/Knock Knock/

Knock Out was not unused to getting catcalled; however, that did not mean it never caught him unaware. This was one of those instances.

?

“… It’s not such a bad sound, once you get used to it …”

He chided, lightly but playfully.

“Rarely, actually ... Cybertron doesn’t have a lot of water, and we don’t go exactly go looking for it. It’s just kind of, there?”

Oh, except the one place-

Knock Out was not unused to getting catcalled; however, that did not mean it never caught him unaware. This was one of those instances.

?

For a moment, she uncovered her ears to check herself if it was over, since KO hadn’t replied. When the thunder came back, she squeaked again and shuffled awkwardly as she got onto the box fully and hugged her knees.

“Y-Yeah…I just don’t like the sound of it…It sounds like a roaring engine or something…” She couldn’t discribe it but it wasn’t a nice sound to her.

That ... made Knock Out break out into a small grin. A roaring engine? Just about everyone he knew possessed an engine capable of roaring ... some more than others. It was to be expected from  a mechanical race, but still ...

“... It’s not such a bad sound, once you get used to it ...”

He chided, lightly but playfully.

A deep, rumbling, but threatening growl flowed from him, becoming quite irritated that he was being called such. To the point he actually walked forward, and was merely a nose-lengths away from his forehead touching the other. His limbs on either side of this Knock Out, his teeth barred. His tone was then matching the growl, and just as deep, “Do not EVER call me ‘Bloty’… Or I swear, you’ll be missing a limb before I decide to leave.”

He then backed away slowly, calming himself some even though he still growled. An irritated sigh leaving him as he turned slightly away. He was alright with formals, but when it came to that particular word, it absolutely caused him to have fits… Best not to loose his nerve.

He’d still have to figure out where this other came from, or why they were here in the first place. Maybe he could do so, Without being so temperamental. At least hopefully.

“I am no human, if that’s what you are referring to… Though I am somewhat ‘alien’ as well, being I am not of this world, not planet.”

Apparently that had been the wrong thing to say.

“R-Right, not blotly! My mistake ...”

Optics darting from side to side, Knock Out noted that ‘Blotling’s’ limbs were rather large and, being rather fond of his limbs, decided not to test the creature’s strength. It was a relief to have the thing back off, though it wasn’t enough of a destressor to convince him to release the vent he was holding.

“... I figured-”

Because it was obvious his “company” wasn’t human - but that still didn’t necessarily mean he wasn’t organic. He certainly looked squishy enough - but oh? A fellow extraterrestrial, then?

“-I have to ask, which system do you hail form? Nebulon? Antares? Oh - perhaps Alpha Centauri?”

Knock Out was not unused to getting catcalled; however, that did not mean it never caught him unaware. This was one of those instances.

?

Technically, Elise was a sparkling if they placed her on Cybertron. She was 14 years old, so on Cybertroan she’d only be about a month old; if that.

Shaking her head, she stayed still and refused to move. “Has it stopped…?” She was okay with rain but she didn’t want to be hit by lightening or thunder.

Of course the thunder hadn’t stopped - it’d just started. But he couldn’t tell her that, because she clearly didn’t want to hear it. Nor could he bring himself to lie to her - because it was pointless, she’d hear it again, and in any case, he wasn’t the kind of mech to provoke a phobia without reason. Not like Airachnid, and certainly not like Starscream. He frowned at the familiar scene, uncomfortable with some of the memories it brought forth. Glancing out at the rumbling storm, he let out a vent, before facing the human once more.

Knock Out was not unused to getting catcalled; however, that did not mean it never caught him unaware. This was one of those instances.

?

“I see…But how can a war do that…?” She was going to continue with the questions, but the rain became thunder and Elise froze on the spot and squeaked in fear.

Covering her ears, she shut her eyes and hunched forward, as if to protect herself. Something from miles high in the sky was scaring the small child in front of the Cybertroanian.

“Lots of factors-”

He rose a brow when he heard the funny little noise - he’d heard such sounds before, from Miko, June, Fowler ... but it was usually in the presence of a threatening stimulus. He would suspected himself, if Elise hadn’t been so eager with her questions. He smirked, teasing the girl with the only obvious conclusion.

Knock Out was not unused to getting catcalled; however, that did not mean it never caught him unaware. This was one of those instances.

?

He wasn’t exactly wrong in his reasoning but Elise still believed that his planet sounded worse for having no organic life. “I see…Still your planet sounds worse to have a huge war…What even started that?” She had a lot of questions to ask him but it was just an issue of where to start. For one was his form on the planet since his form now wouldn’t be what it was up there.

Putting the finishing touches on his machine, he made a small grunt.

“If you ask me, it started itself, really ...”

Of course, he couldn’t really voice that opinion among his new Autobot comrades without raising suspicions - they were only too quick to point out his history with loyalties and Megatron’s reign of terror. He didn’t disagree ... but he wasn’t one to forget the treatment of the lower caste by the elite - most of whom had been Autobots. It was funny, how hypocrisy worked both ways like that.

“... but don’t tell anyone I said that.”

Knock Out was not unused to getting catcalled; however, that did not mean it never caught him unaware. This was one of those instances.

?

His planet doesn’t seem like a fun place, so the idea of getting to the planet somehow was out the window. Still she listened and tried to imagine it within her head. Didn’t look like a fun place either.

However she tried to not show it within her face. “Yeah, a lot of earth is suffering from pollution and crap like that…No offence but we’re you raised in poverty?” It sounded like his entire planet was poverty ridden.

The medic laughed.

“Primus, no-!”

