DON'T COUNT MISTAKES I LOST TRACK OF THEM

[tilallisoverused]

( He's in trouble. He's Rodimus, the younger of Nova's two candidates for Prime, and he is absolutely in trouble. It's not his fault. He just happened to be somewhere where trouble results, although okay - that part isn't new.

And he knows exactly how he got here in the first place, it's the same as it always is.

Orion frowns at him every time he leaves the Primal Basilica dressed in a cloak - knowing full well that he's going to go to those places that Nova finds unlawful and unruly. Sure, the other Prime in training had attempted to stop him before, to no avail. That makes something twinge in Rodimus because he likes Orion, he really does.

Then again, most people like Orion 'Super Cop, Future Prime' Pax. Because apparently some people like having a career that's pointless once you know you'll carry the Matrix. He guesses that has to do with Orion having spent some of his life from out of Nova's influence - maybe that made you like police work.

Not that Rodimus would know what that's like - Nova snatched him up two days after he was forged, as if he knew exactly where to find him. Must be a 'wisdom of the Matrix' thing. Find your replacements before someone else does and what not. But it boiled down to the fact that he'd never really got to know or experience life outside the basilica walls and for every time Nova told him he shouldn't or couldn't go out - he did.

Which is how he ends up standing over someone he punched into a wall - thanks Galvatron and Cyclonus for teaching him that one - inadvertently starting a bar fight that he is determined to win. Rodimus is pretty sure that as a mysterious cloaked and hooded figure, he definitely looks awesome which negates the trouble.

Mostly. )

Comments

[thesurpriseinside]

[ He's going to tell you as much, Rodimus. ]

Don't be ridiculous. [ There's a brief pause when Minimus looks up at Rodimus and sees the way he's looking at him. That's. Unusual. ] I don't have the rank to warrant his attention. Besides, I can't just drop in on the Chief Medical Officer.

[tilallisoverused]

( The serious look drops and is replaced by a smile. )

You don't know Ratchet. You show up on his door and he can't turn you away.

( Normally Rodimus would just assume that it comes with being part of the Primal lineage and maybe it does in his case, but he's seen Ratchet help any unfortunate soul that crosses his path. He thinks he's utterly incapable of not. )

[thesurpriseinside]

[ Minimus shakes his head, taking a seat at his desk. ]

It's unnecessary. There's a medic who's patched me up before, he'll do just fine.

[ He nods to the chair on the other side of his desk. ]

Have a seat, let's get this over with.

[tilallisoverused]

( Rodimus throws himself into the chair like he belongs there - stretched out and at ease with his arms behind his head. )

Won't be as good. ( He's just saying. ) Isn't this where you give me the 'anything you say can and will be used against you' speech?

[thesurpriseinside]

[ He can't argue that. He'd never been to see the Chief Medic, but he'd certainly heard about him. ]

It will do fine. [ And he has to take a moment to frown disapprovingly at Rodimus' posture. ] I would, if you were a suspect or under arrest. You're neither of those things.

[tilallisoverused]

( His face brightens up further at that, and there's a slight change in posture that makes it seem as if he's at least sitting up a bit more. )

Cool. ( A sweeping gesture with a hand. ) Ask away.

blah blah police work blah sad broken minibot blah

[thesurpriseinside]

[ The questions are all direct and to the point, Minimus dutifully making note of Rodimus' responses.

He keeps his mangled hand out of sight, pressed against the armor of his stomach, but there are a few pauses in the questioning and the taking of Rodimus' statement where he moves to use the hand before remembering it's uselessness and another when he tries to retrieve a small datapad from a compartment in his side only to find it too dented from where Hammerfist had grabbed him.

Finally he sets aside the files and stands. ]

Thank you, that should be enough.

rodders can kiss it better

[tilallisoverused]

Huh?

( He hadn't even realized they were done, but he stands moments after Minimus does. )

So that's it? I can just go? ( And he didn't even get a chance to sit in his cell. But his optics flick down at the hand and then back up to Minimus. ) At least if you don't get it fixed then you'll have a harder time trying to arrest me.

good deal

[thesurpriseinside]

[ Minimus is preoccupying himself with putting the files back in their proper locations, but he does pause to look up at Rodimus, clearly bemused. ]

Yes, of course. You're not being charged with anything. [ The frown returns full force. ] That isn't something you would have to worry about if you stayed out of trouble.

i thought it was yes

[tilallisoverused]

Cool. ( There's a very swishy moment where Rodimus throws his cloak over his shoulders, fastening it around his neck in preparation to get the hell out of there. ) You know me, Ambus. Trouble just comes naturally.

( Have a very charming, winning grin. Overlooking the fact that Minimus doesn't actually know him at all. )

[thesurpriseinside]

[ His frown takes on a distinctly concerned air before it shifts back to it's ultra stern mode. He stands ramrod straight, shoulders back. He doesn't cut a very intimidating figure on most days and the dents and ruined hand aren't really helping, but that earnest, stern determination is still there. ]

Start trying. Or you will be seeing a lot more of me.

[tilallisoverused]

( For a moment Rodimus thinks he could see what Tyrest saw in his tiny lawman - beyond the fact that he's the only one that would dare to arrest him. But it's gone in a flash with what he says, because Rodimus doesn't take people telling him what to do well.

There are a lot of things he could say to that, but he just settles on: ) I've just about had enough of your mustache for a lifetime.

( And getting arrested. Or nearly arrested. )

[thesurpriseinside]

[ That throws him a little. ]

It's the sigil of the house of Ambus. [ He pauses long enough to get his surprised indignation under control. ] And if you're tired of it, I suggest you stay out of the area. I'm not going anywhere.

