Writer's Note - Hey, sorry about the late update. My bad. - Duma So, about Bumblebee's speech... During the first two books by Alex Irvine, it's made clear that although Bee is given a new 'voice-box' by Ratchet, he has trouble being understood ('Transformers: Exodus', 'Transformers: Exiles'). By the third book, Bumblebee has learnt to use some form of communication so that others now seem to grasp what he is saying - although it isn't easy.
Therefore, rather than write Bumblebee's dialogue in a way that is understood by everyone, I wanted to convey just how difficult it is for Bee to communicate so as to put greater emotional emphasis on how important it is that [spoiler alert?] he gets his true voice back at the end of Transformers Prime in 'Deadlock' and no longer has to struggle to 'talk'.
If it takes you time to work out what Bee is saying, it should give an idea on how hard it is for Bumblebee to say it and for other Cybertronians to understand it.
At first, everything was pitch black. The darkest, light-deprived black that there ever was, not counting the colour of Unicron's spark.
But, after some time had passed, the dark was lightened by the soft blue glow of an Autobot's optics.
Bumblebee had to take a few moments to process what had happened to him and how he had ended up down beneath the surface of the earth. Had he a voice, he would have groaned at the aching pain in his head and chest and the unexplainable heaviness that weighted him down. Instead he made a noise which sounded like a motor which was powering down. He looked around, activating his scout technology and switching to night vision so he could see better.
His first instinct was to check his surroundings as he had been trained to do.
It didn't take him too long to work out that he had a giant rock on top of him which probably was the cause for the chest pain. Once the rock had been removed, Bumblebee was able to move a little more freely which meant he could make a better assessment on where he was. Surprisingly, there was still some structural support and there was still room to crouch and move so he hadn't been completely entombed but he was covered in dirt and sand.
There must have been, he had thought to himself, underground caverns and caves or mine tunnels which had weakened the ground but were still strong enough to prevent any further cave-ins.
The fact of the matter was, however, that Bumblebee was trapped and the surface was blocked off goodness knows how many miles above him. Every move he made was beyond painful, the urge to gouge his own metal off becoming stronger every time he did so, but he eventually manged to roll himself over onto his side and lift himself up onto his knees, taking little time to note that transforming was out of the question in a place like this. He reasoned that there were many times during the War when he must have felt just as beaten and broken as he did now but he hadn't had to deal with such a predicament for years.
Then he remembered why he had fallen in the first place: he had gone to get Starscream.
That meant that Bumblebee wasn't alone down here.
Using his scanners, Bumblebee soon picked up two life signs nearby, both fairly faint like his and Bumblebee hoped it was because of the sediment that was interfering with the scans and not because they were all going to keel over and die in a few seconds. The ceiling was too low for Bumblebee to stand properly so he had to crawl, ever so painfully, in the direction of the nearest life sign, knowing full well that it would be a Decepticon and knowing that said Decepticon was hardly going to be pleased to see him.
He could feel the rocky surface brush against his door-wings but he couldn't pin them back any further than he was doing now so he would just have to put up with scrapes and dings for now and get them seen to later. Manoeuvring the unstable environment was hard work and the scout had to stop several times for fear of collapsing from either pain and exhaustion or for fear of creating the rocks above him to descend on his vulnerable form.
Eventually though, just as he found a little more room to accommodate his frame, he found his first companion.
It was Knock Out, curled up in a dusty red ball with several dents and scratches which would threaten to ensure he seek out therapy once all this was over.
Bumblebee jokingly considered putting his racing rival out of his misery right there and then but, being the devoted follower of Optimus that he was, decided on showing mercy and justice by sparing him. So he tapped him on the shoulder and chirruped the Decepticon's name gently.
Knock Out let out an annoyed huff as though he were being woken up from stasis for unnecessary reasons and his own optics slowly blinked into life, adding a red glow to the current blue, making the overall lightning of the area an eerie pale purple.
The first thing Knock Out saw upon waking was Bumblebee's round baby blue optics, staring down at him. He jumped violently, starting to shout as though Bumblebee had a knife in his hand and attempted to hurriedly move away from his enemy but the large pain that shot up his leg promptly stopped him. Soon after, Knock Out took note of where he was and, more importantly, the state that he was in.
