#this one is serviceable but still... bahh...

[windupaidoneus]

i can imagine anything

[hazyheel]

Impact Wrestling Rebellion 2019 Review

Night began with a six man scramble. We had Petey Williams, Jake Crist, Aiden Prince, Ace Austin, Cousin Jake, and Eddie Edwards. No real reward for winning here, but it would be a big victory. The announcers seemed to be implying that this match would be important in the X-Division. The big spots started right out of the gate, with Crist intercepting Austin’s suicide dive with a cutter onto a pile of opponents. Crist was actually all over the place, drilling people with huge DDT’s and cutters all over the place. Austin as well was flying around with well placed kicks to all of his opponents. Jake was the powerhouse of the match, coming in to deliver huge power moves when the action was low. The finish came very quickly, with Williams hitting Jake with a Canadian destroyer, but Austin slid in and rolled up Williams for the win.

Grade: C-. Fine match, very spotty, not really long enough. Jake Crist and Ace Austin really shined, but everyone else felt very left out. Prince and Edwards in particular only really got one spot each, with Edwards hitting a tiger driver and Prince hitting a 450. The physicality of the match may be enough for some people to put it on the positive side, but they just didn’t give it enough time, nor was there much of a story here. A couple side stories converged here, especially between Austin and Williams, but we didn’t need this many people in a match to further that story. If you are gonna book a match with this many people, then you need to give it ample time. There was less than 6 minutes here, so each wrestler literally had less than a minute to do something memorable. That would be impossible. This match was doomed from the start.

Then there was an ad for Impact+, a new streaming service. Very exciting.

Next was another new match on the card, Scarlet Bordeaux vs Rohit Raju. This was a pretty basic inter gender match, with Raju being a dick and not taking her seriously. Raju had the win early on with a snap suplex, but he pulled her back off the mat. Not long after, Bordeaux was able to lock in a cross face, with Raju nearly tapping out but powered out of the hold. Scarlet was able to get the win after hitting a low blow while Fallah Bahh distracted the ref, and then a package pildriver for the win.

Grade: D. Bordeaux really isn’t all that good, and this match was so easily telegraphed that I called her getting a win with a low blow from the beginning. Raju did his best selling and such, but this match was heavily held back by its own “gimmick.” Not really worth watching.

Into the 6-man tag, Moose and The North against the Rascalz. Page and Alexander were actually cheered as they entered, possibly because of their affiliation with Canada. Heels has a huge size advantage. Rascalz started out with some high flying teamwork, hitting senton after senton to Moose, before Moose destroyed them after a kip up. Dez was destroyed for much of the beginning, but when they got the offense they hit some killer offense. Page was taken out after being hit with a pushed moonsault off the stage from Wentz. Moose then caught a suicide dive from Trey, powerbombing him into the barricade, before Dez came flying in with a senton, jumping off the back of Alexander on the stage. The Rascalz hit a series of offense of the top rope, only for Page to break it up with a crucifix bomb. Alexander then threw Wentz out of the ring onto Trey. Dez continued to get destroyed, being hit with a superkick, forearm, and then a pump kick. The North then destroyed him with an assisted fireman’s slam, and then a spear from moose for the win.

Grade: B+. This is how to have a flippy sprint of a match. Everyone had a chance to shine, with the Rascalz showing some of their high flying prowess, and the heels showing how good they could be in a prominent pay per view spot. Makes sense for the heels to pick up the win, builds up a new tag team and a new challenger for the world championship. I liked this a lot.

In an interview, Johnny Impact and Taya Valkyrie bullied Melissa Santos, and ultimately said that they would destroy their opponents. Simple stuff, but Santos is an awesome interviewer. She gives me Renee Young vibes, and hopefully she becomes just as big.

Into the Knockouts championship match, Jordynne Grace against Valkyrie. Grace attacked right at the bell, immediately dropping Valkyrie onto the apron twice for a near fall. Valkyrie targetted Grace’s arm throughout the match. Grace started to fight back, hitting Valkyrie with a lariat, but falling to the mat in pain from the injured arm. Grace continued to use her arms to attack, with one lariat after the other, but she just couldn’t keep it up. Valkyrie took advantage of that and hit the road to Valhalla for the win.

