When Drift wakes up, the first thing he recognizes is the pain.
He comes to slowly, in fragmented gasps of consciousness, so slowly that he can't even really be sure he's awake at all. He dimly remembers his last moments, Tarn's terrifying visage, the message burned into his spark -- muddled and confused in his half-conscious mind, but there, a constant background hum. Consciousness comes to him in waves, ebbing and flowing in synaptic tides as his body and mind struggle to reconcile. And then comes the pain, not in waves but a flood, firing through every circuit at once, and Drift doesn't even notice as his pained groan only comes out as static. His optics snap wide open at the burning rush of sensation, not really seeing, not recognizing the room he's in. His spark constricts weakly in his chest and his body stiffens on the slab as he tries to move but finds he can't, every joint and limb sparking with pain and too heavy for him to lift.
ALSO FOR RATCHET
He comes to slowly, in fragmented gasps of consciousness, so slowly that he can't even really be sure he's awake at all. He dimly remembers his last moments, Tarn's terrifying visage, the message burned into his spark -- muddled and confused in his half-conscious mind, but there, a constant background hum. Consciousness comes to him in waves, ebbing and flowing in synaptic tides as his body and mind struggle to reconcile. And then comes the pain, not in waves but a flood, firing through every circuit at once, and Drift doesn't even notice as his pained groan only comes out as static. His optics snap wide open at the burning rush of sensation, not really seeing, not recognizing the room he's in. His spark constricts weakly in his chest and his body stiffens on the slab as he tries to move but finds he can't, every joint and limb sparking with pain and too heavy for him to lift.