Hello, readers! This is told from Bumblebee's POV and I don't own nothin'.
Let's get it started!
"Hey, what's wrong with Optimus?" Jack asked from their recreational corner. "He's been looking really sad lately."
Our leader was staring at the big green monitor as he typed away at the keyboard, not noticing us looking at him. Optimus was too good at hiding emotions, but today that stony mask was starting to slip. You could see an endless abyss of almost liquefied sorrow in his blue optics, instead of the strong steel re-enforced hope that was usually there. I shifted on my pedes at the sight. Optimus was too strong for this. Stuff like this couldn't affect him that much... Couldn't it?
Ratchet looked over at Optimus from the Ground Bridge controls and headed over to us.
"Optimus has been heavily weighed down by this war and right now, it's all hitting him at once."
"Yeah, but he just looks miserable, Ratch'. " I started, buzzing low enough so Optimus couldn't hear me, but the kids and Ratchet could. Ratchet cut me off before I could start another sentence.
"I know, Bumblebee. He has his own way of coping, as we all do. Jack, Miko, Rafael, It's getting late. I'll bridge each of you out to your homes." Ratchet's tone left no room for argument as he coordinated the Ground Bridge. I waved Raf goodbye as I watched my human friends walk through the vortex. Ratchet didn't seem to want to talk about what was going on with Optimus. Speaking of him, he had never moved from in front of the monitor. I crossed my arms over my chassis, beeping to myself. There is definitely something wrong him. When the kids went home, he always stopped whatever he was doing and said bye.
Maybe I can ask him what's wrong... No. He wouldn't tell me, saying something along the lines of not wanting to 'burden me with his issues'. Typical Optimus Prime response. I can tell that he needs some cheering up. But, I know I can't pull this off successfully pull this off alone. Ratchet has known Optimus the longest. I bet he knows how to cheer him up. I went over to the older mech and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Ratchet turned around, an irritated look on his face. That irritation melted away at my serious, urgent expression.
"What's wrong, Bumblebee?" I pulled the medic over to the halls and looked over at our leader, who was still glued to the monitor.
"I know you know there's something that can cheer Optimus up."
With that, Ratchet looked down at the floor. The last time I saw such an unsure look on his face was when he was working to fix my T-Cog after Starscream tried to destroy it. I hated in when he had that look. Ratchet was never unsure about anything.
"Bumblebee, nothing short of us Autobots signing a peace treaty with the Decepticons will cheer him up. I suggest you leave him be. Silence is his way of coping." Ratchet turned and left back for the Ground Bridge control panel. Frustrated, I went back to my berthroom. I know that I can't end the war with the flip of a switch... But I will do whatever the hell I can to help Optimus out.
Once in my berthroom, I found an empty datapad and stylus. I know what I can do! Yeah... I scribbled on the datapad, furiously writing out my gift to our leader.
...
"Arcee, can you sing?" I asked the femme I consider my older sister. She gave me a puzzled look.
"What makes you ask that?" I whispered to her my gift plans to Optimus. Hopefully she agrees to this. She plays a part in it, too.
"Well, I did take some singing lessons when I was very little..." I grinned inwardly. I'll take that as a 'yes'.
"Thanks, Arcee. 'Preciate it. I'll go find Ratchet and Bulkhead." Buzzing my goodbye, I went to find Bulkhead.
...Now that I think about it, I don't really need to ask Bulkhead. He has a really great singing voice, but rarely uses it. I sometimes hear him singing in the wash racks and he's really good at it. I asked him about it, but he just says he's had a lot of practice. I have an okay singing voice, nothing special. I don't know about Ratchet, but I have the strange feeling that he has a really good singing voice. I found Bulkhead listening to music with Miko in his berthroom. He magically found out I was trying to cheer Optimus up and joined me without my having to convince him. I told him to meet me in the main control room after Optimus turned in for recharge, which was usually at midnight.
"What makes you think I'm going to sing for anyone?" Ratchet put his servos on his hips, incredulous. I took a long intake.
"Don't give that look. You know this is for Prime. Plus, you never said you couldn't sing."
"...I know better than anyone that keeping in emotions like that will rip you from the inside out but sometimes all you need is a gentle tap on the shoulder from family as a reminder you are never alone. Alright, Bumblebee. We will meet back here at 12:30 am."
Well that was easy.
...
"Okay here are all of your lines. Now all we have to do is practice a bit. I've heard everyone else sing at some point except Ratchet. Can you please give us a demonstration?" Thankfully I was right about what time Optimus goes to bed. He wasn't in the main control room when we all met here. I, along with Arcee and Bulkhead, looked over at the medic. No one had heard him sing before.
"No."
Arcee crossed her arms over her chassis, cocking her hips to the side. "Really? You need to practice for this."
"No, I don't." There was a confident tone in his voice, the one you normally hear when Ratchet knows what he's talking about in the medical field.