Grade: B-. This match was a bit slow, and really was just short of being bad. I liked the story of dissecting the arm, and having that come back to hurt Grace. Valkyrie played a great heel here, and nevertheless got a clean win. It was just a very straightforward match that felt like it should have been on TV, given how much limb work was in it. But I was into the story, so good on them for crafting a narrative.

Another interview from Santos, this time with Gail Kim. Kim said that she is coming back to the ring to teach Tessa Blanchard a lesson. A lesson that no one is willing to teach them themselves. She wouldn’t listen to Kim as an agent, so maybe she will listen as an opponent. 

And next up was Rich Swann against Sami Callihan for the X-Division championship, under OvE rules. The rest of OvE, including their new heavy, are banned from ringside. As Swann came down, he was not dancing at all, dead serious, opening the match with a series of quick strikes. Swann wasted no time getting extreme, stapling Callihan several times in he opening stretch. Callihan returned the favor with a staple to the mouth the second he got the staple gun. Callihan countered a suicide dive with a brutal shot with a steel sheet to the face. Callihan even countered a crossbody by catching Swann, and drilling him into a seated chair with an exploder suplex. Swann shocked the crowd with how sadistic he could be, licking Callihan’s blood, and nailing Callihan with a series of kicks while his head was in a garbage can. Swann also used the stipulation to aid his flying offense, swinging off part of the set into a hurricanrana, and also nailing a handspring cutter on the stage. Callihan has a bit of railing set up between the stage and ring steps, and ended up piledriving Swann onto it for a near fall. Swann was on the top rope locking for a splash, but Callihan countered with a hand full of salt to the eyes, and then piledriver him off the top and onto a pile of legos for a crazy near fall. Callihan introduced a barbed ware baseball bat into the match, but Swann got it after a hitting a low blow, tapping Callihan out with a cross face using the bat.

Grade: B. Pretty good match, with some absolutely brutal death match spots. I wasn’t sure how much Swann’s offense would translate into a style like this, but he worked pretty well. My biggest problem with the match was simply that they didn’t play up their rivalry enough. This match was one of the best built on the whole card, but I didn’t feel as much emotion as I thought I would. They didn’t really tap into it until the end, when Callihan begged Swann to have mercy on him. With that little bit more of storytelling, and possibly a bit more wrestling before they got into all the deathmatch stuff, this could have been a really great match.

Another interview, this time with Blanchard. She said that she doesn’t need to respect anyone who doesn’t deserve it. Tully Blanchard showed up out of nowhere, saying that he fully supported his daughter, and that she needed this win. Well alrighty then.

We went right into that match next, Gail Kim against Tessa Blanchard. This was a brawl from the bell, and it was Blanchard’s strength against Kim’s speed. Blanchard hit a brutal codebreaker off of the middle rope for a near fall. This really felt like the two hated each other, with a bit of extra emphasis on each of the strikes. The two even brawled on the ring steps, with Tessa going face first into the post. After a big splash out of the corner from Kim, the crowd erupted into well deserved “you still got it” chants. The two brawled on the stage, and Blanchard used her signature reverse dragon suplex spot to throw Kim off the stage. Kim was able to hit Blanchard with eat defeat after countering a slingshot suplex, but only a near fall. As Kim locked in a dragon sleeper on the top rope, Blanchard countered by biting her arm, and then hitting magnum for another near fall. Blanchard then immediately locked in a sort of cobra clutch on the mat, and Kim had no choice but to tap out. After the match, Blanchard offered a handshake, but Kim came in with a hug. Blanchard was balling her eyes out, so happy to get the torch passed to her. Kim was in the ring and soaked up the applause, in what could easily be her last match. And it was a hell of a match to go out on.

