slows before he falls once more, and so forth, until momentum and gravity have finished their battle, and he ends up dangling at the end of the cord and laughing with delight while he's lowered back down. Jayson Redfield considers a moment, then nods and Deek. "Sure." Odd thing--despite being mildly acrophobic, he doesn't seem to mind sitting on a Transformer's shoulder. Fairway steps out of the Gravitron looking gravely concerned that he may have irreparably damaged the delicate electronics in his cranial unit responsible for helping to maintain his equilibrium. He stumbles over to Grapple and leans against the postered wall, his hands around his midsection. "Sweet Primus," he moans, "that was an unfortunate misadventure. Why any would seek such an experience is beyond me, friend Grapple." Sandstorm laughs as they watch. It's not often you get to see Rodimus enjoying himself these days... which is why Sandstorm came prepared. He digs out one of the cameras they were using for recon the other day, and stands at the bottom of the bungee ride, so when Rodimus comes down with that whooping grin he can get a picture of it! "Atta boy Roddy, the screaming is part of the fun!" Dee-Kal resumes her full height, human bearer. Her fingers lightly touch Jayson's calves, checking his position and safety constantly. She watches Rodimus and the others on the ride with approval - and a lot of amusement. *FINALLY* they're acting more like Junkions! This is the way things are meant to be. She chuckles happily. Life is pretty good for once. Grapple simply can't help but grin a little at Fairway. "That is why, my friend, I didn't follow you to the.. Ride.. In question." If it could be called a 'ride', that is. "Are you all right?" He laughs a little. Rodimus Prime stumbles when first released, but he recovers himself pretty quickly. He is an agile bugger, after all. He rejoin the Autobots waiting in line, still laughing, and gives Sandstorm a friendly punch on his shoulder. "You don't need to tell me! I haven't *completely* forgotten how to have fun!" Then he gestures towards the ride. "Whelp, now that your fearless leader has tested it out, looks like it's safe for the rest of you guys!" "I'm fine," Fairway says to Grapple. His tone is probably a little less than convincing. "Err...I WILL be fine. I just need to sit down a bit." With this, he promptly falls over onto Grapple. Nightbeat is moderately pleased that no assassins have tried to murder Rodimus Prime thus far. He moves on, stalking the theme park beat. Jayson Redfield giggles from his perch on Dee-Kal's shoulder. "Whatever you say, Prime." Sandstorm chuckles goodnaturedly as he's punched, and holds up the camera. "And I've got the evidence to prove it!" Then tosses Rodimus the camera. "Here, get a shot of us. Let's go Whirl." He hurries over to get strapped in for the ride's next trip up and down. Rodimus Prime catches the camera and grins after Sandstorm. "You got it, Sandy!"Grapple laughs as Fairway falls over; he was prepared for the dizzyness -- being swung around in circles at the speed that machine was going at was bound to cause it -- and catches his friend before setting him slowly to the ground. "Perhaps you shouldn't move for a short while, my friend." Nightbeat squints at the camera susppiciously, and he demands, "Are you SURE that isn't Reflector? It's real easy to just pick him up by mistake." Rodimus Prime hands Nightbeat the camera. "Want to check?" he asks. Dee-Kal says nothing to the critique of the fun-fair rides. Of course it's all safe! It all gets constantly used and tested by her fellow Junks on a weekly, if not daily basis. And you don't get better crash test dummies than the infamous Mini-Junks! Anything that falls apart is replaced and re-tested until it bores the hell out of the mini-Junks, thus proving it safe for others... Fairway struggles to stand, looking quite a bit as if he's overcharged. "Nonsense," he says to Grapple, "I'm perfectly all right. Just a few quick adjustments are needed. A hand, please?" He holds a quavering hand out to his fellow Autobot. Grapple gives Fairway an amused, yet dubious look. "My friend, you realize you're shaking while sitting down, I hope. After going through that.. Thing.. Over there, you should take at least a few minutes to sit down and get yourself in order." Sandstorm rolls his optics a bit at Nightbeat. The guy was more paranoid than Red Alert at times. "Relax, man, that's one of my own. Use 'em for the recon gig y'know." He gets strapped in and its the slow ride up to the top. Naturally the daredevil is twitching with anticipation. Nightbeat looks at Sandstorm suspiciously, and he asks, "Oh yeah? How long have you had it? Have you alays had it on your person? Have you ever set it down where someone could switch it out with Reflector?" Nightbeat would be very flattered to have his paranoia compared to Red Alert. The man is a master! Nightbeat puts on gloves and takes the camera from Rodimus Prime, examining it closely. "Don't take too long, Nightbeat," Rodimus Prime answers warningly. "I'm going to need it in time for them to take the drop." Nightbeat is having a stupid day, and he nearly drops the camera, exclaiming, "Holy smokes, it IS Reflector!" "What?!" Rodimus exclaims. "But it's not a