A Plee for Freedom: Part 2
With a tough phsycial battle won, the Maximals now engage in a most trying mental struggle. It is to the courts where the Maximals must now prove thier story true against all odds.
PART TWO
"Well," Nocticia said, "That's never stopped me before. But for the time being, Penji, let's be friendly. I think, you'll like me better when I'm friendly." With that, she bent down and put her tongue softly into his ear.
Hotel
It had been cycles since the court hearing, but Rubmur was still giddy from his win. He knew he was fired unjustly, and quitting after proving that was a great feeling. The only problem now was that he had no job, and his father seemed very angry for quitting his rank he had earned. Whenever his father ‘punched a hole in a wall’ or ‘tipped over many pieces of furniture,’ he was usually angry. Rubmur looked down at his suitcase when entering the hotel. In it he stored his gun, knuckles, headphones, Chemical Q with wand, and multiple headbands. Rubmur strolled up to the ‘bot at the desk, ready to get to his room and just think about what options he now had.
“May I help you?”
“I believe you can ‘mam, you wouldn’t happen to have a room that I could get, would you?”
“Did you not see the flashing sign out reading ‘Vacancy,’ with no c?”
“Ooo, snippy,” Rubmur chuckled and shook his head, “Of course I did, I just wanted to make sure you knew about it.”
The ‘bot behind the counter slammed a key down on the table with the room number on it. Rubmur thanked her and headed to the elevator. While rising, Rubmur opened his suitcase a small crack and took out his headphones and put them on. He tapped the “Napster insignia” on his chest and “Sweet Emotion” by Aerosmith began to play. Rubmur smiled and exited the elevator. He walked down the hall, nodding his head to the occasional passing-by ‘bot and finally ended up at his room. He unlocked the door and headed in.
"So what are you asking here?" Querion said with a trace of confusion, as Timber stood next to him.
"Go out, have fun, get lost, take a hike, fly a kite, dance all night, I don't care." Rhapsody said wearily.
She walked over to her bed and flopped down on it, obviously exhausted. She rolled over, her face muffled in her pillow, and turned to look at the gathered Maximals.
"I'm way too tired. I'm just going to sleep. Anyway, we did get back to Cybertron after Primus knows how long on Gaiana, so some shore leave is in order, so to speak. You can stay here, or go out and have fun, I don't really care. Just be back in time for the trial, and STAY OUT OF TROUBLE. Night-night."
Querion blinked and was about to pry further, but Rhapsody's head sunk into the pillow and within moments muffled snores emerged from the soft bedsheets.
Buckshot glanced at her sleeping body, rather appreciatively at that, and then turned to Querion and Timber.
"Hey...night out!!! C'mon, man, let's gather the troops and have some fun!"
"You know any good places?" Timber asked.
"...Do I know any good places." Buckshot blinked. "Do I know any good places, she asks. Come on."
Some time later, the trio gathered up Mimi, Weede, Burnout, Rita, and some others, and headed out to the Metal Mug, Buckshot's bar of choice.
Mimi was glad to finally get out. She was tired of the constant crap of the resistance so it was time to party. And of course Mimi's nomral idea of party was getting smashed, dancing and finding an unsaspecting male. Buckshot. Yes that would do nicly. Mimi entered the bar behind the others already having to phsycally remove two lovetruck males. After ordering herself a drink and taking to the dancefloor. After a moment of dancing with a stranger she graced her way over to buckshot. "Hey sexy, how about a dance."
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Solarflare had decided to stay behind. After about 10 cycles of fightining with himself he knocked on Switchblades door. "Umm hey switch, you wanna go do somthing, or somthing like that.." He said swallowing the huge lump in his throat.
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Rhapsody was exuasted, she like everyone else was tired of the constant struggle. The song bird awoke from her sleep after an hour of snoozing and headed down into the lobby for a soda. After insrting a credit and pulling out a drink she flopped down in a comfy chair in the lounge spotting Wraith almost immediatly. "Hey." She said a bit suprised. "Didn't want to go for a night out..?" She said popping opne her soda.
"No, not really." Wraith said shaking his head. "So.... um.. what are you up too?" THe young bot said nervously.