Grade: A-. This was a brutal match for a brutal feud. All the hatred that built between the two in the preceding weeks was addressed here. They brought the fight to each other with as much as they possibly could. The adversity between the two was real, and it was awesome to see the two get to show what they had. The showcase at the end was very sweet, but it kinda took me out of the whole “hate each other” thing. But it was clearly a huge moment for Blanchard, the biggest win she’s ever had, so I understand why she couldn’t contain herself.

Cage cut a weirdly quick promo about how he will do anything to beat down Impact tonight. Their friendship was long gone, and he wants to show him that he is the better man.

And that world championship match was next, Brian Cage against Johnny Impact with Lance Storm as the referee. Another match that started right at the bell, with Cage destroying Impact with tackles, kicks, a German Suplex and an F5 for a near fall right out of the gate. Then he hit a buckle bomb, and a deadlift vertical suplex off the apron and into the ring for another near fall. He went for another deadlift, but Impact fought out and hit an incredible German suplex. Impact then took the fight to the stage, and hit a Spanish fly off the the ramp and onto the floor. At some point, Cage did a blade job, probably after being thrown into the barricade. Actually, looking at his head, Cage May have cut open the top of his head, but either way, he was bleeding like a stuck pig. As the two brawled, Valkyrie and the crooked ref Bravo set up a table for Impact on the outside. Impact had Cage set up for a Starship Pain through the table, but Cage got up and powerbombed Impact through the table. Bravo tried to get involved, but Cage caught him. Impact hit Cage with the belt in the back, only for Valkyrie to pull Storm out of the ring, and Impact nailed him with a dropkick to the outside. Impact then played possum in the ring, with Valkyrie pretending that she hit Cage with the belt. Cage drilled her with a powerbomb, only for Impact to grab the belt and hit Cage with it. Bravo then ran in the ring, with a ref’s shirt on, and Impact hit the Starship Pain, but Cage kicked out! Storm ran back in the ring, and superkicked Bravo. He was about to disqualify Impact, but Cage stopped him. Cage then hit Impact with a superkick of his own, and the drill claw to finally win the Impact world championship.

After the match, Michael fucking Elgin showed up debuting in Impact, and he seemed to challenge Cage for his belt. He attacked Cage with a backfist and a spinning powerbomb. Seems like we have the next big opponent for Cage.

Grade: B-. This was fucking wild. Huge moves all over the place, and while it seemed slow at times, the big moves more than made up for it. That finishing sequence was all over the place, but it seemed to tick all the boxes. Impact got comeuppance with a powerbomb through a table and losing his belt. Valkyrie ate a rough powerbomb, and Bravo was hit with a superkick. However, everything that was leading up to that finish, apart from the opening sequence, seemed like it slowed down too much. I think that Cage looked a bit weak, even in his victory, because he didn’t have he advantage much after he started bleeding. But still, his win was the right choice. I wouldn’t have had Elgin beat him down right after his big win, his first big win at that, but it will probably be an awesome match. I was wondering where Elgin went, and this is a huge acquisition for Impact. Also, they used to be a tag team in PWG, so maybe they will bring that up. The finish, while entertaining, was a bit overbooked and had too many twists and turns to really keep up with. A bit tough to grade this one, but I think that the loss of momentum and the flurry of stuff happening in the latter half of the match hurt it a bit for me.

In the clubhouse, LAX were prepared for their match in the main event. Kennan called the full metal mayhem match a Mexican standoff, which is weird because it is nothing like a Mexican standoff, other than the fact that it is a standoff amongst Mexicans. Maybe I’m stupid, because I was thinking about that so much that I missed the rest of the promo.