Impressively, Knock Out shut his mouth, stopped his shouting, managed to withhold the urge to wail and, rather than kick up a fuss, he instead opted to stare at Bumblebee in the hopes that the Autobot's presence would prevent him from looking at himself which, in reality, it did.
Bumblebee moved over to examine Knock Out's severely bent leg. He wasn't exactly Ratchet but, like all scouts, he knew basic first aid and had a fair knowledge on the severity of wounds and, in his opinion, it was a miracle the leg hadn't snapped clean in two. As slowly and as carefully as he could, Bumblebee cleared the rubble off the leg and managed to free it where it had been partially buried, silently deducing that words weren't needed right now. All the time, Knock Out sat and shook.
"hUr^t any£wHeRe Els*e?" Bee squeaked with his makeshift voice-box.
Knock Out was deeply ventilating his systems and his chest was heaving as he took in air but he managed to shake his head in reply. Bumblebee nodded and then did another scan of the area to confirm what direction they faced.
"fiNd s*tArscr]eAm tHa^t w!ay," Bumblebee then beeped, pointing with his finger.
Knock Out seemed to calm down and he frowned slightly.
"Starscream's alive?" he said, surprised.
Bumblebee beeped and offered his hand to help Knock Out right himself. Knock Out considered it for a moment, no doubt weighing the pros and cons, his reputation, his self-respect... but he then gratefully accepted the help and set about patching up his leg.
"I suppose," he mumbled, actually initiating conversation with an Autobot, albeit somewhat awkwardly, "while we're down here, we'd best get Starscream out of this problem he's landed himself in. I don't like those poachers anyway; they appreciate parts for all the wrong reasons." He winced as he finished a temporary self repair job. He turned his attention to Bumblebee shortly after this was done. "What about you? Are you hurt?" he asked.
Bumblebee looked sorrowful and put a hand on his chest.
"P{aIN h!eRe," he bleeped.
Knock Out sighed and sagged his shoulders.
"I don't know if I've got the right things on me to sort that out," he told him in a stiff voice, wondering if he were violating a Decepticon line of code by even suggesting he use his skill on an Autobot, "We can't do anything about it until we're out of here. Try not to... Try not to push yourself too hard."
Having said that, Knock Out let Bumblebee move in front of him, briefly noting how the brave little 'Bot seemed to be by turning his back on a Decepticon medic.
Or how stupid.
In silence, the two automobiles moved slowly in the direction of Starscream's life signal, appreciating the fact that the ceiling began to grow higher, eventually giving them more space to stand. It meant that Knock Out could take the weight of his leg a little bit more and Bumblebee wasn't straining his chest so much.
In time, they finally found the wretched Seeker and he was in just as sorry a state as the others had been, partly buried under a large rock which had fallen and had trapped his wings, pinning Starscream to the ground. On top of that, Starscream's arms were still loosely chained and he looked too exhausted to free himself.
He blinked wearily at the two cars as they approached him, gazing at them hopelessly and not saying a word until he dropped his head back and groaned. Whether it was a groan of pain or a groan that his would-be rescuers were Bumblebee and Knock Out, no-one could tell.
"Easy Starscream. We're, uh... going to get you out," Knock Out told him in as reassuring a voice as he could possibly make.
"Pa!iN fEe;l bAd?" Bumblebee asked as he stooped down nearby, unable to keep himself from giving Starscream's talons a fleeting nervous glance.
Knock Out was trying to get the last knot in the chain undone so the Seeker could move his arms but he felt Starscream shudder.
"Pain..." Starscream simply wheezed but didn't finish his sentence.
Knock Out glanced at the rocks that had buried Starscream's wings and dreaded to think what they looked like. It seemed that those wings were the source of all their problems. Shaking his helm, he managed to cut through the knot after a while by using his surgery tools and Starscream finally felt his arms loosen.
"Okay, Autobot? I need your help," Knock Out said, moving towards the rock, trying desperately hard not to put weight on his leg. Then he stopped and glanced at Bumblebee's chest. "On second thoughts..." he began.
But Bumblebee shook his head.
