Helter skelter 'verse. Autobot base. Goings on.

[random_xtras]

Sunhalo: *onna ceiling, watching everybody go by, sees a Percy... dunno that guy yet, scoots over to doorframe and hangs upside down to poke him in the head as he goes into his lab*

Perceptor: *Startled sound, looks up, surprise showing on his faceplate* Well, hello there...

Sunhalo: *quirks brow and clicks*

Perceptor: *small amount of concern* Who is your guardian, little one? *holds out his arms, ready to catch Sunhalo if she needs catching*

Sunhalo: *turns head to listen to where Keepsake is busy yakking with Eclipse, then looks back down at the stranger* Desi.

Perceptor: *nods, glances down the hallway for the blue femme, nods a bit as he watches her converse with Showtime*

Desi: *Surprised noise, laughs and RUUUUUUUNS from flailing Showtime*

Show: *Spouting curses to rival Ironhide as she chases Desi down the hall*

Desi: *Cackle* Run away! Run away!

Sunhalo: *watches, and then drops down on Perceptor's head and starts to play the drum*

Perceptor: *surprised, tries to gently remove Sunhalo from his head, will allow drumming on chestplate?*

Sunhalo: *holds on with feets!* *yes, baby Seeker here*

*down the hallway, sound of someone running into a door, followed by Desi laughing*

Perceptor: *startled, again tries to gently remove Sunhalo*

Sunhalo: *HOLDS ON. Nobody takes the Seekerling from her perch*

Desi: *ZOOOMs past, running from Showtime yet again, skids to a halt, and hides behind Percy, snickering as Showtime runs past, still spouting curses*

Sunhalo: *watches Show go by, and then starts playing the drum again*

Desi: *looks up at Sunhalo, smirk, glances back at Perceptor, who seems a bit lost* Need some help, mech?

Sunhalo: *gives Desi a 'you and whose army?' look* Thhhhpppthh

Percy: If you would be so kind.... *surprise*

Desi: *Snerk* C'mon bitlet, let's go harass Doc Hatchet some more, or maybe we can find Lumen and Sweep. *holds out arms in an offer of snuggle time*

Sunhalo: *beating on her drum!*

Percy: *attempt numbah three at Sunhalo removal* Miss Desinex, if I may inquire....

Desi: *interrupts Perceptor before he can get going* Sunhalo... Dreadnought found her....

Sunhalo: *rocking out!*

lab door: *opens*

Kia: *gasp!*

Perceptor: *startled*

Desi: ...*mother-hen mode, active! Tries to coax Sunhalo down*

Sunhalo: *tries to hop over to Kia's head*

Desi: Sunhalo! *firmly, a tinge of worry in her voice*

Sunhalo: *pauses on Perceptor's shoulder and gives her an inquiring look*

Kia: *frozen*

Percpetor: *attempts yet again to remove Sunhalo so he can hand the Seekerlet to her guardian*

Desi: *moves closer, but keeps wary optic on Kia. Looks like someone's 'Con programming is kicking in slightly....*

Sunhalo: *wraps around Perceptor's hand, going 0_0 as Kia starts sliding down the door*

Perceptor: *Baffled. Showtime, even when she was young, never clung to anyone's appendages quite like Sunhalo* Er... *notices Kia, smiles a bit in what he hopes is a friendly way* I appear to have a Seeker who does not wish to return to her guardian at this time... ^_^;;

Sunhalo: 0_0 ... Desi? She scared?

Desi:: *neutral expression, moves closer with a slight nod* Yes, I think....

Kia: S... scared? *very small, soft voice, with a bit of a Jamaican lilt* *it seems she's just overloading slightly from all the stuff she's taking in*

Sunhalo: *jumps up and sits on Desi's head* 0_0

Desi: *takes that as her cue to move down the hallway, talking loudly about pestering Ratchet or Showtime*

Perceptor: *soft sound as he moves to make sure Kia is alright*

Kia: *shaking as she tries to remember how to get up from the floor*

Perceptor: *moves to assist Kia with standing* I do apologize, I was caught unawares....