And in the main event, the Lucha Bros took on LAX for the Impact Tag Team Championships, in Full Metal Mayhem. Once again, LAX attacked before the bell with stereo dives. Fenix and Pentagon responded with dives of their own, sending everyone through tables. The Lucha Bros hit their classic double superkick spot, but Satanna’s head was in a trash can this time. LAX hit their team combo, but Fenix broke up the pin with a big diving dropkick, and then fended them both off with a series of kicks. At one point, Ortiz had Fenix up for a draping cutter into a couple set up chairs, and Santana assisted with a double stomp to Fenix’s head, for a near fall. The four met in the middle of the right, nailing each other with elbow strikes while just sitting in chairs. Konnan involved himself after this, passing Ortiz and Santana a couple forks. LAX set up a bunch of chairs near the corner, only for the Lucha Bros to use it against them with a terrifying fear factor into the chairs, but Santana kicked out! Fenix looked pretty busted up during the match, and even Don Callis and Josh Mathews on commentary pointed out that his left arm looked limp. Lax had a table set up on the ramp, and Ortiz tried to put Pentagon through it with something off a ladder, but Fenix walked the top rope and drove him through it with the scariest Spanish fly that I have ever seen. Fenix under rotated, and landed on his fucking head and somehow he could still walk. Back in the ring, Santana ate a Pentagon driver through a chair, but still kicked out. Then came the thumb tacks. Pentagon spread them out on a pair of tables. Pentagon and Santana battled atop a ladder, teasing who would go through them. It seemed like Santana would do the honors, but Ortiz ran in to make the save, putting Pentagon in a powerbomb position. Santana helped out his partner by stabbing Pentagon in the head with a fork, and Ortiz blasted Pentagon through the tables and the tacks. That was what did it, and LAX began their forth title reign as the tag champs.

After the match, Fenix could barely stand up straight. Konnan decided to squash the hate, saying that they are family. They all embraced, and then the faces of the roster came out to pay their respects.

Grade: A. One of the most terrifying matches I have ever seen. The spots were so sick, everything was scary as hell, and it was car crash TV at its finest. This was as much of a war as their feud needed, and it was a hell of a blowoff. I hope that Fenix is okay, because that was a scarier spanish fly than Will Ospreay last year. The embrace at the end made a lot of sense as well. They started this feud as friends, and that was how they ended it. Great match through and through, easily the best Impact match in years. Match of the night for sure.

Overall Grade: B-

Pros: Good commentary; 6-man tag; X-Division Championship; Blanchard vs. Kim; Main Event

Cons: Way too short of an opener; Bordeaux vs. Raju

On a note that I wanted to be completely separate from the review, why wasn’t anyone disqualified for using the tables in the main event? They aren’t made of metal, so they shouldn’t be legal. Just saying.

[black-strike-otp]

part 25

Sometimes folks do what you least expect of them.

Sometimes, you don’t really know someone as well as you thought you did...

There was a scrutinizing air about the medic as she checked over the results from the scans and recent data files from Blackout the past couple of days. She would lean in to poke and prod at the mech; much to Blackout’s chagrin, and then would continue flipping through sections of her datapad with a slight nod here and there.

Softly uttered mumbles escaped the femme that even Nova couldn’t make out very well. It was probably just nonsense gibberish, she reasoned. That didn’t stop Novastrike from wringing her servos together anxiously as she waited with patience silence.

“I’m astonished,” the medic finally stated. “You’re actually recovering fairly well. It doesn’t look like anything so far has healed in a way that would cause you further damage or that may break or severe with movement or transformation... Energon levels appear to be at normal functional capacity... No signs of trauma to the processor or spark... Hmm...”

The femme flicked her digit a few times over the screen of her datapad to go to a different section. “You appear to be in acceptable condition. The only problem areas are that of your cannon; which I would not recommend using until a full diagnostic can be run as it’s activated to make sure that the repairs work and I would advise rest. Take it slow and letting your body adjust. Your self-repair system should take care of the rest but I would highly urge you to take regular check-ups for the new forty to fifty cycles just to make sure.”

Blackout slowly brought up arm up to flex his digits slightly before forming them into a fist. “Thank you, doctor.”

The femme dipped her helm respectfully. “My pleasure,” she commented. “I’ve comm’d Guard to come down; I’m sure he’ll want to speak to you himself and get a look at the results.”

An inkling of surprise lit up in Blackout’s optics. “Of course,” he stated in a rumbling deep baritone. The mech would want to look at the results? What odd behavior. It wasn’t like any Decepticon general, council-mech, or otherwise went in to check up on patients and see how they were.