"nOt W^oRryf#or c*hESt," he said, "I h$eLp Mov'E rO`ck."
Knock Out knew there was no arguing with Bumblebee. He just hoped Ratchet would really give him the full treatment once he got back to his base. Well, 'hoped' was too strong a word. It was more accurate to say that Knock Out... suggested - in his head - that Ratchet give him the full treatment. A doctor's advisement, really. Not so much a 'hope'.
They went slowly at first, moving each rock one by one, not wanting to damage the wings further. As they went, Starscream's face creased deeper and deeper as his pain level began to steadily rise.
"I think we're nearly there," Knock Out murmured, heaving away a large rock.
Just as Starscream let out his first squeaky whimper, the last rock was removed. To both Knock Out's and Bumblebee's surpise, the wings looked intact and only slightly scratched and bruised. Starscream lay there, trembling, not daring to move a single limb.
"Can you feel your wings, Starscream?" Knock Out asked.
Starscream pressed his optics shut and held his hands to his side.
"Yes," he replied.
"That's one thing then," Knock Out sighed in relief, "Can you move them?"
Starscream gazed at him worriedly but then adopted a very concentrated look on his face. Hesitantly, the wings twitched over the ground and Starscream gasped in pain.
"That fragging hurt!" he moaned, going still again.
"Yes, I'm sure it did. But that's a good sign. Now we just need to get out of here," Knock Out said, glancing around.
Starscream stared around for the first time and a look of terror appeared on his face, his sharp fingers digging themselves into the dirt beside him as he enlarged his optics.
"Oh no. We're not trapped underground are we?" he cried, "Please tell me we're not trapped underground!"
A concerned Knock Out turned to Bumblebee for clarification and Bumblebee guessed what it was that Knock Out was asking.
"S(taRs|crEam noT l^ikE smAll s'pA)ceS," the Scout explained.
Interestingly, Knock Out did not know Starscream as well as Bumblebee did, even though he was Decepticon. During the war, Knock Out was working behind enemy lines and treating the soldiers left behind on the planet until Megatron, having lost his chief medical officer had contacted Shockwave, who had also remained on the planet, with a request for a new one. By that time, most of the Decepticons, like the Autobots, had been separated and scattered among the universe so no-one could afford to be picky when it came to choices of medics and engineers or even low-level grunts for that matter. Knock Out had only got to know of Starscream during the later years, right before the Decepticons had left Cybertron to chase after the Autobots.
Bumblebee, however, had had plenty of run-ins with Starscream throughout his life and during the War for Cybertron and he knew the Air Commander very well indeed. Both would say a little too well.
"You're claustrophobic?" Knock Out said with wide optics, wondering why no-one had told him this before.
Maybe no-one else on the Nemesis had known, considering that Decepticons didn't publicly share their weaknesses.
Starscream looked ashamed.
"Okay, well...that makes sense. Explains a lot," the medic sighed, recalling how uneasy Starscream always was when they went into caves or tunnels in the search for energon.
Even on the Warship, Starscream was edgy and often made trips to the top deck for air, but Knock Out had assumed it was because of Megatron harassing him all day. A Decepticon so in love with open skies probably had good reason to hate small spaces where they couldn't transform and stretch their wings. Knock Out patted Starscream's stiff arms comfortingly.
"Don't worry, though, the scout will find us a way out of here," he assured him.
"I'm going to presume that the Autobot's Scouting technology is the only reason you haven't followed Decepticon protocol and snuffed him already," Starscream venomously said.
"Never throw away your lifeboat, right?" Knock Out looked up almost hopefully at their Autobot 'lifeboat' and then stopped.
Bumblebee's hand had tightened over his chest. "Ch`EsT h~uRt," the Scout bleeped, not appearing to have reacted to their brief exchange.
"Now what's his problem?" Starscream asked Knock Out with a tight jaw.
"It seems we're all in pretty bad shape, Starscream. Your wings, my leg, his chest..." Knock Out said and shifted into another position, wincing as he went.
"PAin, b[uT S^tilL Find w*Ay ou|T," Bumblebee then beeped, accessing his scout tech yet again.
