Bold talking is Cybertronian
Chapter 2: War Games
XXX
Bumblebee was on his tiptoes as he jarred the window open a little more so he could get his hand in. Thank Primus that Sam's window was located by the backyard otherwise this would be impossible!
Finally, the window gave way to his prying and opened the whole way. 'Bee gave a satisfied click. He then turned his attention to Sam. The human had fallen asleep on the ride back home; his face was still puffy and red. Thankfully, his soft snores showed that he was sleeping peacefully nonetheless. Bumblebee carefully picked up the human from the grass, trying not to wake him as he did so, and as carefully as possible placed the organic in his bed through the open window. Sam's parents were probably sitting by the front door ready to deal punishment for being pass curfew. Luckily for Sam, it was impossible to sneak up into his window so the teen would be able to state that he had been home before curfew when he did finally come down in the morning.
Oh, the perks of having a giant robot for a friend.
Once Sam was finally curled deep into his covers and whispering something about fried chicken did the Autobot decide to shut the window and leave him at peace. The small bot then stood there, in the middle of Ron Witwicky's lawn just thinking. He felt sick in his spark. He prayed that Hound hadn't done anything rash. Bumblebee liked Hound because the tracker was such a pushover to him when he was growing up amongst the Autobot ranks. Hound was like an 'Uncle' as the humans would say, and the thought of the kind falling into sorrow was a notion Bumblebee couldn't bare. The yellow Camaro sighed and slowly lay on the lawn, sprawling out and staring at the stars like a child.
Maybe I should tell Prime thought the femme in disguise as he (Bumblebee had stopped thinking of himself as a female long ago) placed a hand over his chest only to suddenly have an image of a grinning Prime straddling him latch onto his processors.
No, he couldn't tell. Maybe if there were other femmes but there were no more femmes, were there? Bumblebee had check and rechecked the Autobot ranks trying to spy out any other bot that seemed unwilling to open their chassis or afraid of medics. Alas, no one fit the profile for too long. He was alone, wasn't he: the last femme? Bumblebee shuddered at the thought. If he told Prime would the semi be the first to take 'Bee or would the leader allow Bumblebee the choice of his nightly partner until he conceived a sparkling? Bumblebee shuddered again. Would it hurt to connect with another and share each other's spark? Would it be unbearable once the sparkling started growing, expanding the metal of his natural form until he could no longer transform to alt mode safely? And what of the birthing? He'd never witnessed it and could never find any vid files on the subject, but from 'Bee's musings he'd heard that no battle wounded soldier's screams could compare to that of a birthing femme.
Bumblebee sat up and pulled his head into his knees much like Sam did when he was upset. He-he hated being this way. He'd fought so hard to protect the Allspark. He defeated Barricade alone to protect Sam, allowed the humans to capture him so Optimus could get the glasses, fought in battle injured and legless, yet … the Allspark was lost. Bumblebee allowed himself to whimper as he started rocking back and forth … why? Why?
"WHY!"
"Why, what?" came a metallic voice in Cybertronian and Bumblebee was to his feet in record time.
"Ratchet," squeaked Bumblebee's vocal processors as he stumbled backwards, tripping over Ron Witwicky's newly replaced fountain and falling on his aft shaking the lamps that hung on the house's patio. There stood the medic on the opposite side of the fence, staring at him. There was a worried look on his faceplates that just yelled that he had been watching Bumblebee's musing, shaking, whimpering and overall pathetic display of femme-ality.
"Who else?" stated the medic calmly in Cybertronian as he looked Bumblebee up and down. "I came to apologize for my earlier actions at the outlook. I know how frightened you are of medical procedures. I also wanted to tell you that your vocal processors are healing at an acceptable rate so it was unnecessary for me to act so forcefully, but, nonetheless, I am the team's medic and you should listen to me."
Bumblebee nodded his head but dared not speak. Optimus had probably questioned Ratchet's actions after 'Bee left, but one squeak from his damaged vocal processors would probably cause the medic to go against Prime's request.