He hadn’t exactly lived in glamour, as a relatively unknown racer, but even without his expert mingling skills, he hadn’t lived in what could be considered poverty, either. “Spartan” was the more appropriate term; he’d stuck to the essentials, with relatively little in the way of sentimentality and knick-knacks. He vented:

“... at least, I wasn’t. It certainly existed, however - alongside the excessive riches hoarded by the wealthy gluttons that ran the councils. If it weren’t for them, then perhaps the situation might not have gotten so dire ...”

Then, thoughtfully added.

“Honestly, you humans seem to have it worse, in my humble opinion; for all its riches, Cybertron was never quite as lush as your planet, disgusting as the life here tends to be. You actively destroy your planet while it is still teeming with resources; at least we had the excuse of ... how would you say it, “scraping for the bottom of the barrel”?”

“Yes Blotling. Is there something you’re not quite getting?” To himself, there wasn’t much not to understand, being he was already one. Though there was some understanding that the other wouldn’t fully understand.

When he saw the other curl closer to themselves, he stopped growling. Or at least calmed it to a quiet hum, just barely audible to anyone listening. His shoulders also slacking with him being relaxed, though not enough to keep his eyes on the other before him.

His eyes narrowed, “No, I am not familiar with transforming machines…” Truth, he had only come here to find more about these humans. He got more than he bargained for when he came across… this. More than a loss of words of what he was both watching and looking at the moment.

He huffed in slight amusement, flashing a small, nervous grin at the creature’s admission; he could make use of his novel status for leverage here.

“Well, in that case, allow me to properly introduce myself - my name is Knock Out, and I just so happen to be an alien.”

That sort of phrasing tended to get the most attention; certainly, it made his autonomy far more credible to the narrow-minded human population. Speaking of which ...

“-that said, I wasn’t aware fleshies came in tall, dark, and ...”

‘Icky’, he wanted to say, but refrained from rudeness.

“... blotly.”

Knock Out was not unused to getting catcalled; however, that did not mean it never caught him unaware. This was one of those instances.

?

“Ah a doctor. I was wondering if you had them at all…We can’t take care of metal here if it’s damaged…” Elise was told about the war and which is why they’re here but she was never told what happened. “What happened on your home planet exactly? What was it like?”

“So I’ve learned.”

As far as humans were concerned, metal was only non-living - an odd concept, for a living metallic being. He shrugged again - it was a long story, one he always ended up retelling one way or another.

“Corruption, diminished resources, mass starvation followed by rioting - and the like, you know. Not too different from your own circumstances here, now that I think about it …”

Perhaps, if this ‘Elise’ lived long enough, she’d experience first-hand events parallel to those which had driven his race off their home world. It would be interesting to see, considering the fleshies had yet to colonise space.

“In any case, it was mostly dark. There were still plenty of lights of course - we just didn’t have a sun.”

Oh, but they did have a surplus in moons … that was, until one of them went missing …

“Though you didn’t answer my own question, I can allow this. I am what not many know of, I am Blotling. Or the Leader, the Phantom Blot.” He didn’t care for the other’s discomfort, still within the boundaries of the other. They mattered little to him, when he had none himself. Though he backed off a few feet, rising upwards to his full high of twenty.

He gave a huff, relaxing himself under the current stress. A growl rising up his throat, to serve both as a deterrent and warning. Should the other decide to attack him, or he should leave. There were things he wanted to know about the other, being that this was the first encounter he had with something that wasn’t a creature of his own, nor a human of this world.

“Blotling ...”

Or the “phantom blot” ... Knock Out frowned, not sure if he was being patronised. His optics scanned the creature as it rose to its full height; it nearly matched him for scale. Almost, he reminded himself, though he did not stand to confirm it - his current position was currently “safer”, should he need to make a quick getaway. Thus, he merely pulled his limbs closer to himself and away from other.

“... what, never seen a transforming robot-car before?”

No, no, NO he refused! He didn’t quite know what was currently hovering over him - only that he did NOT want to find out. He instantly slid out from beneath … whatever it was, and collapsed on his aft - his reflexes had scared him straight into root mode.

“… j-just keep away, now ..!”

What made him even, more curious than he already was, was the fact that the car vehicle he had been looking at had changed into something more human. Yet… It wasn’t even close to being that. Something entirely different.

“Whatever am I? ..!”

Why, even the humans could eloquently point out that he was clearly a red, transforming robot car; wasn’t it obvious? And in any case, that still the biggest question here left unanswered. Namely, his unwanted guest.

“Whatever are you?”

Knock Out was not unused to getting catcalled; however, that did not mean it never caught him unaware. This was one of those instances.

?

“It’s a bit complicated, but let’s just say that I’m a doctor, of sorts.”

Not that he’d had much practice these days; with the end of the war his patients had all but disappeared, only occasionally calling upon him for minor, mundane, and otherwise boring treatments. And it just so happened that his competition happened to be the preferred physician.

He paused when there was a sudden voice from the vehicle, yet he couldn’t seem to figure out where it’s location was entirely. Making him quite the confused creature here.

That didn’t stop him from walking forward, the alleys a grand place to hide and conceal oneself, which proved useful and helpful. Being that it was quite dark where he was, only seemed to help conceal. Making it quite easy for him to sneak up to be within reaching distance.

He never answered back, other than a late growl, one that brought any attention upwards. The only thing visible at the moment was a set of neon green eyes, glowing docile in the darkness. He then leaned down, a black arm with a set of sharp claws were set to the front, while his right ankle was set just behind the left bumper. Just enough to restrict movement, but not enough for him to want to touch.

“ ...nhnnng!”

No, no, NO he refused! He didn’t quite know what was currently hovering over him - only that he did NOT want to find out. He instantly slid out from beneath ... whatever it was, and collapsed on his aft - his reflexes had scared him straight into root mode.

“... j-just keep away, now ..!”