| abstract
| - Mount St. Hillary - A barren mountain stands out from the rest of the rest of the craggy peaks the dominates this region of land, Mount St. Hillary, and on the base of the southern side of this active volcano is a large hole tunneled right into the core. Another day in prehistoric Earth and more work to be done in preparation of what could be a very important expedition in the days to come. But before that can happen, there needs to be modifications, supplies gathered and plans made. If it's any consolation, the fact that the Decepticons are no doubt bogged down by their own preparations as well means that they probably don't have too much of a head start given the need for repairs and fuel of their own. The Autobots have also been busy with other things too. Brawn's digging managed to break through into an underground aquifer that was tapped and solidified with a tunnel to the surface. Using a long series of tied together roots and a crudely carved wooden 'bucket' the humans at least have access to water to drink and even the Autobots have found some uses for the clear liquid, so all benefit in one way or another. Wheeljack has his business cut out for him as he and Ratchet hastily have modifications to make to the other earlier generation Autobots to get them ready for the ocean trip. And some of the others have continued to map out their surroundings. Like Windcharger, for example, who was sent up to one of the upper ledges to check out some of the caves in the side of Mount St. Hillary for anything of interest. "AUUUUGH LOOK OUT BELOW!" Or at least he -was-, until his body comes hurling out of a cave entrance, briefly suspended in freefall and then crashing down several stories below onto the ground just outside the entrance of the Ark with that sickening crash of metal on stone. "UGHOOF!" Reidan Wesley hears the shouting from inside, and sighs as he relaxes near the fire "... I wonder when I should tell them that we can get water from more easily attainable sources by hiking a few miles away or getting a lift. " he murmurs thoughtfully to himself, pulling his hat down over his eyes as he reclines there. "Ah well. It’s good entertainment at least." Amber MacKenzie was making use of that extra water by begging for a tiny barrel (to Transformers, anyway) and doing her best to wash her clothes in the shadow of a boulder. At least until Windcharger does a swan dive. She looks up, startled, and her eyes widen. All she had was a glimpse and the sound of his voice, but that's enough. She rises to her feet with less than her usual agility. "That's it, Trailbreaker- or should I call you 'Wavebreaker' now?" Ratchet tightens the last bolt on the defensive specialist, and the two of them share a hearty laugh. He sends the big 'bot on his way- and then blinks his optics as he hears yelling and crashing from outside! Ratchet shakes his head, and then transforms to wheel towards the exit! "I swear, my job's hard enough. Stop doing the Decepticon's job for them!" he grumbles. Remedy hears the crash and comes running. She's going through what could happen, and medical knowledge, not to mention the propensity of the humans to be hanging out by the entrance, and hoping not to find one turned into a chunky spot. Prowl emerges from... somewhere, stopping just short of Windcharger, glaring down at him. "Alright, someone tell me what is going on in there. Are you guys trying to blow up the Ark or what?" He sighs, turning to Ratchet. "Is he damaged, Ratchet? Besides in the head?" Reidan Wesley seems rather nonsurplussed right now, although he had twitched slightly at the crash. He still doesn’t move though, taking it all rather in stride. His hat is turned up a little as Prowl’s voice is heard, and the pipe laying in his lap disappears up a sleeve. Wheeljack meanwhile had been fashioning more hydro-skies out of lighter material for the smaller Autobots, and still marveling over his own design from the future that's been shown to him due to the drastic needs of the time. It was such a simple yet extremely effective design.. The sounds of crashing outside snaps him out of his thoughts though, looking up just in time to see Ratchet wheel off. Chuckles a bit to himself. "For once, a crash or explosion that isn't my fault!" Setting the last set of hydrofoils aside he gets up and trails after to see for himself. Rodimus Prime was actually further down the mountainside, with a pair of Cybertronian-sized binoculars raised to his optics as he looked out over the landscape. It's not that it's unfamiliar surroundings...well, it's a -little- unfamiliar given that it's going to change in four million years, but overall it's still something he knows well. All the same he keeps glancing out, as if searching for something. That is, until he heard the crash of Windcharger coming down off the mountainside like a dropped bowling ball. "...what in the world?" He blinks, turning to peer back up at the others. Amber MacKenzie peers down the mountainside to see Prowl and Windcharger below. From Prowl's tone of voice, it doesn't look like an impending Decepticon attack, and she relaxes. Just in case, she takes a long look around for anything that doesn't belong. That includes the skies. Windcharger is half sitting up by the time Prowl reaches him, propping himself up on one hand and rubbing the back of his head with the other, groaning a bit before he's addressed directly. "...hey don't look at me!" he complains back to Prowl, before pointing a finger straight up the mountain side. "HE did it!" From further up the mountain, there is a deep and low growl followed by the shifting of a large furry form, as an enormous and VERY angry looking Cave Bear trundles out onto the ledge, glaring down and snarling at the red and blue Autobot it just forcibly ejected from its lair. Remedy emerges, looking for Amber and Reidan first. "Stop sounding so proud about that, Wheeljack." Ratchet says. He then rolls up to Windcharger and transforms! At which point he gives the minibot master of Magnetism a preliminary diagnostic