ROBOT DANCE OFF

[thanksoptimus]

Who: Too many fucking robots.
Where: "The most dramatic dune in the desert."
When: SUNDOWN.
What: Megatron tries to get Orion Pax to use the Forge on the Matrix of Leadership but then the music starts.
Warnings: Violence, singing.

[THREAD STARTERS ARE BELOW.

NO TAGGING ORDER, IT'S FREE FOR ALL.]

Comments

ORION, MEGATRON, RODIMUS, and SOUNDWAVE

[thanksoptimus]

[This is for everything preceding the Autobots showing up.]

Heading out into the desert is just a painful trudge at this point, and Orion Pax doesn't seem to have much fight left in him. He still doesn't know what Megatron even wants - he doesn't yet have a full grasp of what the Forge is even capable of. And even know, he still doesn't know if he is going to go through with it. He's bought Rodimus and himself all the time he could, but now it all feels oppressively close to the end.

Rodimus isn't exactly thankful, and Orion doesn't think he should be. Maybe he's being selfish. It's easy to consider all the ways that this whole thing has been his mistake, even though so many of his friends would have urged him away from that way of thinking.

It's been days since he could talk to anyone who isn't Megatron, and right now that has been nothing but poisonous.

Orion doesn't say anything on the way over, remaining silent until they have all re-positioned themselves to the center of a a series of rocky cliff faces. The sun is just starting to set on the horizon, and the burn of the day's light is only just beginning to fade.

[bigfuckinggun]

Megatron marches a cuffed Rodimus ahead of him with the air of someone in a good mood out for a pleasant stroll. Soon his plan will bear fruit – and, and somehow this has become the more pressing issue in his mind of late, soon Orion Pax's usefulness will come to an end and he will be able to extinguish his spark once and for all. Orion's presence has been enough of a complicating factor in everything that Megatron barely has it in him to say anything over-the-top about the gravity of this moment. He just wants this to be done with.

He shoves Rodimus roughly to the ground when they reach the desired spot, gun trained on his head.

"Soundwave – the Forge."

Fucking, ROCKY CLIFF FACES

[worstprime]

Rodimus is bitterly silent throughout, resigned for the moment to just shooting misplaced angry looks at the other 'Autobot'. He's angry at Orion, he's angry at Megatron, he's really angry at himself, and there's nothing, for the moment he can do about any of this. Which makes him angriest of all.

He grimaces as Megatron shoves him, nearly losing his balance as he falls to his knees. He's glad to not be moving at least; the trek here has been more exhausting than it should've been and now that the immediacy of avoiding-death had worn off, he's becoming more and more aware of how horribly painful his wounds are. This is sincerely the EXACT opposite of how Rodimus had been expecting his infiltration of the Decepticons to go. He's almost willing to say this had been a really, really bad idea, even.

None of this deters him, however, from being morbidly curious as to what Megatron's Great Big Plan with the forge is going to be...

Re: Fucking, ROCKY CLIFF FACES

[soundwavesuperior]

Soundwave silently steps forward, giant hammer clutched in his spindly fingers. Handing the forge to Megatron he keeps a close gaze on both Autobot prisoners, ready to act in case of ill advised escape attempts or otherwise. He suspects that despite being thoroughly exhausted, both Rodimus and Orion Pax still have potential to cause issues.

He would see to it that Megatron's plan came to full fruition.

[thanksoptimus]

Orion has been watching Rodimus for a while now, when he can catch a glance, feeling the weight of his disapproval. It really just ends up adding to his own. He doesn't know what to do in the coming moments. Maybe...he can intentionally mess up whatever Megatron wants him to do? But if he does that, he'll realize soon enough, and then they were almost certainly execute him.

He looks away, finally, staring into the sand, and then eventually up to Megatron's face.

"Megatron..." he says, his voice weak. It's not the first time he's pleaded with him, but it's the most final. "Please...don't do this. "

[bigfuckinggun]

Megatron takes the hammer, inwardly grateful for competent minions for once, and looks at Orion with contempt. "I am afraid it is far too late for that, Orion Pax," he growls, thrusting the Forge into his hands. "It is time to bring this war to the end it should have reached millennia ago."