"Nothing really..You wanna hang out or somthing?" She said examining her soda. It was more of a suspcious question then anything."
"Sure! I mean, yeah ok."
Rhapsody shrugged. "Fine go track down some food or somthing and meet me in the lounge upstairs, i am starved." With that the songbird got up and headed upstairs in the elevator.
Cross walked down the hall, making his way to the CR chamber where he placed Nocticia last night. She should be awake by now. A regular check up on her and finding her 100% would ease the worry on the meidc's mind. He was really worried about the bat/rat fuzor.
Will she even talk to me after what I did to her...snack? He thought with a shudder. Drinking mechfluid wasn't one of Cross's likes. As he turned the corner, the medic ran into Phyphen then felt a sharp pain in his left leg as he fell backwards at the unsuspected collision.
Ignoring the pain, Cross slowly got to his feet, balancing him with his hand against the wall. He saw he also knocked the fox down and extended his hand to her.
"Sorry about that." He said to Phyphen who did not have her sword in her hand, but was in the old tiger's leg. "I guess I wasn't watching where I was going."
Vinoc was walking with Buckshot and the others to the bar, as Tundra had requested, he had not been following her. Personaly, he was hoping there would be a bar room brawl. as they tended to get mean, fast, and have a lot of people swearing at each other.
Penji stared blankly, not really knowing how to react. Then, a crash outside distracted Nocticia, giving him an opening to run out the door (well, as close to running as a penguin can get)
Wraith went to see what he could find. When he was finished with his hunt, he had a large bowl of chips, a watermelon (which he'd sliced quickly using his katana), and his own personal stash of beef jerky (old Earth style) which he made himself.
He went up to the lounge and found Rhapsody seated on a couch. Wraith could barely believe his luck, she wanted him to come hang out with her, and they were alone! Wait up idiot... He told himself as he walked over to her. She said she wanted you to lay off remember? If she wants to get romantic, fine, but if she doesn't, leave it.
He sat down next to her and placed the tray of snacks he'd brought between them. "Hungry?"
"Nice." Rhapsody said chuckling about his last moment food stash. The Maximal commander snatched some of the chips and began to snack hitting up the soda machine for another drink as well. "You play?" She said looking over at the pool table.
"Yeah." Wraith said nodding. Rhapsody grabbed a cue and started placing the balls together on the table.
"YOu know if you don't want to testify tomorrow you don't have too, i noticed you were a little uncomftable earlier." She said lifting the rack and waiting for Wraith to break.
Mandrake stood on the roof of the new hotel, his arms crossed languidly over the safety rails as his expressionless eyes took in the cityscape before him. Not far away, a plume of smoke could still be seen rising from the wreckage of their previous accomodations. And, if my memory still serves, good ol' I Feel Your Pain 'Cause I'm twistin' The Knife Predacon HQ is probably swarmin' like a Terran anthill, with Carbon Steel Turds 1, 2, and 3 crappin' energon bricks and spin-doctorin' like there's no tomorrow.
The ankylosaur straightened and cracked his knuckles. And, of course, the Council in their infinite wisdom will swallow all the brown and call it chocolate, the officers will kiss skidplate and cover their eyes and ears, and it will be left to the noncoms to maintain sanity and reserve their judgement.
Mandrake sighed, and turned away from the view. It's times like these I'm glad I finally got out. By Primus, I'm too old to put up with that garbage!
Trance had awoken from the slight slumber he had fell into while he waited to heal himself. As he awoke, he saw everyone, well, most everyone, was leaving. Figuring that they were given some down time, and that he really didn't know these guys much anyways, he simply left the hotel in beast mode. Once outside, he transformed to robot mode and began walking through the streets of Cybertron. Trance passed up a couple bars, and the craving for some alcohol started to get to him. He reached into his pocket of sub-space and pulled out his wallet. Upon opening it, he found that he was running low on credits, and decided he needed some new jobs. He made his way down to the local Police Dept. and walked in, walking over to a comp and sitting down. He accessed the wanted files and began flipping through them. The early ones were jobs for small amounts of credits, but then he came upon one file that interested him.
