Desert: Foot patrol

[Skid-Z]

He hated waiting, he hated walking. But right now, Skid-Z can't do anything but the both of them untill Skystrike-3 finds him. Oh, he'll stop when he reaches the end coordinates broadcasted, but at least he can move for the time being.

A shiver runs through exostructure at the memory of just a mere clicks ago, the mental pain lingers prominently in core modules. If anything, he will actively try to pass on any repeats of what the evil Rodimus dished out back there, given that he sees it coming.

The teal and silver bot calls himself, with right, fortunate that not everyone got hit like he had, and that one of his allies even made to safeguard him. That there was someone friendly when the chaos was driven off.

A bigger surprise was the willingness of the Emirate to escort him to triage, to leave the area where the demon Prime had fallen to make sure he's safe. No, Skid-Z doesn't consider himself the most important person out here, and without doubting himself, he managed to convince the older bot that handling that evil Autobot situation might need him more readily.
Scouts and soldiers should be able to accept certain risks, one of them passing priority situations before their own. And yet, a guide request went out for him still...

Trudging through the sands, the young bot recollects his thoughts and rearranges them.
Everyone wants to go home, right? Skid-Z wants to. But as much as some others do? He's no longer sure.
For if these bots are willing to protect him, stand by each other and fight for any good cause just the same, aren't they 'home'? What makes this place so different than his reality? He just didn't get an official send out for this place, to join this army.
But to call it temporary just for the possibility of returning to his own dimension?
Skid-Z feels like he just doesn't want to.

Racer waits for his pickup while his thoughts wander.

[skystrike-3]

Skystrike has been all over the place today hasn't he? The seeker is beginning to feel the weight of it all now but ignores the nagging sense of exhaustion with practiced ease. He could worry about that later- there was always time later after all. At least, if he didn't get killed, but that was a fate he'd rather avoid. Dying was a useless thing to do.

Keeping his sensors out for any potential threats, he trudges briskly through the sand in search of Skid-Z. Then his Wreckage's voice over the radio makes him step up his pace, a dark scowl making its way over his features. Slaggit, slaggit, slaggit, why did the evil Decepticons have to continue their attack in the triage?

For the briefest of moment Skystrike considers abandoning his search for the Autobot to go help in the fight, but his sensors suddenly pick up a nearby presence. He slows as nears its source, spotting a pale mech in the distance and the flier sends off a curt; //Skid-Z?//

[Dead End-3]

In spite of the inevitable end of everything, Dead End-3's systems insist on rebooting. The dark red Stunticon returns sharply to awareness, damage reports flashing redly in his alarm queue. Oh dear, his leg really is off at the knee. A glance tells him he's not at the bottom of the crater anymore; he gingerly raises himself on one elbow and looks around.

Dead End is in a sheltered hollow not far from the crater (and NOT visible to Skystrike-3); he can still hear the occasional shot. There's tracks in the sand, as if someone dragged or carried him here. And... he can hear someone coming.

//Skid-Z?// a voice remarkably like Skystrike queries.

// Skystrike, is that really you, or am I hallucinating as my processors degrade from battle damage? Oh, and I'm not Skid-Z, though he may be around here somewhere. Dead End speaking. //

--
OOC: Dead End-3 is not the pale thing that Skystrike-3 sees, but he is nearby in a hidden hollow where Xaaron left him

[Skid-Z]

Comlink beeps with data interesting to his self.
//Skid-Z?// Sky-strike-3, if not mistaken. Then Dead-End-3 follows suit.

His vision sweeps the terrain while answering, //<Coordinates>, I'm there! Dead End, what is your position?!// Battle damage? They just gotta find him!

---------------------------------
If the pale thing turns out to be teal with scraped silver...

[skystrike-3]

//Dead End!// The exclamation was a combination of surprise, relief and worry. //I should sincerely hope you're not hallucinating, you silly old wheel licker. Where in the grand pit are you?// Skid-Z already asked that for him but Skystrike felt like nagging. If Dead End was severely injured they'd need to find him quickly anyways.

On the other hand, the pale thing was, indeed, turning out to be teal and silver and right in the spot where the mech's last radioed coordinates pointed to. Cautiously, Skystrike brought up a hand to wave (all these strange not-Autobots he'd never met before), hopefully to catch the other's attention without being shot at.

[Dead End-3]

// I am at.. <coordinates of hollow>.. I think. Our Prime shot my leg off, and I went offline when he, er, flamed out. Someone seems to have dragged me away, // Dead End-3 replies. He lifts himself a bit more and starts to drag himself out from cover when a thought strikes him. Something's missing.

He looks around carefully. Yes, something is missing. // Skystrike, do you see my rifle out there anywhere? //

Dead End-3 trusts his Skystrike; if his gun is in sight, Skystrike-3 will return it to him. It never occurs to him that his counterpart would not so easily admit such a weakness. Good thing he's not his counterpart. There's one more thing in which he differs from his other self...

