Title: Grave

Summary: Arcee returns to the site of the base in need of some closure. Bulkhead stands by her side – not a pairing. Set sometime after the events of 'Darkest Hour'.

Words: 532

A/N: First attempt at a ficlet – I've always had issues with writing short stories, but I feel that this one turned out well. Trying to get the balance between the right amount of detail and word length was the trickiest part for me, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that :)

It was nothing more than a craggy blip along the horizon from where she was standing, with Megatron's fortress looming in the background.

'Slag it,' she thought bitterly, trying to comprehend the sheer size of the structure. It towered over the remains of the base, like a victor would to its fallen opponent.

"It's gone," she whispered out loud, with Bulkhead standing by her side, but they knew that long before they'd arrived.

'It's gone,' she repeated in her mind. It was nothing but a blackened pile of rocks, desecrated and pillaged for whatever worth lay inside.

"Come on, 'Cee. We shouldn't be here."

Bulkhead was right. They shouldn't have been there to begin with. They were both on dangerous grounds. Decepticons patrolled the area left and right – land or sky, no place was safe.

"I know," she replied sullenly, gazing intently at what used to be the shattered top. It stood no chance, not even one. An earthen, human-built base against a Decepticon warship. The battle had been won before it begun.

"I just...needed to see it for myself."

It was gone. His grave was gone. Taken away by the blast that had torn through the external rock layer. The monument destroyed, and the one remaining physical reminder of him, lost. Just like that. She could spend a week scouring the base and would never find the horn amongst the debris.

Bulkhead lay a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"I know," he mumbled. He kept his voice low. She hadn't told him outright, but he knew exactly what she was here for. He couldn't deny her the company through it all.

'Never got the chance to say goodbye..not even for the second time,' he mentally noted.

"There was nothing we could've done," she assured herself, though her tone searched for something, anything that would make her say otherwise. "We weren't prepared for a direct attack."

He squeezed her shoulder lightly.

"We did what we had to do. We ran, and lived to fight another day."

"You're starting to sound like Optimus," she said with little mirth. She hugged her arms around her waist.

Bulkhead knew she was wrapped up in her thoughts – he didn't dare mention Cliffjumper for fear of having his words backlash painfully against him.

A silence stretched on. A minute passed. Then, finally:

"We'll get back at them, 'Cee," Bulkhead said. "We'll hit 'em right where it hurts."

A glowering expression soured her face. Her eyes moved beyond the wrecked base to the fortress behind it.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Or we'll die trying."

She sounded wounded, but Bulkhead knew there was still some fight left in her. The Arcee they knew was strong. She wouldn't give up now, not after all they'd been through.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

He was all too eager to oblige, leading the way back to their temporary encampment.

"So much for peace, eh?" Bulkhead scoffed, shaking his head to himself.

Arcee turned to give one final, solemn glance at the ruins, silently making her second pledge to her fallen partner.

"It's long past that now."

Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you'd like – as always, constructive criticism is very appreciated.