Kia: Too.... *tries hard to find the word for her discomfort* Too bright?

Perceptor: Perhaps I should dim the lights....

Kia: *wants to go back into the lab now please*

Percy: *opens the door to the lab, and dims the lights a bit so the room isn't nearly as bright, before gently guiding Kia back inside*

Kia: *in her soft voice that almost sounds doll like yet* Fo... found you. Found you, Perc Cep Tor.

Percy: *surprised* I was actually on my way here to check on you, Miss Kia....

Kia: *slight whirr as she tries to work out the meaning of his sentance, one word at a time*

Kia: ... Check... on?

Percy: I wished to verify that your core programming was operating as intended....

Kia: *lost* *shuts down for a reboot with a soft beep*

Percy: *Startled noise, moves to catch Kia should the femme fall*

Kia: *and down she goes*

Percy: *worried, fretting as he gently moves to lift Kia up so he can place her on the repair berth he borrowed from Ratchet*

Kia: *moves slightly as everything boots up again. Oh... she's back here... and wants to find... oh, he's right there* Per Cep Tor.

Percy: *concerned* Are you alright?

Kia: All... right?

Percy: You are not damaged?

Kia: No... no... new damage... since last scan.

Percy: *relieved* Good... *isn't quite sure what else to say, as he's still doing minor adjustments on the OS software for Kia's personality matrix*

Kia: What... are... you... do... ing?

Percy: At the current moment, I have additional data to input into the operating system of a specific personality matrix....

Kia: *does a first. She manages to state a need* Please... supply... simpler data.

Percy: *surprised, tries to come up with a simpler explaination* Ah...I have to add something to a program in order for that program to work correctly...*is trying*

Kia: *just looks at him blankly*

*door chimes very softly*

Percy: *startled, glances at the door curiously*

Kia: *busy rebooting again*

Percy: *hurries over to the door, after making sure Kia is not damaged*

Perceptor: *blinks at his alt* Erm... greetings. Please forgive my intrusion, but I was wondering if perhaps you might require some assistance? Wheeljack's young creation recently asked my assistant for a copy of her personality matrix, and I must admit that it left me rather curious....

Percy: *blink blink, slow nod, even as he notates differences between himself and his alternate self* Ah... Assistance in this matter would be most appreciated... *steps aside so the other Perceptor can enter the lab*

Perceptor: *walks inside and blinks when he sees the femme resting on the table, his optics lighting with concern, confusion, and affection* Kia?

Kia: *has shut down into sleep mode*

Percy: She and Miss Clarion arrived in a rather... explosive... fashion. *concerned*

Perceptor: *startled expression* Then you don't know her?

Percy: *shakes head* No, I met her when I was called to assist in repairing her....

Perceptor: *looks sad as he gently touches the sleeping femme's face* Strange that something such as that should diverge so widely....

Percy: *confused* Pardon?

Perceptor: *looks up* Forgive me. The Kia of my own reality has been my assistant since soon after my activation. She's also one of my dearest friends.

Percy: *nods, understanding, thoughts going to a certain orange femme he worked with at one point who was more than likely mis-named*

Perceptor: *looks at monitors and read outs for some idea of what's been done* What damage has she sustained?

Percy: *frowning as he reviews the data he cataloged in regards to Kia's injuries* Most of her programming, including her personality matrix, was wiped... she collided with an oil rig head-on.

Perceptor: *looks ill* Oh dear.... I see why young Keepsake asked for the data. What have you implemented thus far?

Percy: So far, just base programming.... I hadn't had a chance to input the data I received from Miss Keepsake....

Perceptor: But you've had satisfactory proof of success with the base programming? *transforms and examines Kia*

Percy: *nods* I was quite surprised when Miss Kia exited this room less than an hour ago.

Perceptor: *scan scan scan* I am not. The Kia that I know has always been most determined and very inclined to curiosity. She is very perseverant.