The medic nodded but didn't leave like Bumblebee was hoping he'd do. Instead, he stepped over the fence, ducked the power lines and came closer to Bumblebee. Bumblebee's systems nearly panicked. He had to keep Ratchet as far away as possible; his systems were too raw and shaken from earlier to block out any system checks. He needed to keep Ratchet away! True, he could always shoot him but that was a little extreme. Besides, what kind of excuse would he come up with afterward? 'Sorry Optimus, I thought Ratchet had Rust cooties.' That might have worked a few thousand years ago when he was younger, but not now. What could he use and still seem inconspicuous?
It was like a game show going off in Bumblebee's head as he tried to come up with an answer. 'Now behind which door is your escape?' said the inner host. 'Will it be door number one! Run for your aft and pray that you're faster than the medic or door number two! A death match … which Ratchet will probably win! The clock is ticking so choose wisely!' The Camaro was almost positive that he could hear jeopardy-like theme music playing in his head, which was only interrupted by a yawn. Bumblebee quickly looked toward Sam's window. The human wasn't awake so who could have yawn? A small yip made the bot jump as he caught sight of a sleepy Mojo crawling out of his luxury doghouse; Sam had accidentally left Mojo outside. 'I'd like to take option behind door number three, please.'
The wheels were turning in the Camaro's head and so where the mech's feet as he stumbled toward the doghouse. Once there he grabbed the small beast by his collar before Mojo could stumble in the house. The dog gave a gruff yip as he was place in Bumblebee's hand and nearly pushed into Ratchet's face. Bumblebee just knew that the little Chihuahua was bound to go into one of his barking temper tantrums by finding a stranger, aka Ratchet, in his yard and bothering his ride, aka 'Bee. Thus the barking would cause the whole Witwicky household to emerge from their slumber and save his aft, again!
Mojo looked around in a panic when he found that his ground had been replaced by air and finally metal. The little dog shook as he looked around in a panic trying to find out why he had just risen a few meters into the air. He only calmed down when he registered that it was only his Master's car, again! The dog stopped his shaking and glared over at his capturer. Pathetic and this metallic monster called himself a guardian? Bumblebee had his battle mask down and had one hand over his optics as if hoping just because he couldn't see the other mech he'd somehow disappear. Mojo yawned and looked over at the medic … his tail started to wag. Now this was a promising aspect. Maybe the medic would give him some painkillers. Yum, painkillers. What? It was Sam's fault for giving him overdoses in the first place.
Bumblebee spread his fingers to see if Ratchet had left. Nope, still there and maybe a step or two closer to boot. Plus, to add insult to injury, Ratchet was smiling down at the small organic as he scanned him for data. Okay, the Mojo-mad-dog scheme was a failure, but the sick-dying-Mojo scheme still hadn't been put on the stage.
"Wha-what are you do-doing j-just standing the-there, R-ratchet! Mo-mojo's dying," squeaked Bumblebee, earning him a worried glance from Ratchet. Hopefully, Sam would forgive him for sacrificing his dog.
"What do you mean? I just ran several scans and nothing, not even oxygen levels seemed abnormal," Ratchet replied as he eyed the Camaro; 'Bee seemed tense like he was readying himself for battle. In fact, all of 'Bumblebee's system's were on high alert and in a distressed mode. "Bumblebee why are all your systems on alert?"
SLAGGIT ALL! Distraction mode. DISTRACTION! Lie bitch. LIE! "Because R-ratchet … um … it's because of-of Mojo's st-state! Please ch-check him out! Sssssam would die if Mo-mojjjo died!"
Bumblebee practically tossed the dog at Ratchet. Ratchet, of course, had been too distracted in reading the scans he was receiving from Bumblebee to properly react to the whole dog-being-thrown-at-him and missed the mutt. A gasp escaped 'Bee as he dove for the dog in medic's absence. Of course, with Ratchet not being more then a few meters away, it was more like he dove for Ratchet. The poor medic went down with a huff as 'Bee's form fell to the ground with him. There was a moment clanging followed by an odd silence as 'Bee slowly opened his palm. Mojo was still, his little form unmoving. 'Bee felt his processors dive. What had he done? The small mech felt a whimper of sadness rise in his throat for killing the rodent, but then the next thing he knew the little dog wolfed angrily, got to its feet and ran off into the bushes.
