After hanging for a few mega cycles in a Decepticon cell, Bumblebee was bored. He was lucky, and thankful, that he was still alive, but that didn't prevent him from being bored out of his processor. It was surprising how nobody actually came by to interrogate him about information yet. By the way, "interrogating" to a Decepticon was the equivalent of "ruthless torture" to an Autobot and any other sentient being with a sense of morality. His injury at Tyger Pax was enough proof of how brutal Megatron could be. Well, maybe he should have eased up on the snarky comebacks, but after a major victory, they were called for.
Bumblebee shifted slightly, the tingle of electricity beginning to bother him, but going back to the positives: at least it wasn't any worse. But everything felt off. Decepticons, especially Vehicons, would pounce on the opportunity to torture an Autobot. It was a bit disconcerting that no one was there to beat the slag out of him. Within a second, Bumblebee wanted to bash his helm against the metal wall for being so stupid.
Megatron probably ordered 'Cons to steer clear of the cell because Prime was on board. If Optimus saw anyone, let alone a youngling, being mercilessly tortured, he'd snap into "Overprotective Prime Mode" in an instant. Not only that, but it could possibly trigger a memory from Cybertron: Tyger Pax. Optimus had been one of the first on-scene along with Ironhide. Both of them nearly blew a gasket discovering the energon coated voice modulator. Once again, Bumblebee wanted to smash his helm into the wall.
If he could provoke a 'Con (or better yet, Megatron) into torturing him, Optimus would definitely trust him or he'd turn against Megatron. The tyrant wouldn't have any excuses or lies up his servos to cover up something like that. If the 'Cons laid a servo on him, Prime would leave…or Megatron processor-washed Prime into following the Decepticon way of life. If that were the case, then Primus…just off-line him now.
"No," Bee whispered to himself, "Optimus would never do that. He's probably not going to remember anything, but it'll give him a reason to try." If it did go according to plan, he'd probably give the other Autobots a chance...
Wait...why hadn't they comm.-linked him yet? Fearing communication blocks, Bumblebee quickly bounced a message to himself. His text did come back to him, albeit slowly. That meant the Nemesis itself was disrupting frequencies to avoid detection, but allowed one to transmit messages. That must be how the 'Cons comm. each other off-ship. The Autobot base had something like that too, but used less power hiding spark signatures because of the natural mineral deposits within the rock walls.
The others are probably worrying right now, Bee thought, it's been about an hour since I sent Arcee my last coordinates. So, he composed a message to the base. If he made it through this in one piece, he was going to be grounded for the rest of his lifestream. He winced, hoping Arcee wasn't turning the base upside-down.
Primus, he was so slagged.
"I swear when I see him again, he's going to be scrap!" Arcee ranted. Jack sighed, concerned for his guardian's well-being as well as the two MIA Autobots. Arcee's coping mechanism tended to be anger, violence, and over protectiveness. While the latter was bearable and at times helpful, the two formers were scary to say the least. Jack pitied whatever 'Con, or unfortunate Autobot, decided to cross her path within the next twenty-four hours.
"Arcee, try to relax," Ratchet demanded, "Pacing and cursing Bumblebee for all eternity will not help us in any way."
"I know," Arcee sighed, "I just wish Bee wasn't so fragging rash. He's inside enemy territory with no way out."
"We don't know that for sure," Bulkhead suggested, trying to remain optimistic. "I mean, who knows? Maybe he's got something up his servo."
"Bulkhead, he left base without anyone finding out, sent me his last coordinates and is now probably captured and aboard the Nemesis. He's not going anywhere any time soon." Arcee reasoned. Suddenly, the center monitor lit up. The picture of Bee's faceplate popped up next to a stream of text.
"I found Optimus," it read, "and I'm going to get him back. By the way, I'm fine...apart from some minor circuit damage. The 'Cons haven't come to 'interrogate' me; probably since Prime's here. I've got a plan and before you say anything to each other: yes Arcee, it is a very stupid plan that you won't like, but will get Optimus back on our side. Ratchet, you'll know what I'm thinking and you're not going to like it either.
"I'm going to make him trust me. I've known him for my whole life-stream. Prime rescued me from the Youth Sectors when I was a few vorns old. He's the last Prime and I'm the last youngling. I'm not going to try. Trying allows room for failure. I'm going to get him back if it's the last thing I do. Primus, this sounds like a cheeky romance novel, but I love him. I'm not in love with him; I love him like I would my Creator, my family. I love him as I would the rest of you. He's always supported my decisions and has saved me countless times before. I owe him my life, so I'll restore his.
"Back to my plan, it's simple: who could forget Tyger Pax?
"I'm sending you my current coordinates now. I want you to know that you're the best family I could have ever had. If our friends are reading this, tell them about the Battle of Tyger Pax. And Raf, I'm so sorry for leaving. If-no-When I get back, I'll take you racing for as long as you want.
"-Bumblebee"
All inhabitants of the base fell silent. June covered her mouth a couple times, running on an assumption of the "plan." Agent Fowler read on with a stoic expression, revealing his true military persona. Jack, Miko and Raf weren't entirely sure what to make of the message, confused about what Bee was referencing. Catching the faceplates of the other Autobots, they got an understanding that it wasn't good.
The loud clang of a servo hitting concrete echoed through the base, accompanied by Arcee's voice. "You're such a glitch-head!" she shouted at the screen, punching a nearby wall, "You could have waited, but you just had to play hero!"