Percy: I was not sure how well the base programming would work, to be honest.

Perceptor: Understandable, but it appears to be quite firmly rooted and functioning within more than acceptable parameters. Now we just need to ....

*few hours later*

Perceptor: *hands last chip to his alt, watching Kia's life signs closely... they've jumped a couple times as her processor reacted to the data that was being input. But the femme is resting quietly now.*

Percy: *carefully inputs the data, double-checking to make sure everything is correctly input*

Kia: *abruptly stops running*

Perceptor: No! *hands flying to bring her back online*

Percy: *startled, moves to assist*

Perceptor: Make sure you've gotten everything input!

Percy: *nods, double-checks, and then checks again to be certain*

Perceptor: *face becoming drawn as all his efforts bring no response* Primus... please....

Percy: *concerned*

Perceptor: *continues to work and to mutter pleas, but still nothing happens*

Percy: Ah....may I try? *scanning, and silently wishing he had taken the time to upgrade his scanners to medic-grade when he had the opportunity last*

Perceptor: *steps aside, his optics flicking back to the readouts as he tries to work out what could have gone wrong*

Percy: *works on trying to bring Kia back online* We may very well have to hail Ratchet or WakeJumper....

Perceptor: *immediately calls on the frequency that he knows his local Ratchet uses*

Kia: *continues silent and unresponsive*

Percy: *scans, trying to figure out why Kia has gone offline, trying and succeeding in resisting the urge to curse*

Kia: *there is no sign of anything wrong, her shell is perfectly in tune... and perfectly still.*

Perceptor: *uncharacteristically terse* ...Her spark is starting to fail.

Percy: *holds back another curse as he tries to jump-start Kia's systems*

Perceptor: Spark failure eminent.

Percy: *starting to get frantic, calculates the risks of one of the possible solutions his CPU has offered, before he begins moving some of his own plating aside to connect leads from his own systems to Kia's*

Perceptor: *blinks and looks alarmed* What are you doing?

Percy: There is limited time.... *fretting, even as he diverts power from some of his secondary systems through the leads*

Perceptor: *would have done the same thing, in his alt's place. Now he bolts from the room to search for the local Ratchet*

Ratchet: *is giving Thundercracker a dressing down for getting into a scuffle with Showtime*

Perceptor: *grabs his arm* Ratchet, you must come quickly! Kia is fading, and I fear she may take Perceptor with her!

Ratchet: *Startled momentarily, before frowning, and nodding, already starting to pull out tools from storage compartments and subspace* Lead the way.

Perceptor: *heading back toward his alternate's lab*

Percy: *fighting to stay online, concern for Kia showing clearly on his faceplates*

Perceptor: *rushes in, in the middle of telling Ratchet exactly what's going on and how everything's right but Kia is still failing and....*

Ratchet: *grumbles and mutters something about 'should've called me sooner', sets to work on stabilizing both Kia and the Perceptor currently hooked up to her*

Perceptor: I have some medical programming. And I am still unaccustomed to having you on hand, so.... *frowns at the monitors*

Percy: *has the good grace to look a bit sheepish, even as Ratchet berates him in Cybertronian*

Kia: *goes out*

Perceptor: *gasps*

Percy: *attempts to reach for Kia's hand, goes into stasis just as his fingers brush against hers*

Ratchet: *Curses and works to get Kia's spark going again*

Perceptor: *watching, his face getting longer as the nanoclicks pass*

Ratchet: *continues to curse and growl as he works*

Perceptor: *shakes head* No... I cannot have killed her. This... isn't right. No.

