[Original RPG] End Of Days: Home Sweet Home (Cybertron)

[Philcom]

Hot Rod stared at the ship for a while. Dusk Apples... he couldn't get that phrase out of his head. He knew an Apple was an Earth fruit, but he never heard of a dusk apple. And the girls name Lockpick sounds like some sort of thief or spy. He waited Lockpick to cme out so he ask her all of his burning questions, and see if she's cute...

(OOC: What can I say he's the All American boy...)

[Pun-3X]

Dark Prime watched the faceplate clatter at his feet. Then, he looked back up at Megatron, a look on his face indicating he was waiting for a response.

He gave him one.

"Not only have I retained my courage," Dark Prime started, choosing not to speak of his old self in the third-person, "but I have even less restrictions than before!"

He kicked the faceplate into Megatron, then threw his blade forward.

[Lockpick]

(OOC - HEE!)

The ship comes into Hot Rod's view, and it might be obvious WHY it was called Dusk Apples...

A deep scarlet red, the colour of a ripe apple, the sleek ship seemed to gleam gold where the light struck it, as though kissed by late-afternoon evening sun rays of gold.

It lands on retractable landing gear, the size of a small shuttle but the abilities of an interstellar ship. There's a hiss and clicking sounds before a ramp descends from one side.

Inside, Lockpick hesitate... she brushed a hand over her burnished red-gold armour and takes a breath... rubbing a finger against the worn, nearly invisible Autobrand on her chestplate. working herself up, the girl steps into view on the ramp...

While not much taller than Kup, and sharing a smiliar body-style of a hovercar like Blurr, Lockpick's body is not quite as delicate as say, Elita or Arcee. Nor is her body as well upkept. Worn, red armour shows countless overlapping scars. A pair of small 'wings' extend from her back behind either forearm, and she moves with a dancer's grace, joints curiously designed to leave unusually large gaps between the armour plates.

Her faceplate is high-cheeked and might once have been pretty, if not for the scars and a crushed jaw, slight malhealed. A very noticeable heat-scar runs from over her left optic, down across the bridge of her nose and over her left cheek, diagonally slicing her faceplate in half. Blue optics, diamond shaped and always shifty, lock onto Hot Rod's form. The jaw tightens and she mvoes down the ramp, lifting her hands up slightly to show her lack of weapons.

"Greetings, I am Autobot Lockpick. And I have returned."

[Pun-3X]

(OOC: A note to everyone actually, but to make reading easier, put everything in past-tense. "she walked, he fired." When people try and put things in present tense, they revert to P-T a lot and it gets jumbled. Plus past-tense has been unnoficially established in this RPG simply from the posters posting that way by habit.)

[Starscreamsghost]

Inside Iacon, Ironhide and Mirage set the unconscious Tracks down onto a med table. Ironhide turned to his sidekick and said, "We gotta fahnd someone to fix up Trahcks. Come ohn."

Ironhide led Mirage from the room, and as soon as they turned the first corner, they ran into none other than their colleagues Jazz and Sunstreaker. Ironhide and Mirage could not believe it. In their reality, both Jazz and Sunstreaker were DEAD, fallen at the hands of the Renegades. And, judging from the shocked looks of Sunstreaker and Jazz, this reality had probably brought some similar awful fate to Ironhide and Mirage...

[Quick Switch]

Dirge followed Ramjet down the corridor.

"All right, what now?"

*****

Quick Switch flew along with Top Spin, heading for Debris.

"Funny thing, now that you ask. Originally, I was with Wheeljack and Hound on a recon mission, when Prime called the retreat Earth. Anyhow, a big space station came out of nowhere, I boarded it, and here I am."

The Hexa Changer pondered.

"I'd never seen it before. It's called...Grand Maximus, I think. Ever heard of it?"

[Reflector]

"Grand Maximus?" Topspin responded. "Naw, doesn't sound familiar. I know Fortress Maximus, but not Grand."

He paused, keeping scanners on the terrain ahead. "This is it."