Polaroid!" Well, okay, neither is Reflector, but he somehow produces pictures on the spot as if he *were* a Polaroid! Jayson Redfield just stares at the Autobots... Sandstorm ois from up on the lift. "Nightbeat, you're worse than Red Alert! It's just. a. camera." There, he actually said it. But more importantly, it's time for his ride! So with that, as he's let go, the Wrecker practically dives off the platform. "WHEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAA!" Followed by the audible *TWANG* as he hits the end, and gets yanked back up and down a few times like a slowing red and orange yo-yo. "Wheee! It's like cliff diving without the crash at the end!" Nightbeat shouts back at Sandstorm, "Thanks!" He compares with Red Alert? Woohoo! Nightbeat always did aspire to paranoia in his old age. He suggests, "Uh... Reflector got a face lift?" His thinky circuits are not working very well! Galvatron must have fried them, too. Dee-Kal remains passive but her head tilts in Jayson's direction and one optic closes. Her fingers flicker lightly in Nightbeat's direction, aimed behind the detective. A neon red hologram shimmers into resolution, a neat target icon superimposing over the posterior plating of the Bot. Fairway continues trying to stand. He's a bit more successful after a moment of rest. "Reflector?" He stumbles over to where Nightbeat is spazzing out about a camera. "Surely you're mistaken! He would have transformed once he'd been detected." He then turnst to watch Sandstorm plummet. He winces as best as an organism with a face made of metal can wince, anticipating being the one to have to bring Sandy back to the Ark on a stretcher. "I fail to comprehend any of this, apparently," he says to no one in particular, "Deliberately provoking fear? Placing one's self in peril by choice simply for the release? it seems frivolous. But then...most entertainment seems so to me." At least he /admits/ that he's a stick-in-the-mud. "Hey!" Rodimus shouts as Sandstorm plunges towards the Earth. He snatches the camera from Nightbeat and hurriedly gets it into position, snapping off several pictures. "Fairway, frivolous is the point!" Rodimus exclaims as he snaps off a few more pictures. "If we let are war with the Decepticons erode every part of us that isn't dedicated to fighting that war, we become little more than they are, machines that exist only to destroy and that's it!" Grapple follows Fairway with a small smirk. "To each his own. Many enjoy the.. 'Safe fear', I think people call it. Myself, I much prefer simply walking around." And looking at the architecture. Then, he catches up to the actual conversation. "..Reflector?" And echoing people, to boot! He gives Nightbeat a doubtful expression. Nightbeat looks dismayed as Rodimus Prime takes what Nightbeat is SURE is Reflector back, and he crosss his arms and huffs. He notes, "You sure are a stick in the mud, ain'tcha, Fairway?" On the last bounce Sandstorm unhooks his harness and does a flip to land on his feet. "Not that I have a problem with real fear, but this is a lot more fun without being shot at the same time!", remarks the triplechanger as he walks back over.
* BING!* KLANG!* At a nearby shooting gallery, several of the aforementioned mini-Junks are enjoying a cheerful session of blasting tin cans or knocking over tin cutouts of ducks with the Junkion equivalent of air rifles and pellets. Much cheering and laughter ensues as they score several hits; each Junkion trying to better the score of the one before. Fairway puzzles at this. "What is the semiotic iconography of sticks in mud? Do you mean to say that I am standing upright? I assure that, at this moment, I am only barely doing so. The Gravitron has caused my balance circuits to glitch most furstratingly." He looks to Prime with a bit more comprehension. "I suppose I'm simply not the gregarious sort as far as entertainment goes. As for allowing the rigors of combat to erode my ability to relax...I think I'm a fair way from that." At this he suddenly begins to laugh. He's positively guffawing, doubling over and slapping his knee. "A fair way from that," he repeats through gasps of laughter. Grapple stares at Fairway; he wonders if the Gravitron scrambled a bit more than just his balance circuits. "..Fairway? ..Are you certain you shouldn't sit down for a while longer?" Maybe the rest of the day. When Sandstorm rejoins the group, Rodimus drops the Reflector into his hands. Well, assuming Sandstorm gets his hands out in time. He sighs. "You might want to get that thing checked out, I suppose. We've got Grapple and Fairway with us, so one of the-" and then Fairway bursts out laughing at a pun involving his own name. Rodimus looks down at him, then over at Sandstorm. "Uhm. Grapple. Have him check it out." Nightbeat covers his optical band with a hand, and he winces. Grudgingly, the detective explains, "Fairway. You sure ain't much fun. That's what I was trying to say." Also, Fairway makes bad puns, but Nightbeat isn't going to say that. Jayson Redfield calls to Fairway, "It's *my* job to make bad puns!" Sandstorm just laughs as he catchs the camera. "See, he's still got a sense of humor. That's better than most Decepticreeps." Some of the mini-Junks are impatient to play. They jostle for a good position, or a