re_alignment | [Police Headquarters][Open][SLIGHTLY back-dated]

Entry tags:

brave police: j-decker | mccrane

[Police Headquarters][Open][SLIGHTLY back-dated]

This is...a general...alert.

[The video shows McCrane, who is trying to look very composed despite his voice sounding haggard and his green optics glowing very dim.]

The prisoner...

Ratchet.

He escaped...from his cell a few...minutes ago.

[Those who know the police headquarters well miiight recognise that McCrane appears to be resting on one of the bunks in the prison, leaning heavily against the wall.]

I am sorry.

[Locked to fellow Police members.]

Prowl. Blurr. I...I am malfunctioning.

[McCrane does not understand the idea of being sick. He was not programmed to be sick.]

I need...one of you...to take over operations here. The rest of you...please begin tracking down the prisoner.

[That is the extent of his tactical expertise right now. He's trying. He's really, really trying.]

~~~~~

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A virus? How?

[Air stops moving. Footsteps sound. Quickly.]

I'll be fine. Stealth systems include firewalls.

[Okay, he's not entirely SURE if that's true, but. He's worried enough to risk it. They can't lose anyone else.]

Knockout says that they can be passed without direct contact. He must have had one on hand...

[McCrane is not locked in the cell, but he is using the small bed to rest on. He doesn't look bad, but his engine sounds weak and when he turns to face you, it is slower than it should be.]

Kagerou...

I am sorry.

That makes no sense.

[Viruses have to be downloaded, don't they? Uploaded? Or otherwise entered into the system... they can't just spread without some kind of contact.]

[Well, he might not look bad, but the ninja doesn't exactly like what he sees, either. He hesitates in the doorway.]

... You haven't done anything.

[And then he steps forward, his expression a mask. He reaches for one of the other's hands, to haul him up.]

You also can't stay here.

I will talk to him more and find out why...

[He shakes his head when Kagerou tries to say he hasn't done anything.]

No. No, I should have known I was not feeling well. I should not have tried to open the cell to give him his energon cube. It was a mistake.

[It was a mistake he would not have made if he were well. As Kagerou approaches, he tries to scoot away.]

You are sure you will not be infected?

After we get you somewhere safer.

[His expression doesn't change. He doesn't pull his hand away, either. And unless he's actively swatted or shoved away, he's going to move to try and hoist up the other BP.]

And you aren't allowed to make mistakes? While you're... run down? Tired? That's foolish.

[He shakes his head a little. No, he's not sure, but... he owes this bot a great deal.]

I wouldn't be able to hack into things if I didn't have security failsafes. Let me help.

[McCrane does not have the strength to protest further. He'd be easy enough to hoist up, and after Kagerou's brief re-assurance he even tries to help by standing.]

As commander...no. I should not have made this mistake. I should have had someone else feed Ratchet.

I...

Maybe it is because I am ill, Kagerou, but I feel like this job has been harder and harder.

[He'll put an arm over your shoulder, so you can help move him.]

I just don't want you hurt.

You shouldn't have to do this alone, either. That, I won't allow you to blame yourself for.

[Maybe it's foolish. Stubborn. But McCrane accepted him. Helped him. He would be heartless not to give the same in return -- something he desperately wants not to be.]

[Moving him isn't easy. But being taller helps. He starts moving them toward the exit.]

I don't disagree. It... this place is getting harder too. Isn't it? More reason to stop doing this alone.

[Funny how he's the one to promote teamwork now. Isn't it?]

I'm fine. Stop worrying.

I don't like...making mistakes. We weren't engineered to fail. [And he's the sort to count failures before successes...even small ones.]

You are right. It was better when we were a team. Having a single case to solve seems so much simpler...

[But Kagerou hadn't been with them at that point. Shadowmaru had. However, McCrane's time working with Kagerou has been longer than his time working with Shadowmaru, now. That makes it easier to lean on him now.]

Maybe it would be better if Deckard were in charge. Once he understands this place better. Or Blurr. Or Prowl.

[Did you jsut ask McCrane to stop worrying? Because he's going to stare.]

... We were engineered to be like human beings. Weren't we? Don't human beings make mistakes?

[It's... strange. To be the one telling McCrane these things. But these words just... bubble up. He has things to say. A point to make. He's never been quiet when he has a point to make.]

There are no single cases in this place. Are there? But you aren't alone. Power Joe, Deckerd. Myself. We're here.

[He keeps walking him forward. Step by step. He'd carry him if he has to -- if his shoulders and wings wouldn't get in the way.]

Isn't Deckerd your leader to begin with? You make it sound like a bad thing to be following him again.

[He just glances sidelong at him, at the stare. What's that look for?]

Maybe. Maybe they do.
But it is not easy to accept that for me. We should be able to protect people...

[But they couldn't. Not every time. Learning that was a lesson on its own.]

If you weren't here, Kagerou... [He trails off.] If Power Joe, and Drill Boy, and Deckard weren't here... [He might be holding on SLIGHTLY tighter, now.]
...then managing would be much more difficult.

Maybe that is why it is hard to concede to Deckard, now. [Deckard is their leader, but McCrane has been working at this for so long. Letting go feels like failure.] We've done so much without him.

