Public Relations (backdated to before Deception)

[tillallareone]

[With the amount of people turning up to help empower the Anti-Lady weapon it was for certain that there'd be civilians who would have had to bring their children with them, or that had to wait a long while before they were brought in. That being the case it seems that a few well meaning Cybertronians had some ideas to keep people entertained as things drew on.]



"Ladies and Gentlemen! Kids of all ages! My name's Hot Rod and I'm glad that all of you are doing everything you can to help protect the world! Me and my friends-"

[There was an irritable grunt from one of the figures leaning off to the side as if to say 'I'm not your friend'.]

"...and acquaintance... may not be from Earth... but we love it all the same and to show our appreciation we've lined up a few things for your entertainment! In this corner we've got the big green mean machine himself DEVASTATOR!"



"The challenger will be crushed! Competetively."

[The combiner added the last word in a bit of a hurry. Something that earned a laugh from the unmistakable form of a purple and black seeker and a facepalm from a certain blue one.]

"Aaaaand this opponent, the tiny powerhouse straight from the historybooks of Cybertron.... TAILGATE!"

[Standing on the opposite side of the combiner was.... a rather rounded and small Cybertronian. One that was smaller than even Bumblebee. He waved happily to the audience.]



"Hi little organics! Don't worry! I'll try to go easy on him!"

[The pair promptly picked up what was a massive anchor chain... though in Tailgate's case Picked up was a bit of a stretch.]



"Aaaand.... GO!"

[The chain was pulled taut with a metallic clack in the air.... and somehow... the tiny cybertronian was managing to keep level with Devastator. Something that garnered looks of disbelief... and absolutely wild cheers.]



"HEY BIG GUY! ASK ME WHAT I USED TO DO!"



"WHAT?"



"C'MON! JUST DO IT!"

[Metal teeth grit in effort... somehow the Combiner knew that if they asked... things were probably going to end badly.]



"WHAT DID YOU USE TO D-"



"WASTE DISPOSAL!!!"

[Bad feeling was right. Tailgate tugged the chain mightily and sent the combiner toppling over hard enough he split into his component pieces. The crowd went absolutely wild.]



"Well folks! That was amazing! Give it up for the tiny terror of cybertron himself and his opponents!"

[There was a massive round of applause all around. The constructicons gave several thumbs up and waves as they carefully got to their feet and dusted themselves off. Hot Rod went with them with a big grin as they walked back into Sakihama Base.]

"Y'know... I guess I was wrong about you guys."



"And what's that supposed to mean?"



"Hey, not trying to be offensive... I just thought you guys were always a bit rough around the edges. Wasn't too sure about you since... you know... But watching you guys out there help Tailgate with the act? Letting him win like that? It was real big of you guys. And I don't mean it cause you can turn into Devastator."

[Hot Rod pats Scrapper on the shoulder and gives Hook a fistbump. That wasn't appreciated. Scavenger however was jumping eagerly with his hand in the air and received a high five. That one was appreciated, earning a look from the other constructicons as if to ask 'Really?']



"...Well. We're in this together. Figured it'd be a thing. Earthlings like watching the little guy win and all..."



"They sure do... Anyway. I gotta get back out there and start announcing the rest of the stuff! You guys keep up the good work!"

[And as Hot Rod dashes off... The Constructicons collectively slump in shame.]



"We didn't go easy on him... We didn't go easy on him at all..."

[And soon a number of other a number of other shows of skill are displayed for the entertainment of all. An insane show of swordfighting skill and a makeshift airshow complete with daring maneuvers through the Sakihama skyline being some of the acts. Admittedly the show had to stop when Hot Rod's attempt at a daredevil stunt off a ramp dented his fender... among other things. But otherwise morale was up and the kids were happy.]

[With that out of the way the Cybertronians were available for conversation.]

[Hot Rod, Ratchet and Drift who are dealing with the aftermath of the stunt.]

[Thundercracker who is trying to watch some TV on a portable screen while Skywarp bothers him]

[Tailgate who is eagerly speaking of the day's events to a large and intimidating figure who looks very much like Unicron's minion Cyclonus.]

[Windblade who is perhaps the first female cybertronian anyone on earth has ever seen]

[The Constructicons... who are for the most part moping.]

Comments

You can probably guess who Izuru is talking to

[herodrawing]

Wow! I didn't know you were so strong. I mean, all Cybertronians are much stronger than humans but even for one of you guys to overwhelm Devastator.

That's so cool!

[tillallareone]

[Smol bot is smol, also happy as he stands proudly.]

"I didn't actually know about it either until a few days after I arrived on Earth. Its a bit tricky though but I'm getting the hang of it!"

"Cyclonus over there's been helping me train!"

[He waves at the large, purple figure who seems to be content to brood in the corner. Though there was the briefest and smallest of smiles when he glanced at the cheerfully chattering mini-bot.]

[herodrawing]

[Cyclonus? He seems a bit familiar... but nevermind that now.]

So you're new here? How do you like the Earth?

[tillallareone]

"Its primitive. The local wildlife is noisy, the weather is erratic and there is something in the air irritating my olfactory sensors. I am unimpressed."

[Cyclonus's voice seemed to carry a sort of annoyance in it Izuru would find oddly familiar somehow. Despite the grumbled muttering, Tailgate's enthusiasm was not curbed in the slightest.]



"He doesn't mean that at all! He's... well... we're both kind of homesick. Cybertron's really changed from what we remembered... but from what I heard this planet's what saved it from being completely gone. Any place that could do that has got to be amazing somehow! I just can't wait to see more of it!"

[Tailgate is almost jumping in excitement before the hand of the larger Cybertronian simply rested itself on the top of his head.]



