The Diego Diaries: BASKETBALL! (dd7 123)
=0=On the edge. Literally.
"What are you doing?" Prowl hissed as he watched Ratchet climb up on the banister that prevented the spectators from falling from their seating area.
Ratchet grinned down at him, then turned to the crowd as he stood on the edge, his arms spread broadly. Everyone in the place was watching and he was on the jumbotron as well. Billions of individuals on several planets and out in the boondocks at pirate and 'Con bases watched him with fascination.
He knew they would.
He also knew that they would know what he was up to and it was AWESOME!
Crouching behind the banister with his servos over his face, Ravel of Iacon whispered to his hilariously laughing family … "Is he down yet? Have them come to arrest him?"
None of the family could reply because they were laughing too hard.
"Ratchet, get down from there," Tie said mildly. He grinned as he stared at his bond huddled on the floor. He was an Iaconian home boy, too, and Sonny was alright with him at the moment.
Ratchet glanced over his shoulder as he held the device in his servo. Everyone was laughing but Prowl. Apparently, the cheering of fans in Praxus involved decorum and tightly cinched girdles. Obviously, he'd never been a fan of the type of Iacon.
Vos gave immense amounts of verbal abuse as their trademark. Tarn and Helex gave bruising fights in the stands. Uraya combined both and included painting themselves team colors as well. Iacon was famed for insane flights of fancy from their fans and Ratchet was no different. If you had looked around the stadium, the Iacon fans were easily spotted from their insanely wild 'cheer gear' and their enthusiasm.
Ratchet waved to the crowd with a giant smile, then turned back to Prowl. It was then that he pressed the button.
It was amazing how fast the suit he was wearing inflated. Where he was standing there, all arms and legs covered in a full length leotard-like get up with a helm covering, all of which bore a number of small black dots, he was now a gigantic inflated ball including the cap on his helm.
Where he had arms and legs before, all you could see now was his peds, hands and helm. The dots changed as well. Where they were just widely spaced black dots before, now they were stretched out huge images of Prowl's face with varying expressions ranging from smug to infuriated. There was even one where he was furious and pointing his finger at someone in rage. That one was on Ratchet's round belly.
Prowl stared at him with astonishment as the entire arena exploded in laughter and delight. Foot stomping and fist waving added to the moment.
It was also when Ratchet just allowed himself to fall off the ledge backwards.
Prowl started, then with the others looked down. It was then that Ratchet hit the floor, then bounced back up to stare at them with a giant smile. Then he went down again. Up and down he went bouncing in place.
Prowl stared at him, watching him fall, then bounce back up. When he came close to the railing again, Prowl punched him in the face.
Ratchet flew away, hit the jumbotron, then bounced on the floor. He flew upward into the stands then was pushed over the side by spectators.
His family and Prowl watched as Ratchet bounced all over the arena, flying into the spectators before being pushed back over and downward again. All the time it happened he smiled a dazzling smile as he waved his peds and servos like a clown doll. Somehow, the get up must have been weighted because he didn't land on his helm once. He landed on his peds, then pushed off as he bounced to go higher and higher.
The cameras followed him as he did. The populations of several worlds and everywhere else were howling with laughter as Ratchet bounced all over the place. He was finally making his way back toward the Primal Box when Prowl unsubbed something into his hand.
Bouncing onward, Ratchet finally was back in front of his family and Prowl. Up and down he went, smiling happily as he did. When he came up for the third time, Prowl grinned, then shot him with his zip gun. The pellets perforated Ratchet's costume, then did what things of that design did when perforated.
It began to expel air which caused it to fly away zigzagging here and there all over the place. He hit walls, flew forward, herked and jerked as it deflated banging Ratchet around like a rag doll in a dog's mouth. He flew up and down, the fell to the floor to land as the last air fled through the hole. He lay silently on his back.
The crowd who was laughing loudly suddenly quieted down as they watched Ratchet lay still and spread eagle on the floor.
His family watched.
The crowds watched.
The cameras watched.
The teams in the locker rooms watched.
Prowl watched.
Nothing happened.
That was when Prowl jumped over the side, fell 70 feet, landed in an impossibly sexy ninja pose, then hoofed it to the fallen goofball on the other side of the arena. Prowl reached Ratchet, knelt, then rapped on his helm.
Nothing happened, then Ratchet glanced at him with a dazzling smile. "Hi, Prow-"
That was when Prowl grabbed his aft and began to beat it all over the arena floor.
The crowd went nuts.
=-=Iacon locker room
"Old mech is a caution." -Ironhide, oddly proud
"He is. Nice punching by Prowl." -Raptor as the others nod.
"Prowl is very skilled in hand-to-hand." -Prime
[Grin] -everyone there
=-=Kaon Locker room
"I want him to adopt me."
"I do, too."
"Your ada is mad. How come our fans aren't that cool?"