The Camaro glared at the retreating rodent thinking bitterly, maybe he should step on him, traitor? The bot shook off the thought and laid his head down in mental exhaustion … there was a clang as he did so. It was then that he realized exactly where he was … a fire being lit in his chassis at the thought of another's spark chamber being so close to his. Bumblebee's systems at the realization suddenly started to overheat as his spark chamber fought with his mind to open itself and allowed the other spark access. A pained whine escaped 'Bee as he fought with his internal systems, yet his spark would have none of it. It didn't want to be pulled away from the closeness of the other spark so soon, even though it was separated by thick sheets of metal. It would not be taken away from the other so quickly! Before the Camaro could do more then pull his head up, his systems seemed to freeze and he fell back onto Ratchet's chest with an echoing clang.
Ratchet sensors seemed to panic when he heard the pained whimper escape Bumblebee, and then there was the dull clang when Bumblebee collapsed back on top of him. His sensors were now picking up abnormal heat signatures from the smaller mech's form as if he were overheating, which was strange because Bumblebee's systems seemed to be working properly a minute ago. So why had he collapsed? Ratchet slowly started to sit up, carefully holding the nearly still mech to his chest. Well, almost completely still. The medic could tell by the soft twitching of the smaller mech's digits that he was trying to reset something in his system. Ratchet pulled his form completely up into a sitting position. He could feel the heat coming off in waves now.
"Bumblebee, tell me what's wrong? What system are you trying to reset? Is it your coolant system?" said Ratchet in a calm manner, trying to not worry the youngling.
The smaller mech said nothing, meaning most of his non-survival systems were probably offline.
"Bumblebee," said Ratchet as he repositioned 'Bee's hips so they'd stop digging into his side, "I'm going run some system diagnostics … just give me a minute."
Ratchet then leaned Bumblebee's head loosely on his shoulder plating as his delicate fingers started to work, trying to find the cause of the problem. The heat seemed to jump a few more degrees as he did so. It was as if his touch was causing this overheating which was just illogical so he continued his prodding.
'Bee tried to say 'no' but the only sound he was able to make was a pained whine which only made Ratchet's fingers move all the faster over his yellow platting. Why were his systems allowing his spark to do this? Did a part of him subconsciously known that the Allspark was destroyed and, there for, was trying to make sure the species continued? Perhaps the Allspark had done something back then when he had touched it. Regardless, why was his own fricken body against him! He didn't care if he was the last femme, so why was it doing this to him? Primus, he could barely force his spark chamber to keep closed at the time being so how the hell was he suppose to stop Ratchet! One soft push on his chassis and it would probably open. Speaking of which, Ratchet's medical fingers were … not helping. True, they were nowhere near Bumblebee's chassis at the moment, but his spark found the fingers, in a blatant human word, arousing. The poor Camaro was practically shaking as he tried to reset his systems. He had to get away from Ratchet. There was no way the medic was getting near his –
'Bee's spark nearly exploded in arousal as the medic ran his fingers along the ridged plating of his chassis. The poor little Camaro let a pained-dragging whimper escape him as his back ached against the other, his spark chamber was practically trying to rip his chassis open. T-the Allspark had to have done this. H-he had never been this aroused before! H-he hadn't come of age for breeding, had he?
"Bumblebee is there internal damage near your spark?" said the medic as he stalled for a moment. "Try to remain calm. I'll fix you up in not time."
There was a loud scrapping of metal as the medic tried to snap open Bumblebee's chassis with his fingers. 'Bee's spark flared with anticipation, and the small mech whimpered as he tried to get away from the other. A growl escaped Ratchet as he stilled Bumblebee's small movements.
"Slag it all! You're chassis isn't opening! What did you let it rust shut or something!" growled Ratchet.
The rescue vehicle's arm quickly slid away from Bumblebee's lower chassis and headed for a subspace pocket in his leg. He was going to jimmy open the chassis with the help of one of his medical scalpels. Another pained whimper escaped his patient as he placed the newly acquired blade between the plating.
"Just be patient for a moment, Bumblebee," Ratchet replied softly as he tried to calm his patient, "I know you're in pain, but I promise I won't hurt you."