scan (read: a practiced glance). "A few dents and scrapes, but the damage looks mostly cosmetic- guess it's lucky it wasn't Sunstreaker, or we'd never hear the end of it." This said, Ratchet looks up at the snarling cave bear, and blinks his optics. "Ah, more indigenous life forms." Reidan Wesley is still where he was before, his hands now up his sleeves as he dozes still, having relaxed more. Until the bear roars. He straightens, lifting his hat "Wow! I never thought I'd see one of those again!" he admits, finally energetic as he stood, backing up to get a better look. Remedy comes out, looking for Amber and Reidan. Reidan's actions show him being fine, so then she looks for Amber, especially with ol' Ursa Major on the loose up the hill. Amber MacKenzie knows her duty as a good squishie: she prudently heads towards the Ark, making use of the rocks and boulders to conceal her movement. She'll be damned if she has to be rescued yet AGAIN. Despite her worry, she moves slowly and carefully, as she was taught, furiously going over what she knows about cave bears: nothing. Prowl rubs his forehead, looking pained. "A bear, Windcharger? A bear threw you out of a cave?" Out loud, he deadpans, "Alright, everyone, be on the look for *bears.* It seems that these furry creatures are more than a match for us, so keep your distance from them. If the humans have any tips on avoiding bear attacks, I'd like to hear them." Wheeljack glances up at the roaring, lifting a hand to shield his optics from sun glare. "By Trion's beard, that looks like a nasty piece to mess with, even for a visitor made of metal." Pauses to consider a moment, then turns to look towards Ratchet. With -that- look in his optics. "I bet a creature like that would make a really effective alternate mode. Big teeth, big claws, big in general. Could climb places like up that mountain where these," pauses to spin one of the wheels of his alternate mode, "don't go... you know, since none of us are hovercars anymore." The huge bear snorts and snarls a few times, glaring down at the collected Autobots, before turning and lumbering its way back into the cave once more. Windcharger of course, isn't about to take Prowl's deadpanning lying down, as he scrambles to his feet and shakes a fist up at him for good measure, "HEY! That furry menace is a lot stronger than it looks! And besides, he caught me by surprise. If you're so sure about it why don't -you- go up there and evict him!?" He even kicks a bit of dust at Prowl's foot for good measure. Reidan Wesley glances to Prowl at that, as he remarks "Oh, like most wildlife, you leave them alone and don't look sick, wounded, old or attack their children, they will leave you alone. I don’t know yet if the American Ursa Major ever evolved the fear of humans that others typically do." he notes casually, tucking his hands into his pocket. Despite it being a nice day out a sudden volley of wind would kick up and whip across the barren surface of the mountain where the Autobots, past and present, had set up base, threatening to become some sort of crazy storm while the sky flashes bright a few times. But thankfully the massive gust only lasts a few moments, and if anyone's paying attention they'd see a large, dark spot above the mountain, steadily growing larger as it descends to the ground. A bird? A meteor? No, it's a femme. Torque, to be exact. And she appears to be knocked out cold as she speedily meets the ground. She doesn't fall far to cause too much damage, but it's enough to hurt, unconscious body landing on the mountainside and rolling several yards with loosened rocks before she gets caught up on a big enough boulder to stop. Brawn barges into the area by the Ark, covered with dirt and grime. "Windcharger!" he bellows. "I thought you were going to come with me to wrestle dinosaurs!" Brawn gets into a wide stance, spreading his arms to demonstrate. "I had one of the bigger ones pinned down, but I really could have used your help after he managed to eat me." Out of the corner of his optic, he spies Torque descending. "What the-" He glances at the others just to make sure he isn't the only one that saw that. Amber MacKenzie is close enough to the Ark not to see the bear any longer. She steps into the entrance and veers off behind the equipment, as she did when she first snuck into the Ark days ago. It's too narrow there for giant bears, too. From the sounds outside, there's still something going on, so she sighs and sits down to wait for the all clear. "We don't have time to refit anyone into a more...Primitive mold, Wheeljack. And even less time for you to create a laser core from scratch!" He sighs a little, and then shakes his head as Windcharger talks about the bear. "Oh no-" he says, "We're not going chasing after more primitive life forms when-" And then Torque shows up! Ratchet turns, just in time to see her tumble downward and hit the ground. "...those 'bears' -ARE- formidable, aren't they?" he asks, and looks over at the humans, as if they have an idea of what's going on. It's their planet, right? Reidan Wesley shakes his head "No not really. I mean, they're only a few hundred pounds heavier than myself." admits Reidan casually "Maybe you should just leave her alone and let her hibernate. Rodimus Prime has started the climb back up the side of the mountain. He's not at the section where the natural slope makes a makeshift highway for the rest of the Autobots to go out into the world, so he has to do it the old fashioned way, hand over fist and grabbing onto boulders as he goes. It isn't long before the young Prime is cresting the ledge and back on 'ground level' with everyone else. "Problems with the local wildlife, Prowl? Maybe we should try to move that animal before it poses any kind of threat to..." And then the sound of a metal body crashing down the side of the mountain greets his audials. But it's not just Torque's arrival that catches him off guard, but the fact she almost lands on -him-, sending him tumbling backwards and crashing onto his aft end. "Gyah! What