Next chap up people! XD
Running…
"Keep running!"
Then falling. Falling into a great big dark place that seemed endless. Boundless.
And dark whispers, of a nameless evil hissing in the air. Filled with hate, greed… and hunger.
GIVE UP!
"I have to stop this…"
A figure ran in through the darkness until it fell into another kind of darkness. A dimension where the shadows were so dense that you can feel them crawl all over your body.
Then a light penetrated that darkness, blinding the shadows into nothing!
YOU CANNOT ESCAPE!
And a terrified scream rang in the air.
Bumblebee screamed, jumping out of his metal bed and fell to the floor with a clonk to his head. "Ow…" he muttered, sitting upright and rubbing his dented helmet. "Oy…what was that?" he said looking around the room. When he realized he was still in darkness, Bumblebee scrambled up to find the light switch. Now that he looked around, he gave a sigh to find he was alone.
The door next to him was rapped on three sharp times, startling him. "C-Come in!" he yelped.
Optimus Prime appeared in the doorway, looking into the room until he spotted Bumblebee leaning on the wall next to him. "Oh, there you are Bumblebee! I thought you left earlier."
"Huh?"
"It's past mid day. Or…noon, as Sari says." the red and blue mech said awkwardly, rubbing his chin in thought. "Or…did she say afternoon?"
Bumblebee's optics widened. "What?! I slept in?!"
"Yes." Optimus said, stepping aside as the bot rushed out. "And if you're wondering! Arcee is outside with Prowl!"
Bumblebee screeched around a corner, barely managing to not fall by pushing himself up with his hands and running out the doorway! Once in the open air, he spotted the pink femme nearby with Prowl, Sari on his shoulder and all looking very distressed. All three stood near the base, a clump of snow piled high beside them, showing the snow plow went by that morning. It was Arcee who noticed the yellow bot running over and she brightened up immediately at the sight of him. Prowl looked behind him and, for once, looked glad to see the hyper bot coming his way.
"Bumblebee. I was wondering when you would come." he said, voice bordering a tired sigh.
"What's going on?" Bumblebee asked. Arcee walked to his side as soon as he came and he gave her a smile.
"We're trying to teach Arcee to talk. You said she said something other than "Cee" last night right?" Sari said.
"Yeah." Bumblebee nodded. "But it sounded like she forced it. Are you sure you wanna force her voice so soon? Maybe just let her find it on her own?"
"We were considering that," Prowl said. "But there's nothing wrong with helping her find it." he said gesturing to the female. "Just a few quick lessons so we can understand her better."
Bumblebee looked between the two and then sighed. "Ok then. What did you get out of her?"
"Cee." both Sari and Prowl sighed. At the mention of her name, Arcee turned to them curiously. "I think she either forgot last night completely, or just doesn't like us very much." Sari added.
"Or perhaps she hasn't gotten the chance to get to know us better." Prowl offered, cheering up the girl a bit.
The yellow scout looked to the femme, who kept to his side throughout the conversation. It did seem she was back to her normal, naïve ways, no longer having glowing green eyes. At the thought of green optics Bumblebee thought to his nightmare, quickly pushing the thought away. "How about I try?"
"We were hoping you'd say that." the ninja bot said. Bumblebee sighed.
"And here I thought I was going to have a day off."
_____
"Ok…repeat after me Arcee." Bumblebee said later on. Both Autobots sat in Prowl's room under the tree. He figured this was the spot she was the most open, so this is where he'll teach her. Prowl, Sari and now Bulkhead watched from the sidelines as the two conversed. "Bumblebee."
Arcee cocked her head to the side. "Bee…"
"No, BUMBLEbee." the yellow bot tried again.
"Bu….Bu…Buuuu….." Arcee struggled, her voice starting to fizz out at the end with strain. "Cee!"
Bumblebee sighed. "Ugh…nevermind."
----
The two now moved to the roof. Another theory Bumblebee thought was Arcee was looking to the skies when she said those words. So being in an open area and close to the sky should make her feel more comfortable. Prowl and Bulkhead watched from the sideline with a can of oil in hand. Sari was playing with her pigtails bored.
"Bee." Bumblebee said pointing to himself.
Arcee blinked and copied him, pointing her finger at his chestplate. "Bee."
"Yes! Yes! Good!" Bumblebee said happily. The trio in the sidelines began to grin! Finally some progress!
Then Arcee pointed to her right, right to Prowl. "Bee!" She then pointed at a passing bird. "Bee!" It seems she thought "pointing" meant Bee.
Bumblebee grabbed his head and cried out, "No!!"
"Ha! You'd make a great teacher little buddy!" Bulkhead laughed.
"Perhaps you should try something else?" Prowl suggested, though his smirk showed he was enjoying the bot's frustration.
"Oh back off you slagheads! You try and see-"
"Slaghead."
The group blinked in surprise as they all turned to Arcee. "Slaghead. Slaghead. Slaghead." she repeated over and over in an innocent tone, oblvious to the insult she said.
"Nooooo!" Bumblebee cried out even louder as the mechs on the sidelines burst out into laughter.
---
At lesson number three, the group decided to go back inside since it was getting close to dinner. Sari ate at her sandwich with Tutorbot at her side and Sparkplug resting at her feet. She used her key on them already, and already both were working much more "alive" then before. Tutorbot had a habit of correcting everyone's bad garmmer from time to time and Sparkplug would bark at passing birds whenever possible. The trio who watched Bumblebee fumble with lessons lost interest and were now watching TV.
"Ok listen." Bumeblee said, sitting across from the femme on the ground. "Bee…" he said patting his chest plate and then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Cee."
The pink Autobot femme looked at the hand on her shoulder, and then to Bumblebee. "Cee…" she murmured.
"Bee." Bumblebee said placing his hand back on himself.
"Bee…" she mumbled, eyes concentrating.
"Ok then. Bee!" he said a little louder and placed a hand on her. "Cee!"
Arcee blinked at the gesture and raised a hand to herself. "Cee." and then pointed to the scout. "Bee."
"Yes! Yes!" Bumblebee exclaimed with an excited grin. The excitement spread into Arcee as she smiled as well. She did the process again. "Cee!" she squealed hugging herself!
"Yes! You got it Arcee!" Bumblebee said proudly. 'After four hours too.' he thought.
Arcee placed a hand on his chest. "Bee." she whispered.
"Yes. Bee." Bumblebee sighed releived. He was caught off guard as her arms encircled his neck and she hugged the mech towards her face.
"Bee…" she whispered again, only this time her optics sparkled brightly into his own.
"Uhhh…" the bumbler bee stammered out dumbly, once again feeling his faceplates heat up for the millionth time that week.
"A-HEM!"
The yellow mech jumped and turned to see not only ratchet staring, but the whole crew! Optimus held a faint blush as he stared at the scene, embarrassed to be witnessing such a scandalous act! Prowl and Sari held smirks that clearly showed he was going to be living through some serious teasing in the near future. Bulkhead just stared at them confused. And Ratchet…well, you can imagine his expression.
"I believe that'll be enough lessons for today." he growled.
LOL Ratchet caught on pretty quick there, didn't he? Poor Bumblebee's always caught in these situations. Arcee's getting closer and closer to talking regualry! yay!