A sudden roar of tires sliding on asphalt rang through the suburbia along with a voice, "Ratchet are you here? Ratchet!"
The medic, not expecting to see his commander, twitched and so did the blade in his hand. The medic's scalpel only slammed into the armor slightly, but the shock was enough to flip Bumblebee's processors from totally-need-to-get-laid-mode to survival-mode. All systems seemed to go online in an instant and the smaller mech elbowed the medic in the chest, throwing him to the ground. Bumblebee then stumbled forward until he was at least the yard's length from the other. A cloud of steam filled the yard as Bumblebee forced his coolant fans on, pulling out the heat that seemed to be suffocating his spark chamber.
Ratchet, being too caught off guard to properly react, was still lying on the ground watching the steam settle around the smaller mech as the youth shook. Something wasn't right. Bumblebee's systems just suddenly rebooted like there was nothing damaged at all. No, that's wasn't right. Mech's just don't overheat for no slaggen reason and suddenly reboot! The medic was about to get to his feet and start a full systems diagnostic on the shaking being when Prime suddenly stepped over the fence.
"Ratchet …" said Optimus before he went was silent to properly observe the situation. Poor Bumblebee's coolant systems were panting and Ratchet was on his back in the dirt. This only led him to one conclusion and the leader chuckled. "It seems Bumblebee won this sparing match, did he?"
Ratchet had hit mock three in getting to his feet, pretending to brush off non-existent dirt as he spoke, "Tuh … please Prime. That little yellow –"
A loud clapping suddenly came from Bumblebee's radio system, scaring the medic and interrupting him as well. The small bot then started to do a victory dance, playing victory themed music as he did so. Hey, when he saw an escape route he went for it. If he had to lie and embarrass Ratchet, then he'd do it.
Prime chuckled again at the small bot's actions and then put a hand on his shocked medic's shoulder.
"I'm sorry to have to interrupt you and 'Bee's fun Ratchet, but we have a slight problem," said Prime softly in their home language.
"What?" said the medic stupidly as his processors tried to piece together what had just happened; he had been hoodwinked, hadn't he? Had 'Bee never been in trouble to begin with? It wasn't the first time someone had falsified injury.
"Will Lennox called and it seemed incredibly urgent … Something about needing to buy a fern right now. Apparently, Ironhide's too damaged to take him to the store. He also said something about marrying an evil femme, because she has fun torturing robot refugees. He also kind of went into a rant about emotional breakdowns and … stuff," Optimus stated in a confused manner. Will had called all but screaming every cuss word in the book, and then eventually broke down into tears about breaking Ironhide. It was disturbing to say the least.
Ratchet gave his Commander a questioned look.
"Will you repeat that again?" said Ratchet. "I'm not quite sure what that means."
Prime quickly stepped over the fence and towards the road.
"Neither do I. I had Will Lennox repeated it three times, but the poor human just grew more and more hysterical. We should be moving out Ratchet," said the Commander as he shifted his head in the direction of the road. "Knowing Ironhide, he's probably over reacting."
With that said, the huge Autobot leader transformed and pulled out and Ratchet jumped over the fence ready to follow but, before he transformed, he gave Bumblebee a glare and whispered, "I will find out what happened here tonight 'Bee … don't think I'm done and if this was a joke, Primus help your skinny aft."
The small Camaro was only allowed a click of worry in reply as the larger mech transformed and rolled out, leaving him at peace for the moment. Bumblebee then groaned and just flopped on his back on the grass, shaking a few car alarms into use as he did so. He didn't care if Sam got yelled in the morning for parking 'his Camaro' on the lawn. Bumblebee was going into recharge right here.
XXX
"Bee?"
"Yessss."
"Um … I'm not one to question your scout skills and that but for some reason … I feel like a peeping Tom."
"What you talkin' about fool?"
Sam scratched his head and pulled the binoculars down so he could stare as at the bot beside him. Bumblebee was flat on his chassis, his optics focused on the area before him which just happened to be the outlook where both Ironhide and Ratchet were standing, waiting patiently for Bumblebee and Optimus to show up.
