all your hopes and dreams (OPEN)

[redshitlord]

Who: Sideswipe & You
When: Post Shadow Event
Where: Kauto 1
What: Sideswipe hiding from his friends, family, and the world in general.
Warnings: Robot injuries

i) STREETS
[After the events with the shadows, after getting beat senseless by someone he'd thought was Shepard, he's dragged himself out of the broken remains of the antique store, and started hobbling through the streets of Region 1.]

[One arm hangs limp, the shoulder broken, sparking. Bright blue spatters his chest and the area surrounding the joint. The whole back of his armor is pitted with marks like burns, like something ate its way into red metal. He's moving slowly, painfully. Every step dragging.]

[He's also making quiet noises, strangely similar to a stifled sob.]


ii) WAREHOUSE
[Later on, he'll have found somewhere to hide. Somewhere to keep his head down, curled on the floor of an empty warehouse. He hasn't told anyone he's here. He hasn't looked for anyone, or told them he's alive.]

[Instead, he's just going to lie here and hope the Ingress sends him home. Everything's fallen apart. Nothing's gone right since the Moira crashed. Everyone's left or gone crazy. Nothing he's done has made any difference. What is he supposed to do now? And he desperately, desperately wishes the others were here. Even Strongarm. What he wouldn't give to hear her disapproving noise again.]

[... or Riptide.]

[If Riptide were here...]

[He left the door open. He didn't think to close it. Just found a spot behind some crates and curled up there. Not transforming. This isn't fair. This is so unfair...]


iii) wildcard
[Choose your own adventure!]
 

Comments

ii

[deal_me_in]

[Speaking of falling apart...

There's some creaking from the roof above, which likely is never a good sign. While it's quite possible that the warehouse had at one point been sturdy, it probably hadn't been built with the intention of withstanding stray blasts and whatever else had caused collateral damage in the previous weeks. A small shower of dust and crumbling bits of the ceiling rain down in thankfully the opposite corner of the warehouse from Sideswipe.

There are voices, muffled since they're outside, but were there no barrier between, then the conversation would go something like this:]

You sure this is where you picked up that reading?

Yes, but now that we've gotten this close, I don't think it's quite what you were expecting. But you do have to take into account that this certainly isn't anything like Old Russia. If anyone's going to have any hidden weapon caches, it likely won't be here.

Much as I'd love to poke around the Ingress, ever since whoever those idiots were that broke the thing, broke the thing, I'm not chancing security just yet. Besides- this place looks kinda old, don't you think?

The damage is likely recent. It was something of a warzone with those shadows running lose. ...not to mention with the decided choice of retaliation for some.

Hey! I wasn't going all out!

Only because shooting yourself in the face wasn't working as you'd expected it would.

Well- ...yeah! Anyway, big places like this have to have something worthwhile in 'em-

Cayde, did you hear that? I don't think the roof's very stable. Why couldn't you just take it from the ground level?

Because maybe it's locked so I'll save me the trouble of- ...wait, what was th-

[There's a telltale crack and that earlier corner of the ceiling just completely caves in, muffling the curse uttered from the Exo that goes tumbling in after, whereupon he lands in a clattering of crates. Dust rises in a lonely plume within the shaft of light piercing through the hole in the roof, a small shadow appearing above it with a bright blue light. Its little points shift and flare anxiously.]

Cayde!!

....

.......

........oh hey, the door's open.

[toservelife]

[What she wouldn't give for a Tallneck. Without one of the giant machines mapping out the entire area, Aloy has almost no idea what's going on around her. Sure, she has a map - she quickly found that on her TAB - but it doesn't tell her what's happening. None of the important things.

Like what the giant machine in the building to her left might be. Her Focus is what picks it up first, an immense metallic skeletal structure - although when she looks at it properly the little computer can't tell her what it is.

UNKNOWN OBJECT
UNKNOWN CONSTRUCTION

Maybe some kind of alien Tallneck.

She stops just inside the entrance, door open, no one around. The machine has been dumped - or it collapsed - in a corner, hidden behind crates and curled up as if conserving space. Or as if contorted somehow. Her Focus gives her a rough size and weight, and it's mind-boggling.]

You're definitely not a Tallneck... [She mutters it to herself, not expecting anything in the way of an answer, and though her voice is quiet, it echoes in the space.]

cayde oh my god

[redshitlord]

[Sideswipe really, really should have been more aware of someone stomping around over his head. But he's buried so deep in his hurt -- physical and otherwise -- he doesn't even flinch.]

[Except then Cayde pretty much just falls on his head.]

[Then he's scrambling backward, about as much as he can with one working arm and the rest of the damage. He's also yelling. Way too loud.]

[But can you blame him? Given the week he'd had, this could very well be another shadow monster.]

[redshitlord]

[If he were more aware of his surroundings, and not currently having a moment of extreme teenage angst, he might have picked up on footsteps. Or something. He doesn't though. He doesn't even really want to move. Or think. Or be here.]

[Maybe if he sleeps it off.]

