[It had taken a moment or two..maybe it was three--he really couldn't say--but when everything had finally settled and he'd gotten most of his bearings back, realization hit him as he peered at the mark on his arm.

He'd seen that mark before. Primus it had been awhile but he'd had that mark on his arm before.

Pushing himself up, Smokescreen had tried to activate his navigation systems but nothing was working right and he had no idea how long it had been since he'd been here before. Looking around didn't really help with his problem, considering he was pretty sure he was in the middle of the Badlands.

Lucky, it seemed like his comms were still working, though they were full of static.

It was something though.]

--anyone c-c-copy?

This--Smokesc--n.

[Man he hoped someone would be able to understand this.]

Not sure--w-w-where I am. Badlands--? Navigation systems not---king.

--could use some help.

[Anyone? Someone?]

[See, the original plan had been have a few cubes at the bar then head back to Smokescreen's place for some..quality time together.

Unfortunately, that last bit seemed destined not to happen this time around as much as they both probably wanted it to.

Knock Out had just sort of..passed out while they were walking, catching Smokescreen offguard but he did manage to catch the other before he hit the ground. Panic swept through him as he shook the other gently, jarring a comm device in the process as he tried to get the other to react.]

Cherrybomb, hey, come on! Not sure what this part of the game is but I'm not sure I like it.

[Because it was a game..right?

Yeah no. Smokescreen knew it wasn't but it never hurt to try right?

Resting Knock Out on the ground, the rookie did a scan of the other's systems, finding nothing immediately wrong.

Though his scans were no medic scans.]

Knock Out, I need you to respond, move, do something! Please?

[Why yes, that is an increasing note of panic in his voice.]

[Greeting Haven! The video starts and shows you quiet an odd group. Rose is standing closest to the camera with Smokescreen close by. In the background, there looms Tarn, being his usual charming self. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Defense committee.

[Rose is holding a pad and clears her throat some before addressing the camera and, thus, the rest of Haven.]

Hello. As some of you may know, Smokescreen, Tarn, and I consist of the Defense branch of the Law Committee. As such, it is our duty to oversee the operations of the Police Force. So after some meetings we have decided on some policies concerning the Police Force and the rights for anyone who has been accused of a crime.

[From the tone of her voice, one can think that those meetings didn't always go smoothly.]

I will like to point out that all the policies were decided on by all three of us agreeing on them.

[She brings up her pad and begins to read off the list of laws.]

First, the Police Force needs to consist of 1/3 Autobot, 1/3 Decepticon, and 1/3 unaligned members.

Second, those who arrive at Haven cannot be persecuted for crimes they have committed in their own world. In other words, everyone gets a clean slate when they first arrive, and thus the Police Force cannot arrest you when you first regain consciousness here, no matter how horrible of a crime you may have committed in your own world.

Third, there will be no arrests unless there is concrete proof that ties an individual to the crime.

Fourth, any accused is innocent until proven guilty.

Fifth, arrests on anyone who is not neutral must be overseen by one Autobot and one Decepticon Police Force member.

Sixth, anyone who has been arrested has the right to any consenting legal representative they want, as long that representative has not also been arrested.

Seventh, any active Police Force members on duty have to work in a group of two or more. On top of that, any on duty Autobot Police Force member must be partnered with a Decepticon and vice-versa.

Finally, should any Autobot or Decepticon wish renounce their affiliation, there will be a form available for you to fill out. Tarn has said he will officiate the ones for the Decepticons. It has yet to be decided who will officiate those for the Autobots.

[She lowers the pad and looks back at the camera.]

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask Tarn, Smokescreen, and myself.

...Has anyone else been feeling..weird..since our glyphs started changing again?

[Smokescreen's in the library, Justice sitting patiently at his feet as the scout looks over some of the shelves, trying to find something that may be able to help him.

There's got to be a record of all this glyph business right?]

I don't really know how to explain it, but I've been feeling really off since it all happened. I wasn't sure if that was normal or not.

[Talk of zombies and stuff has Smokescreen on edge. Not because the Firstforged aren't telling them things.

No.

Because he's scared he'll see the hits he's lost here. Optimus. Ratchet. Ultra Magnus. There's a part of him that's bitter at the thought of them bein trapped here as ghosts or zombies, to think that there is really no going home.

Another part of him doesn't want to believe any of it. He wants to think like Perceptor and not be skeptical.

Still...]

Anyone want to go ghost hunting and find some answers? Since apparent ghosts are a thing here now.

[It wasn't weird for Smokescreen to have Justice.

What was weird, was that the turbofox had shown up at Alpha Trion's temple out of the blue. Usually, Smokescreen went and picked him up from Magnus if he wanted to spend time with the creature.

So, of course, there was a bit of worry on the rookie's face when he came over the feed.]

Has anyone seen Ultra Magnus? Justice showed up in my room and it...

I just wanted to make sure notdad wasn't over working himself again or something.

[He glances down at the turbofox, resting a hand on the creature's head as it rests its head on Smokescreen's knee.]

Really don't want to find him passed out cold again...

