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| - Office of Intel CO This room used to be spartan. Now, however? Now it is a festival of horrors, a look into just the surface of Repugnus's demented mind, and even that much, for many, is too much. The room is often decorated with weird things such as a fifty-foot tall inflatable walrus hanging from the ceiling by a noose, a scale model of a Lovecraftian monster, and sometimes what appear to be trophies of slaughtered Decepticons. It is an unsettling place to be indeed, and yet, worst of all is Repugnus himself, grinning at entrants to his lair as if they just unwittingly doomed themselves. The speedster Blurr has been summoned to Repugnus's creepy, terrifying office to meet with him over something. Probably a mission or an explanation of his new responsibilities, or whatever. And yet, when he arrives, the lights are dimmer than normal. Granted, they're never too bright--probably to add atmosphere--but now it's actually kinda hard to see. Still, Repugnus is sitting mutely at his desk. At least, that's probably him. It's hard to make out his face. Blurr makes his way to Repugnus' office, as the Intel CO had previously requested. The Monsterbot's inquiry did seem a bit strange...is he in trouble? Is this about that diamond business? Does Repugnus think he's acting strange, too? It wasn't in light of some after-action report, and didn't seem like a briefing. Unless he was planning on sending him on some kind of covert operation? Who knew, with Repugnus. When the courier arrives, the dim lighting serves to add to the ambiguity of it all. Despite all this, Blurr doesn't appear disconcerted at all. Yet another odd thing about this entire situation. "Repugnus? Sir...?" he asks as he enters the office, then manages to make out his form in the deficient lighting. "Oh, there you are! You wanted to see me?" The door closes behind Blurr when he steps in. When Blurr speaks to Repugnus, there's no response. He just continues to sit there in the darkness. Is he upset with Blurr? Trying to build up tension? Maybe it's all some wacky joke to his depraved mind? Blurr turns to see the door sliding shut, but still does not appear anxious at all. He calmly turns back around, smirking at the lack of a response. Folding his arms, he chuckles at the figure sitting in the dark. "Alright, alright..." he laughs, expecting the Monsterbot to try to startle him. "I'll try to act as startled as possible--but really, Pug, I've been with Intel for long enough. I'm used to you." The speedster may get a closer look at the figure at the desk--that's not Repugnus at all! It's... a robotic dummy, with a red smiley face painted on a blank head! *click* "Oh, we'll see about that, Blurr..." rasps a voice to the side of Blurr. And then, there's a brilliant green discharge of energy as Repugnus fires his Venom Laser at Blurr's head, point-blank. Well, at least it's set to stun. "Re...pugnus?" Blurr repeats, leaning closer to what had originally appeared to be the Monsterbot. Then he realizes it's actually just a dummy. "Haha, very funny! You had me for about two astros--" Right about then, the courier is struck by a Venom Laser, knocking him into stasis lock. He collapses to the floor, and lies in a motionless heap. Darkness. Then, Blurr awakens, still inside Repugnus's office. Currently, the speedster tied to a chair. His legs are tied to the feet. His hands are tied behind the chair. And even the bindings on Blurr's hands and feet have been tied together. His escaping is kind of unlikely, unless he's got some something in reserve! *clickclick* *clickclick* Repugnus is clicking a flashlight on and off in Blurr's face. "Wakey, wakey, Blurr! I brought you in here because you're the prime suspect in a recent robbery that took place, and which *I* got some heat for! Some diamond was stolen in London. You hear about it? Oh, gosh, what was it called? The Hoaxless Diamond, I think?..." He snaps his fingers as he feigns struggling to recall. Blurr groans as he is suddenly brought back online, his optics slowly focusing. He tries to move, but quickly realizes he's been cuffed to a seat in Repugnus' office. Ugh, so it was about the diamond, wasn't it? He sighs. Well, this is a bit extreme, but...well, this was Repugnus. "Oh come on, Repugnus. You don't really think I stole a diamond, do you? I mean, what would I need some rare Earth gem for? Zolanium steel is much harder." "That's kinda what I told frickin' Sherlock over there in London," Repugnus explains. "And I saw the video, Blurr! There's only one Cybertronian that can go that fast using just his legs, and that would be you! So..." He leans in to Blurr, smiling. "We're gonna do a little QA! And, eh, a security camera or two probably saw you come in here, soooo, don't worry! I won't use any rough stuff. Just the kinda stuff that makes you nauseous and uncomfortable until your mind starts to crack." He transforms into creature mode, and his bulbous optics meet Blurr's. "Let me know when this gets annoying." His optics start flashing a multitude of colors at Blurr. It's absolutely nauseating and hard to look at. "Because when it gets annoying? I'm gonna keep doing it! So, eh, where's this diamond, Blurr?" Of course he wouldn't use any 'rough' stuff, not on one of his own! ...right? Right. Blurr sighs, shaking his head. "Look, Repugnus--I know it's irritating when you have to take heat about stuff people in your division did, but...." he cringes away slightly as the Monsterbot's optics flash psychedelic colors at him, but being tied down doesn't really let him do much about it. "...don't you think it could be the Coalition trying to frame us for something? I mean, as much as I