"Oh, of course and just where would we be without the heroic nobleness of Autobots," Starscream muttered sarcastically.
Bumblebee ignored him. Sending out another pulse, the results showed that there was only one way which lead upwards...but there was a problem.
"OnE p|aTh neAr SurFac*e," Bumblebee told the two Decepticons. "Bu't iT n(oT sAf#e," he added.
"As they say here on Earth, don't sugar-coat this, Autobot. You're saying that there's one ticket closer to freedom and we might get hurt even further or even killed trying to take it. That's it, right?" Knock Out said. Bumblebee nodded.
Knock Out looked at Bumblebee, who was still holding his chest which he suspected had been crushed and had caused a crack near his spark chamber which may or may not lead to an internal energon bleed.
Then he looked at his leg, being held together with what few materials Knock Out had on him. It really did look ready to snap in half.
Finally he looked down at Starscream, still lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling of the cave fearfully, having not even attempted to move, energon slowly trickling from his shoulder blades.
"This could be tricky," Knock Out concluded with a half-hearted smile.
"Stupendous prognosis, Doctor. Your impeccable judgement never fails to reassure me," Starscream murmured.
Knock Out leant over him.
"How about we leave you here and you can get yourself out?" he suggested.
Starscream glared up at him.
"In that case, enough wisecracks and start cooperating will you? We won't be going anywhere unless you grit your teeth, put on a brave face and try and get up," Knock Out told him in his firmest, most professional doctor's voice.
"...You wouldn't leave me here anyway, would you Knock Out?" Starscream said quietly as Knock Out shuffled further round to the Seeker's head.
The medic raised an eyebrow.
"I wouldn't?" he echoed, "I don't know about that. Bumblebee and I could quite happily go off and save ourselves without being burdened with your ungrateful wingstruts."
Starscream glanced at the Autobot Scout before looked back at Knock Out haughtily.
"Bumblebee wouldn't do that. He's an Autobot. The Prime's little protégé. Leaving me here would be wrong and against his Autobot Code," he announced.
"Don't bring him into this, Starscream. This is all your fault anyway," Knock Out snapped.
Thus a glorious argument began, one that grew in volume as each exchange was thrown at one other.
"I shall bring whoever I want to bring, Knock Out, and how is this my fault?"
"You and your constant schemes, that's how! You got yourself into trouble - as usual - and so you go on the run from Megatron which means you got caught by poachers and then all THIS happened!"
"Oh I see! Once again, everything is my fault! Yes, blame me, Knock Out, go ahead! Go SLAGGING ahead with that one! Forget about Megatron, why don't you? Forget that if he were a better leader with our best interests at heart, I wouldn't feel the need to correct the hierarchy. YOU DO THAT!"
"Starscream, it wouldn't matter how Megatron lead the Decepticons, you'd still be stabbing him in the back. Let's face it, when it comes to trust, you're WORSE than Megatron!"
At that Starscream swiped at Knock Out with his claws, despite his injuries.
"How DARE you, you idiotic four-wheeled push-kart!" he growled.
Knock Out couldn't get away in time because of his leg so he earned a clean scratch across his shoulder. He was about to respond in a flurry of Cybertronian language that would have made Primus blanche when he caught sight of Bumblebee's yellow frame in the corner of his optic.
The Scout was leaning heavily against the wall, not watching the argument that he had come to expect due to the Decepticons' infamous in-fighting reputation. He looked more and more tired and appeared to have difficulty in lifting his arms as they began to slide off from where he had tried clasping them his chest which seemed to distract Knock Out long enough to forget his anger.
Starscream also looked over but rather than distract him, it only seemed to remind him that they were trapped below ground and his fear seized him again.
"Fine. I'm sorry Knock Out! I'm sorry. You're right, it's all my fault. If I hadn't been born a Seeker, we wouldn't be here at all. Don't you dare leave me!" he babbled.
Knock Out was still feeling sore for being scratched and for being called a push-kart but claustrophobia wasn't something to be taken lightly, especially when it came to flyers.
Starscream did, in all honesty, have a lot on his mind at the moment, what with his fear of small spaces, his sustained injuries and the fact that there was a three-way battle being fought over for possession of him where two of the fighting armies (and also the most numerous of the fighting armies) only had painful things in store for him anyway. It was only understandable that he was a little bit irritable.
