Before you start reading, please keep in mind that

I didn't read any of the original TF comics nor the previous movies before AoE

(I read the summaries though)

so there might be minor contradictions with the TF world

Fic solely based on AoE movie

This fic takes place in a ... desert - I can't remember whether it was really a desert or not -

where Prime was first reunited with his autobots

On that night when Optimus returned to his autobots,

he and Bumblebee have a short chat

+)

Okay I didn't know Bumblebee was unable to speak in the movies

by the time I was writing this fic

and I am sorry for that

but this whole fic loses its meaning if I rewrite those parts where Bumblebee speaks

so...yeah ;)

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TF Sequel

: A Repenter

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"Wha' you looking at Prime?"

Bee, indeed, Prime thought as he turned around to see a pair of blue eyes looking up on him.

"I am thinking, " he replied curtly, turning his gaze back to the night sky, and the yellow creature momentarily fell silent, sensing the authority in his voice. Not being able to bear that awkward moment, though, he turned his radio on. Calm, soothing music filled the air and Prime turned his head to look at a bunch of people curled up beside the fire.

Then Prime noticed Bumblebee looking at them too, his eyes full of unreadable sorrow. For no reason, he was suddenly reminded of the day which he ordered his autobots to leave Bumblebee for the sake of the cube. Guilt throbbed at his core like a drill.

"I am sorry for what happened to Sam," Prime rumbled and Bumblebee winced visibly, his eyes full of pain. "It was my responsibility to protect him and I failed to do so."

"No it wasn't your fault!" Bumblebee almost jumped to his feet and shook his head forcefully, letting it droop as he noticed Prime looking away. "I-I do feel sad - he was my first and only human friend - but grieving won't help save the Earth, right?"

All for the sake of the humanity, Prime mused. Put forth before the one of the autobots.

Noticing the sudden blaze in his eyes, Bumblebee blurted out a question that sent Prime into even bigger guilt. "You were thinking about that, weren't you Prime? You are worried that you might send all of us into destruction for the sake of the Earth."

Taking a deep breath, Prime murmured quietly. "When you were trapped in that facility of humans, I had no choice but to leave you in there, for the cube."

Bumblebee didn't look surprised. "Anyone would have done the same," he shrugged casually and Prime thought in pain as he considered how young Bumblebee still is, and how he was forced to act like a decepticon when he was just an autobot. And how much responsibility he had upon him, too, as one of the surviving autobots.

"I thought it was a right thing for me to do," Prime went on carefully. "So I didn't listen to Ironhide when he questioned our motives to save the humanity. And he died for the humans. Now I feel so...uncertain about our existence in the Earth."

Bumblebee blinked slowly as he considered Prime's wistful words. "I can see why you feel that way," he commented, letting out an amused huff. "Do you know they tried to create a replicate of mine - his name was Stinger - and he claimed to be better than us. Complete nonsense, isn't it?"

When Prime just stared at him without word, Bumblebee rolled his eyes and shrugged. "All right, all right. Maybe they are better than us but that's not the point. They treated us like their possessions - as if we really originated from their technology - when we were all different, individual organisms."

Prime chuckled quietly as he noticed how much Bumblebee sounded like a full-grown autobot. "I heard you took the role of a leader while I was gone; I feel proud of you for that."

Bumblebee, as if feeling embarrassed for the sudden compliment, scratched behind his head and Prime went on. "You truly sounded like a prime autobot there."

Bumblebee grinned and sat down with a thump, his legs stretched out, wiggling in embarrassment and pride. "Well, Drift didn't certainly think that way," he mumbled and he looked up at Prime wistfully again. "But I understand your affection for the humans, Prime. You believe they would fix what we have done wrong and build an empire that we haven't been able to build, don't you?"

Prime glanced at Bumblebee in surprise and nodded slowly, his eyes fixed towards the sky again. "It's true our species are smarter and more powerful," he murmured. "But humans have that potential inside them - I don't want it to die down before it could barely see the light."

"Rachet's death was pretty a shock to me, though," Bumblebee sighed heavily and Prime clenched his fists in frustration. "At least Ironhide died an Zed and honorable death," he rumbled in fury. "It was not a death a warrior like Rachet should have had."

"We shouldn't have been warriors in the first place," Bumblebee said bitterly and Prime let his head droop in exhaustion.

"I was merely a librarian, when I was first created," Prime recalled quietly. "I do not regret becoming a warrior but I fear myself changing - I had killed Sentinel who had begged for my mercy - without hesitation, driven by fury. I cut his head and dumped him into a pile of trash - I treated him like a piece of trash."

"He was an evil decepticon," Bumblebee protested.

"He was my friend ," Prime shook his head slowly in sadness. "Maybe killing him was inevitable, but at least I shouldn't have treated him like that."