[thanksoptimus]

Orion can barely lift the Forge in this beaten and starved state, and so when it's handed over to him, the end of drops to the ground when he quickly becomes unable to support its weight. As soon as Orion's hands are on the handle, though, the state of the hammer begins to change - the spiral at its end open and beginning slowly spinning, energy seeming to run directly through Orion to power its function.

Some part of him had hopes that it wouldn't work, that without the Matrix it wouldn't be enough. This is enough to easily prove him wrong.

He looks at Megatron helplessly. He still doesn't know what he's supposed to do.

[bigfuckinggun]

There it is – the moment of truth, and as the Forge comes to life, Megatron's eyes light up as perhaps under more auspicious emotional circumstances they would have done as soon as they'd set out on this excursion.

"Excellent," he murmurs, half to himself, optics gleaming with anticipation. "The power still rests within you... as soon it will rest within me." Without further ado he produces it, from the compartment where it's been uselessly stowed: the Matrix of Leadership, whole and undestroyed. "You will use the Forge, Orion, to alter the Matrix permanently... to create from it a power I can wield... a Dark Matrix, if you will. And if you do not..." His cannon, still aimed squarely at Rodimus, hums to life with a low whine.

[worstprime]

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" declares Rodimus, completely dumbfounded, suddenly finding the will to speak again. Is this a joke? "Have you had that in there, this whole time?" The height of absurdity.

[thanksoptimus]

What?

Orion stares at the Matrix, completely dumbfounded. Almost unbelieving. The what with...the what? He doesn't know what to be more offended about - the fact that the very idea of doing that is extremely sacrilegious, or that he did in fact have the Matrix this entire time, and had stolen it from him. He's stolen an enormous part of who he was, and put him through so much pain.

"That is impossible," he breathes.

[bigfuckinggun]

Megatron only spares Rodimus a brief, irritated glance. Obviously he had it in there the entire time. He glowers at Orion more prolongedly, baring his fangs in impatience. He has been waiting for this for months. "I will not repeat my command, Pax."

[thanksoptimus]

He can't even start counting the ways that this could go wrong. Who is to say that something as powerful as the Matrix could even be changed by the Forge? What could result from an artifact that powerful being disrupted? For all they know, the reaction could destroy all of them and even the entire local population. And if it did work...what would that mean, to have such an important feature of their culture be destroyed? What would happen to Optimus Prime, and the memories that were locked away inside of it?

Orion can feel it coming, even before the music slowly starts to form in the background. It starts as a soft, formless chant and slowly starts to grow into something bolder - ancient Cybertronian words that he can't understand. Part of him wants to just break down, to give up completely.

But instead of collapsing inward, his overwhelming emotions are forced out as words unbidden.

"Once I called you brother," he sings, his voice still frail. "Once I thought the chance to sooth your wrath was all I ever wanted."

He grips the Forge more firmly in his hands, staring at the helplessly.

“Even now I wish that they had chose another – serving as your foe on their behalf, was the last thing that I wanted...” He takes a step towards him, his expression mournful but with an anger beneath it that is becoming more prominent as his voice grows bolder.

“It was our home! These years of war and devastation, how they torture me inside...” He glares up at Megatron, the next words spat in frustration: “All the innocents who suffer from your stubbornness and pride!”

[worstprime]

Disbelief upon disbelief, Rodimus gapes at Orion. So it's not just a Decepticon thing, after all. But then....what the hell is going on?. Where's this music coming from?

Orion's singing is earnest with more than a bit of anger creeping in, but maybe it'll confuse the others just as much. The longer it goes on the more natural it feels - like singing your feelings out in a moment of life or death is the most obvious thing in the world. Rodimus is wary of, having experienced first hand, the way these moments can suck you in, make it impossible - unthinkable! - to commit any action contrary to the music. Nonetheless, Rodimus turns his attention to their captors, watching them out of the corner of an optic. He doesn't know what he expects, but at this point is open to any opportunity to sabotage this crazy endeavor.