better view of the targets. One totes his air rifle carelessly over his shoulder. It goes off. The pellet that heads in Nightbeat's direction is prolly a pretty good aim for the hologram target on his butt... Nightbeat is indeed shot in the butt. Being a detective is a hard knock life! He whirls about, and shaking a fist, he snaps, "Blasted Decepticon-sympathiser kids! I bet they smuggled Reflector into the park! How much is Soundwave paying you, you rascals? Ah, slaggit. Where's a juvee officer when you need him..." Sandstorm looks up from checking the camera at the detective's latest rambling, and glances over to the others. "... I think Nightbeat needs a vacation more than we do." Rodimus Prime looks down at Nightbeat, then over at the source that he's yelling at, then at Sandstorm's probably-not-really-Reflector-camera, then at Nightbeat again. He gives a very, very slow nod. "... Yeah, I think you're right." Grapple blinks up at Nightbeat as he's shot in the rear end with.. Something apparently unharmful. He then looks to Sandstorm and nods slightly. "Agreed. I wonder why they decided to target him with their toy." Assuming it was a toy. He then looks back to Fairway. "Are you feeling any better, now?" Fairway reels still. "I...I don't think the Gravitron is entirely to blame," he says, "ever since the incident with the Collector...and with the discs we obtained there...my processor hasn't been functioning correctly." He puts his hand to his head. "It's as if parts of my processor that ware usually partially shut down to keep me from become disoriented or confused when presented with a myriad number of objects or ideas to focus on have been compromised, leaving me more accutely observant but unable to cope with the sensory overload." He looks about. "Uh...that is...my...head hurts. I shall take my leave now, if it's all the same to you, friends. I need to recharge while I can." With this he ambles away, head in his hands. Grapple stares at Fairway some more as he ambles off. He look to Rodimus with some concern. "Should Fairway be.. Escorted?" Rodimus Prime's optics flare at Fairway's words, and he spins to watch Fairway leave, his expression twisted into a thoughtful frown. He looks down at Nightbeat checking to see if the Detective caught that commentary, then up at Grapple. "Uhm... I can call in someone to meet him right outside the park, Grapple, unless you *want* to go with him?" Grapple gives Rodimus a slight nod. "Oh, that's good, then. At least Fairway won't.. Get injured on the way, then." It seems Fairway's lapse of sanity has him worried. Nightbeat did indeed hear the discussion that he should be put on a forced vacation, and he narrates to himself, "As soon as they tried to take me off the case, that's when I knew I was on to something. The only question was, how deep would the rabbit hole go, and was there a fox hiding in the rabbit's den?" Sandstorm just sort of errs softly as Fairway starts to shamble off, and rubs his chin for a moment. "Yeah, someone might wanna look at him.. just because I haven't had any adverse reaction to using the alien device, it's possible it could affect others differently." He nods a bit when Rodimus mentions he'll get an escort for the departing mech. "Ah, good. I wouldn't worry, we've got some of the best medics and scientists on our side, if there is something wrong, they'll figure it out." Rodimus Prime covers his face with his hand as the Detective focuses on the vacation - and not Fairway's words. He looks down at Nightbeat. "That's it, Nightbeat. You're on vacation, starting now." He shakes his head. "You *really* need to relax!" Then he gives Sandstorm a quick nod, but the expression on his face indicates that he *is* worried. He really does a lot more of that these days... Dee-Kal looks up sharply. She only meant her target as a joke - somebody shot Nightbeat?! She snaps her fingers and her hologram winks out abruptly. The little Junkette fixes the offending min-Junk with a furious stare. "Wait till your *father* gets home-!" she warns. The other mini-Junks chatter among themselves and grab their companion, dragging him off to another area of the fair before any more harm can be done. At Nightbeat's monologing, Grapple gives the detective the same unsure look he had given Fairway. He blinks his optics twice, trying to figure out if talking to oneself in this situation was something to worry about. "..Strange day all around.." He murmurs to himself. What, Fairway has a headache because of some alien doodad? Pssh. Nightbeat has headaches ALL THE TIME. The headaches are named Grimlock, Slag, Swoop, Sludge, and Snarl. No, really, he gets noise and light related headaches pretty often. Nightbeat throws up his hands, and he protests, "Chief, you can't take me off the case!" Nightbeat somtimes does narrate. It may not be normal, but it's normal for him. At least the long arm of the... father? will be after that rapscallion. Darnit, this was suppose to be relaxing. No need to let suspicions and concerns ruin it -too- much, so Sandstorm quickly steps in. "Hey, Grap! You may not be much for the rides, but you oughta go check the arcade. They have games that you have to stack weird shaped blocks together to make forms, Tetrix or something, you'd probably be really