Topspin transformed, making sure that he would catch Twin Twist's pieces as he did. A few gentle steps were taken forward, making certain he was within inches of the secret entrance to Debris. He opened his mouth to say the password...

"Topspin!"

Topspin looked around frantically. "That wasn't me..."

He felt a tap on his left shoulder. Instinctively, Topspin grabbed Twin Twist's left leg by the ankle and began to swing it at the newcomer, but was stopped mid-motion. He stared into Whirl's eye. His right claw gripped the leg, and a metal plate patched up the holes in his chest and back.

"Whirl! You look great!"

Whirl nodded, then looked into Topspin's arms. "Can't say the same about Double T..."

He looked over Topspin's shoulder, at Quick Switch's load. "Or Double S. What's he doin' here?"

Topspin glanced over at Quick Switch, then back to Whirl. "He was the only way I could get Twin Twist and Sandstorm back here before they leaked to death. I didn't like it much either, but..."

Whirl shook his head. "No worries."

He took a few steps toward Quick Switch, allowing Topspin to enter the base. Whirl put his arm on Quick Switch's shoulder.

"Maybe we can make a Wrecker outta him by the time he leaves. Quick Switch... Welcome to Debris!"

(OOC: Note to Quick Switch and everyone. The Wreckers are NPCs, so feel free to use them if you have any need to.)

[This message has been edited by Reflector (edited 12-01-2001).]

[Skycat]

Slipstream suddenly noticed the gaping hole in Roadkill's chestplate and raised a browridge curiously. "Body piercing now, 'killer? Shame."

Roadkill shrugged, hiding a wince at the discomfort the movement caused. "Forgot t'dodge."

Just then, Sidewinder came up behind Roadkill in his car mode, screeching to a stop nearby.

"Ah, Sidewinder. Y'know if anyone's gone t'find Napalm?" Slipstream asked as Sidewinder switched to bot mode.

"Yeah, Electro's gone to check on where he crashed. Hopefully he's still in one piece." The three started into Iacon City, absently avoiding the debris and small craters caused by the fighting.

[Philcom]

Hot Rod was still busy thinking about the logic of the Dusk Apples when Lockpick exited her ship. He then spent a moment staring at her battered form. His eyes widened as he realized how much that girl must have been though, after the short delay Hot Rod let something come out of his mouth, "What, what happened to you..."

[Lockpick]

The red femme - the same colour as the ship she piloted - stared back at Hot Rod with the most happiest smile imaginable on her torn faceplate

"I never thought I would see another Cybertronian again, you know that?"
one hand lifts up to brush his own Autobrand gently and her hands move to plae on his shoulders to squeeze, as though to make sure Hot Rod wasn't some illusion of her mind, then she pulls her hands back as though burned, clencing them into fists. Taking a breath, his question finally reaches her.

"It... its a long, very ugly story." she says, then takes a breath "I was around before the war started... smalltime petty theif, pitpocketer, stuff like that. Got caught for some, didn't for others. I joined the bots when the war started out... then, a while later I took off with an entire shuttleload of energon from one of their outposts, intending to deliver it to Iacon."

Her face flinches at the memory, and she looks down again "I... I went missing for a while then... saw some stuff that would horrify even the decepticons... " she straightens and turns back to Hot Rod "But I'm back now, and ready to rejoin our ranks."

[This message has been edited by Lockpick (edited 12-03-2001).]

[God Jinrai]

OOC: Sorry for lack of posts lately... personal demon to deal with ..

BIC:

Prime recieved Noktaraus' transmission...

"Roger that, Noktaraus. Prime Out."

Optimus opened a com link... " Alright folks. We've located fortress... but the problem now becomes... how we get him back here for repairs. Grand Maximus, if you're reading this, I think you may have some sort of ideas... considering you command a maximus battleship yourself... when you have a moment, report to iacon command. Optimus out."

Prime turned to jinrai who stood behind him in the command center...

"Well. Now that we've located fortress, we can get him repaired and brought back to full strength... thenw e won't have QUITE so much to be afraid of..if anything at all... when it comes to metrotitan or trypticon..."