AND THEN THESE OTHER GUYS SHOW UP

[thanksoptimus]

[Surprise!]

[asafepairofhands]

Ratchet can hear... music? Over the dunes as he peels closer as fast as he can as a heavy ambulance over the sand. He can hear distinct voices by the time the music stops and the unmistakable sounds of battle start up.

He gives up and explodes out of his alt mode as he clears the top of a dune and sees them, breaking into a run as he draws one of his weapons, struggling to aim as he skids down the dune.

"Orion!"

[positiveenergy]

Drift isn’t far behind Ratchet – following the medic’s lead, but maintaining his vehicle mode a while longer as he races down the dune. Just a quick glance of the scene is enough for him to make a split-second decision and head straight for Soundwave - attempting to barrel straight into the con and cut off his advance.

Even with the extra boost from his alt. mode, he might not reach the fight in time to block Soundwave’s attack. There’s a tension in his body as he tries to suppress the immediate instinct to transform. Staying in vehicle mode, even for a brief moment, might put him at a disadvantage. But right now, with his thoughts focused solely on protecting Rodimus and Orion, he simply revs his engine and pushes forward at full speed.

[thanksoptimus]

Orion's dismount from his attack on Megatron is less than graceful. He may have been able to swing it, but it sends a jolt of pain though his body, and the ringing impact causes him to stagger backwards in the sand. The shifting surface trips him up, and he falls onto his aft, the hammer thunking into the sand behind him with its handle ineffectually sticking up over his shoulder. This is no position to be attacking from.

But as he is trying to right himself, to do anything he hears the sound of someone's engines, and a voice shouting his name. Ratchet? Hope flutters in his spark, but he can't take the moment to turn around and see what is really happening. Maybe him and Rodimus can get out of this - if they can survive the next few seconds, at least.

[deadpartners]

Arcee is leading the race to the coordinates Starscream had provided, her wheels furiously kicking up sand, and the second they're on the scene she begins to assess the situation -- and boy, is it bad.

It's hard to tell what's been going on, but Rodimus's apparent gamble isn't the worst thing that could have happened -- count on Rodimus to shake things up, all right, and Arcee even feels a note of grim approval at that -- and of sick satisfaction at having been right, because that's the Matrix and she knew Megatron must have had it all this time. She spots Orion, looking injured and hapless, and her spark flares in directionless anger. No time to think now. Time to move.

"Drift, Ratchet -- cover Rodimus! Get Soundwave off his back!" Arcee's already transforming, her feet hitting the ground running as she lifts a blaster and fires off a few shots at Soundwave. "Rodimus, I'm coming!"

She's running to meet Rodimus, her other hand outstretched -- she's thinking along the same lines as Rodimus here, with the Matrix and Orion in the same place... If she can get Rodimus to hand off the Matrix, she'll take the pressure off of him -- Soundwave won't be interested in a target that's no longer carrying the Matrix, and Arcee is significantly less injured than Rodimus, not to mention a smaller target. And if she can get the Matrix to Orion...

And as she starts running toward Rodimus, she begins to hear music -- again. A strangely compelling beat fills the desert air as she skids through the sand, and for a moment Arcee has a moment of dread -- but this time, oddly enough, it is not accompanied with the undeniable urge to sing -- just the compulsion to come on and slam run faster to the beat.

[ultramatum]

While it would have been prudent to have someone watching their prisoner, after how things went last time Magnus was not about to let Arcee lead a charge against Megatron without him. It was a calculated risk to leave Starscream in stasis lock in the brig before following after the others.

On this terrain it wasn't difficult for him to catch up with them, which was one blessing, but he could already hear the sounds of a battle ahead, as well as an extremely loud and energetic musical beat? As he crested the small dune blocking his view, he transformed into robot mode, ready to leap into the fray. He was however momentarily distracted by the combination of chaos and music. What on earth was happening here? Where was that music coming from? Soundwave?