Bulkhead shrugged. "If you say so. Just make sure you know your lines." I nodded, agreeing with Bulkhead. This oughtta be perfect. After Bulkhead, Arcee and I practiced and did some meticulous planned we went off to our berthrooms. Already anxious, I sat and lay down on my soft padded berth. I was pretty proud of the song. I just hope this works out as planned. And most of all, I hope this helps Optimus. He's taking on too much for his own good.
...Tomorrow Afternoon...
We all were in the main control, going about our own business. The children were at the rec. corner playing video games, while Arcee and I read datapads. Bulkhead was sitting on a medical berth repairing his lobing ball with some scrap metal he'd found. Ratchet was organizing his tools, again. Optimus was glued to the green tinted screen. I looked up from my datapad and made optic contact with Ratchet. He nodded once and spoke, never slowing with his work. I gave the other bots similar looks to get ready as Ratchet started.
"Sometimes... we all feel like giving up. Letting it all go seems to be a good way to go. To end all the pain in this draining battle..." Ratchet spoke in a low voice, slow and rhythmic. The children paused their game at the sound of Ratchet's voice, looked between us in curiosity. Optimus's digits stopped over the keyboard and hovered there, a clear indication of his notice. I smiled to myself as Ratchet continued to speak, swaying slowly from side to side.
"I feel so alone. I no longer have the strength to fight. No one must know my suffering. This is a losing fight... It's all over." Right then, Arcee picked up her lines. She sang her part of the song, her voice in the lower regions of the soprano. All eyes and optics were on us but we kept on.
"No, don't give up.
Don't throw away your life."
She put down her datapad and walked up to Ratchet, placing her servo on his larger one. Getting him to look up from his tools, she gently pulled his servo off the wrench Ratchet was holding. She wore a gentle unwavering smile. Ratchet's face darkened with sorrow and looked away. The silo was silent as she continued to sing, light and melodic.
"Although there is strife,
You should that it's all alright."
Bulkhead joined in, his deep voice resonating in the room. Arcee stopped singing and let Bulkhead do his part, remaining by Ratchet. He walked over to the medic and placed a comforting servo on his shoulder. Optimus had fully turned to us, a confused look on his face. I kept on pretending to read my datapad. My part is coming soon.
"We'll be here aiding you,
And you will pull through.
So don't give up
On hope just yet."
Bulkhead stopped singing, allowing me to do my part. I placed my datapad down and strode over to Ratchet's side. I buzzed my part at a slightly faster, more upbeat rhythm.
"Know we'll pray for you.
We'll see you through
This battle of the stars.
Though there's strife,
Know it's all alright."
Arcee, Bulkhead and I looked at a saddened Ratchet and comforted him, getting him to take his focus away from his tools and look at us. Hope was seeping back into his optics as he saw the warmth in all of ours.
Then all of us started to sing together, gazing right at Optimus, who seemed to be having difficulty hiding his emotions. His optics softened considerably as he watched us.
"Know we'll pray for you.
We'll see you through
This battle of the stars..."
We all walked towards our leader and stood in front of him, trailing off simultaneously. I stood with Bulkhead and Ratchet at my right and Arcee on my left. Then Ratchet suddenly stepped forward, singing the final lines solo.
I had never heard his singing voice solo before, but it was sounded angelic, almost like the rushing of waters in a calm river. His normally rough tone was smoothed like a stone on the beach with the notes he hit. His deepened voice was filled with emotions, more so than I thought possible. I heard a hopeful tone, as well as an optimistic one. But, there were so many others that I could not name. So many nameless good emotions...
"Fight your way
Through this darkness day."
Ratchet ended the song beautifully, fading out slowly. I would have never thought that the grumpy, wrench throwing medic would be gifted at singing. I'm just glad I could hear it. I probably won't for a very long time. We all stared right into Optimus's optics, making sure we got the message across to him. The kids remained quiet, waiting for Optimus's reaction. He was slow in responding, carefully think up of words, but probably finding none.
"...Not until this breem did I fully realize that I cannot hide my emotions from my family. Nor did I realize how truly hopeless I had become." Optimus made eye contact with all of us.
"Wow, you guys... That was great." Jack said from the just behind the railing. Raf and Miko nodded.
"Who wrote that one?" Raf adjusted his glasses. Bulkhead motioned towards me.
"Bumblebee did. He couldn't stand to see Boss Bot looking so down."
"I will certainly keep an optimistic viewpoint, with your inspirational song in mind. May I ask, what it the name of the piece?" Optimus turned to look down at me, optics full of gratitude. His frame almost looked lighter and his blue optics shone brighter than I had seen in a very long time. He kept flarinh his EM field, letting us know that we truly did accomplish our goal. I thought for a moment and answered the question.
"Look Up to the Skies. "
So what do you think of that? What's your opinion on the lyrics I made? It's based on a theme in a Japanese video game called Okami. The theme's name is Reset Thank You Version. The theme is not mine but the lyrics should look up the theme on Youtube. It's a heart warming piece.
In the show, Optimus tends to look really sad and he looks like he could use some cheering up and a big hug. I despise that sad look on his face. It makes me sad... :'(
That said, I'm out.