hate to admit it--there are Decepticons who can move as fast as I can." "NAME ONE DECEPTICON THAT FAST," Repugnus snaps at Blurr, his optics still strobing at his latest victim. "Altmodes don't count, by the way! And, yeah, I thought about that, but if the Coalition really wanted to make us look bad they'd still steal some random artifact from whatever planet. Like some ancient emperor's jewel-encrusted staff or... whatever! So don't give me your BS, Blurr, IT HAD TO BE YOU! So man the hell up, so to speak, and fess up to what you did!" He leans forward more to give Blurr an extra helping of stroboscopic 'goodness.' Ugh, those lights are irritating. Blurr's going to have spots in his optic field after this. "Well, let's see. Blueshift, Backfire...Blast Off. Maybe even Drag Strip." The courier counts off. "All pretty hard to hit, almost as hard as I am. And besides, who's to say it isn't someone we don't know about off top of our memory banks? Have you perused the personnel files? Both Autobot and Decepticon?" Bug Creature sighs, stopping the stroboscopic effect, but probably only temporarily. "Blurr. Okay, those guys are pretty fast, I'll give you that, but *can they move so fast that their bodies appear to blurr?* I've SEEN all those guys in action and they can't. And yeah, sure, maybe there's another speedster out there I haven't heard of... but I DO keep myself updated on both sides' rosters. Mostly because I like the look on a newbot's face when I call him out by name, even though we've never met before, buuut..." He transforms into robot mode, wanders to his desk, and rummages through a drawer. "Since the light stuff didn't work on you, guess I gotta upgrade... Hmmm... lessee... Ooh!" He pulls out what looks like a picture of a spiral. "Now, this little number... if you stare at it too long? You start to go crazy. I stared at it for three hours straight, nothing happened! Guess I was already crazy! Heheheh! Anyway, have a look, why don'tcha?" He grabs Blurr's head with his free hand to force him to stare at the picture. It doesn't seem very odd at first. But as Blurr continues to look, he notices that it's actually a fractal pattern. Little mini-spirals sprout off from the main spiral, and sprout even smaller spirals, and on and on, as far as Blurr can see. And as he stares further, the picture seems to... writhe. Wait... did something wriggle on the picture? The creature spins and twists about into Repugnus's robot mode! Blurr vents a sigh, and air passes over his rear boosters. "Look, I'm not saying I can prove it wasn't me, but you can't prove it WAS me, either! Someone could have been using a holo-frame, or manipulated the security footage!" he protests. "I don't know, all I know is I can't think of any reason why I'd want a diamond from Earth." And then the Monsterbot pulls out a picture of a strange spiral, that looks like it's proliferating or something. He stares at it for a few astroseconds, then tries to turn away. "Repugnus, whatever that is, it's not going to help! I didn't steal a diamond, I have no motivation!" Looks like the Intel CO is going to have push harder than that... "Coulda been alla that, maybe it wasn't," Repugnus says, continuing to force Blurr to look at the picture. "I couldn't see any uncanny valley from my point of view! Looked real enough! And as for why you'd want it, well, maybe YOU didn't, but you were working for someone who did! And he's coercing you somehow!" The picture didn't seem so bad at first, but now, the longer Blurr stares at it, the more it seems like something is alive on the picture. Then he starts to see... things, wriggling on the picture like maggots. And they're particularly disgusting because each one of them appears to have a single red eye each. They squirm about the picture, walking onto Repugnus's fingers as he holds the picture up, and a few fall off onto the floor. Moments later Blurr will feel something crawling on his feet! "So what, you think you can't be fooled?" Blurr challenges, his optics narrowing slightly. "You shouldn't underestimate the Decepticons, especially if Zarak was behind it, you know how he is at that." He tries to turn away from the picture, but the Monsterbot is stronger than he is. It would appear that some kind of strange maggot is coming out of the picture. Wait, are those scraplets?! No...no...this is Repungus' office, of course he has creepy illusions... "Won't comment on THAT guy," Repugnus replies, what with that being his alt and all. "And I won't see I'm infallible! Shoot, I'm plenty fallible, it's part of my charm! But as far as being tricked goes? Maybe--but I like to think that I'm a pretty savvy customer, and not as naive or as easily fooled as the rest of you bots." As if cued by Blurr's imagination, the maggots burst open revealing... SCRAPLETS! Yes, tiny little scraplets are now pouring out of the picture, nibbling at Blurr's feet (even though he can't see it!) and even on Repugnus's fingers. He can feel them crawling up onto the rest of his body--oh, Primus they're in his optics! "...." The speedster twists and squirms in his bindings as it would appear to him that scraplets are eating him alive! "N-no! I swear, I didn't--auugh!" Suddenly, something very strange seems to be happening to Blurr. The strange image of the twisted volutes appeared to have disconcerted him before, though not quite as much as Repugnus might have expected. But now, he suddenly cries out, as if he were in pain. As if he were fighting something invisible, and stops struggling against his bonds. The courier stares up at his superior officer, a pleading look in his optics. "Repugnusp-p-p-please..." he says weakly. "Don'tlistentoitdon'tletittrickyouIknowyouyou'rerightyouaren'teasilyfooled...!" Repugnus