shadow_vector | In Search Of....

G
IDW/MTMTE
Swerve, Ultra Magnus, Rodimus Prime
spoilers for MTMTE 1
for

tf_speedwriting prompt 'two characters go on a quest' You can't NOT write Swerve for this!! Okay, I can't. :P

Swerve’s tires bumped over the uneven ground, but, somehow, Ultra Magnus knew not how, it didn’t interrupt the constant flow of chatter from the smaller mech’s vocalizer. “Sort of a rough start!” Swerve said, “But then again, it’s a quest! A QUEST! Designed to test our mettle, build our character, prove ourselves worthy!" His voice dropped, solemnly. "Because that’s what quests do.”

Ultra Magnus groaned. “This is a rescue mission, Swerve. Not a quest.”

“But it’s part of the quest!”

“I don’t think that the others will appreciate being quest fodder,” Ultra Magnus mumbled, as they topped one of the red, dusty rises of the native terrain.

“Sure they do! It’s for the cause!” Swerve overshot the lip of the hill, giving a startled squeak as he tipped and began rolling down the far side, straight for a collection of boulders at the base.

Ultra Magnus muttered an oath, pushing himself into his bot mode, for the better control of his footplates as he followed Swerve’s precipitous plunge. He was about to tell Swerve that becoming part of the rescued was probably not part of the ‘quest’ but, well, the last thing he wanted to do was invoke the q-word in the red and white mech’s presence.

Bad enough that Swerve was just about the only mech he trusted on this ragtag crew. Drift had volunteered, and while Ultra Magnus hated the idea of the ex-Decepticon left behind with the others, and the criminal deeds he could get up to, Ultra Magnus had to think of the victims. He almost suspected Drift of planting the bomb onboard the ship, but the mech didn’t seem the type. Every file he had on Deadlock showed that the mech always had an escape plan. And he hadn’t escaped or tried to. That didn't mean anything, though. Criminals evolved.

Not having a clear idea of a suspect made Ultra Magnus unhappy. And Swerve…hadn’t done much to improve his mood.

He bounded down to where Swerve had come to rest, tumbled over onto his left side. He reached over, grabbing the cab’s roof, and tugging Swerve back onto his tires.

“Whoof,” Swerve said, rocking on his tires before pushing up to his feet. “Bumpy ride!”

“Bumpy driving,” Ultra Magnus corrected. He looked ahead, running his scanners on long range.

“But!” Swerve said, “I got down the hill fast.”

//Rodimus to Ultra Magnus.// The comm at least spared Ultra Magnus from having to reply coherently.

All he needed. The other hopeful idiot. //Yes.//

//Just checking in.//

This, Ultra Magnus thought, was why he worked alone. First Swerve and then this. //We’re almost there. Swerve had an…enthusiasm-related incident.//

A laugh. //He does that. A lot. You’ll get used to it.//

//Primus, I hope not.//

//You had the option of taking Drift,// Rodimus chided.

Ultra Magnus grunted. Even worse.

“SO!” Swerve said, looking around brightly, if a little woozily. Apparently he'd whacked his head on one of the boulders. “First star to the right and straight on till morning!”

Maybe not worse. At least Drift would have been quiet. That cunning, sneaky sort of quiet, the kind that sneaks up behind you, blade drawn…. //Where is Drift, anyway?// To Swerve he said, “That’s not a star. It’s a piece of the wreckage.”

“Ohhhhh!”

//Not tampering with evidence, before you even ask,// Rodimus said. Ultra Magnus could hear the grin in the voice. //Hey, I know how you think. He’s setting up a perimeter.//

A grudging sound. //Keep an optic on him. And Whirl.// Also a mech not known for his sterling character. Or Cyclonus. Or….

//Yeah, because he’s totally going to, you know, betray us to all this barren and nothing here We wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for Drift.//

Not exactly Rodimus's best line, especially in the circumstances. Rodimus never took anything seriously. This was serious. This whole mission, this rescue, the unsolved crime back on the Lost Light that was just eating at Ultra Magnus’s cortex—all those clues to gather, all those mechs to interview. No, he consoled himself. The best witnesses would be those like Waverider, sucked out of the sudden breach in the hull. //Out,// he said, cutting the comm abruptly. Focus, Ultra Magnus. Do not let all this criminality distract you.

“Let’s go,” he said to Swerve, folding down into his alt, his deeply channeled tires helping him trundle up the next rise.

“Right!” They rolled on in silence for…precisely 3.55 microkliks. “So! What are you questing for?”

“Questing…for.”

“Yeah! Everyone’s got something they’re trying to find on a quest. Not just the maguffin and such. Don’t you read any classic literature?”

“No.”

An almost startled pause. 2.28 microkliks. “Anyway. I mean Rodimus is looking to find leadership and like save the world and stuff. And Drift is looking for redemption and I’m looking for adventure, so what are you doing here? What’s your QUEST-ION?” A rev of the engine, self-pleased at his wit.

“Peace and quiet,” Ultra Magnus snapped.

“Oh wow that’s a good one!” Swerve said, racing ahead up the hill, Ultra Magnus lumbering behind him. “Hope you find it some day!”

“Me too,” Ultra Magnus said, glumly, wipers pushing through the dust kicked up by the smaller mech. “Soon.”