[Except then someone's speaking. Someone human, if the voice is any indication. But given the last week of shadows, it's enough to put him immediately on edge. He jerks up into a sitting position, scrambling backward from the source.]

[At least his eyes are blue, right? Not red or yellow.]

N-No one here! Nobody! Please go home!

oh hai were you in here

[deal_me_in]

[Cayde notices the flash of red only after the yelling starts. It takes him a moment to get to his feet for all the bits of broken crates just about everywhere. Swaying on his feet, he still makes a show of dusting himself off like he didn't just come plunging gracelessly through a roof.]

Whoa, hey-! Relax! It's just me, everyone's favorite Exo. Well...not that...everyone knows me, but anyway-

[He looks at the scrambling Autobot, blue optics blinking now that he gets a good glimpse of who it is.]

Sideswipe? Hey, easy! Didn't mean to scare you- I really had no idea anyone else was in here. Actually I was kind of hoping that there were some cast off munitions that no one was paying attention to...

[His Ghost comes through the hole, its blue light playing across the Exo, probably to assess for any damages before swinging up towards Sideswipe.]

What were you doing in here? Are....are you all right? Your arm.

MAYBE

[redshitlord]

[By the time he registers both Cayde's voice and the fact this guy is normal -- no black eyes, no weapons, not trying to hurt him, he's half-buried under another set of crates. These ones made of wood, and thus, only getting him a little dusty instead of actually hurting him.]

[He peeks out from under them very slowly. His own blue optics wide. He totally wasn't crying.]

Cayde...? Um. Dude, you came through the roof.

[Yeah no kidding.]

[The Ghost startles him more than it probably should, but hey, he's had a week.] Um. Y-yeah, it's. It's fine.

Kinda.

[deal_me_in]

....

[Cayde looks back up at the new skylight in the ceiling before looking back at Sideswipe.]

So I did. ...I could've done that a lot better.

[But with the Ghost bringing attention to Sideswipe's apparent injury, the Hunter tilts his head.]

You sure, kid? Should get that looked at. ...although I'm not sure who you'd go to for that sort of thing. Mechanic?

I could possibly take a closer look at it.

[redshitlord]

Yeah, you could've used the door. The big, super open door, man.

[Look, at least he's aware of the fact he'd left it wide open. And shrugging his good shoulder. Cayde asking just brings up another point he'd been dwelling on a minute ago.]

There's not anybody around. Like... everyone's either crazy, missing, or... they left.

Docbot too.

[deal_me_in]

Y-yeah, I see that now.

[He scratches the back of his head, pointedly not looking back at the offending door. At least he allows some time to let those words sink in before he lets his mouth run again. He exchanges a glance with his Ghost.]

Uck, sorry to hear that. I think the crazy part's about done with. Pretty sure, anyway. I'm still not sure what the hell was going on with that, but let me tell you, it's unsettling having to shoot yourself in the face.

Cayde...

-right, right. But it is! Anyway. ...

[Okay, what's he supposed to do about this? He's not even sure who 'everyone' is or who all's missing or left-]

Er, hang on, back up a bit. Left how?

[toservelife]

[As soon as she speaks, it jerks into movement - sits up on what she momentarily assumes are its back legs - and at the movement Aloy reaches up to instinctively grab the bow on her back. It's in her hands already when the machine speaks. It doesn't sound like HADES, not that metallic grinding of a thing. But not like Gaia, either.

It sounds kind of normal.

And the light she can see is indeed blue. That makes her feel immediately better, even if she should know better so far away from home.]

Well, if there's nobody here, there's no harm if I look around...

[She says it as if to herself, like she's musing out loud.

The curiosity is killing her here. She can't quite bring herself to put the bow away, not just yet, but her Focus is stubbornly refusing to give her any more information than that thing is huge.]

ii

[ventifact]

[It's been days since she's heard from Sideswipe, and even though Rey tries to act like she doesn't worry, she certainly does. A lot. And for someone as annoyingly talkative as him to just go radio silent for that long... well, something must be wrong. His TAB is still active, meaning he hasn't left Thisavrou, so there's only one thing she can do: search and be prepared for the next worst thing.

Bag full of tools slung over her shoulder, she starts the search. His usual haunts are empty, so she expands to other areas, places big enough for an Autobot to hide. She reaches out with the Force, trying to sense him, knowing that he has a consciousness and she should be able to. Eventually, whether by chance or the Force, she's led to the right warehouse, all the way in Region 1. She steps inside, cautious, BB-9 beeping softly as she rolls in behind.]

... Sideswipe?

[redshitlord]

... Can... can we not. Talk about shooting people for a while, dude?

[He's actually pulled back a little as Cayde says that. Shoulder hunched. If he could disappear for a minute, he would.]

[There's a noncommittal noise out of him.]

Just. Poof. Gone. I dunno how -- probably would've gone too if I could've.

[redshitlord]

Sure -- sure um. Sure thing. Just. Over there, okay? Okay. Cool.

[He's stammering, and not talking even remotely like himself. But he's also pulling back. As much as he can, considering there's a warehouse wall behind him.]

