HOC: Tangency

Triggerhappy flies toward the ground, smashing himself and Blades down into it. But as the two of them strike the terrain, it suddenly gives way, sending them down into the ruins of the Nightsiege and cutting them off from the rest of the fight!

Well, it seems it's going to be just the two crazies this time...

Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter  sets his defense level to Protected.

Blades groans as the floor gives out from under them, dumping them in the ruins of Nightseige. It's a bumpy ride down, and by the time that he gets his bearings, there's a roof over his head, and he can't even see where they must have crashed through. Blades does a radio check, to no avail. So he's stuck underground with a gunbunny. And Elita One was counting on him to help with the shield!

There's just one thing to do: murder Triggerhappy, traumatise his Nebulan, and get out of here.

That's three things.

Counting is not Blades's strong suit.

The Protectobot squirms out from under some rubble and lunges at the jet with his blade.

Combat: Blades misses Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter  with his Rotor Blade attack! [Pulled -2]

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP...down they go. Indeed it is a bumpy ride into the ruins of the Nightsiege. Blowpipe is knocked away from his partner, and crashes into a dilapidated wall, which cracks upon impact.

Meanwhile, Triggerhappy just smashes into the ground when they hit the lowest sublevel of the ship. Before he can recover, Blades is rushing at him with, well, his blades. Somehow the Protectobot misses him, perhaps his optics are still adjusting to darkness, or had been damaged upon impact. Transforming on the ground where he is, he brings a fist up to attempt to clobber Blades in the side of the face while he keeps his optics on Blowpipe. While the Autobot has three things on his mind, Triggerhappy just has one: Get his gun back.

Triggerhappy reverts to his root form.

Combat: Triggerhappy sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Triggerhappy misses Blades with his Punch attack!

<p class="MsoNormal">Sometimes, Blades just overshoots things. He can get pretty enthusiastic. He goes rushing past Triggerhappy, which is unsatisfying, because wants to see the Decepticon leak, slaggit! But it also keeps him safe from punches. He backs up a bit, finding a larger atrium, and he manages to transform. Rockets can see in the dark. He think he read that somewhere.

<p class="MsoNormal">Blades transforms into his Bell UH-1V Iroquois <Blades> mode.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Bell UH-1V Iroquois <Blades> strikes Triggerhappy with his Armor-Piercing Smart Rocket attack! [Pulled -2]

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Bell UH-1V Iroquois <Blades>'s attack damages your armor.

<p class="MsoNormal">Blades manages to evade the punch, but then again Triggerhappy wasn't really trying that hard, either. See, he isn't much of a 'punching' guy. More of a shooting guy. Speaking of shooting, while the Protectobot took the time to transform and take to the air, the Targetmaster dives for Blowpipe, grabbing him and bringing him around at the helicopter despite getting grazed by the rocket.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Triggerhappy sets his defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Triggerhappy's Compressed-Air Cannon attack on Bell UH-1V Iroquois <Blades> goes wild!

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Triggerhappy misses himself with his Compressed-Air Cannon attack! [Pulled -4]

<p class="MsoNormal">Bell UH-1V Iroquois <Blades> is smugly satisfied as Triggerhappy proves why guns blow and are the worst. Seriously, did Triggerhappy hit a backdraft or something? Blades doesn't know, and he doesn't really care. He transforms and a thought hits him. Their optics have both adjusted to the dark, haven't they? So being blinded would really hurt right now, wouldn't it? It's nasty and unfair, and Blades likes that. In a moment, he has his photon pistol in hand, and he fires.

<p class="MsoNormal">Bell UH-1V Iroquois <Blades> transforms into his Blades mode.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Blades sets his defense level to Aggressive.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Blades strikes Triggerhappy with his Photon Pistol attack!

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Triggerhappy's Accuracy. (Blinded)

<p class="MsoNormal">That was totally Blowpipe's fault, of course! No doubt the Nebulan is still upset about being jammed up his partner's afterburners. Still, he should be taking his rage out on Blades, not Triggerhappy.

<p class="MsoNormal">The photon pistol wreaks havoc on Triggerhappy's targeting systems...not that he really used them anyway. And he certainly isn't using them now, as he is simply firing randomly in all directions and quite enjoying it.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Triggerhappy sets his defense level to Aggressive.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Triggerhappy misses Blades with his Not that I ever used those anyway! (Disruptor) attack!

<p class="MsoNormal">Blades takes a step back and ducks into an alcove of twisted metal. It's damp in there, and Blades doesn't know why. Then he pushes off from the wall and springs out at Triggerhappy with his blade, trying to run him through.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Blades strikes Triggerhappy with his Rotor Blade attack!