now?" It takes a moment to focus, and then he spots the prone form, and his face suddenly contorts into a frown. "Oh no, not again!" Rushing to his feet, he scoots forward, hands reaching out to grab hold of the femme and prop her up carefully. Wheeljack watches the bear lumber off. "Yeah Prowl, I think you want to take the human's advice on this one and just leave it alo--" He stops as the flash occurs overhead, switching to some sort of super sciency scanning mode. "I don't think that was from the bear guys! I'm picking up faint remnants of unusual energy dispersal waves." Instead of waiting for some one to suggest going to look the scientist takes it upon himself, activating his arm-rockets and using them to effectively 'jump jet' to where the new arrival crashed down.... Only to find her having almost landed on Rodimus too. ".. Looks like this time one of your missing found -you-, Rodimus," he remarks with a chuckle. Prowl shakes his head at Windcharger. "No, I'm not going to go and 'evict him' because there's no need. We're going to leave the bear alone as long as it leaves us alone. And anyway, I'm sure the REST of us can fight off a--" He looks up as Torque streaks through the air, backing away from her. From the dark paint job she has, Prowl assumes that it's probably a Decepticon (RACISM) and levels his acid rifle at her. Then he glances at Wheeljack, then Rodimus, and says, "Wait, who is this?" Reidan Wesley moves back to where he was sitting "Amber?? Where did that girl go off to..." he mutters "I think it's cause you're scared, that's what -I- think." Windcharger grumps, dusting himself off as best he can, until the femme's sudden arrival on the scene has him leaping back a bit and drawing his own weapon. Or at least he was, until he realizes he broke the barrel in the fall. "...doggnit." He looks over to Brawn, then back to his gun, then over in the inevitable other direction. "Uh...Wheeljack? I'm gonna need another thing here. When you've got a moment." "No rush." He adds the last part, shuffling a foot impatiently. Brawn jogs his ass on over towards where Torque 'landed', following after Wheeljack. Unlike anyone smart, he doesn't fly over or go around the rough, mountain terrain. He just smashes right through it, scrambling to climb over whatever can't be pulverized. He helps Rodimus hold her up, figuring that since he's stronger than Roddo, he should be the one doing it. Amber MacKenzie no longer hears growls, but she still hears shouts. She softly steps towards the outer edge of her hiding place in order to hear better. Rodimus's voice is what comes through the most clearly. She frowns and listens. Eavesdropping is a bad habit of hers. When propped up it only takes a few minutes for Torque to finally come around, blue optics dimly coming back online and antennas drooping. "Guhh... What happened... ugh, my head feels like it's full of rocks..." Eventually she looks to her side, seeing the Prime holding her steady, and immediately her antennas perk and optics widen in surprise. "Ah, Prime! What are you doing here??" "Eh.. not like it matters. I went to check out some crazy disturbance others were talkin' about, and then there was a flash of light. And now I'm here... feeling pretty beat up." Thankfully she's a tough femme, casually removing her helmet to dump out some small rocks and dust, shaking extra from her cable hair. And then Brawn helps to pick her up, Torque blinking and stiffening up in surprise. "Uhh..." Gaze moves to the other gathering Bots, the femme quickly recognizing several of them. Especially the ones that aren't supposed to be online still. "...Prime... are we dead..?" "Yes, this is Torque. She's one of mine..." Rodimus responds to Wheeljack and Prowl, actually easing back a bit as Brawn steps in to do the MANLY thing and help Torque to her feet. Who's he to interfere with the mighty minibot acting like the perfect gentleman? Rodimus peers up at the sky briefly, as he listens to the femme's explanation as she comes back online. "No, we're not dead Torque. We're alive. But this is just as you see it. We're not, to borrow a phrase, in Kansas anymore." He sighs and frowns, crossing his arms over his chest. "If I had a way of telling you guys not to go near the disturbance I would have...but it seems like it's still popping some of you through. This is getting more worrying the more time that goes on. We've GOT to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible." For poor Torque it's probably like being dropped in the middle of a movie without so much as a writeup of what she missed. Wheeljack holds one arm up over Torque's form and taps open a panel with the opposite hand, from which assorted beeps and other retro-techno computer sounds emit from briefly, then glances over his shoulder to the others. "Cool your throttle, Prowl. She's has the same slight chronotonic discrepancy as the other 'future' Autobots... Besides, if she was a Decepticon I doubt Rodimus would be holding her up." He turns back just in time to see her coming around, and would probably smirk a bit if he had an actual mouth. "Not quite, miss. Welcome to the future of the past." Ratchet certainly isn't helping with thoughts of the afterlife! He walks up to the little gathering around the newcomer, and, by reflex, he's visually scanning the femme to make sure she's in good condition- noting the Autobot symbol on her as well! "My preliminary diagnosis says you're still alive." he says, and then Ratchet looks to Rodimus. "Well, if the Autobots from your time keep this up, we'll at least be able to outnumber the Decepticons?" Rodimus Prime half mutters before he can stop himself, "Yeah and that's all I'll need is for Galvatron to spy and opening on our end and and..." He cuts himself off, snapping his mouth closed, before rubbing at his forehead. "Well...it would be bad." Brawn moves in close to Torque, making sure she's also able to see him rather than only Prime. No need to traumatize the poor girl, after all. "A... flash of light. Do you mean lightning? That... happens all