Percy: *despite being in stasis, spark pulses, almost as though he's trying to encourage his alt not to give up*

Perceptor: *unconciously and very automatically calls for his assistant, who hunts up a PINpoint and finds herself right there in the lab*

Ratchet: *is, surprisingly, used to people randomly appearing where he's working, courtesy of WakeJumper, Eclipse, and everyone else who has a PINpoint, continues working on trying to bring the Kia on the table back*

Ratchet: *to the other Perceptor* See if you can't get him stable too.

dvKia: *steps forward and starts to do that herself*

Ratchet: *comms WakeJumper and tells him to bring both emergency generators to Perceptor's lab, STAT. Moments later, the triplechanger can be heard approaching quickly*

WJ: *startled momentarily, but quickly sets up the generators where Ratchet tells him to, one near hsKia, and one near hsPercy* Okay...*slight hint of uncertainty* What next?

*something gently touches Percy's spark, and a familiar, but no longer doll-like voice calls to him by name*

Percy: *confusion*//Hello?//

Kia: *emoting confusion and curiosity* -I think I'm lost, Perceptor.-

Percy: *surprised and concerned* -That may very well be....-

Kia: *snuggles against where she can hear him* -It doesn't hurt now. And I can think.-

Percy: *surprised by the snuggle* -I'm glad you're no longer in pain...though I do wonder, where are you?-

Kia: -Right here.- *feel of a poke, but no static as one would get from a spark that had crossed the veil. The silver femme is still alive*

Percy: *surprise grows, as does his curiosity*

dvKia: He's fluctuating.

Ratchet: *Curses and is about to turn his attention to Percy when WJ moves to work on the mech*

WJ: ...er....are you sure he's fluctuating? *is scanning*

Perceptor: *is being useful now too*

dvKia: His spark reading changed radically, and the energy output doubled.

WJ: *Frowns, scans again, optic ridges up, scans yet again* Er...Ratchet?

Ratchet: *Frowns, also scans, surprised*

Kia: *snugs Percy, happy to be with him wherever this is*

Perceptor: ...Are we seeing what my scanners indicate I'm seeing?

Percy: *still puzzled, but beginning to come up with a possible theory as to what happened, still not quite sure what to do in order to reciprocate the snuggling*

Ratchet: I think so....

Perceptor: How on Cybertron did she get in there? *frowns disapprovingly* That sort of close proximity isn't recommended for sparks. There are a range of complications made possible by it.

dvKia: *steps back, brow plates lifting*

Kia: *bumps Percy, and then settles in his spark casing and makes happy feelings like going to sleep*

Ratchet: *eyes the leads connecting mech and femme, before shaking his head* Well then, we'll just have to find a way to get her back to her own protoform.

WJ: *trying to hide his amusement*

Percy: *Sleep sounds like a good idea, but he's more concerned about Kia's well-being*

Perceptor: I've manually transfered sparks before... but then surely so have you, Ratchet.

Kia: *is comfortable*

Ratchet: *nods* This is the first time I've seen something like this happen, however.... We'll have to proceed with caution.

Percy: *once he's certain Kia is alright, he starts to drift off into recharge*

Perceptor: *scans again and gasps* They're both in his spark compartment now. We must hurry before they fuse or before other complications set in.

WJ: *hides his amusement as he works on disconnecting Kia's protoform from Percy's, even as Ratchet works to put both sparks into stasis*

Kia: *dismay and fear* -What? No!- *presses closer to Percy, trying to hide*

Percy: *groggy* -Wha?-

Kia: *goes under, still trying to hide behind her friend*

Percy: *out like a light, firmly in stasis, and oblivious, even as WJ moves his protoform over to the table*

WJ: *trying not to chuckle, failing* I think she'll be good for him....

Ratchet: *also failing at hiding his amusement, even as he gets both spark chambers exposed for the transfer* No playing cupid, WakeJumper.

WJ: awww, c'mon... ^_^

Perceptor: Er... what? *confused scientist is confused*

Ratchet: What the upstart is getting at is that those two could form a bond between them. It's not anything to worry about. *blocks WJ's half-sparked attempt at swinging a fist for his head*

WJ: *pauses for a moment, appears to be listening to someone, headshake* Looks like Lumen is couch-diving again in order to hide from Sunhalo... *amused, SNERK* And Eclipse just got whapped....