Jinrai's optics dimmed slightly

"Optimus... From where I come from... my timeline... there...exists a demon of sorts... that only grand maximus was able to deal with... I'm sure that demon exists in this dimension as well... perhaps not as he does in mine...but... nonetheless..."

Prime stood in silence... who..could he possibly be refering to?

[Reflector]

"Roger that, Optimus," Grand responded. "I'll be right there."

He fired a few more quick spurts from his welding laser, finishing the panel he worked on. With that out of the way, he set his tool down, deactivated the light shielding on his eyeplate, and began walking for central command.

"Keep it up while I'm gone," Grand ordered the drones. "I'll be back soon."

[Bombshell]

Ramjet loked at Dirge.

"We need to find someone who can help us", he said. He pointed at a hatch that led to the surface of the planet.

"Got any ideas", he asked his fellow seeker.
****************
The Insecticons raced through the darkness of the corridors underneath Cybertron, not particulary caring where they ended up.

"Look", said Kickback.

He pointed to an point of light down the corridor. The three Insecticons rushed through it.

"Where...where are we", asked Bombshell.

"I...I don't know" said Kickback.

(OOC: Don't really care where they end up, but could some Decepticon group notice them?)
***********
The Spychangers had left the underground tunnels behind, now heading towards Iacon.

"Is there any Autobots out here", Hot Shot asked into his commlink.
**********
Cybertron orbit...

A small scout craft hovered in orbit. It pilot, Apeface, waited for something. Suddenly, he saw them on his scanners.

"There they are", he said to himself, steering towards the three blips on his scanner.

[This message has been edited by Bombshell (edited 12-02-2001).]

[OptmusPrime2005]

"Well, I see that i doubted!"

Megatron picked up his blade and caught Prime's in Mid-Air.

"No!"

He threw it back.

"I mis-judged you. But as you retain your courage, i say one thing, after watching you and HateMunger fight. I noticed one weakness."

Megatron fired a burst of energon from his mouted shoulder cannon. It was aimed for Dark Prime's side, where he was injured.

Megatron looked down at the faceplate and crushed it with his foot.

"Fall, you piece of scrap. You aren't even worth the metal you are made of. You above all else are a fool. You doubted me! ME! Above all else above my insanity, I remember what i did to Autobots not unlike you."

Megatron touched a button behind him. A screen showed on the viewscreen.

It showed an autobot, being stretched. It's power core hanging half out, it's spark also hanging half out. The body crumbling to pieces. And beside the Autobot, was Megatron. The green tank transformers watched in his robot mode. Laughing, enjoying the sick and twisted way, he took pleasure in killing an Autobot.

Megatron pressed anothe button which enlarged the Autobot's face. Showing the agony on the face. The pain and suffering that went with it.

Megatron turned to Dark Prime. He shot another blast at him.

"Remember me. Remember, how i prey on you. The strong. The gulliable, yet weak. I am Megatron, like others before me."

[Starscreamsghost]

Ironhide was too shocked for words. As he and Mirage stared at Jazz and Sunstreaker, and the bewildered sports cars stared right back, Ironhide began taking steps backward in fear.

Mirage followed, saying, "It....it can't be! They must be Decepticon imposters! Run!"

Ironhide and Mirage hightailed it, transforming to van and race car modes (respectively) and darting through the narrow halls of Iacon. They darted back into the medical area where Tracks laid, still unconscious.

Ironhide said, "Load him in. We gotta get 'im outta here!" Mirage transformed and picked up Tracks, loading him into Ironhide's cargo area.

Mirage transformed, and Ironhide said, "Autobots, roll out!" The two left the medical bay and headed for the Iacon elevator, right near the entrance.

[Pun-3X]

Dark Prime reeled back from the impact to his side. If his armor there were still whole, it would have absorbed the hit. Granted, there wouldn't have been much armor or chasis left. As it were, too much of the blast seeped into his inner-workings. Sparking badly, he stepped backwards, again as he couldn't regain his balance. The third step nearly kept him up, but his back slammed into the bulkhead behind him before it could be allowed to.

