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Post by Rodimus Prime on Jul 10, 2010 23:48:08 GMT -5
//It... when my alternate, that crazy demon me got killed, his... his energy, his soul tried to escape, find a new host. I think he might have even lodged in the alternate Scourge for a moment.//
//I... tried to pull him out, break him apart, and when everyone went back to that other universe, part of him was left in me.//
//It's only part - he doesn't have much strength, and hopefully this'll leave him weakened in his own Matrix, too. Mostly, if he's even 'awake' at all, I have to put with a lot of... really sickening commentary and 'advice', but there's more than words. I also get flashes of his memories, and things that remind him of... home tends to make him more... active.//
As Rodimus speaks over the radio, he pokes the top of his head out and looks around a moment, then dips back down, frowning. Looks like the coast is clear... Rodimus gets ready to spring from the shaft.
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Post by Mirage on Jul 11, 2010 9:31:35 GMT -5
//Ah.// Mirage answers at length, tone guarded, //He and my own alternate were companions.//
So. Mirage must prove himself against the ghost of a memory that isn't even Rodimus's. Even if Mirage can do that...he will fail, for Rodimus fears what will happen if he ever admits to caring more than average for another.
He cycles his cloak back on and leans his back against the rock, optics shuttered for a moment. When he opens them, he spies a familiar flash of red peeping out from the snow for a moment. Just a moment.
//I am not like that guttertrash. We share an appearance and a skill set, nothing more. I would posit that he shares such things with you to be deliberately malicious, and that allowing him to influence your own actions is letting him win.//
//I do not wish to cause you pain. If you so desire...I'll not interact with you beyond the necessary.//
Because Mirage can't promise not to flirt with Rodimus otherwise.
Mirage starts to carefully stalk toward the Prime's location.
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Jul 11, 2010 16:39:50 GMT -5
//I won't ask that from you.// He sighs. //Look. It's not fair. I know it's not fair. I know he's just out to torment me. But it's there and I have to deal with it and... the way to deal with it isn't through avoiding it, so I'm not going to ask you to just leave me alone. But... but you should know why I... what I'm dealing with here. It'll take time.//
He is about to spring from the shaft and make a run for it when... something... tugs at the back of his mind. His optics widen.
Mirage is here.
He does spring from the shaft, but not in order to get to cover - he's leaping straight for Mirage, unerringly, demonstrating a knowledge of Mirage's location that he should not have as he attempts to shoulder-check the other Autobot, hoping to use the element of surprise to knock his opponent over and off balance.
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Post by Mirage on Jul 11, 2010 19:59:27 GMT -5
//Very well.//
//I want to ask you someth-//
Mirage's words are interrupted by the sudden and unexpected application of flame-colored shoulder to blue and white chest.
"Unf! The hell!?!"
He rolls with the motion to keep from being trampled, and though he doesn't decloak, Rodimus can probably see the way Mirage's body mars the snows surface. The spy rolls back up onto his knees, and if he can manage it, will fire a shot that if it hits, should go right through Rodimus's knee.
//How did you know?// Mirage sounds quite shaken. Because it's obvious the Prime did know exactly where Mirage was.
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Jul 11, 2010 22:39:51 GMT -5
What with how shaken Mirage is and the fact that he's firing suddenly and from a bad position, the shot does not fly quite true, and instead just clips the knee, causing Rodimus to stumble but not to fall.
At least, not until Rodimus dives forward into vehicle mode and starts driving at his best speed. Right now Mirage knows where he is - until he can find another cave entrance, something, there's no point in being quiet. He's heading for the ledge. He probably intends to leap to a lower level.
//I... uhm, sometimes I can just sense where people are. Transformers, anyway. Something I've been able to do since I became Prime, but it's not really reliable.//
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Post by Mirage on Jul 12, 2010 21:37:15 GMT -5
//Handy ability, that// Mirage says dryly, //Good thing I kept distance between yourself and your alternate when I was doing recon.//
As Rodimus speeds away, Mirage steadies both his mind and his stance. He takes careful aim on Rodimus's rear passenger tire, fires, then switches aim in an attempt to also take out the rear driver tire. Chances are the second shot will miss if the first one flies true, due to possible loss of traction and control.
