[Lea had never been especially fond of rats. And this particular mess mess wasn't changing his mind on that score. He'd seen the Lambda's display and gone out to see what was up, only to be assaulted by zombies of all things. The first few were easily dispatched, but like Heartless more seemed to reappear right when they were least wanted.

And now they'd been joined by giant, mutants rats. Or something. It was possible they could have been some other rodent, but they looked like rats to him, so he was calling them rats. He roasted the latest bunch with a stream of fire while pulling out his communicator with his free hand.]

Hey, anybody know the number of a good exterminator? Or maybe a 15-foot cat? Because we've got kind of a big rat problem.

[Briefly turns the camera so that folks can see the giant rats. A shambling zombie can be seen a bit further away before Lea turns the camera back to himself.]

Oh yeah, and zombies too. But one thing at a time...

[Turns a fireball on another rat and it goes up in flames with a pained squeal.]

( Action part below cut! )

[A little while later, a familiar face appears on the comms... though slightly altered.]

Hello there, Haven! Guess who's back? And better than ever! Why, you may ask? Because I'm now 100% me again!

You probly know me as Axel, but now? The name's Lea. Got it memorized?

[Axel doesn't seem to be his usual, lively self when next he appears on the comms. In fact, he looks like he's struggling to stay awake while talking to everyone. 

Axel had noticed that he was feeling tireder than usual over the past couple days, but had just shrugged it off for the most part. It could easily have just been a normal bout of blah; they happened to most everyone occasionally. But sleeping longer hadn't seemed to help, and now this... this was definitely not normal. He felt as if something was literally trying to drag him towards sleep, and he'd been in Haven long enough to have some idea of what that might mean.]

Hey... just wanted to let everybody know, I'm probably gonna be out of action for a few days. Feel like I'm about to fall asleep on my feet any
minute an' I think I know what that means...

Oh and Sora? Ventus? Would appreciate it if you made sure I got to Knockout's once it happens. I'd just go myself, but 'm afraid I'd pass out halfway there...

[Axel appears on the screen at a somewhat odd angle, like he's not actually holding the communicator.]

OK, show of hands. Or if you happen to be invisible- which I hear is the case for at least one person-, speak up.

I think it's safe to say that a lot of us are having weird- or at least weirder than usual- things happening to us recently. And it seems to be connected to these weird clumps of colored energon- that glowing, crystal stuff the robots use for fuel for those not paying attention. Thing is, if we're going to figure out how to undo all this stuff, we're going to have to figure out if there's some kind of pattern to all this.

Alia already seems to be on the scientific angle, but just having a simpler list for reference would be good too. That way people can tell what energon seems to cause which effects and where it is at a glance.

For me, I found some red in a rock crevice on the outskirts of Megatronus' territory, and now, I pass right through any solid objects other than the ground. Including people, which is just as weird as you'd expect it to be.

So, hey, Blurr....

Exactly how does a guy go about signing up for the police force around here? Figured I'd ask you, seeing as how you're on it already and all.

[The transmission opens with a full body shot of Axel. It seems he has the communicator propped up on something in order to allow a wider view, and from the looks of the background, he's somewhere around the Junkpile.]

Hey there, robots of Haven. Autobots, Decepticons and.... miscellaneous others. Thank you all for tuning in today for this very special public service announcement.

What is it about, you might ask? Well, to be perfectly honest, it's about your attitudes. Specifically, your attitudes towards humans, humanoids, and other organics like myself.

Now I know what some of you are probably thinking. 'What's that pointy-haired weirdo talking about? I like organics just fine. Why, some of my best friends are organics!' And believe me, we all appreciate the friendliness and general lack of deliberate attempts to stomp us.

However, it's not the liking part that's the issue here. What the issue is is the simple fact that you all seem to think being 20-feet tall and made of metal automatically means that you're superior. Especially when it comes to the ability to defend yourself. And I don't just mean certain unpleasant individuals who'd try to squish us for fun. I mean all of you, or at least most of you.

