accidental video;

[sciencetank]

[Behold, the shattered remains of Perceptor's lab. It looks better than before, though -- some things are back in order again. One of the tables has been pieced together again. And it's on this table that Perceptor has... crashed, for lack of a better word, with his hand knocking into the comm.]

[Days and nights working on repairs, while making trips back and forth to the medical bay will wear out even the toughest scientist.]

[Clearly visible on his arm, however, is a very different Glyph than last time... this one is now green.]

[His head suddenly jerks up, and he stares for a moment, before blinking, and... well. Realizing he just turned the thing on. He looks haggard.]

Oh. Right. There. Was an announcement I meant to make. According to my records, it would seem that I have been present on this world for--

[He glances down at what appear to be notes.]

--wait, no, I've lost... what day is it? Anyway. Not important. The point is that I've been here far longer than anticipated, and was curious as to how long others have been present on this world.

[Happy Haven-versary to you too, Perceptor. That's what you were trying to say, right?]

Comments

[Video]

[neverputincharge]

Hey Perce--Perceptor, you okay?

[He looks concerned for the state Percy seems to be in. He'll get to the how long he's been here in a minute.]

[Video]

[sciencetank]

Yes, I'm fine. Fine as one can be, in the midst of this wreck.

[Video]

[neverputincharge]

Good.

[He'd tell him to maybe get a good powerdopwn, but he gets the feeling it'll just be shrugged off.]

And...I've been here a year. Don't feel like it's been that long. So much has happened.

[Video]

[sciencetank]

Mm, yes, so it has.

All the more reason to keep an accurate record. See if there's a correlation between who lasts longest and... who isn't so fortunate.

[Video]

[neverputincharge]

Yeah, uh...I guess.

I'd certainly like to know why I'm still here. [He pauses for a moment, looking more numb than anything.]

While almost everybody else from my team back home's been here and disappeared, or... [He's not finishing that one. But Percy should know.]

[Video]

[sciencetank]

Well, with any luck, data should be able to discover the answer for us.

[Video]

[neverputincharge]

Yeah, I hope so. Then maybe somethin' can done about it.

[He pauses, peering closer at the feed for a moment.]

And, uh...wasn't your glyph a different color?

[Audio]

[wheeljackofalltrades]

...

[He keeps quiet on Perceptor's status. Wheeljack knows the scientist enough to guess what the response is: stubbornness. And he's in no position to argue that, especially when he exhibits those same traits.

Albeit in different areas.]

Makes ya lose track, huh. Never had a knack for keepin' up on the dates and times anyway.

[Audio]

[sciencetank]

[It's odd. That stupid voice. It makes him tense and relax at the same time. Not that it's something he wants to dwell on.]

[... so he doesn't. He shoves it aside, "sighing" heavily.]

Events being what they are... it's unsurprising the dates get lost amidst the shuffle, I suppose.

[Audio]

[wheeljackofalltrades]

Pretty much. Time don't mean a scrap if ya aren't missin' anything back home.

[There's a cynical chuckle, thinking about his own world. No time passed during his first moments here, and when he returned--he just picked up where he left off.]

Nice glyph.

[Audio]

[sciencetank]

Do we know that for certain, though? Or is it just a theory intended to comfort us?

[Having never been back himself...]

[He blinks, and waves a hand. Wheeljack, hush it totally looks the same as always. Right?]

Are you trying to flatter me now? Have you done something stupid lately?

[Audio]

[wheeljackofalltrades]

I know. Why do you think I was conked out for all that time?

[His good hand goes across his chest plate, remembering that scar.]

Not under medical watch, no. But I'm almost outta here, if that helps.

[Audio]

[sciencetank]

A system error. Or... what happened to the... to others.

[To Magnus.]

[He scrubs a hand over his face. On the one hand, he's relieved to hear that. On the other...]

Then why are you blathering about the glyph?

video;

[invisiblepinkboat]

I think... Well over a year by now.

[She grimaces and shakes her helm.]

Despite the connections I've made, this was far longer than I thought it might be. Though, on the other hand, given that Unicron's involved, I should probably have expected something like this.

video;

[sciencetank]

That appears to be true of most cases so far.

... You still believe that drivel? Those old myths?

video;

[invisiblepinkboat]

There's not too many of us that are here still that came here in the first wave, but some are.

[She pauses then, and stares, before laughing. It's dry and she's not really laughing at Perceptor, but...]

I'm sorry, but... well. For you they might be myths, but Unicron appeared in my reality in the metal, as did Primus. Some parts of Cybertron still bear the scars from the fight.

It's hard to refute proof like that, and I know the other mech who's here from my reality showed what he saw on the Link.

video;

[sciencetank]

Perhaps there's some sort of time limit in place. As absurd as that sounds.

[He bristles. Visibly.]

I'll believe such a thing when I witness it for myself. For all anyone knows, those you described could have been something else entirely.

[He'd be more open if he wasn't. You know. Feeling suddenly defensive.]

video;

[invisiblepinkboat]

[The laughter dies away to a lop-sided little smile.]

Maybe. If there is, I only hope it's one that takes us home and not drags us to the Badlands to be used against this Cybertron.

I apologise for laughing. [She shakes her helm, smile still lingering.] But no, it wasn't anything else, at least not with Unicron. [The smile just evaporates into a tighter, darker expression, and there's no thought to the hand she brushes against her chestplates, above her spark.]

We just knew. All of us did, no matter where we were when it happened...

video;

[sciencetank]

All signs point to the latter, rather than the former, alas.

[All the more reason to keep researching. To better figure this out.]

[His impressive ":|" expression remains.]

Based on what evidence?

[audio]

[rstlsslegsyndrm]

Occasionally I've found myself losing track of time. I'm... not even sure just how long I've been here myself, but... Enough that I'm getting less and less surprised by all the shenanigans that go on here. [That's a hilarious lie.]

[audio]

[sciencetank]

You could go back over your network posts, and estimate arrival based upon when you made your first.

As to the rest... I sympathize. Tremendously.

[audio]

[rstlsslegsyndrm]

True. Heh, I guess that's a good way to waste time outside work.

[audio]

[sciencetank]

If you've time to spare, I won't deny needing a spare hand around the lab these days.

[audio]

[rstlsslegsyndrm]

... I could... possibly do that.

[It'll keep his mind off. Things.]

[audio]

[sciencetank]

I welcome the company of a similarly-inclined mind.