Chapter 2
Lost Memory
'Please recall my heart, please recall my love, please come back.
Thinking of yourself made us distant.
Since that day, at that moment, when I dreamed of a flower
I could not stop thinking of you.
Please remember, please remind yourself,
I was more sad than you thought.
I'll be waiting for you.'
-'ME!ME!ME!' – daoko feat. TeddyLoid
Tailgate whimpered as his processor struggled to boot up. His vision still crackled and fizzed as he tried to get his thoughts together, his helm and body aching numbly. What had happened?
Storm…
Crash…
Locked out…
Cyclonus…
The minibot's vision finally cleared slightly, allowing him to get a better view of where he was. He was still where he had been when he fell unconscious, but it was far from the same…
From what he could see, the lights were out and the hallway was far filthier than it had been. Mysterious stains and scratches littered the surfaces, some of the doors were either closed or missing, but the nearby window was murky and had a thin crack across it. There was no sound, save for the venting of the minibot.
Tailgate whimpered again and tried to get up, his limbs feeling heavy and numb as if filled with sand. His HUD flashed warnings and alerts, telling him what was wrong… but one of the pieces of info confused him.
No external injuries?
How was that possible?
But what concerned him most was the note appearing telling him that something was wrong, so he wouldn't be able to transform; he may not have done that much, but it still troubled him.
The white mech tried again, flexing his fingers and trying to twitch his legs until they felt more functional. Tentatively, he placed a hand on the ground, then another and pushed himself up. He cried out as pain shot up and down his limbs, but pushed on.
He kept on pushing and forced his legs to join in, his frame trembling until he managed to haul himself to his aching pedes. "What… happened…?" He asked quietly, his vocaliser somehow healed as well. "This… isn't making sense…"
He looked to the filthy window and limped over, hoping that he would get a clue about where he – and the ship - was right now. He wiped off the detritus and muck off the glass and gasped.
"We're… still in Aurelia Thirteen?"
True to his word, the minibot was greeted with that same beautiful cloud, but instead of the swirl of colours he remembered, it was all a sickly green missed with dashes of blue, the asteroids a blue so dark, it neared onyx. A small chunk of rock swam past, as if unaware of what had happened.
Tailgate trembled and pulled away from the window, the sight no longer filling him with awe, but rather a harsh sense of dread, one that lanced at his spark painfully.
Tailgate looked to his right, wondering just where everyone was. "Hello…?" He called out, an echo his only response. "Hello?"
A sudden noise brought the minibot out of his thoughts.
Crying.
The white mech thought over what to do, two main options coming up; either go and see where the noise was coming from, or avoid it. On the one hand, it would give him a clue on what happened and if there was anyone who could help him. But, what if it was trap and something was waiting to attack him?
The bot considered both options, wondering what to do next. He sighed and made his decision, walking to his right slowly, hoping to find where the crying was coming from…
And who – or what – was making the noise.
X-X-X
Tailgate was shivering by the time he entered the third room he assumed the noise was coming from. The noise had only become louder and more desperate, the sound scratching and clawing at Tailgate's audials. The rooms he had been in were empty, but each room seemed to have shown signs of someone being in them, but the scratches and stains told him that something may have happened.
"Hello!" He called out again, leaving the room and trying to still his shaking armour plating. His steps were cautious and fearful, slowly approaching the next room to investigate, finding that the door was open just a tiny crack. The sobbing spilled past the metal.
Tailgate sighed and grabbed hold of the edge of the door, pulling with all the strength he had. The warped metal was stubborn, barely budging under the minibot's grasp. "C'mon…!" He grunted, pulling harder and resorting to resting his left pede on the doorframe to give him some leverage. "Pull! Open up, DARN YOU!"
The metal and the minibot shrieked as the door gave way, opening it up but also forcing the mech to the floor, smacking his faceplates against the grimy floor. He grumbled and pushed himself up again, before daring to tip-toe inside the room.
A single, flickering light dangled helplessly from the ceiling, illuminating the wreckage left in the room; berth, desk and anything else broken down and famaged beyond any real use. However, it was the crying mech curled up in the corner, facing away from Tailgate that got his attention.
"Chromedome?"
The mech didn't respond, his sobs continuing.
Tailgate took a step forward. Two. Three. "Chromedome…" He said again, noticing that the crying had softened. "Um… what's wrong…?"
The yellow mech remained silent before one word split the silence.
"…Rewind?"
