Flash Fiction Fills Take 64 Part Eight
Dec. 6th, 2015 10:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dracoqueen22Prompt: Ratchet/Twins, "don't worry, that's a perfectly normal reaction"
Fandom: Transformers SG. Warning: implied noncon, dark fic
He onlines in a med bay with the thick stench of scorched wires and metal sharp on his glossa. His audials ring. His optics are full of static.
This is not Knock Out’s medbay. It is dank and dim and while the surgical instruments nearby gleam, they look as though they are derived from Sideswipe’s worst nightmare.
No. Oh, Primus, no.
He knows where he is.
Sideswipe thrashes. The gurney rattles. He’s lashed down. No, he’s bolted, he realizes with greater alarm. Through his wrists and ankles and elbows and knees. There’s no pain because those sensors have been blocked.
It’s not a mercy. It’s because they want to see his agony in person.
No!
He’s supposed to be free! He escaped! He’s supposed to be safe! Megatron promised!
Sideswipe panics. Fear rises in his intake like ill-processed energon. His spark flares.
His spark. He can see his spark!
They’ve jimmied his chestplate open until only the transsteel of his inner-most casing remains closed. They intend to finish what they started when Sideswipe first made his mistake.
This time, there’s no one to save him.
A door swooshes open. Sideswipe freezes. There are two sets of footprints. Sideswipe doesn’t have to look to know who they are: his nightmare.
“Look who’s finally back,” Sunstreaker purrs as fingers trail over his sensory horns before Sideswipe can even see the perpetrator.
“And just in time to make us whole,” Ratchet agrees as another touch rests over Sideswipe’s barely guarded spark. “The ungrateful wretch.”
“Please,” Sideswipe begs as he forces his optics into a reboot and his vision clarifies, letting him see Ratchet looking over him, grinning. “Don’t do this.” He can see his spark flickering with distress.
“Awww, he’s nervous,” Sunstreaker croons.
“Don’t worry. That’s a perfectly normal reaction,” Ratchet chuckles as he lays his hand flat over Sideswipe’s spark. “All mechs get cold sparks before they bond, right?”
“But there’s no reason to be anxious, brother,” Sunstreaker purrs in his audial. “You’re back where you belong. With us.” His lips slide over Sideswipe’s cheek, a gross parody of affection.
Sideswipe offlines his optics. He doesn’t want to see what’s coming.
He bites back a sob. Nothing and no one.
For i-am-menial
Prompt: Mechs react to Optimus Prime's changed voice
Fandom: Transformers G1. Warnings: None
Bad enough that he had his own Autobots giving him second looks and being slow to respond to his commands, now he had Decepticons looking at him funny, as though he’d been replaced when they weren’t looking.
Ratchet promised he’d fix Optimus’ vocalizer as soon as he could. For poor Optimus, it wouldn’t come soon enough.
He’d gotten tired of repeating his override code to Teletraan, only to be locked out of the system when the super-computer remained unconvinced of his identity.
He didn’t like Red Alert jumping when Optimus spoke, because his recognition protocols kept stalling at the sound of Optimus’ voice. Especially when the one he was using was borrowed from an Autobot long dead.
Red Alert wouldn’t stop muttering about ghosts. And Ratchet told Optimus he’d remove his vocalizer entirely if Optimus didn’t stop surprising Red Alert.
Needless to say, he’d routed all conversations with Red Alert through Jazz or Smokescreen for the time being.
Worst of all, however, was how often he startled himself when he spoke. It was so jarring, when the voice you had known for thousands of years, was different. He didn’t recognize himself and it was quite disconcerting.
So when the alarm sounded, calling the Autobots to battle, Optimus was relieved. It was something familiar. Something that would help take his mind off the looks, of both confusion and disappointment. And if his pre-battle speech was not as rousing as usual, well, Optimus blamed that on the temporary vocalizer, too.