"Well, I feel wrong for spying on those guys and why exactly are we hiding out here, in the middle of nowhere, covered in mud and shrubbery," said Sam as he pulled a fern leaf out of his hair. "… And acting like we're bad Rambo impersonators or something?"
Bumblebee knew the answer … to keep away from Ratchet, but Sam didn't need to know that. So he said something else, "Isssssn't it obvious?"
"You think they found out the plant thing was a lie?" added Sam dryly and then the two broke into hysterical laughter. Sam rolled over and over on his back and poor 'Bee was shaking so hard Sam was sure that the poor bot would start falling apart at the seams if he didn't calm him down soon. "Okay, okay, let's try to work here people. We can't be official peeping Toms until one of them starts to get naked; wait? Can giant robots get naked?"
Bumblebees scratched the back of his head and looked down at Sam. Primus, he was glad to have Sam. The human could always distract him from his problems.
"Um Sammmm… we're kind of na-naked."
"Oh," said Sam stupidly as he put the binoculars back over his eyes and watched Ironhide lean against a nearby tree, leaves spreading to the wind and onto the mech's shoulders. Meanwhile, Ratchet seemed to be tinkering with some readouts because he was standing really still looking at nothing. There was still no sign of Optimus.
"So why don't we just go down there, again? If this has anything to do with the new Ratchet-phobia you suddenly developed out of thin air, I'm not amused," hissed Sam.
"There's no jokin' boy … you've won my heart -," Bee shook his head as the music played. It was a wonder why the two mechs hadn't seen them up here already with all the racket they were making.
"Okay, care to elaborate my fellow peeping Tom?" mocked Sam as he stared absent mindedly at the fellow transformers through his binoculars.
"Crime lord? You're the crime lord! I trusted –
Sam snickered at the sound of the movie scene and then spoke with a laugh in his voice, "Oh I'm sure Optimus would love to know he's being compared to a crime lord. Speaking of which - "
Bumblebee stopped in his mockery to look upward at the road. Yep, there was the crime lord himself and kicking up dust. Bumblebee got as low as he possibly could to the ground and his optics got narrow as he watched carefully. Sam nearly jumped out of his skin as the voice of Optimus Prime echoed near him in perfect sync with the transforming mech half of a mile away.
"Evening troops … where's Bumblebee? He's usually one of the first ones here?"
"Don't know Optimus, the kid said he was comin' like two hours ago. Still hasn't shown his little metallic aft, which I'm so goin' to kick once he –"
"Easy Ironhide."
Sam swallowed … why was Ironhide mad?
"They're not home, that's for sure. I've been keeping an optic on him since last night, but I did pick up a faint reading earlier that was in this mile's vicinity. I thought it was you but you just came over the curve so it must be Bumblebee," said Ratchet as he looked towards the road and so did the others.
"If he's not on the road …"
Optimus suddenly glared right in the direction of Sam and Bee. His optics flashed as if angry. Sam ducted down with a squeak and Bumblebee dropped his battle mask as if trying to protect himself from the gaze as his head fell into the bushes. Sam and Bumblebee looked at each other through the shrubbery.
"You think he saw us?" whimper Sam as he slowly started to raise his head over the bush line to see.
"I donno, Jack," commented the yellow Camaro's radio as he started to raise his metallic head as well.
Sam whimpered and Bumblebee's engine coughed as they stared at the leader; he was still glaring in their direction with both Ironhide and Ratchet beside him doing the same.
"Are you really sure he sees –"
Optimus suddenly pointed one finger in their direction and then violently pointed down at the ground at his feet. 'Bee whimpered and Sam swallowed.
"Well, they all could be really mad at the ground or something?"
XXX
Sam rolled his eyes as 'Bee's radio played soft music of the death march over his radio, he could feel the small car shaking.
"Come on 'Bee," said Sam as he pulled his head in from the wind blowing though the window, "don't you think the musics too much?"
A congressional Christen station, or something, suddenly swung over the death march's place. "Do not fear death my brothers, let death fear you! For when thy die you will be welcomed into the glorious arms of our lord and savior. Say hallelujah with me brothers. HALLELUJAH! Now let us pray."
Sam rolled his eyes before he spoke, "Come on 'Bee, what's wrong? I know there's been something on your mind."