the time on this planet." He worries this femme might have landed on her head a little too hard. If it wasn't lightning, maybe she saw the sun and got confused? Remedy hmms softly as stuff seems to be getting congested around the Ark. She goes over and sits on a convenient rock... As it's gotten rather quiet now, except for normal speaking voices, Amber emerges from cover and steps - still half sneaking - towards the exit. Peering out, she sees no rampaging cave bears, but a collection of Autobots. Her eyes rest on Torque, but she's never seen her before. With a final shrug, she continues outside but stays out of the way with a clear line of retreat behind her. Prowl does lower his rifle as everyone assures him that she's cool, but he does look skeptical about something. "Huh. Dead, huh? Why would you think that? Is there something someone isn't telling me?" He looks around at all the Autobots that came with him on the Ark, then gives Torque another suspicious look. "And who's this Galvatron character? Sounds kind of familiar! I know for a fact, thought that the Decepticon leaders don't follow our tradition of giving our leaders a common name like 'Prime.'" Reidan Wesley admits "I honestly could not tell you THAT, Prowl." in very honest, truthful tones. To him they were all Decepticons. He fidgets, pulling out his pipe again. Torque gives a heavy sigh of relief at the mention of them not being dead. "Good.. good.. I thought I was seeing ghosts or something." Once she's fully upright she manages to stand well enough on her own, setting her helmet back on her head and letting antennas twitch curious as she observes the surrounding mechs, giving Brawn a friendly smirk as well for helping pick her up. "Heh, thanks for the help though. Glad to wake up to Bots instead of Cons, no matter the timeline." Torque dusts herself off a bit as she continues speaking, loosening a few pebbles from her joints. "Especially well known ones like you guys." She smirks and stands up straight again, rolling her shoulder stiffly. "How long have you been with them, Prime?" She questions, looking to her leader. "Oh for goodness sake Prowl, relax a bit. Considering she just had quite the 'trip', and woke up to see faces that would be ancient history to her, the 'being dead' assumption isn't that far of a conclusionary jump." Though.. there may be a hint of it not being as simple as the explanation Wheeljack gives in his voice, especially when Torque mentions 'ghosts'... But there's not time for conclusions right now when there was still work to be done, so he brushes it off for the most part as he starts back towards the Ark entrance. "Hey Windcharger, what were you complaining about needing now?" "Long enough to get friendly," Rodimus gives a pointed -look- in Prowls' direction as he says this, even if he's talking Torque at the time. He then raises his hand and starts ticking off fingers, "Long story short. We're a kind of a long time in the past. Cyclonus and a bunch of Decepticons are also here, and it looks like they linked up with Starscream's bunch. Optimus and Megatron are missing, we think the Quintessons are involved somehow, and we're getting ready to go check it out on a nearby island." He doesn't bother to call it 'Dinobot Island' yet. He hasn't told Prowl that the place was familiar to them yet and doesn't see the need. But of course, Prowl is asking uncomfortable questions now. Sure, events have already started happening in an order that shouldn't make any sense...so would he still mess up things? If it's an alternate dimension thing, -would- he mess up anything by telling them? Can he take that chance? "Bad individual, Prowl. Just like the Quints are bad individuals, like I told you earlier." Yes, he's being evasive and no he's not hiding it in the slightest. "Well, if you're all done trying to scrap yourselves-" Ratchet says, "I've still got a lot more Autobots who require a lot more modifications. I've been behind schedule ever since Sunstreaker kept complaining that the skis didn't match his color scheme." and with that said, the medic turns and heads back into the Ark! Reidan Wesley calls after Ratchet as he presses tobacco into his pipe "Tell him black goes with everything!" "A thing, for my gun, you know." Windcharger points to the barrel of his weapon that is bent and misshapen after he landed on it awkwardly. But of course there's also FAR more important things to worry about too, as the Autobots start to disperse. "Hey! What about that overgrown furball up there!?" He points to the cave in question. "We just gonna leave it there like it owns the place?" Oh yes, seems like he's still a little sore about having been tossed out on his aft by a surly cave bear. Remedy looks at Ratchet, "Well, sir, if you want, I can offer my help." She doesn't have that glitch in the voice module, walking to follow Ratchet into the Ark. Brawn elbows the mad scientist, "When are you gonna learn, Jack? Just ignoring Prowl saves you so much time. Time that could be better used to punchify Decepticons in the throat." He taps his two fists together to demonstrate how awesome they are. To Windcharger's question, Brawn scratches his chin as he peers at the cave bear. "...I could wrestle it." Ratchet hmms? He glances over to Remedy. "Oh? Well, that'd be great- tell you what, can you get scans and measurements of everyone here?" he gestures towards the other Autobots, "That would save me a lot of time...especially if your friend brings any more Autobots with her." he grins- and then he heads back into the Ark- plucking Windcharger's gun out of his hands along the way! Wheeljack calls after Ratchet "Hey, I gave you the choice of doing Sunstreaker or the job of downsizing a pair for Bumblebee and Cliffjumper!," his side-lights flickering in a glowy approximation of a chuckle. Then turns back to Windcharger, but Ratchet beats him to it. "Well okay, that just leaves me more time to finish adapting hydroponic propulsion modules to go with those pontoons." Prowl frowns at Rodimus, obviously not buying it. "Right. And