Backflow's 'verse. Earth, someplace in America. Unseen and Unheeded
It was bright. And everything felt strange.
Wait.
Backflow blinked and lifted his hands to stare at them as he realized that he could see clearly, his optics brightening with confusion above his battle mask.
Then he noticed something else that he could see on his person and stared at it, wondering where it had come from.
"That really took some talent, smashing yourself up on the docking tower like that," said a male voice behind him with amusement.
Backflow wrenched his optics away from the crushed mess of his chestplate and whirled to face the speaker, then pounced without thinking. "Die, Autobot."
"Already did." Ratchet sidestepped lightly. "A couple thousand years ago. Was even more of a mess than you were after that little drunken flight."
Backflow blinked and scowled, then tried a different attack, only to watch the Autobot vanish and appear somewhere else. "Liar, I just saw you yesterday, out with the rest of Prime's cronies."
"No. You might have seen the local Ratchet, but I really doubt it was yesterday. You've already been dead for about a week." The white, red, and black mech tilted his head and gave Backflow a slight smile.
"I'm not dead! Shut up!" The tall tanker bot took another swing at him, only to gasp and reel back as the blow connected and his mind filled with a vast and wonderful song. "No! I'm not dead! Take your peace and love and cram it!"
"Alright, buddy." Ratchet faded away. "If you change your mind just call."
Backflow stood trembling for a moment, but then perked as he heard voices and footsteps approaching. Recognizing the incoming bots as Thundercracker and Skywarp, he stepped out into the center of the hall and folded his arms, smirking behind his mask.
"Talk about a bug splat," said Thundercracker, laughing. "But I think the Constructicons have all the pieces. His spark's out, though."
"Guess we'll need a new tanker. I wonder how he got that loaded, the glitch was one of the best drinkers on base." Skywarp grinned at his best friend, and never even looked around as he walked right through an astonished Backflow.
"Maybe he was mixing Hook's minerals into his energon..." Thundercracker's voice faded as he turned the corner of the hall, leaving a shocked and confused Backflow standing unseen and unheeded behind him.
The tanker bot looked down at himself again, then shook like a massive dog and turned toward the mess hall, intending to grab a cube of high grade. To his confusion the room was empty except for a little green cleaning drone, when he remembered the floor being stacked with drunken Decepticons.
"This joke stinks," he growled, only to yelp as the drone finished its work and trotted out of the room, and right through him.
And then he yelped again as Rumble and Frenzy ran through him and into the mess. The two recorders laughed and threw something back and forth for a little while, shouting about 'he's gonna get you' in the twin speak that they used when they were alone, then dropped their toy on a nearby table and turned their attention to the energon dispensers.
Backflow shook again, trying to clear his processor of what he seemed to have just picked up from the recorders' thoughts, then blinked and moved over to the table nearest the dispensers as what they'd been playing with caught his attention.
It was his left hand.
Battered, dented, and curved forever in a fist, it lay there on the table top and glinted dully in the lights as though mocking him who had once worn it.
Backflow stared, then looked down at the hand at the end of his arm before looking back to the one on the table.
"NO! NO! Slagging pit! I'm not dead!" He ran from the room, seeking someone, anyone that he could terrorize or at least get to notice him. Behind him the recorders mentioned static as they came in through the door and then laughed and attributed it to that powder of Hook's that they'd stolen and eaten. They had no idea that it had been the anguish and surprise of a mech realizing a major change in his life, and soon even forgot about it in favor of trying to beat each others' faces in as they rolled around on the floor in a heated sibling scrape over who was cooler. Seated invisibly on the counter by the dispensers, the strange Ratchet alone watched the progress of the unhappy tanker bot and awaited the time that Backflow should come to terms with his condition.
To be continued next time!
Wait.
Backflow blinked and lifted his hands to stare at them as he realized that he could see clearly, his optics brightening with confusion above his battle mask.
Then he noticed something else that he could see on his person and stared at it, wondering where it had come from.
"That really took some talent, smashing yourself up on the docking tower like that," said a male voice behind him with amusement.
Backflow wrenched his optics away from the crushed mess of his chestplate and whirled to face the speaker, then pounced without thinking. "Die, Autobot."
"Already did." Ratchet sidestepped lightly. "A couple thousand years ago. Was even more of a mess than you were after that little drunken flight."
Backflow blinked and scowled, then tried a different attack, only to watch the Autobot vanish and appear somewhere else. "Liar, I just saw you yesterday, out with the rest of Prime's cronies."
"No. You might have seen the local Ratchet, but I really doubt it was yesterday. You've already been dead for about a week." The white, red, and black mech tilted his head and gave Backflow a slight smile.
"I'm not dead! Shut up!" The tall tanker bot took another swing at him, only to gasp and reel back as the blow connected and his mind filled with a vast and wonderful song. "No! I'm not dead! Take your peace and love and cram it!"
"Alright, buddy." Ratchet faded away. "If you change your mind just call."
Backflow stood trembling for a moment, but then perked as he heard voices and footsteps approaching. Recognizing the incoming bots as Thundercracker and Skywarp, he stepped out into the center of the hall and folded his arms, smirking behind his mask.
"Talk about a bug splat," said Thundercracker, laughing. "But I think the Constructicons have all the pieces. His spark's out, though."
"Guess we'll need a new tanker. I wonder how he got that loaded, the glitch was one of the best drinkers on base." Skywarp grinned at his best friend, and never even looked around as he walked right through an astonished Backflow.
"Maybe he was mixing Hook's minerals into his energon..." Thundercracker's voice faded as he turned the corner of the hall, leaving a shocked and confused Backflow standing unseen and unheeded behind him.
The tanker bot looked down at himself again, then shook like a massive dog and turned toward the mess hall, intending to grab a cube of high grade. To his confusion the room was empty except for a little green cleaning drone, when he remembered the floor being stacked with drunken Decepticons.
"This joke stinks," he growled, only to yelp as the drone finished its work and trotted out of the room, and right through him.
And then he yelped again as Rumble and Frenzy ran through him and into the mess. The two recorders laughed and threw something back and forth for a little while, shouting about 'he's gonna get you' in the twin speak that they used when they were alone, then dropped their toy on a nearby table and turned their attention to the energon dispensers.
Backflow shook again, trying to clear his processor of what he seemed to have just picked up from the recorders' thoughts, then blinked and moved over to the table nearest the dispensers as what they'd been playing with caught his attention.
It was his left hand.
Battered, dented, and curved forever in a fist, it lay there on the table top and glinted dully in the lights as though mocking him who had once worn it.
Backflow stared, then looked down at the hand at the end of his arm before looking back to the one on the table.
"NO! NO! Slagging pit! I'm not dead!" He ran from the room, seeking someone, anyone that he could terrorize or at least get to notice him. Behind him the recorders mentioned static as they came in through the door and then laughed and attributed it to that powder of Hook's that they'd stolen and eaten. They had no idea that it had been the anguish and surprise of a mech realizing a major change in his life, and soon even forgot about it in favor of trying to beat each others' faces in as they rolled around on the floor in a heated sibling scrape over who was cooler. Seated invisibly on the counter by the dispensers, the strange Ratchet alone watched the progress of the unhappy tanker bot and awaited the time that Backflow should come to terms with his condition.
To be continued next time!