"I don't know." -Sideswipe with a sense of awe
/ … / -Sunstreaker having a moment for his personal role model and god
=-=On the floor
Ratchet grabbed Prowl's arms. "Stop, slagger," he said around his laughter.
"You're never going to be normal are you?" Prowl asked as he stood. He reached out to pull Ratchet to his peds.
"What fun is there in that?" Ratchet asked as he swooped to the middle of the room and began to bow and curtsy to the maddened crowd. He pulled a small gun from subspace, pointed it at Prowl then pulled the trigger.
The crowd who inhaled at the sight then exhaled loudly as the gun popped out a banner with the Iacon glyph imprinted on it. He smiled as Prowl ran forward to jump him again.
=-=Moments later
They slid back into the box, Ratchet minus his toy gun and body suit. Prowl had ripped both off in the corridor before entering. They stood side-by-side as the camera lovingly panned over them.
Ratchet smiled, blew kisses and preened. Prowl stared at him with his arms folded over his chassis as if he were assessing a maniac, which in some ways he was.
Ravel stayed on the floor.
=-=Getting ready to go
The two teams gathered to walk out to the arena to play for the first basketball championship of the world(s). They were quiet, ready to go, some slightly scandalized (Magnus) and others raring (everyone else) to go. Out they went with their banner held by Optimus. As they did, then Kaon team followed.
When Prime appeared the anthems began and as he led the team in everyone there sang. He planted the banner into the stand, then turned with everyone to sing, then stand quietly for the Anthem of The Primes part. When that was over, Kaon walked in and took their places. They stared at each other from their side of the vast room.
It was time for the hakas.
Iacon stepped forward into lines, their visages looking as ferocious as they felt. Prime began to shout out their quality and what would happen to the other guy tonight. The team stamped their peds, pounded their fists, slapping and shouting their disdain for Kaon. When they were finished, the crowd went mad. They stepped back to watch Kaon.
Sunstreaker growled out his own fury and intentions as the team stomped, advanced and howled. The noise was amazing as their fans assisted them in their responses. The room was rocking as they finished, then walked to their side.
The crowd was mucho pleased.
"Have you got this plotted out to the nth degree, Prowler?" Ratchet asked as Prowl pulled his data pad to study it feverishly.
Prowl glanced at Ratchet with glassy optics. "What?"
Ratchet laughed. "Nothing."
Prowl went back to his data pad.
That was when Ravel finally stood up, slapped his son, then climbed into a seat to scream for Iacon.
All was well in Ratchet's World.
=-=On the floor
They lined up, two teams with most of the members related to each other. That wasn't lost in the news. Prime lined up against Sunstreaker. The height difference was amazing and even though Sunny could jump, Prime got the ball when the ref threw it in.
The game was on.
=-=MCA on Earth waiting for half time
"This game is as good as football. I don't know which one I like more." -sportscaster
"I know. I do like the fans in this game better than any I can tell you. Between Ratchet here and mini-cons for football, the distractions are better than the game." -another sportscaster
The conversation would continue with a tinge of awe for the rest of the half time of play.
=-=Floor
They clashed but Prime bumped Sunny off with his hip. He then turned, threw the ball to Hardie who passed it to Raptor who threw it to Prime who passed it to Hardie who put it into the net … then everyone walked back to the mid court as the Kaon team counted their fingers.
Score.
Iacon, 5 and Kaon, 0.
Zip.
Goose egg.
Nada.
Bupkis.
=-=Control Booth in the arena
"Well, that didn't take long," Blaster said with a chuckle.
"No and I'm sure Sunny and Sideswipe aren't going to let it go anytime soon," Jazz said with a grin. "This might be a fisticuffs game before its over. Prime and his crew have been practicing every spare minute they had."
"It shows," Blaster agreed.
=-=On the floor
They huddled, then broke to bring the ball in again. Sunny threw it to Sideswipe who spun around, passed it off, then ran onward toward the goal with Sunny following. They passed the ball swiftly around goading Ironhide who was the … wait for it … goalie.
^,,^
"I'm still trying to figure out who thought up goalie as a position in basketball." -sportscaster on Earth
At that moment Ironhide stole the ball, flung it to Hardie who passed it to Prime who dropped it into the net. The crowd went nuts.
"Well, I think that answers my question," the sportscaster said with a grin.
^,,^
Iacon, 10 and Kaon, bupkis.
=0=TBC 11-1-19
NOTES! NOTEY-NOTE-NOTE!
leoness chapter 122 . 12h ago
lol, prowl never learns…
ME: In his Prowl-shaped world view, Ratchet is mind boggling to him. That he loves it surprises him every time, though he kneejerks to stop Ratchet. He would love to be him if he could get his girdle off. LOL! HUGS!
What Lies Beyond chapter 120 . Oct 29
Well, that's torn it. Hopefully that was just some idiot firing into the walls or ceiling in an attempt to get everyone's attention. (Though obviously it backfired spectacularly). And it was going so well, too-well, up until the brawl, at least. Something always has to come up when it's a holiday or a big game, doesn't it?