he's a bad person. Of course. Something tells me he's a REALLY bad person, though, isn't he?" His grumpy face turns on Wheeljack next. "Right, but logically if she thought that she was dead and Rodimus was dead, she wouldn't believe that unless--ah, never mind." He sighs. "And no, we don't have to kill the bear. There's probably nothing in the cave it's living in anyway." Reidan Wesley puffs on his pipe now, then looks over towards the others "By the way, did you find out what the missing cube is?" he asks curiously "Hey!" Windcharger starts as Ratchet plucks the gun and walks off, then peers after him. "...you -are- gonna fix that, right?" The minibot grumps a bit and crosses his arms over his chest, looking back and forth between Prowl and Brawn. "I don't wanna -kill- that creature, I just wanna see how HE likes being tossed out a cave!" Okay so he's sulking a bit. "Try not to think about it too much, Prowl." Rodimus responds evenly at that, his hands resting on his hips as he glances sidelong to the other Autobots. "He isn't here, thankfully. Along with a bunch of other nasty Decepticons who aren't here. Cyclonus is bad enough." Wheeljack pauses for a moment and turns to give Prowl a -look- just before the tactician cuts off his own comment... Then glances to Rodimus as well. But seconds later he's back to his usual upbeat nature, chuckling a bit at the two Minibots as he starts wandering back to the ship in the side of the mountain as well. "This is going to turn out just like the time the two of them went wrestling crocodynamos in the cyber swamps..." "...I could peacefully wrestle it," Brawn says without actually turning to look at Windcharger. No, he's still staring at the cave. Torque shakes her head at Ratchet's comment, "Nah, was just me checking it out on my own, so no one else should be popping in anytime soon." She takes a quick survey of the surrounding landscape, taking in the sights of the past. So alien looking. "But.. while I'm here I suppose I should help." She smirks to those left, "Name's Torque, and I can offer any help yah need in heavy lifting, repairs, painting, beatin' stuff up, and things of that nature." Remedy starts working off her own details of the bots she knows of, the particulars of their alt mode "Does it involve throwing him out of a cave to land on his aftplate?" Windcharger asks half hopefully at Brawn's offer. Like a little kid he just can't let it go easily. Prowl's mouth makes a thin line. "No. Bear. Killing. If it threatens one of the humans, fire a warning shot at it. If that doesn't work, THEN you can 'peacefully' strangle it or whatever you minibots want to do to it." As Torque reads off all the things she can do, Prowl says, "Good, Ark still needs repairs, and I suppose we could use a helping hand." Brawn finally turns back to Windcharger and puts his hands on his hips. "Huh. Actually, you know what? I got an even /better/ idea. YOU should go in there and wrestle it. Everybody knows I can take any ol' bear, but you? You're the one with the personal grudge against it." He steps right up to his fellow minibot. "I want you to march back in there and teach that bear who's boss! Trust me, you'll thank me later that I forced you to do this yourself." What's that, Prowl? Did you say something? No? Awesome. Reidan Wesley watches all of this, half tempted to make things worse. But instead he just blows smoke rings in the air, then glances into his pouch "... I hope we get home soon. Otherwise I'm going to have to start my own tobacco op." "I wouldn't mind if it were encouraged to move somewhere else without harming it," Amber admits. "It would consider me as prey, and if it were hungry, it might come after me." She shrugs and adds, "Besides, this is probably not a good place for a lair; too much volcanism." "-Exactly- like the crocodynamos in the cyber swamp," Wheeljack snickers before ducking into the Ark to get back to work himself. Rodimus Prime has now stepped away from where he was standing as Torque takes care of her own introductions, glad she's at least moving to settle in given all the confusion for the moment. "About that cube." He says then towards Reidan as he approaches him, and Amber too for that matter, looking down at the man in particular of course. "Do you think you'll be able to describe it in detail as you saw it back then? I may have some...ideas, but I can't say anything for certain just yet. Not without knowing more. I'm hoping our little trip..." He peers over his shoulder to Prowl briefly. "...to the island is going to shed more light on the situation." "I can describe it to you yes, in as great detail as possible." confirms Reidan with a nod of his head, puffing on the smoke again "I think if it DID fall out of the Ark to where we found it, we can easily find a match to see if it was in inventory. Would you like the description verbally or on paper... sir? " he adds on Sir last, as though having just remembered. Windcharger bristles a bit at that, straightening up and looking between Prowl, and Brawn, then back again. "...okay...okay FINE!" He thumps his chest, "I don't need no gun to take care of some stupid furry beast! And I won't even kill it." With a quick transformation, the minibot drops down in his car mode, engine roaring as he takes off along the side-ledges that line the volcano, finding the one that leads to the upper ledge and the cave yet again. Transforming back outside of the open mouth, he peers down at the others and shakes both fists for good measure. "I don't need my gun, I'll take care of this ALL BY MYSELF, you'll see!" And with that, the Minibot promptly turns and marches BACK into the cave! 