"Arcee, calm down before I have to sedate you!" Ratchet huffed, turning back to the screen. He tried to send a message back, but the attempt was in vain. Bee could get information out, yet couldn't receive it. The medic cursed quietly before putting a servo on his chevron. "Primus, what now?" he whispered.
Orion paced around his room on the Nemesis, reevaluating the events of the past few breems. First, an Autobot scout (apparently, one of his enemies) started a fight with some Vehicons and was captured. Next, said scout claimed to know him under a different designation. It didn't make much sense seeing as the only designation he ever had had been Orion Pax. Then, Megatronus, now Megatron, made the scout obey his orders and told him, Orion, that the scout was brainwashed by the Autobots into doing their dirty work. Apparently, the scout also doubled as an assassin and was planning on off-lining Megatron out of hatred and poor upbringing. Although he couldn't find any significant gaps in Megatron's story, something just seemed off.
When the scout spoke, he seemed sincere and scared. The scout was a youngling, forced into something that he obviously wasn't mentally ready for. At least, he shouldn't be at that age...but his optics were so old. Old optics on a young frame was such a terrible thing to see, and the concept was so new to Orion. There was his first missing piece, now if he could just put the puzzle together.
Looking back on it, the scout hadn't actually spoken; he used a Cybertronian code, to put it simply: speaking in binary. Well not exactly binary, but it was close enough and easily understandable. Megatron mentioned in passing that the Autobots removed his voice modulator to prevent him from having the ability to give a testimony against them. Using code meant whatever the scout said would be invalid in a court, seeing as anyone could use code to communicate and therefore would not allow him to gain political support or intervention. He could be classified as a non-sentient drone and decommissioned as such. However, Orion noticed the youngling's fear when Megatron wrapped his servo around the already mutilated neck joint. But the fear wasn't directed inwardly, the scout was frightened for someone else. But who was he afraid for? If the Autobots really were the enemies, why would their trauma-ridden scout feel anything for them? Even if he was brainwashed, the psychological processes of the main processor and logic circuits would rule out in the end. That scout should have been asking for protection from Megatron, wanting to join the Decepticons. So why didn't that happen?
Nothing was making sense. Nothing was adding up. Orion Pax sighed and held his helm in his servos. What was really going on here?
The loud screech of the door brought Bumblebee back to reality. His helm shot up, wondering and dreading what was about to come next. A large silhouette stood in the doorway, blocking out what little light the corridors gave off. A small flutter of hope welled up in Bee's spark.
"Optimus?" he beeped, recalibrating his optics for the light shift. A sinister chuckle filled the air. He was dead wrong.
"Not quite, scout," Megatron replied while stepping into the shadows, "but close." As if on cue, Bumblebee thrashed against his restraints, optics narrowing in anger.
"Why are you here?" he hissed. On the outside, he was furious. On the inside, his spark was beating with fear. This visit was not going to end well.
"Am I not allowed to check on my prisoners?" Megatron asked nonchalantly. He strode over to the youngling, inspecting his position. "Hmm…you appear far too comfortable. Don't worry, I can fix that." A high frequency beep escaped from Bumblebee. Megatron had unsheathed his sword and pushed it into his right shoulder joint. Bee gave him an indifferent glance, prompting the Decepticon to apply more pressure.
If there were any humans in the room, all they would hear the sound of metal cutting into metal. However, Cybertronians could make out the high-pitched squeal of a youngling in pain. Bumblebee didn't care if he was satisfying Megatron's sadistic glee; he was going to scream as loud as possible. It was all for a reason.
Somewhere in the back of his processor, he hoped Optimus could hear him.
Suddenly, Megatron withdrew the blade from his armor, making sure to cut in deeper than necessary. He heard the youngling gasp as he watched the energon fall from his sword. Bee's gaze was downcast, refusing to meet the optics of his captor.
"Where…is…Optimus?" he asked slowly. His servo sent waves of agony through his body, the tension of his bonds making the pain even worse. It felt as though his servo was being slowly ripped away from his frame. That was probably what Megatron wanted.
"Optimus Prime isn't here." Megatron replied with a smirk. "In fact, I don't know where my rival is."
"Where is Orion?" Bumblebee was shaking with fury, officially fragged off. He glared into those cold red optics for all he was worth.
"In his quarters," was the flippant response, "But that's not important right now. There are other matters I wanted to discuss with you."
"And what would those be?" Both mechs locked optics, neither one wanting to break contact. After a few seconds of tense silence, Megatron began to grin. Bumblebee shrunk back slightly, disconcerted with his opponent's expression.
"You do want to keep your team safe, correct?"
"Yes." He was hesitant, untrusting, and so very suspicious.
"And you will do whatever it takes to keep them safe from me?"
"What exactly are you getting at?"
"You're right. I'm growing tired of this little game." Pain flared up in Bumblebee's servo as Megatron casually leaned on the damaged joint.
"You…didn't answer…my question…" The beeps were far and in between. But nothing could compare to the fear in Bee's spark as Megatron asked his next question.
"Tell me scout, do you remember the Cortical Psychic Patch?"
A/N: Sorry I haven't updated anything in a while! Yes, I am working on Egress if you're waiting for that to update. Also, I'm going to speed write my way through this story! Season 2 of Transformers Prime begins February 18th and I want this to be done and over with by the time the premier starts. I know the ending and I know most of the middle, now it's time to sit down and get it done.