[tilallisoverused]

Wait, so you all have it?

( Has anyone ever told you that's kind of weird, Minimus? But Rodimus moves towards the door to his office, one hand raised in a goodbye wave. )

Neither am I. ( That sure is a smug smirk on his face, completely erasing any good will he might have won over by being somewhat cooperative. ) Guess I'll be seeing you, Ambus.

[thesurpriseinside]

[ It does a bit, though the concern is back along with the frustration and annoyance. ]

For your sake at least, you'd better hope so.

[ Training with Nova's elite might have given Rodimus' plenty of fighting skills, but Minimus is far from convinced he knows how to put them to good use. ]

[tilallisoverused]

What, so you can throw me in my cell again? Not a chance.

( And with that he leaves - dramatic swish of his cloak and all.


Because it's Rodimus he absolutely doesn't take Minimus' warning to heart - showing up at the new gambling place half a week later for an exceptionally lucky winning streak. Half a million shanix, and he's grinning wide enough to split his face in half, even if no one can see it thanks to his hood, when he pushes away from the table and finds himself running straight into bots that, well. Tower over him.

And it's then that Minimus' words come back to him, and oh, frag. He manages to shoot one of them in the face before they pin his arms behind his back and slam him face first into the ground. Which hurts, but not as much as his pride is stinging.

Or how much he figures whatever they're going to do to him will. Which is why he's still struggling and yelling and telling them that they're really going to regret this when he gets free. )

[thesurpriseinside]

[ Minimus is going to wonder at the timing of it all when everything is said and done, but for now, he just knows that he recognizes the voice of that bot when he bursts through the door of the casino on another raid.

They're close enough that Minimus reaches them quickly, slamming his full force into the one pinning Rodimus down. Gun in hand, he turns to the other, firing off a few well aimed rounds into the bot's arms. ]

On the floor, all of you! You're all under arrest!

[tilallisoverused]

( The bot Minimus shot staggers back, clutching the arm and getting down on one knee out of shock - cursing as he does so. Not that Rodimus particularly cares.

Mostly because he doesn't think he's ever been so happy to hear that voice, or that he'll ever be that pleased to hear it in the future. He feels the weight lifted from his back as soon as the bot holding him goes flying to slam into a wall, and he groans, rolling onto his back in order to get his bearings back. )

Ambus?

( Shoving himself up onto a shoulder to get a better look at the minibot, pushing the hood of his cloak down. )

[thesurpriseinside]

[ Minimus is mostly just glad to see Rodimus is still in one piece, the rest of him is focused on the job at hand, because now they've attracted quite a bit of attention. ]

Get up, Rodimus. [ He offers his free hand, but keeps his head up and gun up, eyes scanning the room for more of the thugs he knows are usually on hand to dispatch trouble makers. Most of the gamblers are scattering, panicking as they should at the familiar sound of Tyrest's lawman, but there are a few surging through the crowd towards them. ]

[tilallisoverused]

( He takes the hand without question, allowing Minimus to help pull him to his feet. That's something he's curious about - the minibot's exceptional amount of strength. He doesn't know anyone that small who can pack the punch that Minimus does, it seems at odds with his small frame. But he doesn't think about that much, instead turns his attention back on the members of the crowd running towards them. )

I'm up, I'm up. ( He flexes his wrists for a second to make sure the joints are unharmed before leveling one of the exhaust pipes at the oncoming group. ) Are you going to arrest me if I start a fight now?

[thesurpriseinside]

Self-defense is permissible.

[ And the fight is unavoidable, so Minimus steps forward, ready for the first one to lunge at them. ]

Just don't shoot anyone who isn't trying to kill us.

blah blah punching things blah blah shooting things

[tilallisoverused]

Funnily enough, I know how to aim.

( He proves so by getting a round or two into the chest of one of the oncoming attackers. Rodimus thinks they do pretty well, at least until he gets an elbow into his side that brings him down onto one knee - but Minimus quickly gets that one too, and once there's no more attempts on their lives he thinks he can call it a day.

Which means turning his back on some of the attackers and looking slightly up at Minimus, which is weird. )

Told you I'd see you again.

( He's playing this cool, he's got this, he absolutely does not see someone behind him raising up a gun and preparing to shoot him in the back. )

cutting things down to what matters.

[thesurpriseinside]

You- [ Minimus almost says something to that, but the movement catches his attention. The movement is automatic, without second thought as he slams himself full force into Rodimus. ]

Get down!

[ Time goes a bit weird for a moment. He can feel the impact and he can hear the sound of metal tearing, vaguely aware that his inner armor has been struck. He has to assume not badly, but then the world rushes back and he can't really assume anything because his legs are giving out on him and he's slumping forward, hot energon running down his side and arm to the dirty floor. ]

[tilallisoverused]

( It takes him a second or two to register what's going on - Minimus is yelling at him and suddenly he's falling back to the floor and that's when he sees it, the shot clipping Minimus nicely in the side. )

Minimus!

( Rodimus immediately pulls himself on his knees to catch the falling minibot before he can hit the ground, panic welling up inside of him. It's bad, he knows it just doesn't look bad. Not when energon is already covering his hand and-- and it's his fault.

The guilt slams into him just as much as the panic does, and he's completely at a loss for what to do - holding onto Minimus as if his life depended on it. Well, it probably does.

It's only until he hears the whir of another shot preparing to go off that he realizes how fragged he is. )

[thesurpriseinside]

[ He doesn't have to hear the gun to know what's coming next. He can't really move and that is a problem, that's- ]

Rodimus. [ His voice is gritty with the wash of shock and building pain. ] Rodimus, you have to get out. You have to get up.