"50,000 credits, eh?" Trance asked no particular person as he scanned through the profile. "Let's see. Suspect: Maximal named Buckshot." He looked over at the picture of the suspect and and snapped to attention. "Wait a minute. Wasn't he back at th.....yes he was!" Trance yelled as he slammed his fist down on the keyboard, closing the files. He exited the Police Dept. and began his search for Buckshot.
Dusty prowled restlessly around the new hotel, unsure of exactly what to do with herself. So when she saw Buckshot, Mimi and the others leaving the hotel, she decided to tag along. They ended up at a bar somewhere, as Dusty had guessed they would, which suited her just fine.
The dingo femme took a seat at the bar and watched the others, fending off the occasional somewhat drunken dance request as she soaked in the atmosphere and listened to the music.
Wraith hit the cue dead center and sent the balls rolling every which way, landing 3 of them in different pockets. "Stripes." He called his set. "I'll testify. I don't like courts...you know why, but I'll help all I can."
He tossed Rhapsody the chalk. "Your shot."
Rhapsody eyed up the 7 ball and shot sinking it in the corner. "I understand, will all this going on i am not sure i would even want to testify." She shot again making the 5 ball in the side pocket before missing the four. "I've been through a lot of stuff in my life, but i never thought me and my team could have the fate of a planet in our hands." Rhapsody frowned a moment and handed Wraith the Cue.
"I just don't want to loose anyone.." She said taking a sip of her drink.
"I can understand that, I guess. Never really had to worry about it. I've always worked solo."
"Heh such a tough guy." Rhapsody said giving him a sneer of a smile.
"Well, I'm usually the only one who can handle the kind of jobs I get." Idiot, now she thinks you're bragging
"You mean with your special ability.. well thats why i picked you for the job on endport" Rhapsody didn't seem to notice the brag as she was watching him line up a shot. Wraith shot the cue and sunk 2 more balls.
"Yeah, lotsa infiltration, assassination, y'know the drill." He ate a piece of his jerky, tougher than usual. "So, how long've you been on Endport anyway?"
"Oh jeez to long! I am so glad to be back, i can't wait till this is over... I will have free time that i won't know what to do with."
Wraith chuckled. "I can't really say I got the full taste of Endport, but I can imagine. I've been stranded in places you've only seen in your nightmares. If not for my 'ghosting' ability, I doubt I'd be here now."
"Ohh i bet" Rhapsody became a bit attuned to Wraiths ever growing head. "Hey whats thats on your back!"
Wraith suddenly shifted and the pool cue fell from his hand, falling right through him. Realizing there was nothing there, he grinned.
"Very funny. I suppose you think I'm scared of the dark too?"
"Well your not THAT young are you?"
Wraith gazed at Rhapsody for a moment, making her more than a little uncomfortable. "In reality, Rhapsody, I may very well be older than you."
RHapsody glanced at him curiously. "What are you talking about."
He sighed lightly, trying to cover it, but failing miserably. "It's a glitch in my programming. Y'see...I was built to be a weapon, nothing more. The guys in charge of my programming were a bunch of hacks. They were supposed to make me stupid, but they failed and made me...well, like this."
"So you don't know how old you are?"
The subject was obviously painfull, but Wraith continued. "Not really. I keep getting wiser, stronger, and more mature in my head, but I can never act that way. My system only knows adolesence. Lucky guy, aren't I?"
RHapsody laughed uneasily at his attempt the lighten the mode but she was still curious, She almost felt sorry for him, now terrible to not know yourself. "But then why not tell the others...WHy only tell me."
"You? I dunno. I guess....'cause I can? Beats the hell outta me. I never told anyone before. Maybe I got another glitch..."
"
Well thanx i think.." She said eating a piece of watermelon. Wraith shot again and sunk another ball and scratched.
Handing her the cue, Wraith asked, "Why do you think I'm telling you? You seem to know people...read them pretty well. What do you think?"
RHapsody aimed up another shot and dropped the 2 ball. She looked at him and didn't really want to say why, perhaps she had assumed to much. "I.. i don't know, i just assumed..."
"I actually feel pretty good, telling somebody...getting it off my chest. At least now somebody knows about me." Then he stopped and then grinned weakly. "Now I actually wish I hadn't told you. Of all the people I want to talk to...I tell you my defect. Real smooth with words aren't I?" He chuckled again and knocked back a soda.
