nexus_sages | (no subject)

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Until he joined the crew of the Lost Light, Pipes had only ever been on Cybertron and space stations. And so, he joined up to see the universe, and have adventures, and make friends. He was very eager, very enthusiastic, very excited to be on his way.

Unfortunately, most people don't really like being around someone who's very eager, very enthusiastic, and very excited. Most people find that very annoying. So the making friends thing didn't really pan out all that well.

And as for adventures...mostly, he got hurt. He got shot and sick and hurt. Which...are sort like adventures. Maybe? At least he got to see some of the universe. He also got to see a lot of the medibay.

Then he saw the bottom of Overlord's foot. A few times, actually.

And then? Then, well. Then he died.

And that's where we come in...

A small mech wanders into the Nexus...well, he's small by Cybertronian standards. To the average humanoid, sixteen feet is possibly not that small. It's funny how that works, isn't it?

He looks around, optics bewildered behind their visor shield. "Um," he says after a moment, fingers twisting together with soft metallic whirs. "Um, is this the Afterspark? Cos...this is not at all what I was picturing."

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She'd be grateful for the little mercies in life if she knew.

Politics? Losing her again. But she'll take as much in as she can. Other questions can, she supposes, wait for later. Plus now he's suddenly a car. That was.

Well.

He did warn her.

"Wow. That's... how are you still talking?"

Alt-modes (or the lack thereof) are Very Serious Business to some Cybertronians. Wars have been fought. People have died. It's all been kind of a mess.

But yes, he's suddenly a car. And he did warn her.

"...uh. Same way I was talking before? Should I not be able to talk?"

Where she comes from, some people have 'alt-modes' in that they're Mutants or Inhumans or have magic or are shapeshifting aliens. That last one is more literal.

"I..." She pauses, takes a breath, and thinks about it. "I guess it's not that different. Sorry. I'm not used to cars talking." No, she never saw that show on tv. Or that one, either. "So... did Primus hurt you on purpose, or do you think maybe it was an accident if he didn't see you?"

"...if they don't talk, how do they communicate? Never mind. Not important." He pauses. "Oh! No, no, uh, it wasn't Primus, Primus is The Creator-God. I'm, I'm sorry. This all must be so confusing to you. The guy that hurt me, he totally meant to do it. He stomped me so much, there was no way it was an accident. Plus, he was looking right at me while he was doing it. It. It was pretty bad."

"They don't. The cars where I came from weren't sentient."

She thinks back, realizes where she misunderstood, and hums softly. Then she shakes her head. "I'm sorry. That must have been horrible."

"What, so they're just...cars...?" The idea of non-sentient cars is just too weird for him and he shifts back, frowning slightly and sitting on the ground.

He's silent for a moment, then sighs. "...thanks. It was pretty bad, yeah. I just hope he didn't hurt anyone else. Especially not anyone important."

"Yeah. Just machinery that people have to steer for themselves, even." That might have been changing soon, except nothing's changing there anymore. Fucking Incursions. On the other hand, her world ended in the poetically-appropriate fire. No stomping. That's something like a mercy.

"I hope so too." She very much doubts it stopped. It sounds too much like an attack, an invasion of some kind. Maybe the rest of his crew lucked out, and it won't hurt her to let him hold onto that hope.

I very much doubts it stopped as well, but he has to hope. "...I sounded the alarm, at least. So. So maybe they had a chance?"

Hope is important. Important enough for her to envy the people who can have it so easily. (Sometimes, you only know the value of a thing by the empty space its lacking leaves.)

He needs his hope, so she'll try to offer him a little reinforcement. Is touching considered comforting for robots? Let's see how it goes. Her hands are so small against him. "Yeah. You died a hero. That's a noble thing."

The touch is comforting and he gives her an almost shy look. "...d'you really think so? A hero?"

Good to know their species have that in common. "Yeah. You were scared and hurting and you thought about saving your friends. That's heroic to me."

And she would know. The 616 was kinda an expert in heroes.

