Fanfic / Quietus (ShyLight)

WARNING: Due to the nature of The Reveal, many listed tropes are spoilers and will not be covered, per wiki policy.

"Something went wrong, Sideswipe realized. He just wasn't sure what, and nobody would tell him."

— Summary from FanFiction.Net

Quietus is a Transformers G1 fanfiction by ShyLight. It follows Sideswipe after he wakes from a terrible injury and tries to figure out what is going on as his fellow Autobots hide the truth from him. The story was last updated on April 7th, 2013 and remains incomplete ten years later.

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Quietus contain examples of:

# to H

• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In most Transformers media, Skyfire and Sideswipe scarcely say a word to each other. In the fic they are close friends because Sideswipe was the first person to trust and welcome Skyfire after his brief stint as a Decepticon.
• Affably Evil: Six Shot is genuinely complementary and enthusiastic when fighting the Lambo twins, claiming they have his respect for their prowess and that he will remember their battle for eons to come.
• Ambiguous Situation: Is Sunstreaker a figment of Sideswipe's imagination that he created to cope or is he real because he is now a part of Sidewipe's spark and literally lives on in his brother like he claims? The golden hue Sideswipe's spark gains before he stabilizes could signify he was about to die, or it could signify that the twins merged in that moment. Adding to the ambiguity further, "Sunstreaker" knows things that Sideswipe shouldn't. The story stopped updating before the ambiguity was cleared up.
• Angsty Surviving Twin: In all of Cybertronian history, this has never happened because split-spark twins always die soon after their other half. Yet somehow, Sideswipe survives an ambush by Six Shot while Sunstreaker doesn't, leaving his split-spark twin to live on without him. Remembering Sunstreaker is dead sends Sideswipe into a downward spiral of despair and near-insanity. Ratchet comments that Sideswipe only lives on because he will not kill what is left of Sunstreaker (Sideswipe himself).
• Awful Truth: Ratchet and the other Autobots are determined to keep Sideswipe from learning Sunstreaker is dead once they learn Sideswipe doesn't remember what happened.
• Beyond the Impossible: Sideswipe has done what no other split-spark twin has in all of Cybertronian history: he survived when his other half died. Ratchet is beyond stunned when Sideswipe's dying spark stabilizes and is further floored when Sideswipe survives again after he is told Sunstreaker is gone, despite Ratchet being certain the second time will kill him.
• Chekhov's Gun: Multiple mentions are made of Sunstreaker's one-of-a-kind, special-made, and heat-resistant armor. It does not allow him to survive Six Shot's attack, but it's enough for him to save Sideswipe.
• Dead All Along: The Sunstreaker that Sideswipe has been seeing throughout the fic isn't alive. His twin died in the fight with Six Shot. Sideswipe has been seeing either Sunstreaker's ghost or a hallucination of him.
• The Dreaded: Six Shot's presence at a battle is enough to make Optimus panic and order his Autobots to immediately retreat. He becomes even more dreaded after he killed Sunstreaker, leaving Hound and the scouts that encountered him stunned they survived a battle with him.
• Driven to Suicide: First Aid hesitates to let Sideswipe out of the medbay after he finds out Sunstreaker is dead but Ratchet reassures him Sideswipe will not kill himself because that would mean killing what's left of Sunstreaker and letting Six Shot win.
• Foreshadowing: For the reveal that Sunstreaker is dead and has been the entire story:
  • No one but Ratchet, First Aid, and Sunstreaker come to see Sideswipe because everyone is afraid to talk to the surviving twin about what happened. They avoid him even more after they realize Sideswipe doesn't remember the battle out of fear that they will unintentionally be the one to reveal his twin is dead. Sideswipe notes how odd this is since he has a lot of friends on the Ark.
  • Sunstreaker avoids any physical contact with Sideswipe, who bemusedly thinks his brother is being his anti-social, looks-obsessed self.
  • Sunstreaker mentions Ratchet is worried about Sideswipe's spark. Sideswipe admits it has been hurting lately.
  • When Hound and his team come into the medbay badly damaged, Sideswipe notes the tenseness of the atmosphere and is deeply alarmed by how everyone is so relieved they are alive. He thinks to himself that battles with the Decepticons aren't supposed to be terrifying life or death situations anymore and is confused by the others' reactions.
  • Snarl, a friend of Sunstreaker's who hates Sideswipe, gives him a hug and apologizes for his past actions. This out of character interaction is what pushes Sideswipe to confront his superiors about the secrets they're holding.
• Gentle Giant: Skyfire is one of the largest Autobots who is big enough to carry the others around in shuttle mode. He is also one of the gentlest and remains a non-combatant, though he will fly the Autobots to battle and rescue operations. His kind nature wins over many Autobots who mistrusted him due to his time as a Decepticon.
• Hearing Voices: As Sideswipe is left alone in the med bay and around the base with few visitors, he begins hearing a voice in his head. Whether it is his subconscious trying to make him remember what happened to Sunstreaker or Sunstreaker himself is left ambiguous.
• Heroic BSoD: Sideswipe shuts down both figuratively and literally when he finds out the truth that Sunstreaker is dead. He blacks out from the shock and, upon awakening, remains distant and emotionally unresponsive to those around him as he lays in bed all day.
• Howl of Sorrow: Sideswipe wails in grief-stricken agony when he finds Sunstreaker's body in the morgue. He lashes out at Ratchet and Prowl before being held by Optimus, where he thrashes and screams until he falls unconscious.