He gripped his sword tightly in his grasp, thrown back to him by Megatron. He looked up as Megatron played the image on the large monitor. Then the Decepticon turned towards Prime again, aiming his cannon at him.

"Remember me. Remember, how i prey on you. The strong. The gullible, yet weak. I am Megatron, like others before me..."

Megatron fired, the blast aiming for Prime's cranium.

It never made it.

Prime brought his sword up, taking the blast at the part of the energy blade just above the hilt. A flash of light as the shot was sent back into Megatron's stomach, just below the front-tank portion that made up his chest. A small explosion was followed by smoke.

Ignoring the pain in his side, Dark Prime lunged for Megatron with his sword, the other firing in his direction. Each shot was deflected away, smashing with explosive power into parts of the bridge. Each deflection pushed at Prime, testing his energy. He deflected on last shot, a near point-blank blast that deflected past Megatron's head and into the large monitor behind him. Then Prime ducked slightly, turned backwards, then came fully around in an upward arch. With enough force, he cleaved the shoulder cannon at midpoint, then pinned Megatron's blade down with his own. The sword pressed into Megatron's, forcing the Decepticon's hand and cuff against a nearby guard rail.

When Prime was sure he could complete the move without further injury to himself, he did so--slicing his blade for Megatron's right arm, meant to cleave through and cut into the leader's side...

[Skycat]

Roadkill, Sidewinder and Slipstream waited for the elevator near Iacon's entrance, hoping to find the city's med bays so they could get patched up. After a short wait, the elevator doors opened and Mirage drove out, nearly running into Roadkill. He was closely followed by Ironhide, with Track's unconscious form in tow.

"Whoa!" Roadkill jumped out of the way as Ironhide and Mirage skidded to a stop nearby, causing Slipstream and Sidewinder to sidestep out of the way as well. "Gear down guys! Last time I checked, Iacon wasn't a raceway... where y'off to in such a rush anyway?"

[This message has been edited by Skycat (edited 12-03-2001).]

[Quick Switch]

Quick Switch cradled Sandstorm gently as he followed Top Spin to the outskirts of Debris.

The welcome between Whirl and Top Spin was heartening.

As he was clasped on the shoulder by Whirl, Quick Switch smiled.

"Thanks," he replied in greeting. "Glad to be here."

****

In the bowels of Cybertron, Dirge and Ramjet conversed.

The blue Seeker shook his head.

"Ramjet, I just intercepted a retreat signal from Command. Frag it, our forces are retreating!"

Dirge turned and pounded his fist into a nearby wall.

He turned, and looked at the white jet.

"You can try sending out a coded signal, but do you really think Command is going to dispatch more troops now that the Autobots have somehow managed to win?"

[Bombshell]

Ramjet looked at Dirge.

"We've got to do something", he said to the blue seeker. "I mean, I don't want to be wandering these tunnels for the rest of my existence."

Opening his comlink, Ramjet said,"Hey, is there any Decepticons still alive up there?"
**************
As the Insecticons looked around the strange place, they saw a ship in the sky.

"Oh, no", said Kickback. "It's the Autobots!"

"Calm down", said Bombshell. "If that's who I think it is..."

The ship streaked down to their position, and a hatch opened up. Apeface appeared in the doorway.

"Someone call for assistance?", he asked.

The three Insecticons transformed and boarded the ship.

"Let's get out of here, out of here", said Shrapnel in a fuss.

Apeface sat at the controls, pushed the throttle foward, and headed off.
**************
Emerging from the underground tunnels, The Spychangers headed towards Iacon, still broadcating their signal towards any Autobots who might hear them.
***************
Meanwhile, at Iacon, Doubledealer waited to be allowed inside the Autobot capital city.

[Quick Switch]

Dirge nodded at Ramjet.

"Yes, you're right."

He watched as the white Seeker punched in on his comm link and sent the signal.

"You know, we can always blast our way out. And, of course, we can follow the engergy signatures of the Insecticons and see where they went."