<p class="MsoNormal">The rotor blade hits home, impaling Triggerhappy through the chassis. Stunned, the Targetmaster falls to the ground, again losing his weapon. If he'd been battered before, he was close to stasis locking now. In fact, he doesn't make any retaliatory moves, lying motionless on the ground. Is he down for the count? Does it matter to someone like Blades?

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Triggerhappy takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

<p class="MsoNormal">Blades is the kind of outright jerk who will kick and opponent while he down. He yanks his blade back with a 'shlck' noise, and he squints at Triggerhappy. Is he faking something? Is his leg going to explode? Is his gun going to sneak up and cut off Blades's head and replace him? Whatever, kick time.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Blades strikes Triggerhappy with his  (Kick) attack! [Pulled -1]

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Blades's attack has damaged your Accuracy!

<p class="MsoNormal">Nope. No explosions, no Nebulan attempting to decapitate anyone. Blowpipe's taken a fair amount of damage himself, and since his partner appears to be close to being out of commission if not already, he's not planning on taking an Autobot on by himself. Unlike Triggerhappy, Blowpipe is a reasonable person who is actually concerned for his own well-being.

<p class="MsoNormal">The kick simply causes more energon to spurt out of Triggerhappy's joints as well as the cracks in his armor, leaking out onto the ground. His optics flicker, and a faint grin comes to his face. "Y-you're enjoy th-this aren't you? Y-yeah...just like an Autobot should, eh?" he stammers, though sarcasm tinges his voice. "Hehehehehh...g-go on. F-f-finish it. Kill me in the most painful way possible...you know what you want it! None of your...friends are gonna see you down here. No one's gonna know...go ahead, let your true nature out of its shell!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Triggerhappy takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

<p class="MsoNormal">Blades ... smiles. He leans down and looks Triggerhappy over. He says, almost friendly-like, "You know I'm a combiner, right? Part of Superion. Captain Boy Scout. Squeaky clean as a fragging operating room. You know what happens to my mind - to my /memories/ when I become a part of him?"

<p class="MsoNormal">The Protectobot crouches down, and he reaches for one of Triggerhappy's hands, as if to hold it - and then he tries to flex one of Triggerhappy's trigger fingers back, hard, to try to break it.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Blades strikes Triggerhappy with his Breaking Fingers (Punch) attack!

<p class="MsoNormal">Yeah, that's painful. Excruciatingly. In addition to everything else. But instead of groaning or crying out, Triggerhappy is laughing. Laughing in that twisted sort of way that happens when someone is laughing at something that really shouldn't be laughed at.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Ahahahahah! YES! That's right, to the afterspark with 'honor', and preserving the freedoms of all sentient life! TORTURE me! DO it! Do it because you enjoy it, you delight in it! Beat a defenseless mech until he's nothing more than a twisted shell!"

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">"I'm not myself when I'm Defensor. I don't even think about any of this. That's the thing," Blades explains quietly, his gaze distant. "They could know /exactly/ what I'm like. It'd be the easiest thing. If he ever pulled up those memories... and he never does."

<p class="MsoNormal">He reaches for the next finger, to crank it back. "Though I think that some have some slagging good guesses."

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Blades strikes Triggerhappy with his Finger Crank (Punch) attack!

<p class="MsoNormal">Triggerhappy looks like he's about to say something else as Blades breaks another finger, but suddenly his head lulls backward and his optics darken. Stasis locked--earlier than he would have liked, he was having fun taunting Blades, but he's lost too much energon.

<p class="MsoNormal">Truth is, he doesn't really care if the Autobot's friends find out about it or not. The sheer fact that Blades is willing to sink to this low amuses him greatly, because it just proves even further that he was right about the Autobots all along...they're no different from the Decepticons, outside of having a few pathetic saps among them. Some are more honorable--some, less. And some, are even worse than certain 'more honorable' Decepticons.

<p class="MsoNormal">And who knows--perhaps there were a few pieces of mildly functioning surveillance equipment among the ruins of this ship...

<p class="MsoNormal">But now the question is, will Blades finish the Targetmaster off, even though he is clearly down for the count? Or will he do what most of his friends would do--simply walk away?

<p class="MsoNormal">Blades pulls out his photon pistol, stands, and rather coldly tries to put a hole between Triggerhappy's optics. Blades is, after all, a necessary monster. If the Autobots are to make progress instead of spending their semi-eternal lives in a fruitless stalemate, enemies /are/ going to have to die. It's just that simple. Of course, most Autobots can't be like Blades. He wouldn't want them to be. If they were all like him, they wouldn't even be worth protecting. They just need a few like him to protect them from the worst of the war. When the war is over... Blades doesn't know what he'll do himself. That's something he'll have to figure out later, if he makes it that far.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Blades strikes Triggerhappy with his Photon Pistol attack!

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Triggerhappy's Accuracy. (Blinded)

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Triggerhappy falls to the ground, unconscious.