good at it." "That's just the problem, Nightbeat!" Rodimus exclaims. "There is no case! At least not the one *you're* going on about! You're right, though. I can't take you off what you're not on." He sighs and removes a datapad from subspace. Looks like it's back to work now, after all. "I'm booking you for a one week vacation on Monacus. The shuttle leaves tomorrow. No argument." Grapple looks to Sandstorm in some surprise; despite that they were in an amusement park, he somehow hadn't expected to actually be invited to one of the sections. "..A.. Building game? That actually does sound intriguing.." Nightbeat's mouth opens, and it just stays open. But he's a wanted man on Monacus! He took Swoop shopping! That was a bad idea! (It gave him a heeadache.) So he narrates, "But the Chief wouldn't have any of it, so soon enough, I was off in a rinky-dink tin can to the den of sin and iniquity itself. And I don't mean the Assembly of Worlds." Nightbeat also stalks off to check out the arcade. Sandstorm nods. "Seriously. They make games for pretty much anyone these days, but stacking blocks sounds right up your alley. Or knocking them down. They have ones for that, too." Grapple certainly seems interested at the prospect of games related to building. "Perhaps the day can be enjoyed, yet." Though, he still gives Nightbeat a strange look. Sandstorm chuckles a bit, putting his arm across the architect's back and giving him a nudge in the direction of the arcade gallery. "C'mon, lets go check it out! I wanna see if they got any good racing games, anyways." Rodimus Prime sighs and tucks away his datapad, orders taken care of. He gives Sandstorm and Grapple a wave. "Have fun, guys. I'd better get back, myself, but I want you guys to enjoy yourselves, got it?" He smirks and quirks a grin. "You can consider that an order, in fact." Nightbeat gets the wifi feed, and he groans, "Decibel won't make the passwords long enough!" He pauses to watch an arcade version of GTA: Over 9000, being played by some random kid. He watches, wide opticed, as police cars go flying through the air, and he shouts, "That's horrible! How can these people live with themselves? This is worse than snuff!" Whirl pops out from behind a giant dunking tank. "Finally got him!" he announces, then wanders over to Sandstorm again. "So what'd I miss? Anything really fun?" Grapple grins slightly at Rodimus before Whirl jumps out from behind a tank; he jumps a little. Where did he come from? "You missed both Nightbeat and Fairway descending in to temporary insanity." Hopefully temporary. Nightbeat shouts, "Gaaaaah!" as Whirl jumps out of nowhere. He is not having a very good day, but all the same, he protests, "I'm not crazy! They're just trying to hush me up for knowing too much!" Grapple gives Nightbeat a dubious stare. "..My friend, please.. Deep breaths." What was it normal people usually say at times like this? "..Think happy thoughts." Or something like that. "Bro, you have no idea," Sandstorm remarks to the other Wrecker. Leaving Grapple to go test the whatever they call the tetris-type games these days, he wanders towards the racing section... Though he does pause to peer at Nightbeat for a moment. "Dude, it's a game. The whole point is to do things you wouldn't actually really do. Lighten up a little... Ooo, a demolition derby game. SCORE!" Whirl is known to be 'digit-challenged', but manages to flash Nightbeat a thumbs-up. "Yeah, it's great isn't it? Once you go insane, you never go back." Then he tilts his head to the side, and a teeny blue light by the antennae on the side of his head flashes. "Wow, vacation on Monacus, huh? Well, guess it's not the same as 'hushing' you. I mean, as long as you can find a long range radio and all, right? You could--oh hey! Wait for me 'Storm!" Having said his good byes, Rodimus makes his way through the crowds, transforming once he hits a clear patch to roll out! Nightbeat protests again, "I'm not crazy! I... need a cube." He wanders off to see if there is a concessions stand, away from all the horrible arcade games where cars are mercilessly tortured. Hits too close for home, for him. "Better hurry up then!" Sandstorm calls back to Whirl as he hops in a seat. "This game's gonna start up." Grapple meanwhile searches for one of those building games Sandstorm was going on about. It doesn't take particularly long to find it or to start playing it. ... Or to enjoy it. Seems he really is rather good at it. Nightbeat changes his mind. He just WANTS a drink. What he NEEDS to do is pack. Stupid forced vacations, getting in the way of his real work. He wanders off to the edge of the park, transforms, and he hits the road, headed back toward the nearest spacebridge. Nightbeat slouches down into Porsche 959 form. Time to roll. Sandstorm figured a fancy building guy like Grapple would like that sort of game. Meanwhile, he's busy smashing cars for points, and trying to beat his teammate to boot. "I bet I can crush a higher score than you Whirlybird!" Then again, he's more familiar with drivinf in the first place. Whirl climbs into another seat. "Bring it on two-optics! Uh...how do you make it go forwwaaa--!" His last word gets cut off as Sandstorm's bumper car smashes into his.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)