Rhapsody smiled. "Don't worry, i am glad i can be here for you." RHapsody missed and flopped on the couch next to him. "Everyone needs someone...... to talk... to."
The wolfbot grinned again. "Well, since I'm stupid, I'm gonna come right out and say it. I am interested in you and I know this isn't the best time. But if you do have any free time after the trial and all..." He voice trailed off as he finished off his soda, trying to avoid her eyes. Wraiths attention was quickly snapped back to rhapsody as she touched him on the cheek and turned his face towards hers. She smiled for a moment and looked into his optics and then kissed him.
Wraith was more than a little surprised by this, but soon overcame it. He slid his arms around her slim figure and returned her kiss.
Nocticia watched as the penguin waddled away. Oh well, that meal had gotten away. She looked out the window and saw the other Maximals. Did she really want to hang around in a hotel today? Primus, no! A thought came to her mind, the Metal Mug. Hmmm. She could certainly use a drink or two and the others would barely know she had been there on the first place much less know she was gone. Besides, introductions were always a lot less stressful when she was liquored up. She grabbed her guns, holstered them and went to beast mode. Jumping out the window, Nocticia allowed herself to freefall for four of the five stories of the building. Then, she spread her wings, caught an updraft and soared into the sky.
Phyphen shook her head as she reached for the outstretched hand.
"Sorry... I wasn't looking either." The fox bot reached across and grabbed ahold of her sword. With two hands she pulled it out of his leg. Sheepishly, she decided not to hold it, so she strapped it back in it's hilt.
As she glanced upwards she met with an tiger bot. "I'm really sorry about your leg.... are you ok? Umm... I'm really really sorry." a pained expression crossed her face.
She heard a deep, soft chuckle, "I've had worse."
The Maximal smiled in spite of the situation. "I'm Phyphen. I don't think we've met before?" she extended a hand upwards.
"My name's Cross. Pleased to meet you?" he shook her hand.
"I-I've got a qu-question for you," the child bot stammered," C-Can I stay with you? I was with Querion but he left with the lady wolf."
Nocticia landed lightly on her feet just outside of the bar. No windows broken, no lights out, and no loud bashing noises inside. She would have to make things interesting herself. As she entered, she saw two things that were odd to her in this establishment, the Rage Cage was unoccupied and Silverfox was here. Quickly, Nocticia turned to exit and bumped right into a twelve foot black bear with pythons for arms. "Hi Hardstrike," she said as her voice shook.
"Hello, Miss Nocticia," a deep voice came from his mouth calmly, "Mr. Fox would like to speak with you if'n you don't mind terribly."
She looked about the bar and realized that agents were all over the bar. She would never get away from them, "Actually, big boy, I was sort of hoping that you and I could spend a little time together, if you get my drift."
With that, the bear slithered its python arms around her head and torso and lifted her up. He carried her to Silverfox who was sitting at the bar. Nocticia was dropped into the seat next to him and he placed a drink before her. "We've been a very naughty proto-type haven't we, my dear," he smiled and looked at her with his single yellow eye, "You remember when you did this to us with the help of Tempered Metal? Well, we've tracked you down now. And we would like to ask that you disarm yourself and come to the lab with us."
Nocticia sipped her drink. The bartender caught her eye as he cleaned the glasses. A smile began to spread across her face, "Well, Doc, I have a much better idea. Why don't you go back to the lab and give your friend, here an anal probe."
"Insolent wench! I shall-" his sentence was cut off as the bartender pulled up twin chainguns and fired on Hardstrike and Silverfox.
Nocticia jumped behind the bar and unholstered her nailguns. This certainly was turning out to be one of those days.
Penji stopped in the middle of the hallway, and tried to resolve what just happened. At first, he had just panicked, which he wanted to kick himself for. He hated it when he got too wrapped up in his cute little kid routine. On the other hand, sex with someone who feeds on bots was never a good idea. Being such a someone himself, he knew from firsthand experience.. and two such someones, well that was just a recipe for disaster. Still, after that, and the fight, neither of which got to their proper conclusions, he needed to relax, to have some sort of more adult fun. That bar he'd overheard mention of would do nicely.
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