"There'sss nothing on my headdd Sam."
Sam rolled his eyes again.
"You know what I mean 'Bee. You're acting like you've got something to hide. I mean … last night I heard you 'Bee, in the yard," the car tensed beneath him, but Sam stubbornly continued because he had promised himself that he'd confront his metal friend. "I heard you crying and asking why."
Sam shifted in his seat nervously as he waited for a reply. When one didn't come, he continued, "You can tell me Bee. I'm your friend."
'Bee pondered on his charge's words. Sam had never lied to him nor betrayed his trust. Heck, the human kept the secret of the Cybertronians very existence from his mother. Yet … 'Bee had kept it for so long, so very long it felt like it was a leach on his spark, and if he suddenly pulled it off soon he'd start to bleed. He'd probably bleed until he died. Yet, his vocal processors reacted to the softness in Sam's voice. That voice was always so warm, he could never be afraid of that voice.
"Sam, have you ever kept a ssssecret for a long timmmme?"
"Yeah," chuckled the teenager. "Mom still thinks Miles started the rug on fire during my seventh birthday party. It was me, but I'm taking that to the grave."
Bumblebee didn't laugh, and Sam didn't get his answer as they pulled up to the outlook to see three giant robots glaring down on them like mother hens. Bumblebee allowed Sam to exit before he transformed, making a sound equivalent to a human swallow as he stared at the other transformers.
"H-hello Optimus … be-been waiting longgggggg?"
The Commander lifted his finger ready to scold Bumblebee like a child for spying on them when he noticed the … camouflage. If you call covering yourself in mud and leaves camouflage, especially when it doesn't even work. The great leader shook his head, whispered something about Primus and then stated, "I would ask why you two are covered in shrubbery, but I have a feeling it has something to do with the plant fiasco."
"Plant fiasco?" whimpered Bumblebee and Sam in unison as they stared at each other and then back at the … maniacally, grinning Ironhide who was suddenly in front of Optimus.
"Yeah, the PLANT FIASCO!" growled Ironhide as he took a step closer to the two beings and continued in a mocking tone. "That plant fiasco wasn't funny Bumblebee. Poor Will nearly had a cornea, not to mention my circuit's nearly overheated 'cause of the shock when Will told me he hadn't water his plants!"
Ratchet and Optimus both tried to smother their snickers but failed miserably. Ironhide glared at the two and then returned his attention back to the two tricksters before saying, "And you know what?"
Sam laughed nervously and then said, "Are you going to give us a head start in running for our lives?"
Ironhide peered down at the human for a moment as if trying to decide if he should step on him, but then bluntly said, "Who said I was going to punish you Sam? Bumblebee must suffer alone."
"Buuut Sam – "
"Don't go blamin' this on your human!" hiss Ironhide as he slapped the yellow bot in the back of the head. "Now prepare yourself for the consequences."
The small bot automatically turned his gaze to Ratchet, who merely gave him an evil smirk, and then Optimus who was shaking his head in disappointment at the unprofessional actions of a 'supposed' professional soldier, and then to the tree in the corner. Um, well, it was a really nice looking tree that offset the outlook nicely, and it was incredibly wonderful to sit under on hot days, but was it really tall enough that he could climb up it and hiss down at the others like a rabid cat? Maybe? Okay. Run for it in one, two –
"Here's your punishment. Have a fern."
Bumblebee, who had had his foot already dug in the earth and ready to run for it, fell into the dirt as his foot slid with a thud as he lost his balance from the strange comment.
"Whattt!" stammered Bumblebee as he pulled his face out of the dirt and looked up at the others. The other Autobots all broke into soft calming clicks of humor at his reaction.
"That's right kid, you have to keep this plant alive for a human month or your hide is mine. Optimus said I couldn't beat yuh' if it lived," chuckled Ironhide. Well, that was sweet revenge if he ever knew any.
The smaller bot slowly stood up and took the little thing from Ironhide's hands. He glanced down at Sam, looking for help, but the little being was bent over laughing, hysterically, at his plight.
The mech sighed, "Wonderful, I could put it right next to - screech!"