You might try to be nice about it, and you're probably genuinely trying to protect them, but when one of your organic friends wants to help out in a fight? Your general attitude always tends to come off as 'Look, it's cute that you think you can help, but just sit over here while the grown-ups handle things, OK?' And when your friends actually can fight? It's as condescending as hell.

Case in point, my friend Sora. Recently, Knockout locked him in his medbay with him in an attempt to protect him. Which would be great... if Sora needed it. But he doesn't. Lemme tell you a little bit about Sora.

This kid spends most of his time back home traveling from world to world fighting monsters made of pure Darkness called Heartless. I once saw him take out 1000 of them in the space of about ten minutes using nothing but his Keyblade and his wits. Aside from Heartless, he's also fought and beaten- among other things- pirates, the Boogie Man, a sea witch imbued with all the power of the ocean and grown to the size of a skyscraper, and a sorceress who turned into a giant, fire-breathing dragon. Not to mention, he's saved the world at least twice.

I could go on, but the bottom line is that he can damn well take care of himself, even against things like you. He doesn't need to be protected or coddled. In fact, he should probably be protecting some of you.

And just in case you think Sora is an isolated case...

[Axel steps a bit to one side, revealing a chunk of Cybertronian-looking scrap-metal about the size of a fridge.]

Here's a nice chunk of Cybertronian metal. And here's what a guy like me can do to it if I'm so inclined.

[Axel points a palm at the chunk of metal and tosses off a Firaga at it. The large fireball strikes and envelops the chunk of scrap, which quickly becomes red hot and begins to melt. When the fire dissipates a few moments later, the chunk of metal is badly scorched and melted enough to be mostly unrecognizable compared to its previous state.

Axel turns calmly back to the camera.]

So for future reference? Don't automatically assume that just because we're small and squishy that we're helpless. It'll save your organic friends a lot of frustration and it'll save you from looking like an ass.

Any questions?

[Axel's face appears on the screen, and even shadowed by the hood of his coat- which in itself is unusual, since he tends not to like the hood- he doesn't look too well. He also seems to be bundled up in a thick gray blanket. When he speaks, his voice sounds tired and hoarse, as if he'd been coughing a lot recently.]

Hey, everybody. Guess what? Turns out Nobodies aren't immune to this bug that's going around...

[He's forced to pause there, as he trails off into a coughing fit. He gives a faint groan when he manages to regain his breath, seeming to try and curl deeper into his coat and blanket.]

Dammit... [He sighs hoarsely.] Just... fair warning for anybody that might think of visiting.... don't touch me, OK? Unless you wanna burn your hand, that is. One of the fun side effects of being a fire-user with a fever, ya know...

[Another, briefer coughing fit interrupts him]

Hope everybody else is doin' better than me...

[Axel wasn't sure what had surprised him more upon first opening his eyes; the fact the he wasn't looking up at Sora's sad-eyed, spikey-haired face silouetted against the backdrop of swirling colors that made up the scenery of Betwixt and Between, or the fact that he was still around to be looking at anything at all. He'd already been fading after that last attack, and he'd used the last of his energy to open the portal to The World That Never Was for Sora. He should be gone, faded back into the Nothingness that had formed him.

Instead, he was laying on something heard, looking up at a dark, metal ceiling and a... robot? What the hell?

The robot (who he noticed seemed sort of out of it, though who knew, maybe that was just how robots were) gave him a basic explanation of his situation and showed him to his room. A room that was obviously meant for robots, or at least beings, of a similar scale to the robot itself. Which left Axel in a bit of a predicament.

It took a bit of fiddling, but eventually he got the small communications device he'd been given to work. So hey there, Haven. Have an unfamiliar face bearing two small, purple, reverse-teardrop-shaped markings on it and framed by very spiky red hair.]

...There, think that's got it. Anyway, hey there. The name's Axel. Got it memorized?

Was just wondering... is there any place around here where a guy could get an actual human-sized bed? Or just a mattress? Or even just a sleeping bag or a hammock or something? Cause you know, nice as it is to get a free room, giant metal beds that I can't actually reach without teleporting or climbing really aren't my thing.