Better Than Being Crushed
"Heatwave!" Cody screamed. The cavern ceiling above the young blonde boy and his robot friend began to crumble, sending large chunks of rubble plummeting towards them.
A few hours previous to Heatwave and Cody's unfortunate predicament, the rescue team of Griffin Rock had set out on a regular check up of the main network of tunnels underneath the island. These ancient tunnels had collapsed in the past, nearly sending their home into an island-wide evacuation, so it was important to ensure that they were stable. On this particular day, as "luck" would have it, the team did find a weak point in the cave they were searching for, although probably not in a way they would've liked to.
It all happened as the team reached a fork in the tunnels. The heavy footfalls of the bots created a vibration that was just enough to bring the weak cave ceiling crumbling down on top of them. The bots had cursed, wondering why they hadn't had their partners safe inside their chest compartments, and In a mad dash to save their fragile human friends, scooped them up in their servos and charged for the tunnels ahead. Chase, at the front of the group held a tight grip on Charlie and Dani. Boulder and Blades, coming in a close second, cupped their hands protectively around Graham and Kade. The bot holding up the rear was Heatwave, and he held the trembling form of the youngest member of their rescue team, Cody, tightly against his chest to shield him from the falling debris. As Chase, Blades and Boulder reached one of the tunnels ahead, they turned and looked over their shoulders to make sure Heatwave was with them. "Look out!" the sudden shout from Kade startled them all. "Heatwave, above you!" The ceiling between Heatwave, Cody, and the rest of their team was about to completely give way, and Heatwave wasn't going to be able to make it. "Scrap.." Screeching to a halt with a painful metal on stone sound, Heatwave growled as he was forced to stop and back away from the curtain of debris raining down. "We're going to try to go through the other tunnel!" Heatwave shouted, thinking fast. "Don't worry, I'll keep Cody safe!" Not knowing if the rest of his team had even heard him from the other side of the increasing pile of rubble, Heatwave whipped around and dashed for the entrance to the second tunnel in the fork. With a few maneuvers to dodge large chunks of falling rock, Heatwave slid on his undercarriage the rest of the way inside the tunnel, producing an impressive amount of sparks as he went.
Skidding to a halt as he reached a seemingly stable point deeper into the tunnel, Heatwave opened his servos and peered into them. "Cody, are you hurt?" he asked, a rare anxious hint to his tone. "I'm okay, Heatwave" Cody smiled up at him, body still shaking a little while he held a tight grip on one of the large red robot's digits. "We should probably keep moving though" the young boy added. "The ceiling may seem stable here, but we thought it was safe back there too." Heatwave gave his small companion a soft smile. "You're probably right, but first.." the red mech opened the windshield of his chest cavity and lifted Cody towards it.
That's when it happened.
As unexpected as the first cave-in, a second one began. Cody, who had been looking up at Heatwave's face was the first to notice. "Heatwave!" was all the small boy could shriek in his new panic. Watching where Cody's eyes were fixated, Heatwave knew from both them, and the increasing sound of crumbling stone above his head that they were in trouble. "Tuck and roll, kid!" Heatwave shouted as he wound up to toss Cody to safety ahead of them. "W-wait!" Cody squeaked as he was thrown through the dusty cave air, landing quite uncomfortably on his bottom against the cave floor ahead. From his new position Cody looked back, eyes widening in horror as he saw large boulders nearly completely covering his robot friend. "Run, Cody!" Heatwave growled in desperation. The robot was completely trapped under the fallen rubble and was unable to free himself. "You have to get out of here!" Heatwave shouted again. He knew there was only so much time before the cave-in moved towards Cody's position. The small blonde boy, however, was not planning on leaving his friend alone to an early grave, and knowing he wouldn't be able to outrun the cave-in, moved back towards Heatwave. "Oh for Primus sake" Heatwave growled. "You're going to be crushed!" Chunks of stone continued to fall around the pair as Cody pressed close to Heatwave's faceplate. The small boy gave Heatwave a weak smile, indicating without words that they were out of options. This gesture sent Heatwave's brain into overdrive. The rescue bot leader had promised he would keep Cody safe, but he was unable to move, and the safety of his chest compartment was crushed underneath him. Come on think.. think! I have to protect Cody! Heatwave screamed in his mind, not wishing to let his small friend know that his designated protector was panicking.
One solution did come to Heatwave's mind, but he wasn't sure how Cody would take it.