I would think that anything making us more human would be acceptable. That it would make things more difficult for others to doubt us.

... [But.] I understand. Wanting to protect someone. Something. Having your efforts... fail.

[It wasn't easy. Maybe it's never going to be easy. Why can't they just go home...?]

Calm down. I'm not going anywhere. I promised.

[He promised Kay. He promised himself. He promised Shadowmaru he would live. He'll hold onto those promises more tightly than the other BP is clinging onto his frame.]

[His grip shifts, more supportive, an arm slung around the other's waist.]

But now, he's here. Now you don't have to do this alone.

On Earth, I think it would. Here, we can't be human...and we can't be Cybertronian. We can only be Brave Police.

[He used to sound so sure when he said it, but now he is not. There were advantages to being a neutral party, but there were disadvantages as well.]

[His grip loosens, but he still leans heavily on Kagerou...focusing on moving forward and willing himself to not be sick.]

Gunmax promised that, too.

[He shakes his head, but he doesn't stop holding onto Kagerou...trusting that he will stay despite anyone who has left.]

He did not know, when he arrived. He did not know what this place was like. How harsh...

But now, maybe he does. Deckard. Blurr. Prowl. Any of them could lead, and I would follow. Would you follow, Kagerou?

... Did you know I wanted to be Brave Police? When I came here. You all had something precious. Something I wanted desperately.

Don't make it sound as if it were a bad thing, to be part of that group.

[In contrast, his own grip tightens. He pauses, though, when he feels McCrane lean more into him. Can he carry him? Just lift him off the ground? It would make things easier.]

[He repositions himself instead, holding the other frame firmly against his own. He'll drag him to the clinic if he has to.]

I keep my promises. To Kay. To Shadowmaru. Promises to you are no different.

[He's not going to comment on Gunmax. Or his leaving. If it's still raw for him, it must be worse for the others.]

Not Prowl. You know that. [It comes out a little more harshly than he meant it to, and his next words are forcibly softened.] ... Shadowmaru follows Deckerd. Doesn't he? Listens to him?

[That's his answer, in a roundabout way.]

[McCrane pauses...not having considered that. He'd always been part of the Brave Police, and had not wanted for anything that had not been provided.]

I am sorry, Kagerou. I have never been anything but glad that you have joined with us.

We are family.

[Sora had reminded him, and now Kagerou was, too.]

Then I will make a promise, Kagerou. If you go...I will go after you. I will not let the badlands keep taking those I care about.

[Not anymore. He'd already lost Gunmax, and the first Deckard.]

Prowl is a very experienced commander. [McCrane realizes what Kagerou is saying, however, and understands.] However, he is not family. I will talk with Deckard first.

Maybe we will all work better, with things the way they were.

[He smiles, just a little, still leaning on Kagerou...up until he realizes how heavily he's leaning.]

Would it be better if I drove?

If you -- we -- are a family, then you can't say it's anything to be ashamed of. I wouldn't be ashamed of being Kay's family, after all.

[It's a simple matter to him. Then again, a lot of this is.]

Neither will I. I looked for the others... I couldn't... find them. And I'm tired of knowing we're losing what we care for. [His head bows.] I accept your promise, then.

[Prowl's name earns a little scowl.] No, he's not you. He's not any of you. And he doesn't care for us as we would. If Deckerd won't accept it... I would prefer Blurr to Prowl.

[At least Blurr tries to understand him.]

[The ninja doesn't really bat an optic at the leaning, though. He shakes his head.]

If you can't walk, you can't drive. [A beat.] I can try to carry you, if you wish.

I could not be ashamed of any of you.

[Okay, maybe a bit of Power Joe or Gunmax or Drill Boy on a soccer-binge, but...in his robot heart he will still love you all.]

It is our promise, then. We share it. [He offers a hand, to seal the pact.]

If it is easier on you, you can try to carry me, or try to tow me in my other mode.

Either way...I will remember your preference for Deckard over Prowl.

[It would not be hard.]

Good.

[Yeah PJ and Gunmax... they're a thing. But he owes a lot to them both.]

[His optic flicks to the offered hand, and, for a moment, he shifts his hold, taking it firmly. And his grip lingers.]

I believe you. Be still.

[The grip lingers only so long as it takes to shift the other BP into a better position to support his weight. He can't quite put him in a fireman's carry, given his shoulders. But he can brace McCrane against them.]

Don't squirm, or I'll drop you. Put your arms around me.

[McCrane listens to Kagerou's instructions carefully, aware that a relatively light aerial ninja-bot was going to have trouble enough carrying a construction-grade diesel like himself. He squeezes Kagerou's hand one last time, and then obeys, putting his arms caarefully around the other.]

Are you going to be alright?

[There's a squeeze of his hand... and he's left wondering, just for a moment, at it.]

[Only a moment, though. That's all the time he has before he has to brace himself to keep McCrane from slipping right out of his grasp. It's not like carrying Shadowmaru, in any of his forms, save the tank. He wobbles, dangerously.]

[But he's determined.]

Fine. I'll be fine.

[As long as he doesn't hit rough terrain, that is.]

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[Police Headquarters][Open][SLIGHTLY back-dated]

audio; private

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