[Honestly, he looks like he'd rather disappear.]

A-also?

Don't touch the... glowing blue stuff.

It's kinda. Y'know. Toxic to you guys.

[It's also kind of the stuff leaking out of his injury. But that's beside the point, apparently.]

[redshitlord]

[Probably for the first time since they met, he panics at the sound of Rey's voice. Everyone else he'd known, and run into, so far had some kind of death wish for him. Why would she be any different?]

[He actually pulls himself back deeper into the warehouse. But, considering he's a giant robot, it's going to make a noise as he does so. A nasty scraping sound.]

[Not to mention the glowing blue fluid on the floor, and the wealth of glowing blue lights all over his body.]

[deal_me_in]

Oh. Yeah, sure...

[He raises his hands in a placating gesture. Stepping back to give the Autobot his space, Cayde glances around before pulling over one of the undamaged crates to sit on. The Ghost descends a bit, hovering a ways behind him.]

...aw, 'm sorry kid. Hardly a fair thing what they're doing. Not sure I trust all those excuses for not just sending us all back right off or stop using the Ingress altogether, but I can't help but wonder that something else is going on.

[Now's not the time for conspiracy theories. 76's better for those anyway. Cayde lets the subject trail off, trying to figure out a better angle of conversation.]

Guess we're still stuck here though. ...not. Here, here. I could prefer a better place than an empty warehouse.

[redshitlord]

S'not just that.

[Weird Ingress stuff he'd gotten used to by now. Maybe a little too used to. To the point where he just sort of accepted anyone could vanish.]

[It was the people choosing to leave that hurt. One in particular.]

I... man I don't know about anything anybody's doing up there. I'm just trying to get by down here.

[Trying to survive. It felt way, way too familiar, to be honest.]

But I live here now, so... yay.

[deal_me_in]

Well, frankly I don't think anyone really knows what's going on up there. The Savrii's putting an open call for people to help out with fixing the Ingress is about the most I've been aware of what's been happening there.

[Which had been pretty unusual if not concerning.]

...it's hard though. Getting by. That's pretty much what we do back home. The trick is to make the most of it. Otherwise it's really easy to get depressed about the state of everything around you.

[He looks up at Sideswipe.]

Focusing on things that way aren't going to help. You know it. I know it. The real question is, what will you do about it?

[redshitlord]

Yeah, same dude. And I'm not even close to the kinda bot they want up there. Y'know?

[He can pick a lock and work a video game but tech support? Nah.]

Been there. Done that.

I'm used to it, man. Just doin' whatever stuff I got to. No big deal. Right?

[deal_me_in]

Oh yeah. Me neither. I just stood in the back and took up space. Ghost here did all the work.

Thankfully not alone. The Ingress is certainly a piece of work!

[Cayde nods at Sideswipe.]

Only as big as you make it. But it sounds to me like we both could do for some kind of distraction.

[ventifact]

[Hazel eyes hone in on the area where the noise comes from, and she trots towards it. When she catches sight of the blue fluid and lights, the trot turns turns into a full-out run.

But she slows when she sees him, and her brow furrows with worry.]

Hey, it's me.

[redshitlord]

Your little bud fixes stuff? I thought he just looked cool.

[Sincerely thought this. Because yes, the ghost is cool, but Sideswipe is also clueless as to what exactly it does.]

Distraction? Like what, dude?

[redshitlord]

Is it?

[If he were human, his voice probably would have cracked there. Or squeaked. As it is, there's a burst of static instead. And he ducks down again, briefly. Expecting more trouble.]

[But it doesn't come.]

S-sorry. Um... everyone kinda. Flipped out so. C-can I see your eyes, dude?

[deal_me_in]

Hm? Oh yeah. Or...rather he gets things to work. Hacks into computers, scope out busted tech...

Revive you...

Yeah, that too.

[Cayde taps a finger against his chin.]

That. Is a good question. What do people do anymore for entertainment around here? Casino's fun but it kind of makes it less so when you work at the joint. Hm. They got a movie theater around or something like that?

[toservelife]

[Even the stammer is reassuring. Not that Aloy would have needed reassurance to stay anyway, but it convinces her she probably won't be leaving the building at a sprint. Or through a window.

She eases her way slowly around the crates at a wide berth. Not enough to get too close, but enough that she does catch sight of the first splatters of unnaturally bright blue. It doesn't look like something she wants to touch anyway...although she does wonder for a moment if it has any uses. You get used to wondering that kind of thing when you live off the land...and the machines that roam it.]

Toxic? [She's looking around, still not speaking particularly loudly - the echo does the rest for her.] What is it? I've never seen anything like it.

[ventifact]

[Rey takes a deep breath, looking away for a moment. She knows what he's talking about. She'd seen some of the... creatures out there, the ones imitating people who had come through the Ingress. Luckily, she doesn't think there's one that's taken her shape. Or his, hopefully.

After a second, she turns to face him, raising one hand to point to her eyes. Clear and hazel, no trace of cloudy darkness.]

I'm me, I promise.