With Arcee rushing to support Rodimus (with the MATRIX?!?) and calling Ratchet and Drift to back her up, Magnus leapt down the dune, sliding in a flurry of sand toward Orion. Who was (once again) lying defenseless in front of Megatron. Whether due to luck or the pull and influence of the music, Magnus' descent ended in a dramatic slide that brought him to a halt in front of Orion as some singing began overhead ("Come on Slam, and Welcome to the Jam."). He reached over the other bot to grab the Forge, hefting the hammer over Orion and getting a better grip, ready to defend Orion against Megatron (again).

[bigfuckinggun]

More music and more Autobots – the last thing Megatron wants right now. But the music doesn't seem to be compelling him to join in, and Orion hasn't gone anywhere: all is not lost. He turns his cannon on the prone Orion Pax, and roars, "Return the Matrix, Autobots, or Orion Pax dies!" – only to be interrupted by Ultra Magnus sliding in between them.

Megatron looks about ready to explode with rage.

"I will destroy you all," he snarls, and fires on Ultra Magnus without any further hesitation.

[worstprime]

Amidst more MUSIC, (REALLY!?) Rodimus hears someone calling and turns to see Arcee, running full-tilt toward him. At the sight of her and the other Autobots coming over the dune his spark leaps with relief....short lived because even with greater numbers, they're still relatively outmatched by two of the Decepticons' most proficient warriors. Getting the Matrix to Orion is really their only feasible hope of winning this fight.

"Arcee!" Both hands are outstretched as he passes the Matrix to her open hand. Okay so there might be a little bit of a gap between them, but he's confident she'll catch it.

[soundwavesuperior]

More Autobots. Great. Soundwave hears the rev of an engine roaring up behind him and takes an evasive step to the side allowing Drift to pass him, scraping harshly against his leg taking paint with him. it knocks him a bit but he stays standing after staggering a couple steps.

Arcee is approaching quickly from his flank, shots from he blaster just barely missing his face. And then...sweetly on the desert breeze...like a dream. Space Jam. A cold laugh burst from his vocalizer before he can quell it. Why.

Then it happens, Arcee shoots past him, hand held out for Rodimus to pass the Matrix. Absolutely not. Just as Rodimus goes to pass it to her, a very narrow space between them, Soundwave's own hand shoots forward. It's as if he was made for this moment. His long flat arms are the perfect width and just as Rodimus lets go Soundwave snatches it away. Success.

[positiveenergy]

He hardly even notices the jam at first over the roar of his engine, but there is certainly some music going on again. A bit of Drift’s own paint scuffs off at the impact with the con’s legs and he grimaces as he kicks on his breaks. Doing a sudden and complete 180 on the sand is more of a pain than you’d think - his tires spray some into the air as he skids across the ground, but he charges forward again just in time to watch Soundwave pluck the matrix out of the air. Oh no he didn't.

The distance between them is shorter, and this strategy didn’t work the first time...Besides something in the beat is compelling him that transforming is just the thing to do right now.

"Here's your chance, do your dance at the Space Jam" is the first line Drift hears clearly. So naturally, he follows the signs and breaks into a sprint mid-transformation. Pulling out each of his swords, he aims a blow at Soundwave's arms as he runs, hoping to knock the matrix out of his grasp.

[thanksoptimus]

Orion stares down the barrel of Megatron's cannon for only a few moment before Ultra Magnus slides into the picture. There is more music now? Orion has no idea what's happening anymore, but he does know that the others have made it in time to save the two of them. There is not much time to be relieved in between the constant threats of death, though.

He tries to pull himself back through the sand to give Ultra Magnus more room to work. He wants to shoot, or to do something but his energon levels are still critically low and the walk over here was pushing it as it was. He brings out one of his swords, trying to think of what to do, and shakily starts trying to get to his feet, his optics warily set on Megatron.

[asafepairofhands]

Ratchet fires as he runs, furious terror still pounding through his lines as he takes in how hurt Rodimus and Orion are. He moves wide around the thick of the fighting, looking for an opening, and when he finds one he takes it, sliding in to catch Orion by the shoulder, supporting him on one arm.

"Don't even think about it," he snarls, his optics scanning the fight for the Matrix as he keeps firing with his free hand. "You have to focus on not getting killed right now."