I to Z

• I Didn't Tell You Because You'd Be Unhappy: Sunstreaker, Ratchet, Prowl, and the other Autobots do not tell Sideswipe that Sunstreaker is dead because they are afraid the news will send him into spark-stopping shock and kill him. When Sideswipe learns the truth, he doesn't die, but falls into despair and depression.
• Jacob Marley Apparel: Sunstreaker briefly has a black scorch mark on his back where Six Shot vaporized his armor. It vanishes as time goes on and Sideswipe dismisses it as his imagination.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Sunstreaker is aggressive, anti-social, and outright sociopathic at times but he cares deeply about his brother. When Sunstreaker is sleeping peacefully, Sideswipe notes that this is a side to his brother that no others get to see.
• Missing Time: Sideswipe begins having blackouts the longer he is left alone in the medbay. He wakes up from one blackout to find he has thrown a knife at Prowl, to his alarm. Ratchet is enraged that Sideswipe did not tell him he was missing time but Sideswipe retorts that Ratchet hasn't stuck around him long enough for him to tell him anything.
• No-Sell: Six Shot shrugs off all of the weaponry in Sideswipe's arsenal like it's a light breeze.
• Odd Friendship: The outgoing, mischievous prankster Sideswipe is good friends with the introverted, solemn scientist Skyfire. Sideswipe was the first person to try to befriend Skyfire, who was a pariah on the Ark due to his brief past as a Decepticon.
• Out-of-Character Alert:
  • Ratchet acts uncharacteristically solemn and patient with Sideswipe when he would normally yell and smack him over the head with a wrench for being injured. This immediately alerts Sideswipe that something is very wrong, especially after all his attempts to needle Ratchet into acting like his normal self fail.
  • Snarl, who despises Sideswipe just because, gives him a hug and apologizes to him. This freaks Sideswipe out enough that he goes to seek answers from his superiors.
  • The amicable, confident, and chatty Jazz does not say a word or look at Sideswipe when he confronts his superiors, which strikes Sideswipe as odd. Turns out Jazz is feeling guilty that Sunstreaker died in his place.
• Polar Opposite Twins: Sideswipe is friendly, sociable, and a notorious prankster with plenty of friends around the Ark. Sunstreaker is anti-social, vain, violent, and more likely to glare daggers at others than try to befriend them. Bringing this further, Sideswipe is nearly impervious to cold (thus why he is always sent on missions in the arctic) while Sunstreaker's armor is highly heat-resistant.
• The Prankster: Sideswipe is notorious for pulling pranks around the Ark. He once attempted to rope Skyfire into filling the hall with Dixie cups, which are too small for the Autobots to easily remove without causing more of a mess.
• Reformed, but Rejected: Downplayed. As Skyfire discusses with Bluestreak, he was never evil and was merely tricked by Starscream but he still fought against the Autobots as a Decepticon and many have not forgotten that. With the exception of Sideswipe, who immediately forgave and befriended Skyfire when he joined the Autobots, the others mistrusted him for a long time before accepting him as one of their own.
• The Reveal: Sunstreaker died fighting Six Shot.
• Sleepy Depressive: After learning the truth about Sunstreaker's death, Sideswipe remains in his room and falls into a deep depression without the energy to do anything but recharge. Even Sunstreaker's or "Sunstreaker's" attempts to get him to go outside fail.
• Survivor Guilt: Sideswipe, Jazz, and to a lesser extent Mirage all feel this way about Sunstreaker's death. Jazz because he was meant to meet up with "Mirage" and did not see through the trap, Mirage because his message was altered to set the trap, and Sideswipe because he convinced his brother to go with him to meet "Mirage" and Sunstreaker took a fatal shot meant for him. Each of them says or implies it should have been them who died.
• Taking the Bullet: Sunstreaker takes a shot from Six Shot's radioactive cannon for Sideswipe. It burns through most of his dense armor and his spark chamber, killing him instantly. Thanks to Sunstreaker's sacrifice, Sideswipe survives the attack, though he is badly injured.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Sideswipe has completely forgotten what landed him in the medbay with such severe injuries. Every time his mind tries to remember, he blacks out, leaving him unaware of what happened. Being told of Sunstreaker's death triggers the memories and Sideswipe has a complete breakdown before blacking out once more.
• Twin Telepathy: Downplayed. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker cannot speak telepathically but they have a vague awareness of each other. The other Autobots joke that the twins could be dropped on opposite sides of the Earth and would still be able to find each other.
• Two Siblings In One: Ratchet explains that split-spark twins are a case where the two separate beings technically are each other. Sideswipe is Sunstreaker, and Sunstreaker is Sideswipe. Whether it is literally the case in that Sunstreaker's spark merged with Sideswipe's when he died is left unclear.
• Unable to Cry: Cybertronians are physically incapable of crying. In the first chapter, Sideswipe is in so much pain he wishes he could cry like humans in order to let some of it out.
• Walking Armory: Sideswipe is considered mobile artillery because has enough weapons in his subspace to level Portland. He uses all of them in the battle against Six Shot, to no avail.

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