Then again, this was certainly not a Decepticon warship.

“Congratulations,” Novastrike piped up softly.

Blackout’s dark optics shifted to the femme. “Thank you again, Novastrike. I likely wouldn’t be online without your assistance.”

“It- It was nothing,” the little femme stammered.

A loud whirring captured everyone’s attention, and they looked to the floor to see Scorponok staring up at the assembled trio.

“Thank you,” the bug clicked respectfully. “Partner alive. I alive. You two help. Made a difference.”

Novastrike smiled slightly. Her ears folded back against her helm at the praise. She was far from being a medic, or even a suitable apprentice to a medic, but she had learned a few things that would certainly come in handy in the future. And, dare she think it, but she was proud of what she’d done. She’d aided in saving a mech’s life and likely, his comrade’s as well. It left a warm feeling in the depths of her spark.

“Yes, very well done,” the medic agreed, reaching out to gently rub Novastrike’s helm with a digit. “Maybe you should stick around and help me out around here more often. I enjoyed the company.”

 A soft giggle escaped Nova. “I’ll help where I’m needed, ma’am. It would be an honor to help you in the med-bay again.”

The doors to the room hissed open and everyone looked over to see the large silhouette frame of Guard standing there. He was smiling gently; as he always seemed to. The elderly mech hobbled in the room slowly with the support of his cane, but it was obviously that he was relying more and more on the staff to remain sturdy.

“Blackout! You’re looking much better than the day Novastrike hauled you on board the Rising Star,” Guard beamed.

“Thank you, sir.”

Stepping aside, the medic held out the datapad to flick through it slowly for Guard to look over. The Commander skimmed the documents more than read thoroughly through them, nodding at the medic to flick to the next page as he checked the diagnostics.

“You healed up better than I’d thought you would,” Guard noted. “Faster, too.”

Blackout offered a shrug. “I’m a Decepticon. We don’t stay down long.”

“Indeed,” Guard agreed, still smiling. “So, I suppose that you are going to insist on leaving us now that you’re in some state of good health?”

The directness of the question had Novastrike’s backstrut going rigid. Out of the corner of her optic, she noticed Blackout straighten his posture in response as well.

A momentary awkward pause followed suit. Guard seemed the only one unaffected by it, as he stared patiently at the Decepticon Hound for a response. The medic glanced between everyone questioningly, unsure and clearly wanting to argue a point, as the rest stared at Guard.

“Actually, sir,” Blackout rumbled deeply, “If I am not an inconvenience to your ship, your crew, or your energon supply, I was hoping to repay my debt. You provided me care and shelter. I was wondering if I could provide you with something in return.”

Guard arched an optic ridge. “What would that be?”

“I was thinking I could repair the weapons and defense system on your ship,” Blackout offered. “I’ve fixed my own cannon for eons, had a lengthy career in the Pits of Kaon. I know how weapons function. Besides that, I have no idea where we are. We could be light-years from the nearest Decepticon ship. I would perish out in the cold vacuums of space before a signal could reach them.”

Reaching up with his free servo, Guard scratched at the side of his helm. “Interesting proposal,” the elder mech hummed. He glanced at the medic as he spoke: “What do you think?”

“It would put him in a position of constant care,” the medic stated matter-of-factly. “If he’s on board the ship, I can do follow-ups on him.”

Guard gave a curt nod and looked down at Novastrike. There was a slight shine to his optics that wasn’t normally there. It even appeared his smile grew slightly, like he knew some interesting secret.

“And what of you, Novastrike? Would it offend you to keep Blackout on board?”

“Not in the least, sir,” Nova quickly responded. She tried to hide her eagerness by slowing down her speech as she went down, “It would be a privilege to keep Blackout on the Rising Star. He’s a very intelligent mech; I’m sure his efforts in repairing the weapons system would greatly benefit us.”