"After we fulfil our mission Tailgate. The Prime has us here to fight in the defense of this world... though I question the worth of these Organics."



"He doesn't mean that either!"

[herodrawing]

I'm sure you just need to get to know it better. Even people who hate almost everything find something on Earth they like.

[Wait a second. Let's mentally backtrack a few seconds.]

Err... you said Cybertron's not like you remember? You mean it changed so much in a short time?

[tillallareone]

"Uh- Y- yes actually its-"

[There was a momentary sigh from Cyclonus before he simply schooled his expression.]



"Not in the way you think Organic. Tailgate and I are from long before the Great War. The Prime that had led our people when we were last online was Nova Prime."



"_{Ooohnooo.....}"

[Tailgate's lowering his head in shame and covering it, they were going to be in so much trouble!]

"We're.... uh... We weren't supposed to tell anyone that. But... yeah. We're from a long LONG time ago... I kinda... well.. its an embarrassing story and I really don't wanna talk about how I got stuck in stasis lock... Cyclonus... um...."

[The small Cybertronian glanced up at the large warrior who simply nodded at him. Tailgate let out a sigh of relief.]

"... Cyclonus was kind of shoved into a stasis chamber by Nova Prime because he didn't want to do the bad thing."

[herodrawing]

Oh...

[Nova Prime, yeah. That's an awkward thing to know.]

That's a huge revelation. I know why you're not willing to just tell anyone.

But, you see, I think there's at least one bright side to it.

[tillallareone]

"Optimism... somewhat naive. What is this 'bright side' then?"

[Like a true cynic Cyclonus scoffs before he awaits Izuru's answer.]

1/2

[herodrawing]

You're here now because a long time ago you refused to do something really horrible, right?

That's something to be proud of. You could even say that...

2/2

[herodrawing]

You're a real hero!

[tillallareone]

"I told you I wouldn't be the only one to think so!"



[Cyclonus lets out an irritated grunt and looks aside.]

"You have no idea what you are talking about... Neither of you do."

[herodrawing]

Maybe I don't. But this planet has been through some really difficult times. Hard decisions, and tragedies. Everybody worked really hard to prevent them. And we didn't always succeed, but we're still going.

And I'm here, too.

Feel free to send whoever

[a_linear_mind]

[This face...just this face at that entire stunt.]

[tillallareone]

"Ow. Ow. Ow."

[Hot Rod deadpanned the words repeatedly as Ratchet grumbled away while fixing him up. Drift simply tried his best to hide his amusement.]



"Its been a while Willis. Sorry if I'm a bit busy... Hot Rod apparently thought he could pull off some mid air maneuvers after a full speed ramp dismount but miscalculated a few things."

[a_linear_mind]

A few?

[His expression remains as smug and condescending as before.]

[tillallareone]

"A few for him."



"Oh come on Docbot! I'm not that bad-"



"Need I remind you of the time you tried to take on Megatron head on without a plan?"



"Well I didn't have time to plan for- Uh... I..."



"And then there's that time you literally rode a meteor shower into a Decepticon controlled area during the war."



"What about that time he attempted to go bull riding on one of the Dinobots?"




"OH COME ON DRIFT! NOT YOU TOO!"



"Suffice to say Willis... this happens. A lot."

Constructicons

[holdthefuture]

[Lenore just sort of stumbles upon the trio as she's about to leave...]

Oh...

You're the three from earlier.

[tillallareone]

"H-huh? Oh! Right! Yeah! We're from then! We're nice guys and... uh... You're not human..."

[Scavenger's going to point at Lenore in some confusion.]



"Well CLEARLY she isn't! I'm sure if you even had an iota of sensibility and used your optics you could tell from the horns, the ears and the abnormal energy levels she's clearly-... Clearly... One moment..."

[Hook is quickly turning to one side and opening up a panel on his hand, trying to root through information as quickly as possible in order to continue his snobbery. Scrapper simply swats him over the head.]



"Yeah we're from a lot earlier. Played a part in Hot Rod's show... not that it was a big part... What's it to- ... Grah.. I mean.. d'you want somethin'?"

[holdthefuture]

Actually, I just wanted to say: don't feel too bad.

[tillallareone]

"Well I-..We... Well..."

[Needless to say the trio actually have no idea how to handle this as they look amongst themselves.]



"... Why shouldn't we feel bad?"

[Scavenger posits the question albeit a bit hesitantly.]

[holdthefuture]

I know how it feels like to get beaten up by stronger people. Stronger than what I expected, too.

[Older ones on top of that, she would say, but she doesn't know Tailgate's history.]

That show earlier reminded me of that. And well, there's one important thing I learned from those times...

[tillallareone]

"Advising us as if we were simple buffoons are you? How very thoughtful. But I doubt we'd need your lessons."

[There was a very short silence before Hook continued, somehow managing to retain his haughty tone.]

"But I would like to hear what you have to say anyway."

[holdthefuture]

I didn't mean it that way at all, and...

There are three of you. It's better to deal with these things together than on your own.

[tillallareone]

"Six... There's six of us. Bonecrusher, Mixmaster and Long Haul went back to work after...."

[Scrapper grumbled the words at first. Despite the lack of face though something about what was said by Lenore struck a chord.]

"..."



"Oh such idealistic nonsense I-"



"Put a plug in it Hook. She's right... You're right. A lot of the best stuff me and my team did... we did together."

[holdthefuture]

Six, then...that's as many of you as my-

[Lenore stops short of finishing. No; she's done here, and that part was over when Carina was finished.

The Kijin turns around.]

...Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. It's been fun.