#tfa flipsides

The city bells chimed the top of the hour as darkness began to fall across the streets. In the sky, the sun was already setting, and the dim illumination from the half moon was nearly all the extra bit of light left for those trekking through the shadows.

It was the perfect time for Flipsides to be out and prowling the area. With her Decepticon duties shirked and her evening schedule free of anything but this, she had all but set herself up for success. She couldn’t take the entirety of the praise tonight, given that her chosen target had all but made things easy for her so far, but she didn’t really care. As long as she was able to find a straggler or two before sunrise, she would be content.

Her footsteps were barely audible above the sounds of a nocturnal city settling in for the night shift, but with every rustle of plating brushing against the corners of buildings and the sound of her voice humming a warning out loud to the Autobot she was gaining on, her target visibly grew more and more antsy.

Everyone had heard the rumors by now, though most who were chosen by Flipsides for her evening snack never lived to tell the tale on. Her identity was a secret, but the dangerous presence of something—someone—lurking in the streets and picking off poorly Autobots one by one preceded her.

She didn’t need them to know it was her hunting down and gobbling up the bots who dared to linger in the streets longer than they should. She didn’t need her name plastered across databases and her reputation out there for all to see. She wanted the secrecy, the suspense. It was what kept her out there, doing this, and indulging herself in one of her most favorite pastimes.

They always saw it coming, but they never made it out. As soon as Flipsides revealed her face, their fate was sealed, and her appetite was appeased.

Flipsides clung to the far side of a building as she watched the panicking Autobot just up ahead swing their helm left and right as they assessed their options. She had led them into a dead end, and no matter which direction they took, she knew it wouldn’t matter.

Her belly gave a noisy growl as she leaned past the wall and studied her prey, and she was quick to stifle the sound under a servo and hiss under her breath. She was still soft from the previous night’s hunt, and the mesh on her belly still hung from the stretch of fitting such a big frame into her. The hunger never ended, though, and while Rosanna slept soundly in their mind, Flipsides was out there, searching, hunting, and feasting.

She didn’t wait much longer after watching her target run to the left and scramble into an alleyway. She knew they had heard her, and that her cover had been blown. She followed from behind at a brisk pace, her steps now echoing against the walls of tall buildings around them as she marched down the street and into the same alley.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she called out once they had stopped and stared at the tall walls boxing them in. With a servo propped on her hip and a cruel smile spreading across her face, she watched them turn to face her, their face twisting from terror to confusion.

“Wha—… wait,” they said, scratching their helm, then laughing at their own stupidity. “Are you… are you the one that’s been chasing me?”

Of course. It’s one of those. Flipsides never took the underestimation personally, though she always knew they’d quickly regret it after she’d finished with them.

“Maybe,” she said as she lifted a servo and studied her fingers. “Why? Were you expecting someone else?”

The mech snorted at that.

“Boy, was I!” they said, clearly relieved. “I thought I was about to be dinner for that monster going around the streets at night!” At Flipsides’ frown, they added, “You’ve heard the rumors, haven’t you? Strange disappearances, missing Autobots, something being seen swallowing a Cybertronian whole?”

“Hmm,” Flipsides hummed back. “Sounds familiar. Nobody has said anything about this ‘monster’ looking like me, have they?”

“You?” the Autobot almost seemed surprised. “Not at all. If you ask me, I think the thing we’re looking for is… ahh… big.”

“Big?” Flipsides asked.

“Big,” they said. “Scary, too. Big jaws, massive claws, a roar that’ll knock you on your aft. Like that. Not like…”

They paused, their face twisting, then gestured to Flipsides.

“I mean, no offense,” they quickly added, “but how could whatever we’re running from ever be someone like you?”

“Oh, I don’t know…” Flipsides shrugged. She took a step forward, then another, and another. “Seems impossible, I’m sure. Crazy, really. You’d be surprised, though… what comes out at night.”

The fear returned to their face in seconds, and it was all Flipsides needed to see before she struck. Several streets over, the sounds of startled screams and fearful shouts could be heard… then silence.

By the time Flipsides made it home some hours later, her belly was full and her appetite was more than satisfied. She went to sleep satiated, content, and eager to start again the next night… and the next… and the next.

— — — — —

Come morning, however, Rosanna was upset and confused at the state she found herself in upon waking.

She didn’t get it. She didn’t understand. How could she be getting softer and fatter overnight, when she was doing nothing more than sleeping?

It wasn’t so bad at first. There were obvious signs of weight gain here and there, but she had chalked it up to stress, changes in the season, and whatever else nonsense that could easily be blamed. Now, with her belly bulging forward like she had devoured an entire buffet, her hips protruding out with more fat on them than plating, and her slim frame plumped up with pudgy rolls and mesh that swelled outward all over, she couldn’t deny that there was something going on here, and that something was wrong.

It made no sense to her. She was asleep the whole night! Where could it be coming from? What could be happening?

“Oh, you…” she muttered under her breath as she sat on the edge of her bed and poked at her belly. It was bigger than ever now and softer than before as it hung over her lap and covered her entire midsection. “I don’t have time for this! I don’t have time to look for answers!”

She was going to have to make time soon, she knew, and she was going to have to look for some answers. It couldn’t go on like this forever. She had a reputation to uphold, jobs to cover, and too much to do to waste any energy on confusion and speculation.

It was just so odd… what could be causing this? What could be happening while she wasn’t awake?

For now, it was no matter. She had a busy day ahead of her, hours full of work to do and stuff to take care of. With a sigh, she heaved herself out of her berth and headed for the door, intent on refueling up before she dared to get started.

She needed fuel before anything, no matter what. Even if… weirdly enough… she hardly seemed hungry that morning, nor did she seem hungry the morning before, or even the morning before that.

“Too many questions,” Rosanna said softly as she squeezed through the door, her belly just barely making it through. “Not enough time.”