pulls the picture away at the strange reaction. He seems almost concerned for Blurr, from the look on his face! "Blurr! Talk to me, man! Don't listen to what? Is... is something controlling you?" Blurr looks relieved when Repugnus appears to have heard him and is now asking him questions about what he'd just said. "It...he....theprogram...it'sanextensionofhim..." His optics widen with fear and urgency, the same fearfulness Hardhead described in his report from earlier. "Youhavetostophimplease...pleasetophimmakehimturnito--aghh!" he shudders, wincing again, then looks back up at the Monsterbot, the fear gone again. "Are we done here?" he asks calmly. "Or do you still think I stole a diamond?" No, get him back, Pug! Repugnus listens to Blurr as he goes on, optics wide open. "Blurr, I don't know how! You have to tell me who it is who's doing this to you so I can, eh, convince him to let you go!" With heapings of torture, probably--what Blurr experienced would be quite pleasant by comparison. But then, Blurr changes again, becoming remarkably calm in spite of the terrifying visions Repugnus just showed him. Repugnus realizes his questions won't be answered. "Hm. Welp! Gotta say, Blurr, you're a tough cookie to crack. Guess I gotta end this little interview... oh! By the way, this was all a bad dream." He points his Venom Laser at Blurr's face and fires. ...when consciousness returns to Blurr, he's sitting on a seat in front of Repugnus's desk. Repugnus appears to have just dropped the strange spiral picture face-down onto his desk. "Oh, geeze! Blurr! You okay? Man, I warned you that you'd see some freaky stuff happening if you looked at that picture too long. You were looking at it for a while. I can't even imagine what you saw!" Blurr is shot in the face by a Venom laser and stunned again before he can respond to Repugnus' questions. And when he comes out of stasis lock, he find himself sitting across from the Monsterbot at his desk. He just smiles at him, nodding. "Oh, I'm just fine! Don't worry about me!" he says pleasantly, standing up and casually placing his hands on the desk's surface. "You were right, I should not have stared at it for so long, but it was very intriguing. I understand now why you like to keep it around. It was good seeing you, Repugnus!" And with that, he turns and walks out of the office. However, if Repugnus were to glance back down at his desk, he'd find that the courier had left a small data disc on it, where his hands had been just a few moments earlier... Repugnus doesn't take the data disc right away, of course. "It's no problem, Blurr! Sorry about that--guess we'll just have to reschedule for later!" But the Monsterbot hadn't simply let Blurr recover from the stun--no, he had surreptitiously put a tracker on the speeder while he was unconscious. As long as Blurr's at a planet where the Autobots have the ability to track the signal, they should be able to find him. But Repugnus didn't just make it so it would broadcast a signal continuously. That might just reveal its presence too soon. No, like an emergency flashlight powered by a shaking motion, this tracker is charged up and transmitting only when Blurr moves at super speed. And the faster he goes, the stronger the signal! As Blurr leaves, Repugnus picks up the data disc, frowns at it, then slips it into a datapad. What does he see?... Upon plugging the disc into the datapad, an image comes up on the screen. It looks like an advertisement. The title reads: COME ONE, COME ALL! THE CITY OF NIGHT AWAITS! Below, an image of the Las Vegas of Tau Ceti can be seen, as well as a captioned description: Sogo, City of Night, the city that never sleeps. City of a thousand names and a thousand sins. The most popular tourist destination in the galaxy! Once you arrive, you will be reluctant to leave! So come on down, and soak in the NIGHT! ================================== Autobot =================================== Message: 3/193 Posted Author Blurr Update Sat Aug 31 Repugnus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In a message locked to ranks 5 and up, Repugnus appears on-screen, frowning. "Guys. Blurr is in serious trouble. Eh, I was 'interviewing' Blurr today, and when I showed him a scary picture, he broke down and started muttering stuff like what he did to Hardhead. It was like his personality completely changed. He told me not to let 'it' trick me. That there's a program, and it's an extension of 'him', and I had to stop 'him'. I couldn't get much more out of him before he passed out, and when he came to, his personality changed back. And then he left this data disc behind..." A video plays, briefly replacing Repugnus. OME ONE, COME ALL! THE CITY OF NIGHT AWAITS! Below, an image of the Las Vegas of Tau Ceti can be seen, as well as a captioned description: Sogo, City of Night, the city that never sleeps. City of a thousand names and a thousand sins. The most popular tourist destination in the galaxy! Once you arrive, you will be reluctant to leave! So come on down, and soak in the NIGHT! Repugnus returns to the screen. "Blurr passed out from the scary picture, so I took the opportunity to put a tracker on him which is charged only when he moves at super-speed, and will transmit the most strongly when he's moving at top speed. I've included the frequency of this tracker as an attachment to this message. Anyway... we gotta investigate Sogo. I know, we've got major problems already, so this might have to wait, but as soon as we have the chance we have to look into this. Repugnus, out." BLIP ====================================================================
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