"Cody," Heatwave began, rocks still falling all around them "I need you to trust me." Cody blinked in astonishment "W-what do you mean Heatwave? Of course I trust you!" he stuttered in confusion. Heatwave sighed "My chest compartment is underneath me so I can't get you inside, and if you stay out here you'll eventually be crushed." Cody raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded in response. Heatwave continued, "There's only one more place I can keep you safe, but I need you to stay calm." Cody turned to look at the larger rocks that formed the cavern's ceiling, threatening to fall at any moment. "I can do calm," Cody said with determination while chasing thoughts of crushed limbs from his mind. "Alright.. Cody, I need you to get inside my mouth" Heatwave said with authority, although he knew what a strange request it was. Cody stood frozen, not sure if he had heard right until he saw Heatwave's giant maw stretch open before him. The mouth of the red robot was huge, and could easily fit Cody inside. Peering closer, Cody could even see a large, dark opening to what appeared to be Heatwave's throat. Seeing that his small human friend was in shock, Heatwave knew he needed reassurance. "tust ee" he said, words produced in a rather comical manner as he still held his mouth open. Cody looked up into Heatwave's soft optics, nearly having to suppress a laugh. "Alright, I trust you," Cody smiled.
Cody crawled forward into Heatwave's oral cavity, once again astonished at it's size. Feeling what Cody assumed was the Cybertronian form of a tongue beneath him, the small blonde boy positioned himself to sit comfortably inside his friends mouth. Cody admitted this was not the plan he was expecting, but he trusted Heatwave and it sure beat being crushed by the falling debris outside. "How are you feeling?" The sudden movements of Heatwave's mouth made Cody struggle to keep his place on the mechanical tongue. "Definitely one of the more stranger things I've done, but it's a good plan!" Cody chuckled, steadying himself. "I'm glad you think so, but It looks like I'm going to have to take it one step further" Heatwave suddenly said gravely "If one of these larger falling rocks gets a direct hit on my head.. well I'd rather not have to worry about it." Without warning Heatwave's tongue rose, pressing Cody lightly against his metal palate and pushing the small boy towards the opening of the robots throat. "Heatwave?" Cody squeaked, bracing himself against each side of the robots oral cavity, "Are you sure this is safe? f-from what I've learned in science class-" "Autobot's can't digest organic matter," Heatwave said with a soft chuckle "Our fuel tanks can only break down Energon. I promise it's safe." Slowly removing his hands from either side of Heatwave's oral cavity, Cody felt the mechanical tongue beneath him rise up once again and push him fully back into his friend's throat.
With a sound that one could only describe as a "mechanical swallow" Cody was pushed down into Heatwave's throat. The material of the Cybertronian esophagus was tough, yet pliable enough to stretch a little as Cody moved deeper inside his robot friend. A loud heartbeat, belonging to Heatwave's spark filled the small boy's ears as he passed by his chest cavity. After another moment of curiously examining the moving esophagus walls around him, Cody slid into a larger chamber, one he guessed was the Cybertronian form of a stomach. The walls of the chamber still held the residue of the Energon from Heatwave's last meal. The faint glow of the blue substance was comforting, and made Cody feel safe. Raising a small hand, Cody knocked lightly against the wall of Heatwave's fuel tank, letting his friend know he had made the trip safely.
After swallowing Cody's small form, Heatwave could feel his friend being moved deeper inside his large armored body. The robot felt bad knowing how scared his human friend might be. Cody had never appeared frightened of his or his rescue bots' large size, but this was a far different situation. A small knock from his midsection pulled Heatwave from his thoughts. "Cody?" Heatwave couldn't help but smile, "is everything okay in there?" his concern was met with a muted laugh. "When we get back you totally have to show all this to Doc Greene. It's so cool, he would love it!" Cody joked from inside Heatwave's fuel tank. "This procedure is for emergencies only" Heatwave growled, though he couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice. "I am NOT making this a regular thing." The idea of having something squirming around inside him made Heatwave rather uncomfortable, but knowing that in this situation he was protecting Cody, it felt right.
"The cave-in seems to have stopped for now" Heatwave remarked, noticing that rubble had ceased it's decent from the ceiling. "We just have to sit tight and hope that the rest of the team finds us." A small hand pressed against the inside of Heatwave's fuel tank. "They will" came the muted, yet determined voice of Cody. "They always do." Heatwave smiled, the fearless and determined Cody he knew had bounced right back after their cave-in scare. "Hey Heatwave?" Cody's voice came again, "would you mind if I tried to get a little rest? maybe it's the warmth from your internal heating systems but I'm starting to feel exhausted." Heatwave gave an amused rumble in response, "Sure thing, kid. Get some rest, it's gonna take the team a little while to dig us out of this mess."
With a small yawn, Cody rested his head against the wall of Heatwave's fuel tank, his friend's internal warmth and the faint glow of residual Energon lulling the exhausted boy into sleep. Just as Cody drifted off, a sigh of relief could be heard from Heatwave. He could hear the voices and digging efforts of their team, and it wouldn't be long until they were rescued.