Perceptor: Oh dear, how terribly embarrassing for them... *pauses and looks at WakeJumper* Er... excuse me?

dvKia: *small, secret smile as she looks at the flustered scientist, her pale optics warm as she thinks what an idiot he is.*

Ratchet: It's nothing to be embarrassed about. *nonchalant as he begins transferring Kia's spark back to her protoform*

WJ: *amused* My bond-mate has informed me that our son is hiding under one of the couches to keep from getting his skidplate whapped by the fosterling a comrade of ours is raising, and Eclipse, my bond-mate, got her skidplate whapped just now.

Perceptor: *looks to his assistant for a translation on how that's pertinent to the business at hand*

dvKia: It lightens the tension. *slight smile*

WJ: *is snickering, even as he watches, for the third time, as a spark transfer is performed* Think we should put their protoforms so that they're cuddling? *indicating Percy and Kia*

Perceptor: Of course not!

Ratchet: *rolls optics, but is smirking at the idea, even as he finishes the transfer, and brings both sparks out of stasis, before closing spark chambers and chestplates* Be my guest.

WJ: *Laughs, and moves quickly, repositioning the protoforms so that Kia's is being held in Percy's arms in an embrace*

Ratchet: *amused headshake as he begins gathering his tools and everything he brought with him*

Perceptor: *protesting and mortified for his alternate* What did they do to you that you'd want to do such a thing to them?

WJ: *ducks as Ratchet attempts to give him the Cybertronian equivalent of a noogie* Everyone who's been informed of the situation thinks Percy's changed since Kia arrived... he tended to hole up here for almost weeks on end! Even Show couldn't get him to come interact with everyone... now, he's out and about more, and according to Show, he's acting like he did when he was raising her... less reclusive, more likely to chatter your audios off about anything he's working on, including theories....

Ratchet: *optics go back and forth between Perceptor and dvKia, before he shakes his head, trying to hide his smirk*

Perceptor: *does not get it*

dvKia: *is thinking she maybe is starting to*

Perceptor: What does that have to do with bonding?

Kia: *whimpers and moves slightly*

Percy: *responds by pulling Kia closer to his frame*

WJ: *facepalm, appears to be arguing with someone unseen, shakes head*

Ratchet: Our Perceptor used to be a bit more of a social mech. He had others to talk to. Then the war started, and everyone he worked with ended up going into hiding. He and Showtime got separated, and for a long time, he was alone. He arrived here shortly after Showtime did, but a lot of the mechs here wouldn't be able to understand half the things he likes to discuss... even when he translates from how he normally speaks.

WJ: Think about it a bit... he must've been pretty lonely, even with everyone he knew around him... must've sucked not to be able to talk to someone he could sound theories off of and get input from without having to worry about something blowing up... *flinches a bit* And now I owe 'Clipse an apology.

Perceptor: *frowning* *slowly* I... have never been alone. Kia and I started exchanging theories in the resting room after we first came online, and then met later at academy. We formed a working partnership which continues to this day.

dvKia: *deep in thought*

Ratchet: Ours didn't meet others who shared his passion for learning until he was almost an adult mech. *goes over to the door, opens it, sidestepping as a very startled Showtime falls into the lab, doorwings nearly vertical*

WJ: *SNERK* Bus-ted.

Show: *Sheepish expression* Um...hi? ^^;;

Perceptor: *startled as well, but replies to Ratchet* Adult mech? I'm not certain I understand your distinction.

dvKia: *looks at Showtime* Were you listening in?

Ratchet: *is about to answer when Lumen, followed by Sweep, and Eclipse, darts into the lab, making a beeline for WJ* ...Perceptor, are you familiar with sparklings? *amusement shows clearly*

Show: *Sheepish* A little... I just wanted to make sure Percy would be alright.

Perceptor: Er... I know of sparklets, which are Transformers who have failed to develop normally for some reason or other, or failed to absorb the programming given them at their creation and so function and process at a lower level than is the norm. We have a mech who was rendered a sparklet by severe spark trauma, and I have also seen new sparks who were just insufficiently programmed and who now behave much like young organics.