"I won't leave you here, Starscream. But you have to help us. The Autobot and I aren't exactly at our best and the more you can do for yourself the better our chances of getting out of here sooner," Knock Out said.
Starscream gulped and felt the ground with his hands. Bumblebee came a bit closer and reached out to help Starscream sit up, no doubt trying to comprehend the fact that he was helping two Decepticons all by himself. With Knock Out and Bumblebee supporting his shoulders, Starscream lifted himself up into a sitting position.
"Scrap, this hurts!" he shouted.
Knock Out nodded encouragingly.
"Well done," he said and then locked eyes with Bumblebee. "Do you think we can make the journey?" he asked in a tight voice, refraining from sounding too friendly; they were still enemies, after all.
Bumblebee went quiet as he thought, no doubt trying to find the right words to say with his limited vocabulary. Even with a hastily slapped together voice-box, in the beginning, since his run-in with Megatron, no-one had been able to understand the scout until Ratchet had taught Bumblebee how to use an old Cybertronian code which was universally understood by all Cybertronians and their cousin species but, as it was an ancient code, an unused language, there were only so many words he could say that were understandable.
He hadn't the vocabulary freedom that everyone else had and, for some Cybertronians, they had to take a moment to translate what he was saying. It was like speaking a whole other dialect because some words simply did not exist in the old code and it deeply hurt him to not even be able to speak properly, with his own voice, to a member of his own species. He finally looked up.
"MaY^be b#iT c/limbIn'g, gO loNg D)isTa*nCe, FinD o'Ld ¬m}Ine t hAt lEad tO s#uRfa^cE," Bumblebee chirped.
"There's an old mine near here?" Knock Out asked doubtfully.
"HuMa'n o#iL m!In[e noT u%sEd. Ma)yBe nOT t"aK/e To s]urF'acE buT be sa'FeR p|lAce tO w)Ait," Bumblebee explained.
Being a Scout, he had a very neat trick of getting out of nearly any location. Using a sophisticated sonar scan, Bumblebee was able to create a virtual map in his head by using the information pinged back at him - rather like a bat's eco-location. He didn't need to use it quite so much these days but it proved a useful ability to keep in reserve.
Starscream was leaning forwards heavily, trying to take as much pressure off his shoulders and wings as possible by focusing on his legs.
"Just so long as there's space. If I wait here much longer, I'm going to bring this whole place down on top of us, I just know it," he moaned.
"How far?" Knock Out asked the Scout.
"UnKn'Ow#n. M*iNe i'n eAst. T/hAtwA*y," Bumblebee replied, gesturing down a dark tunnel. "W]ith i)nJurY, mIGht bE loN!g t~iMe," he then beeped.
"Or it might not be much time at all," Knock Out said, weighing up the arguments.
"I say we try it. I'm... I'm trusting Bumblebee on this one," Starscream mumbled.
Those were words he'd never thought he'd hear and wasn't hoping to hear again but, right now, he didn't care. His wings currently felt like they were on fire and he could feel his energon pulsing in them and trickling down his back.
"Come on then. Let's go. You lead, Bumblebee. We'll follow you," Knock Out said. But Bumblebee came over to help Knock Out up. "Hey, your chest! You shouldn't be putting strain on it," Knock Out scolded.
"StA'rs*cReaM h,eLp wiTh K]nocK oUT?" Bumblebee asked, lifting one of Knock Out's arms to support him.
"I suppose," Starscream replied, gingerly picking himself up off the floor and almost hitting his head on the roof. That very nearly made him panic again but he pulled himself together to help Knock Out take the weight off his one leg. Yet moving his shoulders in any way caused a lot of pain on Starscream's part and he begged that they go slowly despite his claustrophobia.
So, limping and wincing and stumbling, the trio of wounded, bleeding Cybertronians made their way East, unsure if they were one step closer to freedom or not.
Thank you so much to everyone who has left lovely reviews for the story. In case you're new to my style of story-telling, I always have an 'end-credits' page where I'll be sure to personally acknowledge every single one of you!