It bothers Mirage to make those shots, almost more than it bothers him to have made that reflexive shot to Rodimus's knee earlier. But Mirage has limited resources, limited opportunities, and, if he wants to win this game, is in no position to be squeamish.
//I assume what we are discussing is to be kept private, by the way?//
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Jul 12, 2010 22:43:57 GMT -5
The first shot lands true, causing Rodimus to screech and veer out of control for a moment, until he transforms back into robot mode, once again running towards the canon edge. Remaining up here is the best way to ensure losing this game, so the Boy Prime doesn't hesitate before jumping over the cliff edge, hoping that the drop to the smaller ledge below is short enough to keep from aggravating his knee.
It's not, and he stumbles on landing, hissing as the small injury from earlier is made worse. He's still mobile, but it's starting to slow him down. He looks down over this ledge, frowns, and... jumps again, this time using his hands against the icy cliff surface to try to slow his fall.
The process drags some ice and dirt down with him, creating a small landslide that he struggles to stay on top of, but he manages to avoid being completely buried by the time he hits bottom, at which point he once more starts running alongside the inside of the canon - from this angle, it should be hard for Mirage to get a good shot at him. The very cliff edge itself should serve as cover. Once that changes... well, he'll worry about that when it comes.
//Private? Yeah, probably best. I can imagine that making a few people kind of uncomfortable if it were common knowledge.//
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Post by Mirage on Jul 13, 2010 10:38:40 GMT -5
Mirage drops into car mode and races to the canyon edge, not bothering with cloak of silence for now. Rodimus knows where the spy is, after all. One there, Mirage transforms again, optics scanning the frozen riverbed. The canyon rim and uneven walls do indeed hide the Prime from Mirage's sight, but the path the Prime took down is clearly marked.
The spy considers his options. He could follow Rodimus's path down, but the possibility of a trap is high. Mirage making his own way down would be better, but still leaves the spy playing catch up. Or, Mirage could race ahead to the goal area, and lie in wait. Rodimus is hobbled, both by a wounded knee and by not being able to effectively use his alt mode.
All this goes through Mirage's mind in the blink of an instant, and in the next instant, the spy is moving, veering a bit away from the edge to keep himself from being seen by Rodimus. Mirage runs lightly, but swiftly up the canyon toward the goal cave, but that is not his destination. Once he's raced about half the distance, Mirage cloaks and drops from ledge to ledge until he makes it back down to the riverbed.
//As I was saying before...I- Rodimus, I don't believe in pushing where I'm not wanted. I'm flirtatious by nature, even more so when I am truly attracted to the other person. You keep saying things will take time, that there are extenuating circumstances, but you never say you don't want my attentions- just that you don't want a relationship, something I never said I wanted- or that I hold no interest for you.//
//If I've really no chance at all with you, I'd rather know it up front. It wouldn't stop my flirting or my appreciating you, but it...changes context, removes the pressure for us both.//
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Jul 13, 2010 11:21:42 GMT -5
Rodimus is actually not setting up traps - he can't afford the delay. He's simply staying in an area where it would be easier to blast something down on top of Mirage, or out from underneath him. If Mirage is down in the riverbed, he should now be able to see Rodimus, who is still running, slightly hobbled, along the canyon floor, by the cliff. Of course, the goal cave is on the other side of the river, so sooner or later, he'll have to cross it once more... he decides to take a chance on sooner, and changes direction to dart diagonally across the river.
The ice in that area doesn't look as thick as it was where he crossed earlier.
//I never said I don't think you're interesting because that'd be lying, but...//
//... but if you want to know up front, then... then here it is.// His radio voice is pained as he says the next words, but they're unwavering. //As things stand right now, you've got no chance.//
//I'm sorry.//
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Post by Mirage on Jul 13, 2010 11:55:57 GMT -5
Mirage has made it down to the riverbed, and is watching, cloaked, as Rodimus veers across the ice.
He lifts his rifle.