ME: Thats absolutely true. :D Nothing that's good isn't ever earned by these knotheads. There's always more to the story than it seems and this one is not different.
(Speaking of, are there any more War Games planned...? And given that holoforms are a thing, how do you think a butterfly house/garden would go over?)
ME: There's a war game coming shortly. ;O) A butterfly house sounds awesome. I'm putting it on the list. I might even talk about the human resort habitat now that its fully expanded. They have them there as well. :D HUGS!
fancyspinner chapter 119 . Oct 28
This is a great interlude. I loved how this little family came together. Now he just needs a nice Mech so that he can settle down. LOL maybe ratchet can take care of that? What cute little babies those are. I love them.
ME: FANCY! I love them, too. I like redemption stories but they sort of emerge. I never plan them. This sort of came together. Rocco is a rough cob as my grandpa would say but he's a good guy at heart and the kids are so sweet. HUGS!
AuroraArgentiSilvereye chapter 119 . Oct 27
*inhale* REEEEEEEEEEE!
Ahem, sorry. I had to express the major feels I caught. My heart was breaking for those little babies. I'm a parent as well, so I can only imagine the culture shock Rocco is going through right now. I wanna just hug the little darlings! They deserve it all, and never want for a thing again. I'm so in love with this little side tale of Rocco and the little ones journey of adjusting to life on Mars. Anyway, lovely chapter(s) as of late, and I'm so stoked for whatever comes next!
ME: This sort of fell together. I love them, too. They're going to stay a while in the thread and pop up later on as well. We need this. :D
Hopefully those two spies will finally get what's coming to them, now that the proverbial beans have been spilled. Onwards!
ME: The cell network going down is going to spell the end for them. The only thing to decide is if they go to Earth or stay. Prime has arguments for and against each move. HUGS, Darling! ONWARDS HO!
Ragemoose chapter 118 . Oct 27
agh, finally caught up again! i feel like i do this a lot. the last five or so chapters were enough to have me in tears. i love arcs like these so much. i feel like sunspot, now that he's getting a little older and probably understands things more, would probably want to start something like the FDA but for refugee kids. maybe even specifically for child soldiers.
ME: I agree. What a great idea for the child soldiers. TO THE LIST YOU GO! :D
i know from experience that being around a bunch of strange adults can be terrifying especially after trauma so as nice as the kid services are on mars, i could see it being an easier transition if it was aided by someone who can identify with them more closely, like sunspot. i think it would be cute if they even made it up like some kind of secret club, with secret tree house bases and what not. to make them feel more like they're getting to do something fun and not just being talked to by an adult.
ME: TO THE LIST AS WELL! :D:D:D (readers are such miracles, you have no idea ...)
Of course, thats just some halt-asleep rambling of mine so take it with a grain of salt;
ME: I'm taking it, salt or no … ;)
i just like to spend my time thinking about how much great stuff the kids in this story will do once they're older. :P ive head canoned for a long time that when Orion grows up he'll be Prime, if that gives you any idea of the esteem in which i hold ratchet and ironhide's parenting :P
ME: I can see that. Orion is a kid and a half with no dark spots because he's so loved and supported. Ratchet and Ironhide never expected this and they have a soft spot for loneliness and unhappiness. You can't go wrong with that.
thank you as always for helping me through the hard times and writing a story lovely enough to get utterly lost in. Eagerly awaiting more and just in case i get behind again before then happy halloween!
ME: More and more coming. I only feel that this is about halfway through. LOL! I'm delighted that people are happy here. Its intended that way. I like to see how far up you can come when you hit rock bottom. HUGS, darling Ragemoose. :D
SunnyandSidesexcellentadventur chapter 118 . Oct 27
After reading about Tiko and Boo, I had tears in my eyes. Siphon reminds me of Sunspot, he made me cry when reading about his life before Rachet's and Ironhide. Good for Rocco for not splitting the babies up.
ME: I think Rocco surprised himself as well with what's happened. They will stay in the thread for a while before coming in and out of them. HUGS! :D
Dark Mind and Saddened Soul chapter 118 . Oct 26
Lol, poor Rocco, his helm is spinning. And poor babies, why do I get the feeling that maybe a certain loudmouth is going to visit? I feel for Sunny that he is still so intense about babies, but I think that could be part of his charm. All yellow babies... well, it could have been worse... its late, brain is scattered, good night and cant wait till the next one
ME: Hi, Dark Honey. :D I agree. Everyone has to get it together and what a great place to do it. More to come with them. HUGS! :D
leoness chapter 118 . Oct 26
Siphon's a natural, haha.
ME: :D:D:D Truer words never spoken. ;O)
leoness chapter 117 . Oct 24
awwwwwww…
ME: :D:D:D:D:D