I had trouble sleeping on Tuesday night, and as I stared up at my ceiling and listened to the wind and the rain pounding against my house with all the force of a hurricane, the idea came to me! Mudflap seems like the type to get nightmares and to overly worry about his twin, at least, to me. Disclaimer- I do not own Transformers!
Just A Storm
Toss. Turn. Whimper. Kick. Repeat. That was how Mudflap's recharge cycle was going. Normally, Mudflap would have already awoken, but not tonight. Tonight, it seemed nothing short of a missile would jolt Mudflap put of his nightmare. A sudden loud CRACK! and a rumble did the trick, however. The already twitchy Mudflap awoke with a start, letting out a load shriek as he flew a rather impressive foot or two off his berth, and then fell to the floor with a large crash.
The crash woke his twin, who was in the berth on the other side of the room, deep in recharge. Of course, like always, Skids wearily onlined his optics and peered across the room in search of the cause of his disturbance. He spotted Mudflap still in a pile of twitching metal on the floor and letting out loud whimpers and Skids vented a sigh.
"Another nightmare, bro?" There was another rumble outside after Skids's words, and it startled Mudflap. The red twin let out a squeal and scrambled over to his brother's berth and curled up next to Skids, still whimpering and trembling. Skids rolled his optics, but shifted to allow Mudflap to have more room. "It's just a storm, you big sparkling." "It's not just the storm, Skids," Mudflap whispered. Skids paused and then understood what else Mudflap had been scared of. "Same nightmare, huh?" Mudflap whimpered and nodded, scooting closer to Skids and positioning himself so he could hear his twin's spark, which always calmed him down.
"...You wanna talk about it?" Skids questioned. He had always been curious about this particular nightmare that haunted Mudflap, but it was the one nightmare Mudflap simply refused to talk about. Tonight, the nightmare had been more vivid, and seemed more real, and Mudflap wanted someone to share his fears with, so he silently nodded and willed Skids to listen and understand.
"It starts off, well, I actually think it's a memory fragment. Anyway, we're there, and our Creator and Carrier, they're there, too. And, I don't really understand it, but the Decepticons come, and they almost take us, but our Creator and distracts them, and you drag me into hiding. The next part doesn't make any sense; it can't be part of the memory. You...you tell me not to look, but I must have looked, because the next thing I see in the dream is our Creator and Carrier being killed. Then they find us, and you try to protect me, but you're knocked out and they almost take you, but I attack them, screaming and punching. Then it all goes dark and changes."
Skids stopped Mudflap for a moment. "Mudflap, you mean you don't remember? Our Creator and Carrier both deactivated that day. I thought you knew that," Skids said softly. Mudflap whimpered and moved closer to Skids. If that really was a memory, he was grateful he hadn't lost Skids, because then he wouldn't have comfort right now; he'd be cowering in the dark in terror. "Keep going, Mudflap," Skids encouraged.
"Well, after that, Devastator is back, and I'm all alone and he almost kills me. Then it switches again and you're pouring out energon on the ground, and I'm afraid I'm going to lose you. Then I'm suddenly the one deactivating on the ground and you're crying and I couldn't stand it. Just as I would deactivate, I wake up," Mudflap said. Skids now understood Mudflap's fear.
In this war, one twin deactivating and leaving the other behind was very realistic. It was a scary idea, and the two were terrified it would happen to them. Mudflap wasn't scared for himself; he was scared for Skids. "Mudflap, that won't happen. I won't leave you." Mudflap sniffled and looked up at Skids. "Promise?" he whimpered. "Yes Mudflap, I promise," Skids said softly. Mudflap was content with the answer and he curled up against Skids, taking comfort from the closeness. The two listened to the storm as they drifted into recharge.
What is said during this storm stays in the dark, and that's the way both twins wanted it. It was a private moment of comfort and they liked it that way; private in the storm.