// Is Starscream well? // he asks hesitantly.

----
Dead End-3 finally dropped his concussion rifle when the black fire of Evil forced him offline in despair. It's probably back in the crater.

[Skid-Z]

Skystrike needn't worry; Skid-Z has no insane alternate driven to lead innocents to a painfull demise. The Autobot instead raises a hand to wave back, and makes his way over to Skystrike-3.

Grinning in relief, he nods to the D-3, "Good to see you".

[skystrike-3]

//I'm afraid I haven't seen your rifle around, Dead end.// Skystrike replies a bit apologetically. //But I did see Starscream in the crater and he was fine last I saw him.// Well, a bit roughed up but the seeker neglects to mention that minor detail.

//I'll come and get you in a bit, Dead End. Oh, and there's a good Autobot here with me by the way.// He peers at Skid-Z, slowing to a stop when the when the other walks up to him. //He's very... teal.//

"Greetings." The smile is returned but it was brief and a bit awkward and accompanied by a awkward head vent rubbing. He's not too used to smiling back at someone wearing a red symbol and he hasn't exactly had much practice. "Uhm. One of my lunatic teammates is somewhere nearby - I best, uh, go retrieve him." Dead End distraction!

[Sky-byte]

A telltale ripple ghosts indents the sands and the terrain shifts with movements beneath it. In a flurry of sand and metal, something bursts out of the desert, pincers flailing and stinger whipping---wait. Wrong story and wrong con.

Still pushing his way through the desert, Sky-Byte burrows his way towards the closest groupings of vibrations that he's able to detect. There's some sort of excitement going on with Starscream and some helpless Autobots. Sky-Byte intends on being part of that little surprise, but first, a little warm-up for the occasion can't hurt.

// If there are any Decepticons in <Foot Patrol Coords> speak up now! //

Sky-Byte gives it a few moments for any response as he circles the group.

[Dead End-3]

Dead End-3 slowly drags himself out from cover where his erstwhile allies can see him. He waves at Skystrike-3, who isn't too far away.

// Ah, I see. I shall have to make do with what I have, then. I don't suppose you have someone handy who can bolt my leg back on.? //

Radar clucks at him; there's someone else out there. Dead End-3 peers through his somewhat smoke-stained visor. // I see Mr. Teal, yes... Oh, and radar reports some odd activity in the ground-clutter nearby. Do you suppose it might be that worm surfacing? //

[Skid-Z]

Teal. Skid-Z grimaces and involuntarily grazes his fingers over a scraped part of himself. No... mustn't think... not look. Stay focused.
He doesn't mind the wary greeting of Skystrike, and listens to the Decepticon; "Uhm. One of my lunatic teammates is somewhere nearby - I best, uh, go retrieve him.".
"Fine with that, let's go" he agrees.

Before they might ask him, Skid-Z already answers on his own behalf, //I'm no mechanic, Dead-End....// or he wouldn't be going to triage.

Hearing about 'activity in the ground', the racer freezes and begins to shiver, trying to spot any traces of a certain bot. He steps away from a nearby sprout and so far as it's not seemingly strange, steps a bit closer to Skystrike.

[skystrike-3]

//What Skid-Z said.// Skystrike peers around to see Dead End moving out of his hollow and waves back at the maroon car. //Don't worry though- I'll carry you!// Skystrike adds in a slightly more lighthearted tone and he move to go retrieve his teammate. Any humor in the situation quickly dries away when Dead End mentions the ground movements however and the blue jet stops mid stride.

//Don't know if it's the worm, but Dead End? Don't move from your spot.// Skystrike casts a brief glance in Skid-Z's direction, and, noting the Autobot's sudden nervousness, moves to protectively shadow a wing over the other in an attempt to comfort. He tunes up his own radar and peers over the dark dunes, powering up his cannons.

[Long Range]

// What, forgotten about me already?// Long Range broadcasts to Sky-Byte, having hunkered down behind a nearby sand dune, being too big to approach with any semblance of stealth and too slow to charge the three successfully.

He really needs to get someone to build him hoverbike or something.

[Sky-byte]

// I don't mean you. // grumbles Sky-Byte.

He looks up, the tremors have stopped. Ah, so the targets have stopped moving, have they? Well, since there hasn't been any response over broadband, that means these ones are ripe for picking away at!

// Get a good bead on them, Long Range. I want you to fire when I say. //

The circling furrows in the sand are appearing faster and coming in even tighter. Sky-Byte is about a body length away from his prey when the movement in the sand stops altogether. Having burrowed deeper into the sand, the shark now thrashes up for the kill. Jaws wide open and ready to grab anything that comes into its path as he aims right for the middle of the group.

[Dead End-3]

Dead End-3 sees the sand part and the snout of Sky-Byte rise, jaws open underneath--

"LOOK OUT!" he shouts in warning--

And then he's gone. The expanding ring of white light and inter-universal convulsion continues on.