"And you think all these happened because you decided to stand for the humanity."

Prime closed his eyes and gritted his jaws. "Maybe I made a wrong choice," he moaned in guilt and agony but Bumblebee shook his head firmly.

"No, Prime. You have always thought the best of us; the choice you make would be a right one, for all of us," he said forcefully and Prime looked at him with his eyes full of helplessness.

"Do you remember that day when we first arrived at the Earth?" he asked, his voice hollow. "We are the only ones left, out of all those autobots."

Bumble bee said nothing; without words, Bumblebee gently held Prime's one hand for a second. Though he was too young to understand all of it, he could see how much responsibility Prime had on his shoulders.

"We're still here, alive," he said firmly and Prime looked up, looking older than ever. Prime patted Bumblebee on the shoulder with his other hand and moved his gaze upward to the sky again.

"You should rest, Prime," Bumblebee urged worriedly but Prime shook his head slowly. "I already had three full years of rest. You should be the one to take a rest."

Bumblebee tried to protest but seeing Prime needed a time on his own, he gave up and let himself up the ledge, volunteering to take a watch. Prime momentarily thought about forcing him to rest but he knew it would be useless on Bumblebee. He lowered his back and started to transform into a truck, relishing parts of a gigantic truck and letting his legs and arms pull back into the deepest part of the vehicle. He soon turned into an ordinary-looking truck and he started to drive along the desert, intending to take a lookout for the humans.

He didn't believe in the humans now - that was for sure. But the Earth is our home now, he thought bitterly. The only planet to hold any trace of the autobots.

Bumblebee stood on his feet, his car door wings flapping in wonder as he looked over the desert. He was already losing his memory of his mother planet and he tried to remember whether it also had a "desert" or not.

When he first learned about Sentinel Prime intending to rebuild their planet, he had that small spark of hope inside him - that maybe he would be able to see his home planet once again, though he knew it was not some kind of hope he should have had. He started going through the radio channels then stopped when he heard a familiar song coming out.

Take me home, it sang. Country roads!

"Far away," Bumblebee sang along, his feet twitching rhythmically. "Where I belong."

Not knowing the following lyrics, he hummed through the last verse, his head tilting left and right to follow the rhythm. He realized there was not much he was hoping for, after all, since everyone he loved, was gone and his planet, was also gone. He recalled that agonized look on Prime when he pointed his weapon towards his former mentor.

"I don't deserve the name Prime," Prime had declared after that battle with Sentinel. "Don't call me by that name."

All of the autobots had protested then, claiming that it was inevitable but Bumblebee had been able to catch a glimpse of Prime's expression when they started to gather around Prime, intending to console him; he couldn't get that image out of his head, ever. He knew how much distressed Prime was at the moment and he found it disappointing that he couldn't be any help.

I miss Sam, he thought as a sense of desperation gripped him. I miss him so much.

He couldn't even be sure whether he would truly be able to settle on this planet at all. Let's assume he did succeed in eliminating the people who were trying to get rid of the remaining autobots - then, what next? Citizens will still hate the autobots and the new governement will either try to persuade or force them to become part of their weaponry - even Bumblebee could see that.

Maybe it was too much to hope that he would be able to find more people like Sam. He didn't think it was wrong to hope, though.

A pair of arms were pulled out from the body of the truck, folded. They were spread out as the wheels were pulled onto the back of the body and a pair of legs appeared instead right at the bottom. Its two blue eyes blinked open and he let out a sigh when he caught sight of Bumblebee charging himself on the ledge. He groaned occasionally as if having a nightmare and Prime was again reminded of Rachet being killed with the hands of the men. He could guess what Bumblebee was going through right at the moment. He gently put his hand on Bumblebee's head, sending pairs of signals that would calm his agitated friend, and Bumblebee's groans soon ceased to rhythmical breathing. Prime drew his hand back and sat down beside the ledge, watching the sun preparing to rise.

Oh, Sentinel, he thought as he waited for the sun to reveal itself. Do you remember that you were the ones to teach me the spirit of a warrior not giving in?

Sentinel, I'm starting to give in, he pleaded helplessly. Give me the wisdom you once had to guide me through this storm.

Yet again, he was reminded of the sickening feeling he had when he willingly forced his weapon through his former mentor's body. Maybe I was wrong to kill him, he thought in pain and regret. Maybe all he wanted was to rebuild our home. Maybe he was only driven to madness by his longing for our lost planet.

That idea sent him feeling cold to the frame.

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Originally I was going to write more

then I realized I got a bunch of homework to do

and I had to leave this unfinished

but it is my first work in the fanfictionnet

and I take pride in it

so thank you for reading! :)