She does seem to know what she's talking about, so he'll accept it.

He's quiet for a few long moments, then quietly says "...thank you."

The thanks is answered with a thin smile. She knows just how much that kind of idea does and does not help.

"Some people say I ended up here because it's how I can be a hero," she offers after another quiet moment. "I couldn't find a way to save my universe, but we found a way to save some others from the same thing... and I have to be here to recognize the people who need the information."

He glances at her, head tilted. "...your whole universe</> is gone....?" At least it was only his life he lost. "...wow, that's. That's rough."

She nods, lips pressed tight together, and doesn't say anything for another long while.

"It's not great, but... life here is pretty good. And I'm glad I can help other people avoid what happened." She reclaims her hands to wrap her arms around her legs. "I'm not always sure there's as much reason for what happens as people want to believe, but it's kind of nice to think we're not just here because of random chance."

He wraps his own arms around his legs. "I guess you're right...and maybe there is a reason I'm here." Because he's not going to think about randomness. "Maybe Primus sent me here. Maybe it was like when he took my friend, Shock...or was it Ore...? I don't remember which one, but the quantum engine stuck him in a wall? And then, even though he was dead, he woke up again? And. And then, Primus called him and he disappeared."

It actually had nothing to do with Primus, and everything to do with the quantum engine, but he was just...going with the Primus thing.

Randomness and quantum anything isn't her ideas of a good time. (Quantum in particular annoys her. All that possibility and no solid answers. It's just not right!) "That's... wow. I'm so sorry about your friend."

She kinda wonders how good the friendship was if he doesn't remember who this happened to, but on the other hand, quantum. It might not be his fault. "Once you find your reason, your purpose, things get a lot easier. No matter where you are."

Well, to be fair, nobody could keep Shock and Ore straight except for Shock and Ore. And Pipes had only met the guy once, not too long before the Ore-smashed-inside-a-wall incident. But Pipes is certain they would’ve been friends, so that counts as far as he’s concerned.

“It’s okay. I mean, not okay okay, but...maybe he’s somewhere like this? So maybe it’s not so bad. So...that’s what I mean by ‘okay’...” Because this didn’t seem to be such a bad place to be, honestly.

He sighs softly and glances over at her. “Y’know, I was...I was always pretty sure I didn’t have a purpose. Not really. But maybe I do.”

A fair assessment, no doubt, but she wouldn't know. Ah, the perils of incomplete information. She's got a bad habit of assuming she always knows the whole truth when she hears any.

It's a very sweet and optimistic view of friendship; not one she understands, but one she can envy. Friendship doesn't come easy to her.

"I think I understand," she offers, tilting her head back so she can look up at him. "It helps to think of the people we miss being in a good place where they can be happy." That, she knows.

"Everyone has a purpose." Another strongly-held belief, if one she's more recently come into. "Sometimes we're born to it, sometimes it's given to us, and sometimes we have to make it for ourselves. But everyone, everyone has a purpose."

He nods, sighing. If it would make her feel better, he already considers her his friend as well.

“See, the thing is. Thing thing is that...I dunno. I’m not a very good soldier. And I’m not a very good explorer or adventurer. And those things are what I was made for, y’know? That’s what most of us were made for. “

That's very sweet and would confuse her. Most forms of kindness do.

"Okay." She gives a little shrug. "What are you good at?"

That’s a question he has to think about. He squints at his hands as he thinks. “Honestly? Nothing.”

"I don't believe you." He might believe it, it might even be true, but what kind of help would she be to tell him that?

It wouldn't be much help at all. But...it is kind of true.

He gives her a look. "For a while, I was really good at somehow not dying? Now..." A shrug. "I dunno."

Nobody ever said she can't tell lies. Sometimes, she can even see when they're needed.

He can give her all the looks he wants, she is amazingly immune to such things. She's gotten looks from gods, after all. "Then you'll need to figure that out. Probably would be easier if you let go of the idea of what you're supposed to be good at and let yourself really try other things."