re_alignment | video | post Ultimate Showdown

Entry tags:

brave police: j-decker | kagerou

video | post Ultimate Showdown

[Once everything has died down, no pun intended, Kagerou figures he may as well say something. The video feed clicks on to show the bird sitting against a wall in what is more than likely the medbay -- and though he is pretty beaten up, he doesn't appear to actually need to be in the medbay. Nothing is leaking and all his limbs are attached.]

[He stares into the video for a moment or two too long, debating what to actually say.]

... I've made the first arrest of my life. I was... part of a team, today. I felt... as if I had a place.

[He trails off -- this is huge, why don't you look happier, birdbrain?]

But it feels wrong. None of that was anything... [He shakes his head.] ... Maybe a stealth unit isn't made for combat like that.

[His visible optic flicks over to something off-screen.]

Maybe none of us BP units are.

[It ends there. Except...]

[PRIVATE TO: KAY FARADAY]
I'm all right. I kept my promise, this time.

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It takes a lifetime to learn.

Not quite, no.

A lifetime from your perspective... or a human's?

I would say that you were lucky, but. "Not Quite" doesn't mean no, does it?

I'd say it really depends. I've never been to Earth to have much experience with human lifespans.

Fitting in is... difficult. Figuring stuff out is hard. You might find that things that made sense before... don't. But mostly, I've just seen it happen to other people.

I don't think they live as long as you. I've never really asked, though...

[He nods, several times, even though it's audio and she can't exactly see the emphatic agreement.]

It is. Everyone says it's simple... but... I wonder if those who say so have ever tried.

Or things that made sense before -- aren't there at all. And you don't know what to do without them.

It's been over six million years since I was born. I'm... considered older by Cybertronian standards.

Then it's difficult to find your place without those things around. When it seems like they'll be there, it feels like the best thing in the world, but without them you have no idea how to go on or what to make of yourself.

That's... I didn't think anything could live that long.

[He pauses. What she just said... hits home. Precisely. It's how he's felt for a long time. He's stunned someone actually understands it -- without his awkward, halting explanations.]

Yes. Yes, that's it. That's... it exactly.

Surprise. I'm told we mature and learn slower than most organic species. Wouldn't know. I haven't met many. Most of my life was in stasis.

[ She shrugs. Not that he can see. ]

It doesn't have to be this way.

In stasis?

... How can it be another way?

Spark extraction. Mandatory.

[ She's so honest about it. Either way, this is where she starts to struggle. ]

Well... I mean. You're young and scrap, right? People like you. It can change. You can change?

[ It's pretty clear she has no idea what she's talking about now. ]

You can have your sparks removed...?

[You're blowing his mind, here, Arcee.]

[... so it's all right if she falters. He's awestruck enough to overlook it.]

It -- hm. It means something to hear someone like you say so.

Carefully. You can't just rip them out or anything; that'd kill a mech. With the right machines and storage, you can safely remove a spark. I don't really know the specifics. But it's... peaceful.

[ Probably something she doesn't resent. Floating in that half-life let her drift in calmness and happy memories, rather than rage and pain. ]

Why? I'm no one special.

Is it like... sleep?

[He'd experienced that once or twice, during the weird species change. It had been nice then, too.]

You understood. To me that... means very much. It's probably nothing to you, but for me... It's important.

Sleep? Heh! No, you can still have nightmares when you recharge. Spark extraction is... You're at peace. No anger, no pain.

[ This was awkward for her. His reaction to her was so totally not what she was used to she reacts-- almost hostile. ]

I'm just saying things.

It... sounds sort of nice, you're right. Not having either of those things.

...

Should I apologize for... something?

[What did he say wrong.]

It... was. Though I suppose it's not living.

[ To be honest, she's not sure. ]

I-- no. Just forget it.

I... guess that's the price for that sort of peace, right?

[Please say he's right, ladybot sempai.]

All right.

It is. But it's safe, for you and everyone else.

They can't do that here, though, can they?

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