He rushed into battle with a roar, determined to protect the humans and drive Megatron away and if he was lucky, by the time he returned, Ratchet would have worked a miracle.
“Megatron!” Optimus shouted as he pounded across the battlefield. “Cease this mindless pillaging at once!”
And Megatron?
He didn’t even turn to acknowledge Optimus’ presence. He fired a shot in Optimus’ general direction and continued to direct his troops as though Optimus wasn’t worth his time.
He didn’t even bother to check and see if that unfamiliar voice was a threat. It would have been amusing, if it hadn’t been an irritation compounding on top of irritations that Optimus had dealt with.
Optimus refused to be ignored.
He easily dodged the offhand shot and barreled his way toward Megatron. He shouted and that was all the warning Megatron received before Optimus tackled him from the side and to the ground.
“Who… Optimus Prime!?” Megatron shoved a fist toward him, his field rippling with surprise. “Where did you come from?”
“I am always here, Megatron. Just when you least expect it,” Optimus said as he jerked a knee toward Megatron’s mid-section and they grappled like schoolyard children.
“What the frag is wrong with your voice?” Megatron demanded, sounding horrified. “You, you’re not Optimus Prime! You’re a fake! A decoy!” Megatron snarled as though personally offended. “They dare taunt me with a false Prime!”
The whine of his fusion cannon powering up echoed through the air. And Optimus cycled a sigh.
This wasn’t going to be pretty.
For superkermit3421
Prompt: the Autobots rallying around the Twins
Fandom: Transformers G1. Warnings: None
It was funny at first.
There wasn’t a mech on the Ark who hadn’t been a victim of one of Sideswipe’s pranks at one point or another. And most had once been party to one of Sunstreaker’s sharp verbal lashings or even faster punches to the face. The Twins could be hard to like. They cultivated that on purpose because they were so insular.
So when Sunstreaker froze in the face of danger and Sideswipe turned tail and ran the other direction, dragging his brother with him, well, many Autobots laughed. It was kind of ridiculous, wasn’t it? The Terror Twins afraid of something the Decepticons could cook up? They laughed in the face of freefalling to their death.
But this? This scared them? Scared them enough that they hid in their room and wouldn’t come out or answer the door? Primus only knew how they were getting their energon because no one had seen them in the rec room. Not even Ratchet could get them to come out.
Some said it was because they were embarrassed. But Bluestreak wasn’t so sure. He’d seen Sideswipe shrug off embarrassment before. And Sunstreaker never let himself get embarrassed by anything, not even his brother’s antics.
Bluestreak knew fear. He fought fear every night in his recharge. He battled intangible monsters and woke up scarred. And what he’d seen in Sideswipe and Sunstreaker’s optics had been sheer, unadulterated terror.
Once he realized that, it was a lot less funny.
He told everyone else that much, at least those that would listen to him. But once people stopped laughing and paid attention to what he was saying, realization dawned in them, too. It spread quickly. That was one thing about the Autobots and the Ark, rumor and gossip spread like wildfire.
Some refused to listen. They remained stubborn. Probably cause they didn’t want to admit they were wrong, or the idea of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe having a weakness, a genuine fear, unsettled them. It was easy to laugh at two mechs who were hard to like. A lot easier than understanding where they were coming from.
Come to think of it, that was probably why the war had lasted for so long and kept continuing. It was a lot easier to hate than it was to understand the other side.
But that was something else to think about.
Right now, Bluestreak just wanted his friends to know they weren’t alone. He wanted Sideswipe and Sunstreaker to know it was safe to come out of their quarters. That they didn’t have to cry out in fear and deal with it on their own. Because Bluestreak had been there and he knew how much it hurt.
With Jazz’s help, Bluestreak organized a show of support. He didn’t know if it would encourage Sideswipe and Sunstreaker to come out, but he was determined to try. It was the effort that mattered. Because if they didn’t stand up for each other, who would?
a/n: Still more Flash Fic to come!
As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated. :)
