o29 ★ ENGINES WILL START AGAIN

[electrowhipit]

[ o1 | PHONE ]

That... woman- no, that monster scrapped Sideswipe for parts. He's barely hanging on as it is.

[ There's kind of a quiet anger beneath the surface of Jolt's voice, which is strained as it is. It's... weird for him, to say the least, but he's truly and genuinely mad, and scared as hell. He's not doing a very good job at hiding it. ]

I need help. If anyone knows what she might have done with the pieces, please, I'll do anything. I can keep him alive, but--- but I don't have the tech to repair him. Not completely. Everything here is so--- I need Cybertronian parts, not car parts.

[ There's a pause, as he considers making a separate phone call, but clearly decides not to since he continues speaking ]

Quinn, if you're still out there, I have a particular favor to ask you. I don't... even know if you can do this, but my scans just aren't as comprehensive as Ratchet's would be. Can you... maybe run some kind of diagnostic? The damage is so severe, I don't think I have the full scope of it yet.

I'm going to need all the help I can get on this one. I'm not going to let him die.

I made a promise.


[ o2 | ACTION | AROUND TOWN ]

[ Jolt can be found tromping around town, rifling through dumpsters, tearing apart parked cars for parts. He does so with very little regard for his surroundings- he's not so careless as to step on someone, mind, but he's not really paying attention beyond that.

Call it a case of tunnel vision, if you will, since he doesn't even make an effort to transform back into his vehicle mode. Enjoy your giant robot, Mayfield. ]


[ o3 | ACTION | 5718 CUNNINGHAM LANE ]

[ Jolt didn't dare move Sideswipe from the driveway where he'd first fallen. The silver body lay deathly still amongst a mess of wires and several car batteries, all connected to nearby power lines in a makeshift life-support system. Yes, he's alive. Simply in stasis.

He carefully moves around his patient, trying to repair what his miniscule tools and supplies will allow him to. It's not going well. ]

Comments

[glowing_skye]

...

Something's wrong with Sideswipe?

[Ema less knows Jolt and more knows of him; she's been friends with Sideswipe for quite some time now. Hearing this news... it's distressing, to say the least.

Especially so because she knows before Jolt finishes his plea that there's absolutely nothing she can do to help. If Sideswipe has made nothing else clear to her, he's made sure that she's aware of the fact that everything she knows about technological mechanisms is nothing compared to his very make.]

[electrowhipit]

Yes.

[ He sort of snaps at her, and immediately regrets it. He cycles a long, deep sigh through his intakes. ]

Yes. He's been... taken apart. There are things missing, and I don't... I don't know if they can be replaced.

Are you a friend of his?

[glowing_skye]

[That's about what she feared. Ema doesn't really flinch at the snap--she'd probably do the same, in his place.]

I am. For over a year now.

I... I'm not skilled enough or know enough about you to be of any help. I'm sorry.

[electrowhipit]

It's okay. I don't expect you too.

It's... nice to know he has friends though. [ Since Sideswipe has such a charmingly abrasive personality and all ]

I'm Jolt.

[glowing_skye]

[Lucky for Sideswipe, Ema seems to bond with people by arguing with them. She's not sure how they became friends, either.]

I know. Sideswipe speaks the world of you.

I should have introduced myself sooner. This is a terrible way to meet someone.

[electrowhipit]

... He does? [ The notion still surprises him, even after all this time ]

[ He gives a short laugh, but there's no humor in the sound ] That's Mayfield for you.

Phone

[a_gentle_boy]

Scrapped...?

...Can he go to the post office and switch back for his human body?

Phone

[electrowhipit]

I didn't think of that. [ He's quiet a moment as he ponders this. ]

Though, he can't even stay lucid for more than a minute, and what if his human body is in the same state as his current one? He'd die for sure.

[a_gentle_boy]

Maybe so... But no one can really fix him this way without his parts, right? There are healers who might be able to manage with human bodies, though.

[...Lucas refrains from being too egotistic in mentioning his own name.]

What's wrong with him, exactly?

[electrowhipit]

It'd be easier to tell you what isn't wrong.

He's got enough to keep him alive, barely enough to keep him mobile. Most of his systems are just... gone.

[a_gentle_boy]

...Is there anything else he's got he can trade back for spare pieces, maybe?

[electrowhipit]

I--- [ sigh. The anger drains out of him, and he just sounds tired. ] I don't know, Lucas.

phone;

[bloodsugar]

[this guy was listening -- praying for some GOOD news over the phones, but... this catches his interest in the vast majority of horrible, weak voices.]

...Can you tell me what these parts look like?

[okay so maybe it just so happens that Mrs. Johnson dumped them on Abel's lawn when he asked her to help him locate the former Revival Machine's parts to get the mechanics here to put it back together. she trolled him hard.]

[electrowhipit]

[ That catches him off-guard, and he has to think a moment. ]

Uh, alien, primarily. They're not made out of anything you'd find on Earth, even if there are bits that resemble car parts. Silver armor, sometimes with alien letters engraved into it.

Why?

[bloodsugar]

[...well, that seals it.]

I think I have what you're looking for. Mrs. Johnson dumped various alien parts on my lawn after that phone call the other day-- she wanted me to believe they belonged to the destroyed Revival Machine.

If you need help moving them, I'm afraid they're... a little heavy for me to carry alone, but I do have a car?

[electrowhipit]

You--- oh, All Spark. Where do you live? I'll be right there!

[bloodsugar]

Ah-- um, 1648 Albright--

I'll meet you outside the garage!

action now?!

[electrowhipit]

[ Jolt doesn't even respond. He just heads over there as after as his alternate mode will take him.

He comes to a screeching halt at the end of the driveway, transforming with little ceremony. He looks around wildly for a moment before his optics come to rest on Abel ]

[phone]

[technohippie]

Yeah man, I can check him out. Dunno if I can fix it, but... I'll do my damnedest.

[phone]

[electrowhipit]

Thanks. We're at Sideswipe's place. Uh, 5718 Cunningham Lane. Should be... hard to miss.

[phone>action!]

[technohippie]

I'll be there ASAP, man.

[He means it. He pulls his car around, the back filled with all the tools and equipment he could manage to pack.]

[action!]

[electrowhipit]

[ Sideswipe is still in the driveway, looking unchanged from when Jolt first made the call. Jolt, however, is gathering parts. Parts that are obviously Cybertronian, into little piles that really only seem relevant to him.

He glances up when Quinn arrives, and even manages a little wave. ]

[technohippie]

[Have a little wave back.] Hey, ya found some stuff. Good.

B. LAAAAAATE, I'm so sorry!

[the_end_run]

[Rampaging robot with a familiar color scheme. Shepard steps in front of him to get his attention, and hopefully clear up what's bothering the Cybertronian.]

Jolt. What's wrong?

You're fine! As you can see, I'm lagging behind myself.

[electrowhipit]

[ He actually stares at her for a second, shuttering his optics in the Cybertronian equivalent to a blink. ]

Shepard?

I... uh. I'm trying to find parts for a friend of mine.