Novastrike could feel the burning gaze of Blackout slowly turn upon her. She tried not to squirm, and most definitely made sure not to turn her attention whatsoever towards the stupidly handsome idiot’s dumb optics.

“Well, I have no argument,” Guard rumbled as he turned to Blackout. “You’re free to stay.”

“Neutroboost’s not going to like that,” the medic mumbled.

“Hush,” Guard shot at her softly. “I can deal with Neutro.”

Blackout inclined his helm respectfully. “Thank you, sir.”

“Bahh! Tut tut young mech, raise your helm. That’s hardly necessary. After all, we’re just bots trying to make a living out here, in the wide wonders of space. Make yourself at home; find a berth not yet taken. You’re welcome to go as you please.”

With a slightly baffled expression, Blackout gave a nod in return. Definitely nothing like the Decepticon’s.

On the floor, Scorponok released a charmed ‘woooo’ sound. Everyone in the room gave a laugh, save for Blackout, who has placed his gaze back upon Novastrike with some doubt.

Staying might be the worst decision he’d ever made, but what choice did he have?

~

“He’s staying?!” Neutroboost snarled. “Guard, I thought it was plain that we weren’t going to be keeping the mech around. He’s not a pet; he’s an endangerment to us all.”

The elder Commander twirled his cane absently in his servo as he looked up on it. His posture was completely relaxed, lounging back in his seat. The light of his optics seemed bright and cheerful and a faint smile was upon his faceplate as he delightfully hummed a merry tune to himself.

“Guard. Guard. GUARD! Are you listening to me?”

“Yes, of course I am Neutro. I can hear very well still, thank you very much.”

“THEN WHY AREN’T YOU RESPONDING TO ME?!”

“Hush, Neutro, and show some patience,” Guard calmly replied. “You don’t want the entire ship to hear you.”

“Oh, I’d love for the entire ship to hear me,” Neutro snarled. “They’d all think you’re as much of a lunatic as I do!”

A disappointed sigh escaped Guard. He slowly turned his gaze upon Neutroboost. He looked much more tired than he had just moment’s ago; his face growing sad, his optics less vibrant.

“Neutroboost, this mech has offered us a great service. You yourself said we can not rely on the transwarp drive. It’s unstable, and unsafe. The Rising Star can’t jump to hyper space through a wormhole every time we run into trouble. It’ll eventually rip the ship apart. Now, if the weapons system is functional again, we will be able to defend ourselves should a situation arise. You really want to turn down that sort of help?”

“Help? The mech’s probably going to strain the systems so that it overheats and the whole damn ship explodes! And he’ll be too busy flying away, laughing the whole time because he did us in.”

“You really think so little of a mech you hardly know,” Guard stated quietly. “He has done nothing to us. Not on Giohizmut, not thus far in space, nothing. He simply wants to survive, Neutroboost, just as we do.”

“You are blind old mech; he’s going to turn his backstrut on us the first chance he gets. If not by exploding our ship, then handing us over to the Decepticons. He’s just like the rest; all he wants is power and to stand above the rest of us.”

Drumming his digits against his cane, Guard gave a loud grunt. “Do you know who that mech is?” Guard inquired. “The mech is named Blackout. Formally Beta-2068. He was a serial number, Neutroboost. He lived in the Badlands like a Kaonite Pit Hound. That mech slaved away for owner after owner for years; a slave-laborer from the moment he emerged from the Well.”

“And where did he find his purpose?” Guard continued. “The Arena Pits, like half those who managed to survive in Kaon. He bought his own freedom. He killed his own masters. He refused to be owned and used like the Caste System asked him to be. He found a friend in a radical who wanted to change that system, and he followed that mech into a war. Do you know who that mech was?”

“Megatron,” Neutroboost answered in an annoyed growl.

“Megatron,” Guard agreed solemnly, his optics fiercely blazing now. He placed his cane upon the floor and pushed himself up swiftly and with ease.

Neutro was surprised by the sudden closeness of the larger, older mech looming over him and instantly stepped back, his optics flashing nervously.

“How do you know so much about him?” Neutro hissed suspiciously.