The laughter stopped immediately as a growl came from Ratchet. Optimus quickly gave 'Bee a look that said 'Just this once kid' and quickly took the medic's attention. "Alright soldiers now let's get to the real discussion at hand. Barricade has been seen prowling around Mission City … looking for something. It is uncertain what he's after, but since he hasn't requested peace with us, it's fairly certain he's up to no good."
"What do you think he's searching for?" growled Ironhide as he shifted on his feet forgetting all about the fern and Bumblebee.
"I'm not sure Ironhide, but that's something we'll ask him once he's been restrained," pointed Optimus as he glared at Ironhide. The weapon specialist merely huffed and nodded his head, getting the message.
"Soldiers this is a top priority mission due to the whole panic created by the Mission City Incident. Search the city and do not approach alone," Optimus said as he glared at Ironhide, again.
"Don't worry your head. I'll keep my guns cool … maybe," defended Ironhide though Ratchet gave a small chuckle when he heard the whisper.
"Good, we'll depart in the morning." The huge leader turned his attention to Sam and added, "Do you wish to come, Sam? I understand that returning to Mission City will be –
"Like hell I'd miss it!" Jumped the teenager in an excited manner. Anything was better than helping his mother with the garden this weekend. Dang, what was with all these plants lately?
XXX
That weekend, Sam glared at it as it danced in the passenger side seat.
"I can't believe this. Ironhide is evil. Evil! A true master of chaos. His only joy in life is to cause those below him misery and famine! I say we revolt against the TITIAN! Revolt against his tyranny!" yelled Sam as he pointed at the thing in the passenger set. Said thing merely waved innocently and that irritated the human even more. "That's it 'Bee, roll down the window so I can throw it out."
'Bee's engine managed to rev in distaste as he passed another car, "Sa-sam, the f-fern isn't hurting you, let-let it be, and how-how isssssss anyone starving from-from this?"
Sam plopped back in his seat. "Nobody is. I'm just bored. God, are we there yet?"
"Calm down turn around. Hay oh! No move those hips and shake that –"
A silence set in the car once the country music became too intolerable for the human who had threatened to throw himself out if Bumblebee didn't turn off the radio. 'Bee complied and opted to listen to the traffic and Sam's heartbeat. It was strange at first to feel that thumping beat inside him, but now it was comforting. He wondered if that's how Barricade felt about Frenzy. He just ditched Megatron, in the middle of battle, and for what … to save Frenzy? Bumblebee's circuits suddenly jumped to another point. This warmth he felt with Sam, or any other human for that matter. Would it feel the same if it were a sparkling? Would he be able to hear its pump beating slowly? Would he feel it shift and move inside him as it grew to maturity? Would it be a nice feeling? Would it be warm all the time?
Gruesomely, the memory of how sparklings were made quickly crossed his mind again as Ironhide pulled in front of him, mocking him for his slow pace while thinking. 'Bee cringed. Did it really matter? He wasn't going to tell anybody so why dwell on such a question?
As if on cue, the small human in his seat suddenly poked a nerve. "You never told me Bumblebee. Why were you so upset the other night? What secret have you been keeping?"
Bumblebee's engine sighed. Sam had just called him Bumblebee and not 'Bee. It was serious issue in the human's mind and he wasn't going to let it drop until he got an answer. Slag it all! Why did humans have to be such curious and persistent creatures? He didn't know what to say … so he remained silent. This of course only aroused the human's curiosity even more.
"What could be that bad? What, were you secretly a Decepticon pretending to be an Autobot this whole time, and now with Megatron dead you want to come clean about being a Decepticon?" Sam glared at the radio, his grin suddenly disappearing. "Bee, come on pal. Don't tell me that's the truth."
"Bee … "
"Bee … "
"BUMBLEBEE!"
"NO!" roared Bumblebee as he swerved in traffic, nearly taking out a Ferrari. "Dooon'ttt ever call mmeee a Decepticon Sam! Never! Theyyy wronggged me in mo-more ways then yo-you know!"