//As am I, Rodimus.// he answers softly, echoes of that same pain in his own voice, //As am I.//
Mirage fires, not at Rodimus, but at the thin ice in front of the Prime, once, twice, the ice snapping and cracking out from the holes.
Fire versus ice. But that's what this entire encounter has been about, hasn't it?
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Jul 13, 2010 13:19:17 GMT -5
Even now, Rodimus's words are careful.
As things stand right now.
But... as things stand right now, he already has three 'lost' sort-of loves on the Event Horizon. People who have never know him, or who knew him as another person, or who knew some alternate version of himself, and when he has so much trouble explaining to them what they mean to him, even admitting it to himself, how can he let a new person in without feeling guilty?
Not that he's managed to avoid feeling guilty as it is.
The ice in front of him snaps and cracks, and with Rodimus's hobbled leg, there's no way to avoid putting his full weight at just the wrong spot at just the wrong moment. His foot slams down, the ice shatters, and Rodimus goes crashing through the surface into the river beneath.
Is this it, then? Is the chase over?
Or is that a faint glimmer of red and yellow that seems to be moving underneath the water in the direction of the goal cave?
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Post by Mirage on Jul 13, 2010 13:53:47 GMT -5
As things stand right now is indeed a careful word choice and Mirage did note it. It is yet another example of Rodimus telling the spy "no" while at the same time not denying Mirage completely.
It's terribly, terribly frustrating, but harping on it now can be nothing but detrimental to any further interactions between the two.
Mirage moves up to the river's edge, frowning. "Well," he murmurs, "That is unexpected."
Knowing he loses nothing at the moment by doing so, Mirage transforms and races toward the cave as well. He'll have to cross the ice himself, but he'll wait until he's further down and ahead of Rodimus.
And hopefully where the ice is thicker.
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Jul 13, 2010 14:37:20 GMT -5
Rodimus is a confused boy. He's not always even sure who he is, so expecting him to have matters of the heart sorted out? Forget about it.
Rodimus cannot outrace Mirage. For one thing, Mirage is a race care and Rodimus is... is... a sports RV? Second, Rodimus is trying to drive on a flat tire. Third, Mirage isn't trying to drive through water, though at least Rodimus is going with the flow of the river and not against it.
He starts to drive towards the side that has the goal cavern, and before long, the top portion of his trailer can just be seen breaking through the ice.
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Post by Mirage on Jul 13, 2010 15:22:46 GMT -5
Rodimus is the Flaming Winnebago! Who needs speed when you look that good?
Mirage's dash across the ice leaves easily visible cracks. Depending on where Rodimus comes ashore, the Prime can probable deduce that Mirage is now on the proper side of the river based on the cracks' freshness and directionality.
The hunter's skill does not lie in traps, but if he wishes to catch his prize, he'll need to come up with some. Admittedly, the easiest thing to do really would be to try camp the goal site, taking the Prime down when he reached it. Perhaps even starting a cave-in or avalanche to try and hide it.
In a true hunt though, Mirage would have few clues as to his prey's destination. Taking too much advantage of knowing it now seems...unfair.
Instead, he moves back upriver, searching for evidence of Rodimus coming ashore. he's cloaked of course. Oh look the object of Mirage's desire hunt.
Mirage creeps closer, but not too close. Hopefully, he won't be betrayed by that special sense of Rodimus's again.*
OOC: I'm perfectly down with that happening again, by the way.
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Jul 13, 2010 17:08:59 GMT -5
Rodimus does not sense Mirage this time out, but that doesn't keep from bursting out of the river at his best speed... which would be better, were it not for that burst tire. Otherwise, he's surprisingly capable when driving through water and on ice.
Mirage or no Mirage, he transforms immediately and sets to running again, now running along the river. This time, as he runs, he pulls his photon eliminator from subspace. He fires that at the cliff wall as he runs, setting off... an avalanche?
The idea is to give him something a little easier than cliff side to run up to get to his cave. If he's judged the distances right, the avalanche shouldn't reach the river, but some of the smaller debris will be a problem to him... and anyone else in his vicinity.
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