[He'd just been popping by for a visit; wanting to check on his other guardian because it'd been awhile you know?

But what he'd found in the office wasnt what he'd been expecting. At all.]

I need a medic or someone--just some help. Please. Magnus won't wake up, I don't know what's wrong.

[Yeah he might be panicking a bit but can you blame him? Just beyond Smokescreen one can see Ultra Magnus passed out, completely unresponsive.

Smokescreen's been trying to get a response. He knows just how unresponsive the other is.]

The faster you can get here the better.

[When the video cuts on, it shows Rung inside his office though not at his desk like he normally would be--it's just a bit too tall for him right now. Instead, he's seated on the floor with his back against his desk, a book that he'd found in the junk pile on his lap--because what else was there to do right now--and a pile of blankets and pillows beside him.

And that pile seemed to be moving a bit.]

I know that Smokescreen has quite a few companions from his world here in Haven so I wanted to let you all know that he's safe, just in case you were wondering where he got to.

[He shifts the camera to focus on the pile of blankets better, showing the small puppy curled up asleep in the little makeshift nest.]

I found him when I was coming back to my office and he seemed a bit worn out so I brought him here.

[Rung smiles softly, reaching over to pet his ears gently before setting the comm unit down.]

If you do need him for something, feel free to contact me.

[Smokescreen was having one of those days again. Or maybe it was better to just say he was having one of those existences. He couldn't find his place in Haven and mostly just seemed to annoy everyone.

And then on top of that, there was still a heavy guilt weighing down on his spark over Optimus' fate.

The approaching Earth holiday that he'd been made aware of did nothing to improve his mood so he'd decided just to stay put in Alpha Trion's temple for awhile and just...hide. Yeah, that was about the gist of it.

Didn't mean he wasn't going to check in on people though.]

Everyone alright? Bulkhead? Arcee? Ratchet? You guys are all safe right?

And Kagerou, did you find Kay? I tried to find her but I couldn't track her down and then I ran into Perceptor and Wheeljack and--...she's alright..right?

( Locked to Perceptor and Ultra Magnus. )

[Finding out about an earthquake in the quadrant where the majority of your team was located really didn't sit well with Smokescreen.

Thus the reason for him heading over from Alpha Trion's quadrant, attempting to hail them all on his way.]

Guys, are you alright? I heard something about and Earthquake and how the quadrant isn't safe for organics--

Are Miko and Raf okay?

[Yeah he was maybe sort of really worried.]

I'm on my way to you guys but please check in.

[Standing in the midst of all the junk, near where the Lambda had been dropping presents apparently, Smokescreen has a present in hand though the name on it is definitely not his. It's in view of the camera and clearly says 'Knock Out' on it.

So this should end well.]

Hey, Doctor Frankenbot. I've got something that belongs to you.

[He carefully tosses it up and down in his hand a bit, a contemplative noise escaping him.]

Pretty decent weight. Bet it's something really useful.

[Smokescreen focuses on the camera, optics narrowing a bit.]

Too bad I really don't feel inclined to give it to you.

[While he hasn't been overly social as of late--outside of hanging out with Blades here and there and fanboying over Prime, Smokescreen has been at least keeping tabs on everything. So he knows that things have been kind of weird.

And now he's worried because he hasn't heard from or seen certain individuals in awhile.]

Has anyone seen Prime--my Prime, the one from mine and Bulkhead's home? I haven't been able to track him down.

[And he's worried. Because he doesn't want to lose his father figure leader.]

Not that I don't think Optimus can't take care of himself or anything...I'm just wanted to report in. You all know how it goes, right?

[He fidgets a bit, doorwings drooping some as he glances over at the lake.]

...Bulkhead? Wheeljack? Cliffjumper? You guys alright too?

[There's a moment of fuzz before the video actually settles and comes through completely, Smokescreen standing just outside Alpha Trion's temple, one hand resting on his hip as he holds the camera with the other. He'd been filled in by an acolyte, of course, but that didn't make him any less prepared to believe completely, meaning that he had to go out and see everything for himself. A part of him wanted to find Alpha Trion himself--mostly because he couldn't believe the other was still functioning--but right now he wanted to see if he could find any of the others.]

Smokescreen reporting in. Anyone from Team Prime out there? I figured it'd be best to touch base with at least someone before I started trying to just find you guys or something like that.

[Despite the odd nature of his situation, Smokescreen seems pretty relaxed--or he's at least keeping himself together pretty well because he's not really sure how he got back to Cybertron. Sure the acolyte had told him about that giant hole that was dumping people through but..that..was about as believable as saying Starscream had changed for the better. At least in his opinion.]

Arcee? Bumblebee? Bulkhead? Ratchet? Optimus? Anyone? Come on guys, don't leave me hanging please. I really want to get the real details of whatever's going on and you're the ones I want to hear it from. As much as I'd love to just believe this was all good and well and Cybertron was really in an okay state like this, you'll understand if I completely and totally don't believe it right?

[He's itching to go and do something, like always, shifting his weight back and forth as his doorwings twitch some.]

Calling all Autobots! Please respond!