[Mod Marble: This is a proper start of a small arc me and other mods have cooked up for you! I hope we all will have fun!]
[Fyi; Here is a link to a post that explains how I format posts. All posts that are relevant to this arc will have #mirage rescue mission arc tag.]
[Was everyone too preoccupied with the reemergence of Cosmic Rust to notice one of their brethren gone? No, Jazz had told him that they had contact with Mirage for some time after he was kidnapped by the mutant, before he went MIA a couple of days ago. And the last bot to see him was that wretched minibot, Outback.]
[Cliffjumper never trusted him. Well, those who he trusts fully count as many as one has digits on a servo, but Outback always woke up suspicion and disdain in his chassis. That mech played by his own rules, not necessarily the ones a good Autobot soldier should possess... And so Cliffjumper was on my own. In the part of the forest where the last known location the Towersmech was.]
[He first analysed his surroundings. The bed of the forest and trees themselves for any sighs of struggle or the direction that thing might've taken Mirage. And it was very clear from the broken trunks and large claw marks, as well as scorch marks left by a dart rifle on the ground and trees around him that told a clear story. That indeed, they were both here. All of that destruction making place for the clear sky to sip into the young undergrowth.]
Bingo. [He said to himself as there was no living soul around him. As if the fauna knew the bigger predator was luring nearby.]
[He caught a trail. What was left to do was to follow it and pray to Primus that it'll lead him to Mirage. The red minibot heighten his sensor input around his horns to have a better visualisation of the quickly thickening forest. The mutant might be a big beast, but Cliffjumper knew better than to underestimate his opponent. He knew from lived experience how fast and agile it can be.]
[As the hours passed without any sighs of life, Cliffjumper started to doubt himself and the success of this self-appointed mission.]
*Am I even on the right track? Fragging Pits, maybe this is pointless... He had been missin' for days now! What was I even thinkin' to try findin' Mirage on my own when even Jazz couldn't locate him. And why am I even doing this? For what? Agh! Stupid overthinkin' processor.*
*Focus. What would Optima Prime say? Probably some slag about not giving up... The facts... The facts are that Mirage is still out there, online and in need of help. And if he's alive there's a chance. There is still hope. I cannot lose hope.*
[As on cue, his sensory horns detected movement nearby. Without really thinking about his actions, Cliffjumper launched at whatever mysterious creature was hiding behind the foliage.]
Oh Cliffjumper it will be ok! I promise that Mirage is still online just lost!
Okay! Okay! I got that. Thank ya very much! Ugh, I'm fine... I guess it's on me to find Mirage's pompous aft, 'cause that slagger Outback is as reliable as rusted bolt!
Wait how does steam come out of your horns? And how do you blush from them? Do you have like little vents at the end of your sensory horns?
Well, 'ey are a part of my sensory net, yeah? Thanks to those two I 'ave somethin' ya humans call a sixth sense.
I can detect movin' objects from far away. Just like Praxians can with 'em door wings, ya catch my drift? Pretty cool, huh?
But anyway, 'ey need to cool off 'cause of all the computin' 'ey be doin' all the time, so they 'ave 'eir own coolin' system. That's why 'em steam be comin' out my horns.
Why are you so distraught that Mirage is gone? Is it bc you never got to talk to him?
THAT'S NONE OF YA BUSINESS, HUMAN! I'M MAD 'CAUSE NO ONE INFORMED ME THAT- THAT FREAK OF CREATION WAS JUST LET TO GO RAMPED AND NOW IT HURT A 'BOT!
I can't just stand there and do nothin'! Even if the victim is Mirage... I need to do somethin'. I...
[His scowl left a place for a worried look. No matter how much Cliffjumper tied to hire it, he was concerned about the wellbeing of that spy. He still hated his guts, but after learning about his nightmares, he started to view Mirage in a new light.]
*Frag, I hope the fool is okay... I hate how he always treats me like I'm second grade, but... I never wanted him offline.*
