Rating: PG-13
Series: G1
Pairings: Hook/Ratchet
Summary: Hook has a proposition for Ratchet. And he won’t take no for an answer.
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I’ve forgotten…
Authors Notes: For the
tf_rare_pairing June Challenge prompt - "We weren't born to follow." Taking just the one origin story for the Constructicons here. Guess which one. ;)
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.
Ratchet groaned as he onlined his optics. His entire chassis hurt, but, surprisingly, the damage reports weren’t as bad as they should be. He wasn’t surprised to find himself in the Constructicons’ repair bay. Nor was he surprised to find himself strapped to the berth.
“Good to see you back online.” Hook’s cultured voice washed over him, and Ratchet swung his head to look at the Decepticon’s ‘medic’.
“Nnnn…” He couldn’t vocalise much, whatever drugs they’d pumped his systems full of were inhibiting his higher processor function.
“I apologise for the side-effects of Mixmaster’s concoction, but it is the quickest way to bring you back out of stasis.”
“Hrrr?”
“And we need you out of stasis. Because well… we need you. Or rather, your expertise.” Somehow, Hook even managed to make the compliment sound like an insult.
“Why?” Ah, the drugs were finally beginning to dissipate.
“Because we weren’t born to follow. We were tricked, reprogrammed into following Megatron blindly.”
“And you want me to help you how?” Even without the drugs coursing through his system, Ratchet was struggling to follow what Hook wanted. Hook stepped closer to the berth before answering.
“We want you to remove the coding.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I may not be a qualified medic like you…” Hook ran a hand across Ratchet’s plating, lingering over his medical port. “But I know enough to disable and reprogram a mech.” Ratchet shuddered at the implication; the threat hung in the air between them. He could well imagine that the Constructicons were capable of such coding, and he didn’t want to be the one to find out for sure.
“I don’t really have much choice, do I?”
“Well… you could do it, or we turn you over to Vortex.” The touch turned harder before Hook drew his hand away. “And I’d hate for a medic such as yourself to be subjected to his… techniques.” Ratchet nodded slowly, not entirely sure whether he was agreeing with what Hook was saying, or agreeing to help. Either way, Hook actually smiled, and moved to release the restraints.
“Good choice."