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. "AUUUUGH!" The GREY and red Minibot's body comes hurtling back out of the cave, missing the entrance to the Ark and plummeting further down the mountainside, disappearing amongst some bushes and crashing out of sight below....except for his legs, both of which stick up out of the bushes and flail about wildly. Reidan Wesley falls silent as the minibot flies over head. He blinks, and then remarks "And to think a dozen savages with stones strapped to sticks can kill one of those things." Brawn hears Amber, and though he doesn't reply directly to her, adds to Windcharger: "Or encourage it to move. Or whatever. The point is, YOU are the one in charge! YOU are the mighty Autobot warrior!" He gives Windcharger a slap on the back as the mech transforms into car mode. Brawn turns, again putting his hands on his hips as he watches Windcharger go. "I'm so proud of him," he beams. "It's just so gratifying watching them grow up and be able to solve their own problems w..." 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Brawn trails off. "...well that didn't work," he says. "Huh, maybe I should leave the inspiration stuff to Prime." Remedy okies, "Is there a reason we're picking a fight with the bear? I mean, if there is, I'd LOVE to know it." As Windcharger is intent on improving his paint job by sliding down the rocky slope of the volcano. Prowl sighs. "Ms. MacKenzie, thanks to Windcharger, the bear probably considers US to be easy prey, by now." The comical display distracts him for a while--but not for too long, and soon he's glancing suspiciously back at Prime and Reidan. Brawn says, "It's so the little 'un," he jerks a thumb at Amber, "Won't be a hungry prey due to the volcano's lair." Torque steps up beside Brawn when Windcharger speeds off back to the cave, the femme watching while tipping the brim of her helmet back with a thumb. "..He's not too smart, is he?" She muses playfully with a smirk, at least until he goes sailing off out of the cave and down the mountain, pitifully landing in some brush. "Ah.. I'll get him. Least I can do while I'm here." Thankfully she's alright after the fall, descending the rocky terrain with a few steps and slides until she reaches Windcharger's side. "Hold on hold on. Stop squirming around, will yah?" She snorts, reaching down and grabbing the minibot by an ankle, lifting him from the bushes with ease to have him look at her, albeit upside down. "You alright?" "The problem is I don't think there -is- a match for it, unless I'm mistaken. We'll have to take another look..." Rodimus trails off as Windcharger goes hurling past yet again, a laugh almost coming forward until it dies on his lips and his expression turns into something more distant as he watches the antics of the minibot, perhaps a bit of sadness to his face for that matter. It passes quickly enough, however, as he focuses back on the here and now, "We'll go over it in greater detail later. I'll get all the important stuff off of you. Appearance, color and all that. And if it had Cybertronian sigils, I'll need to know the exact ones. But like I said, we'll figure that out later." Reidan Wesley nods "Get me a drawing tablet and I can start work on it." he does though, give rather precise dimensions, colors and the number of symbols on each side "will that do for now?" Windcharger is pulled out of the bushes easily enough, spitting out leaves and bits of dirt and rock that got jammed in his mouth, "Ptah! Ptooey! Blagh...!" And then he's hanging upside down, with his arms cross and doing his best to look dignified. While upside-down. "I'm -fine-." He deadpans with that whole air of a cat with wounded pride about him. Brawn stomps on over to Windcharger, looking at him from the upside-down viewpoint. "So how did it go?" he asks cheerfully. Windcharger is STILL upside down, "Oh just -fine-!" he exclaims, hands gesturing grandly...upside-down. "We had a little talk, we sat down, discussed our differences! I told him he had to move, he told me why he didn't want to move. We exchanged ideas, proposed solutions!" Another roar sounds from the cave ledge as the bear has emerged once more, snarling as it glares down at the collected and is clearly VERY angry right now. "Apparently he didn't like my ideas." Reidan Wesley notes "Why don’t you just leave the bloody bear ALONE, and he will leave US alone? " in irritated tones, puffing smoke out his nose. Amber MacKenzie mentally records what little information is being given, but she knows nothing about it herself. Something to check on when... if she gets back. Her eyes roll as she hears the snarls of the bear. This close to the Ark and surrounded by Autobots, she's not as worried, but that doesn't mean she's careless. She glances back along her line of retreat. Prowl should be proud of her! Brawn, still cheerful, "And what happened when you tried to wrestle him?" Torque grins friendily at Windcharger, chuckling softly before spinning the mech around and setting him down on his feet. "You'll probably need new paint after all that scratching along the rocks. Too bad I don't have my supplies." The roar however makes her pause and look up to the large bear, lips pulling into a thin line. "Ah.. yeah, he has a point. Accept defeat and leave it be." She looks pointedly at Windcharger. Reidan Wesley says, "Anyways, I believe most bears prefer omnivorous diets. I think we're quite safe." Prowl glances down at Amber, making sure she's being careful--he supposes she is--then up at the bear. "It doesn't look that strong to me," he remarks. "Anyway, if he comes down here, I'm sure with our combined might we could defeat it, though with many casualties." "I'll see what I can find for you." Rodimus nods. "We're a little short on paper given where we are right now but it shouldn't be too hard to improvise something that'll work." He sighs as he hears the roar from above, giving the bear a sideways glance, before looking back to Prowl a moment later. "Let's just be glad it's a flesh and blood bear and not something more worrying. Like all the Predacons." The last bit he murmurs under his breath, suppressing a shudder. The -last- thing he'd need to see if the likes of Predaking able to run loose in this timeline. Reidan Wesley nods "If we were in the topics I could make papyrus." he notes "Although as I said, an electronic tablet will work. or just a large piece of wall and charcoal worse comes to worse." he