Before Tailgate could question that, Chromedome slowly stood up. His movements were shambling and badly co-ordinated, hauling himself up slowly. Tailgate trembled harder when the mech got to his feet, allowing a glimpse of the back of his neck… horribly mutilated and rusted, the bumpy wound stained black. "Rewind…" The mech croaked out, slowly turning. "I… missed you…"
The sight made Tailgate squeal.
A rusted hole rested where Chromedome's spark should have been, black trails pouring down from the wound and down his heavily scratched legs. His mnemosurgery needles were out and seemed to be rusted and encrusted with a dried fluid. But it was the mech's face that made the minibot start panicking. His visor was cracked and flickering, black tear tracks carved down his cheekplates and his mask was gone, revealing cracked and scarred lips.
The mech laughed sadly. "I… I knew you couldn't be dead…" He cooed, taking a few shambling steps forward. "I never… ever… wanted to lose you… thank Primus you're here…"
Tailgate took a step back. "Um, Chromedome…?" He started, unsure of what to do next. "I… I'm not Rewind… It's me… Tailgate? You know 'Panicky Guy with the Legs'?" He laughed uneasily, dread spiking as he stepped further away.
Chromedome only laughed harder. "Very funny Rewind… You always made me smile…" He purred, his visor darkening. "…Let's… get back together… forever…!"
The larger mech pounced, pinning the white minibot to the ground. Tailgate screamed as his arms and legs were forced to the ground, the mutilated mech straddling his hips. "No! Stop!" He cried, wriggling as much as he could to get away.
"I know I promised not to inject anymore…" Chromedome continued, trailing his right hand up and down Tailgate's chest, mnemosurgery needles catching on transformations seams and plating. "But… I want to be one… with you…" His hand was moving again, up the chest, over to the left shoulder and towards the back of the neck…
"NO!" Tailgate howled, his hand grabbing for Chromedome's, accidentally snapping off one of the needles. The yellow mech howled in pain, letting go of the other's arms to hold his hands together. The minibot was frozen for a few, desperate moments before doing something he never thought he would do; he picked up the fallen needle and slashed at the other mech's face, a thin scratch made on his right cheek.
As Chromedome was distracted by the injury, Tailgate quickly yet clumsily wormed his way out of the mech's grasp, getting to his pedes and running for it. He ran to his right, determined to get away from Chromedome.
"Come back! Rewind!"
That voice echoed from the room behind him, the sound only making Tailgate more determined to get away. He forced his legs to move faster, work harder, until they started to ache from the effort. He thought of transforming, but he vaguely remembered the earlier warning, making him curse under his breath.
Daring to peek over his shoulder, Tailgate noticed that Chromedome was running after him, a limp in his step and desperation in his visor. "Rewind! No! Wait, please!" He cried out.
"I'm not Rewind!" Tailgate cried out, making a harsh left. He saw an open door and ran to it, hoping that he could get away for just a few moments. He gasped when he saw the room he ended up in. "Oh no… not good!"
The only thing in the room was a dirty closet, something dribbling from the bottom of the doors. Tailgate remained frozen, looking quickly behind him when he heard Chromedome. Now or never!
Without thinking, Tailgate threw open the closet door and jumped in, slamming the door behind him. He kept a hold on the door, trying to quiet this venting as he heard footsteps come into the room. The darkness of the closet was choking, as well as the rancid, foul stench of energon and, was that waste fluid he could detect? The smell choked the minibot, yet he tried his hardest not to make a single sound.
He remained still as the footsteps came closer and Chromedome's ragged venting became louder and louder…
"Rewind…" He said, his voice soft and mournful. "Please… why did you… please… come back…"
Tailgate stayed silent, his spark throbbing erratically as he heard the other mech outside start to walk away, the eerie sobbing starting again. The white mech remained where he was, waiting until the sounds finally faded and stayed away from one klik. Two. Three…
He sighed and leaned back.
Only for something to collapse on top of him.
He screamed as the closet door swung open and whatever was in there landed on top of him. He grunted as he slammed into the floor and the item landing on him. He slowly crawled his way out from under it and looked back…
It was a mech.
The minibot gasped in horror when he saw the purple and black mech lying face-down, the back of his neck horribly mutilated and torn apart. He whimpered and steadily got onto his knees, pushing the body over so he could get a look at the mech's face.
If he recalled correctly, this was the mech who barged into his room with Drift and Swerve when Cyclonus was singing. Aquafend, was it? It didn't fully matter, but it made Tailgate ask one simple question.
"What happened here?"
X-X-X
Meanwhile, another mech was lurking in the hallways, energon dripping from his claws and open mouth, smelling the air every once in a while. He grimaced as a particular scent registered with him.
"Tailgaaaaate…" It growled.
TBC