Ratchet: *rumbles as Sweep attempts to scale Mount Ratchet*

Eclipse: *Tries to explain, rambling in typical Bluestreak fashion* Sparklings, at least here, are young Transformers. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back before the war, a lot of creators would build small protoforms that, once they got a spark from the AllSpark, would be dependent on the creators for protection. The nearest medic or engineer would eventually be called upon to build a youngling, and then an adult, protoform, and a medic would transfer the spark each time. *taps WJ's wrist* Wake here came to Earth in a youngling protoform.

WJ: *is holding Lumen close to his chestplate*

dvKia: He's your mentor? *glancing at Percy*

Show: not really a mentor... more like an uncle.

dvKia: Uncle.... *hooks into the 'net for the meaning* But how can that be? Unless your creator... but no, because Perceptor came from the Allspark, and not from a bonded femme's spark.

Kia: *starts awake with a little flash of terror at all the sounds and strange voices in the room*

Show: Percy, Bluetooth, Crankshaft, and the others they worked with found me after my creators abandoned me outside their lab. *no sadness in her voice* I was barely a deca-cycle old, so I really don't remember my creators. *shrugs*

Percy: *is still out cold*

Eclipse: *clicks a bit at Lumen and Sweep, who both shake their heads and click back. Eclipse shrugs and moves closer to WJ and Lumen*

dvKia: But then how is he your uncle? It sound as though he is indeed your mentor. *turns her head toward the table as her alternate begins a frightened whimpering and hides her face against Percye's chest* Ohhhh. Don't be frightened, Kia.

Show: Well, he was my primary caregiver, but he wasn't one of my creators. *shrugs a bit, before moving to try to help calm the femme down* It's alright, nobody here will hurt you. *has hands out, palms up so Kia can see that Show is unarmed*

Kia: *knows nothing at this point about weapons, only that things are overwhelming and that she misses the warm safety she last remembers finding. She continues to hide against Percy*

dvKia: *starts to gently try herding the sparklets and Eclipse and even her own Perceptor out of the room*

WJ: *murmers a suggestion to Lumen, who is quick to shift position so that he's now riding piggy-back on WJ's frame, even as the triplechanger scoops Eclipse up and carries the femme out of the room, Sweep soon darting after the family*

dvKia: *to Ratchet as her Perceptor concedes to her insistence that it's time for them to go* I think there are people here who know how to contact us. Let us know if we're needed.

Perceptor: We won't hesitate to respond.

dvKia: *smiles*

Show: *ushers Ratchet out, despite the medic's protesting, before she unsubspaces a blanket and offers said blanket to Kia* Here. *keeps her tone gentle* get some recharge in, you'll feel better afterwards.

Kia: *peeks, then bites back tears and pats insistently at Percy's chest, trying to wake him. Her mind is clearing, but he's still her reference point yet and she needs him even if only for a few clicks*

Percy: *groggy noise, blinks a bit, soft noise of surprise* *softly* Kia....

Kia: *relieved* Perceptor? Are you alright? You were so quiet. And... um this femme is worried about you. *apologetic glance to Showtime*

Percy: *slight nod* I will be alright.... *groggy blink as his optics focus on Showtime, who smiles a bit as she shakes her head*

Show: *moves to drape the blanket over both Kia and Percy* Perce, next time you're going to scare us all like that, don't. *gently as she heads for the door* Get some recharge, you two.

Kia: *looks up at him, her pale optics quizzical as the soft folds settle over them, and then she nestles close as the silence of the lab lets her catch faintly the song of his spark* Did I hurt you?

Percy: *headshake* No... though for a moment, I was frightened that we had lost you. *Is apparently a closet sap*

Kia: *smiles against his chest* No. I lost me. But I'm here now. *listens to his sparksong and feels like she's home*

Percy: *smiles, content as he drifts off again* That's good.

Kia: *snuggles and follows him into recharge*


((co-written with truck_n_science))