puffs again. Windcharger dusts himself off a bit more as he's up-ended correct side up. "Thanks.." he mutters to Torque, then makes a rude gesture up at the bear for good measure as the beast starts to lumber back into its cave yet again. "Yeah go on and get outta here!" And then comes Brawn's question. "Uh...how'd it go? It went..." His face screws up into an odd expression, then he frowns. "...how do ya -think- it went? I got tossed out like a tinkertoy! Oooh he's lucky I didn't use my magnetics or I'd have...well...I guess nothing cause he hasn't got any metal in him. But I would have done something!" Prowl gives Rodimus another frown. "Predacons, huh? So, what, the Decepticons have bear robots, now? Well, Windcharger, that's bad news for you. Though I suppose you COULD use your magnetics on it." With that bit of belittling done, he turns towards Torque, now, looking her up and down. "Hm. Now, I realize that, possessing a female style of body frame, you may lack the requisite strength to lift some of the heavier bits of debris you'll find in the Ark. You ever need any help, I'm sure you can ask someone like Brawn for help." Brawn, no longer cheerful, "And that is why you're gonna start training 16 hours a day until no bear on this planet can stop you!" he bellows. "Get going! Start bench pressing rocks!" He points at the boulders that always conveniently litter the area around Mount St. Hillary. He doesn't hear Prowl mention his name, cuz he doesn't hear anything Prowl ever says. Reidan Wesley says, "Anything else you wish of me Sir? sadly I did not bring my electro-elephant sedatives and the appropriate gun to fire it." Torque just shakes her head and makes her way back up the mountain, leaving Brawn and Windcharger to their own devices. Just as she reaches the Ark she's forced to pause at Prowl's little speech, her antennas jerking upright in attention. It's obvious this isn't the first time she's been put down like this as her head sharply turns in his direction, narrowed optics glaring daggers. "/What/?" She snorts softly, mouth pressing into a firm line. "You sayin' I'm weak cause I'm a /femme/? Oh I really hope for your sake that's not what you're sayin'..." Surely she didn't just hear what she thought she heard... Bloody hell, that's one of the most sexist comments she's heard in today's... well... the 21st century's society. Amber stares at Prowl for a moment in shocked disbelief. The fool. The utter fool. How'd he survive this long? "No I think that'll do for now. Until we know more when we..." Rodimus doesn't get a chance to finish the sentence because, of course, things take a rather dramatic turn towards the dangerous. Stepping immediately away from the humans, he moves right -past- Prowl and mutters in a lower voice, "Could you do me a favor and NOT OPEN YOUR MOUTH at certain times if you're thinking of saying things that are gonna touch the wrong buttons on my Autobots?" Without breaking stride, Rodimus is already beside Torque, placing a firm hand on her shoulder, the much taller Autobot Leader interposing himself as a...presence. "Easy..." he says evenly, his tone careful. "I'm sure Prowl didn't mean it -that- way, right? Afterall, he knows enough not to judge someone's strength by their height, doesn't he?" A pointed glance back to Prowl, then a sideways one to Brawn. Brawn turns away from Windcharger towards the others. He knows Prowl must have said something, but he's unable to hear anything that mech says. Still, it's clear from everyone's reaction that it must have been a slight. Rodimus's last comment makes it clear what Prowl must have said. "You callin' me a femme!?" he growls at Prowl. Prowl holds up his hands. "Look, I apologize, but that's just how it works out, statistically. On average, female body frames have a lower lift-capacity per ton than male body frames. There are exceptions, but the facts are that males are, generally speaking, stronger than females." He blinks at Rodimus, and mutters back, "Well, perhaps if you were better keeping their tempers down, they wouldn't be offended by innocuous comments. You're a Prime, you ought to be able to do that." Brawn gets a puzzled look from him, and just stares at him for a moment. "...what?" "I think his temper flared up at your innocuous comment." Rodimus comments oh so slyly out the side of his mouth. Reidan Wesley snorts at Prowl, but smartly says nothing as he watches the situation. Then he speaks aloud, "Prowl, considering that you come from a planet of Robots in Disguise, is it not illogical then to assume one is weak simply by one's stature or build, statistics or not? It is still an insult to call someone weak, regardless on if it is statistically correct or not." "I'm aware of those factors, and took them into account," Prowl says. "These are the 'exceptions' that I already referred to." Brawn hesitates, fists at the ready. He glances down at Amber. "...that is what he called me, right?" He isn't sure if this is something Prowl needs to be punched for or not. It's possible he called the femmes Brawn, but that would hardly be an insult that would get them upset. Reidan Wesley says, "And yet, the words still passed your vocal unit. I still think you must get that looked at." Amber MacKenzie asides quietly to Brawn, "He was telling Torque that since she's a femme, that usually means she must be weak and thus would need your help for any heavy work." Though she's tempted to *slightly* misstate what she heard, she sighs and manages to control herself. Torque is nearly bristling at this point, fists balled up. Rodimus' hand at her shoulder only helps alleviate her anger slightly. With a jerk she forcefully shrugs off his hand, giving him a sidelong glance and saying softly, "I hate disobeying orders, but I've read how much of an aft he was, so I think he has this coming to him." Almost immediately she seizes Prowl, fingers gripping under the bottom of his chestplate so she can lift him with one hand. "Would yah look at that! Light as a feather!" She grins, lifting him up and down a little