“It matters now,” Guard answered vaguely. “But you will treat him with the respect he deserves. We all have ugly stories; we have all killed and destroyed to get where we are and to live this long. He is no different than you or I. Have some faith in him. He may surprise you. And who knows, he may not be here tomorrow, or the day after that.”

Neutroboost huffed, allowing his shoulders to sink. He watched Guard as the mech slowly began to amble around the chair. Once again, the older Commander was showing struggle with his leg, as if the years had snatched upon him and eaten that youthful fire that had just burned so brightly upon him.

“I have an energon room to go to now,” Guard rumbled. “Don’t cause any trouble, Neutro, please. I beg of you.”

There was a slight hesitation from Neutroboost before he vented, glancing away. “Of course, sir.”

Guard offered a faint smile. “Thank you,” he stated softly before turning and leaving.

Venting harshly, Neutroboost slapped a servo against his faceplate and groaned. Turning to the viewing window behind him, he staggered the few steps over to lean an arm against it and peer out.

On the other side of the door, Guard vented softly to himself. He turned back to the closed door and then glanced down at his chassis, pulling out a small fragment of metal from his subspace. His digits gently rubbed along the edges of the corners; softened from wear and tear over the years and the violet hue it once had now dulled to gray.

The Decepticon insignia’s haunting appearance of optics glared up at Guard; judging him.

“I’m surprised he doesn’t remember me,” Guard murmured to himself as memories flickered behind his optics. “Then again, it was a long time ago...”

~

Walking down the hallway, Blackout had made a decision to not burden the remainder of the crew by even daring to find a place to recharge among them. Without a doubt, some of them were still uneasy about the fact he was still on the ship; let alone would be happy with the idea of him recharging in the same room as them.

Besides, he didn’t like the idea that someone could try jumping him in the middle of the night and try ramming something straight through his spark.

< You’re paranoid. Like I’d let someone offline you while you were recharging, > Scorponok chastised.

The large mech growled quietly, turning a sharp optic down to his small partner. < Shut it. >

< I’m not talking; I’m thinking. >

< Think to yourself, > Blackout snarled through the bond, slamming the door in the scorpion’s face. The bug gave a small chatter of laughter from the floor.

“Hey, Blackout!”

Oh, more company, Blackout thought. How delightful.

He stopped and glanced down, waiting for the small femme to catch up to him. She was grinning like a schmuck as she approached; all bright-eyed with wonder and awe. It was like she hadn’t seen him in a millennia.

“Are you heading to inspect the maintenance area for the primary cannons?” she huffed, optics sparkling.

“I was intending to,” Blackout responded in a gravely tone.

“Great, I’ll join you!”

“I hardly need the assistance, femme.”

“Hey, my small digits saved your big aft. I’m sure I’ll be useful. Just you know, point and tell me what I need to do!”

Taking the perfect opportunity, Blackout slowly raised his arm and jutted out a digit in the opposite direction of the hall he was going down. “Go that way,” he stated firmly.

Novastrike rolled her optics. “Your sense of humor is terrible,” she sighed.

“Agreed,” Scorponok chirped from the other side of Blackout’s legs.

“I’m not going to get rid of you, am I?” Blackout finally relented.

Novastrike gave a short shake of her helm, smiling wider.

Despite his best intentions not to get sucked in, Blackout allowed a small smile to appear on his faceplate and it quickly dissipated. “Alright, fine,” he rumbled deeply. “But you do what I say, when I tell you, is that understood? Some of this stuff can be sensitive. I don’t need you blowing me, and the entire ship, up.”

“You can count on me sir!” Novastrike chirped, saluting. She gave a slight snicker and offered a playful wink to Blackout and his rigid ‘I’m being so serious’ complexion.

Satan shifted his pedes slightly and glanced away. “It’s Blackout,” he remarked; his tone softer, much like that night...

“Of course, Blackout,” Novastrike corrected. One of her audios tilted curiously to the side and her smile turned lighter and less joking.

Staying suddenly didn’t seem like such a bad idea anymore.