The car once again went silent and Sam felt his heart give a tug. He didn't know what to say. That was a huge insult to an Autobot, wasn't it? It was like telling a Christian that they worshipped the devil. The human twitched nervously and shivered, waiting for Bumblebee to say something again … or yell, but if 'Bee was going to say anything at all Sam would never find out when a voice danced over the radio as well as the sound of a honking horn from outside. Sam jumped and 'Bee swerved again, nearly plowing into Optimus.
"Bumblebee," said Prime's voice urgently for the comm. link. "Bumblebee report! Is something wrong? I felt your circuits flaring from here."
There was nothing but a thickening silence. Then, without warning, the little car slammed on his breaks sliding past Optimus and toward a rest area across two lanes of traffic. The road was quickly filled with squealing brakes and the honking of horns as the cars in the other lanes panicked. Sam squawked in distress at the sudden change in movement and flew into the passenger's seat, slamming his back into the door. The human didn't even get time to hiss in complaint though as Bumblebee came to a sliding halt in a parallel parking place between two other parked cars. People in the area made jumps and dives to get out of the way thinking the car was going to roll, but the Camaro didn't. Instead, the door flew open and out came a screaming, flying teenager with a fern in hand. Before the human could even properly hit the ground though, the car's tires were squealing as it burst out of the rest area as quickly as it came.
… There was an awkward moment of silence before anyone even spoke.
"Hey kid, you piss off your girlfriend or something?" said a younger man as he ran over to the shocked Sam to help him to his feet.
"Did they hurt you?" continued the stranger as he looked the teen over for missing body parts.
Sam shook his head absent mindedly as he stared at the disappearing yellow dot in the distance before replying, "No, I think I hurt him though."
A different screech of tires suddenly filled the rest area making Sam and the man beside him jump as a semi, Topkick, and medical emergency vehicle came slamming into the area. The Semi's window quickly rolled down and a man with brown hair and deep blue eyes looked down at the human, his worry evident.
"Sam, are you alright? Is Bumblebee damaged, I mean hurt?" stated Optimus as he eyed the human next to Sam.
Sam swallowed. Would 'Bee get into trouble even though he was the one who kind of started the fight? It was fairly obvious to him that his pal was having a really difficult time at the moment. Sam wasn't sure what the problem was but it was tearing his guardian apart. The human swallowed. He'd have to give Bumblebee time to tell him. If that didn't work then he'd then tell Optimus.
"N-nothing, Optimus," said Sam with a fake laugh. "I just had to wiz and I told Bumblebee to go ahead without me since it would be easier for him to do his duties as a scout without the plant and me lagging him down. You mind if I get a ride with one of you … as soon as I take a wiz that is."
Sam swallowed and placed the plant under his arm as he walked towards the bathrooms, trying to ignore the strange glances he was getting. Ugh, this was aggravating. He needed to know what was bothering 'Bee. He didn't care if he had to use the old 'I'll paint you pink while you recharge' threat. He had to know and when Sam Witwicky set himself up for a mission he finished it … or came home in a body bag.
Ratchet was silent for a moment until Sam had completely disappeared, along with the human that had helped him to his feet, "Optimus?"
"Yes Ratchet?" stated the Autobot leader in a soft knowing tone in Cybertronain as the three of them parked.
"We should keep a close optic on Bumblebee. Something is not right. I mean last night's actions were troubling enough, be it part of the plant joke or not, and now with Bumblebee just abandoning Sam like that. Optimus, something is seriously wrong."
"I know Ratchet. I know," whispered the semi as he watched Sam jog toward them. "Watch him but don't let him know you are. I do not want him to feel we do not trust him."
XXX
Paw07: Okay, response to a very common question on my first chapter reviews: For some reason a lot of you people asked where Bumblebee would get the idea that s/he'd be force to do the nasty. One must recall the stories that Bumblebee heard during training about what mechs would do to femmes if they had one alone for a night. Now not having any female company for awhile, and not knowing that there was a femme in the room, the older mechs probably left their mouths run; Bumblebee being a youngling at the time knew no different. So you must acknowledge that Bumblebee believes that s/he will be taken advantage of once they find out about his/her secret. Now if that's really going to happen, you'll just have to wait and see.
Lastly, pairings you ask … O_O … I really have no idea myself. I don't even know if there will be one in the end. I am a fan of tragedies myself.
Edit: Revised September 2012