with one hand like a dumbbell. "Now let's see if you fall like one. And don't worry, I'm a medic. I'll just patch up your little scratches and dents later." She's not cruel like a Con thankfully, only having fun and knowing he won't get too hurt. With that said though she pulls back her arm and steadies herself before chucking him down the mountain, getting some impressive distance before he eventually start colliding with the ground. Brawn ohs at Amber and hrms. He gets back into his non-punchifying stance, but holds up his fists so he can get a better look at them. "Sorry, boys," he tells them. "Maybe next time." But where Brawn is placated, Torque is clearly not. He laughs deeply as the femme picks Prowl up and chucks him, finding this hilarious. "Kinda tempted to profess my undying love of whatshername," he admits. Prowl puts his hands on his hips. "I heard what you said, Reidan. The facts stand. On average, the female body frame is weaker. The thinner arms and torso are not as conducive towards the goal of lifting heavy obj--" It's at this point that he's hefted into the air. "Ah--okay, then, it seems that you are one of the exceptions," he says, optics going wide. "Even so, considering all the femmes I have met and whose technical specifications I have had time to review, even you fall in line with my estimations for relative body strength, given a small margin of error--wait, scratches and dents? But you haven't--" And up into the air he goes! "AAHHHHH!!!" he screams as he rolls down the mountain, tumbling all the way down to the base in a great cloud of dust. Windcharger watches as Prowl goes by overhead, and he can't help but point, "Yeah, see? NOT SO NICE IS IT!?" Reidan Wesley sighs a little bit, shaking his head sadly as he focuses up on Rodimus "When you have a moment, sir, I do wish to speak to you quietly privately at some point Rodimus Prime knows what's coming at this point. Knows he should -really- put a stop to it, should really interfere. Like he interfered when Impactor slugged Prowl a good one, though that was a much tenser situation in some ways. Not that this wasn't tense enough in its own way. Well, Prowl had it coming didn't he? All the same, Rodimus has both hands up on his forehead as he watches the other Autobot go hurtling down the side of the mountain, and the cloud of dust that rises after that. For a long moment he stands there and says nothing, then finally says, "Torque..." His tone is firm, in that no-nonsense form of voice. "You're going to personally patch up those dents and dings AND you're going to apologize to him for doing that. Later. When things have cooled down." Lowering his hands, Rodimus lets out a long, deep sigh. "It's hard enough dealing with all of this without it getting any worse. We can't get Optimus back soon enough..." After a few moments more he asides to Reidan. "Yeah, alright." Remedy sighs, and makes her way down the hill to stand by Prowl where he lays, "Sir you should be a little more careful with what you say." She offers her hand to the bot to help him up. Amber MacKenzie crosses her arms as poor Prowl gets his just deserts. Though she hopes he'll learn from his mistake, she doesn't think he will. "Maybe Prowl needs reminders like this from time to time," she muses out loud to Brawn. "It may even improve his attitude as well as serving as an indication that he's doing something wrong. Too bad he needs so... emphatic a reminder." Reidan Wesley notes to Remedy "I already told him that, my dear, twice. I think his vocal is glitched." he remarks, puffing on his pipe. Then he tips his hat to Rodimus "Much obliged. Just say the word and I will attend of course, sir." he remarks politely. Brawn continues laughing his ass off at Prowl's plight. He holds onto his belly and struggles to avoid doubling over. Torque chuckles heartily as she watches Prowl careen down the mountain. "Ha! Serves him right." She glances to Rodimus though, smiling lightly, "Of course, Prime. Was gonna do that anyway. And I'll give some highgrade I usually keep stashed away, just to be extra friendly." Triumphantly she laces her fingers and flexes them, the groan of metal mimicking a human cracking their knuckles. "But I suppose that's enough fun for now. Anyone got some hard work I can do? I'm eager to start helpin' you mechs out and get stuff done quicker." Prowl clutches Remedy's hand at the bottom of the mountain, slowly staggering up, and not looking very happy. He's dented all over, his door wings are pointing in the wrong directions, and both prongs on his chevron are horribly bent. "I... just don't understand WHY that would offend her! It's a simple fact!" He considers brigging Torque, but Rodimus would probably override him--curse him--and Ironhide probably couldn't be bothered. It's like herding turbocats here! Rodimus Prime lets out another sigh, before making a gesture with one hand to the others. "...alright, I'm going to go over Teletran's latest scans again. See if anything new has come up. Try not to..." He pauses, then just shakes his head. "...I'll be there if anyone needs me." One last glance is cast back down the mountainside before Rod turns and starts to walk his way back into the Ark, muttering to himself the whole while. "...how Optimus did it all the time, I'll never understand." Reidan Wesley looks up at Rodimus, and then holds his pipe up to him offeringly. Remedy smiles a little, "Prowl, as much as it's possible, keep your mouth shut. You may be educated, but, for Prime's sake, your guesses just... You're infuriating... Just be glad that Torque was restrained in her actions." She sighs, "Frankly, I'd be ticked if you questioned my ability to repair because I'm female, or not Ratchet. So, TRY thinking REAL hard about what you're about to say, before you say something." Prowl opens his mouth, about to say something about how he wouldn't question her technical ability because femmes make adequate medics, but closes it again, nods, and begins to step back up the mountain.
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