Don't bottle in emotions


There hadn't been any sign of Airachnid for days, and Bumblebee was beginning to have doubts on whether she was truly on Earth. It didn't feel real, but considering the fact it was Thunderhoof who told them, a bot with absolutely no connection to Airachnid as far as he knew, it was likely she really was here. And though he wouldn't admit it to his team, it almost scared him. Airachnid was one of the worst Decepticons he'd dealt with, far worse than any Alchemor prisoner, and he hoped they could take care of her quick. He didn't want his team to go through the same things he had been through.

Speaking of the Alchemor, no one on the team had seen any sign of Steeljaw, or any other Decepticon for that matter either. And with their potential acquisition of Predacon Venom, he really hoped they weren't planning something. Knock Out may have managed to create an antivenom from the vial he'd obtained, but something about it didn't seem right. It didn't quite match up with the one Shockwave had given to his Predacons, so its viability was questionable at best.

"You alright sir?" Strongarm asked. They'd been sticking with their decided teammates, so she'd been driving along with him.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine." Bumblebee assured, "Just a bit overwhelmed is all."

Strongarm hummed, "I'm sure we all are sir. It can't be easy dealing with so many threats at once, but we should be alright! We always are with your leadership."

Had he not been in vehicle mode, Bumblebee would have smiled. At least someone had faith in him, even if his own seemed to be faltering. She was right though, things would work out. His old team had caught Airachnid before, how hard could it be to catch her again?

Though, there was the whole 'Energon sucking monster' thing to deal with now…

Thankfully, Strongarm got that thought out of his head as she said, "There doesn't seem to be anything around, and we've been at this for hours, permission to return to the scrapyard? I don't like leaving Thunderhoof with Russell and Denny."

"Permission granted, we're getting nowhere today. And don't worry about Thunderhoof. Fixit, Grimlock, and Knock Out should hopefully be able to deal with him if he acts out." Bumblebee replied, trying to reassure himself as much as Strongarm, "And if Sunstreaker's anything like Sideswipe, they've both probably already returned to base."

"That's what I'm worried about… I don't trust either of those two not to pick a fight."

They went on their way to the scrapyard, Bumblebee thought about cutting through the woods, to look for any signs of Decepticons, but ignored the idea. He was getting a bit tired. He wasn't sure where to look for Airachnid, or any other Decepticon. Her ship had remained empty as far as they knew, they had checked it over, but had seen no signs of entry. If she really was here, she was doing a good job at hiding this time.

Pulling up to the scrapyard, a car left. Seemed Denny had had a customer, and knowing that the scrapyard was currently homing a narcissistic seeker and an aggressive Decepticon, Bumblebee was immediately concerned. Both should be wise enough to stay in their vehicle modes, and the car didn't leave in a way that appeared panicked, but if someone tried touching them…

"Tacky? Has she even seen what her own species has done to vehicles?"

There it was. At least it seemed he'd waited until the human had left to complain. Thunderhoof's complaints came soon afterwards.

"Least you weren't called faulty. Woulda smacked that obnoxious human again if it hadn't been for this blasted- AGH"

Something thumped, and both Bumblebee and Strongarm transformed and ran to the entrance, the latter muttering, "I knew this was a bad idea."

They entered the yard quickly, expecting Thunderhoof to have done something violent, but instead were surprised to find the agitated mech sitting in his corner. He was trying to pull a tattered tarp out of his antlers, and was growing increasingly frustrated as it stayed caught. A few of Denny's items littered the floor, and it was easy to figure out the thump had likely been Thunderhoof hitting his head on the shelf.

Eventually, Knock Out paused his own ranting to go over to Thunderhoof and help untangle the ruined tarp, muttering, "Maybe if you had waited to transform this wouldn't have happened."

"Well maybe if that human hadn't touched me with it's greasy hands, this thing woulda never even been put it on me in the first place!" Thunderhoof argued, grumbling as he tried to pull his head away, but Knock Out got him to sit still again by yanking his antlers back towards him.

They hadn't seemed to notice Bumblebee and Strongarm's arrival. Not that the two had really said anything, they were a bit distracted by the event in front of them. They weren't sure what they were expecting, but it hadn't been this.

And then Thunderhoof managed to make it more ridiculous.

"Y'know, you really are tacky."

Finally tearing the tarp away, Knock Out balled it up and threw it back at Thunderhoof and yelled, "So says the one who scanned a vehicle that's so ashamed of itself it's normally the same color as the flora of the planet!"

"Alright, enough!" Bumblebee shouted, getting between the two. He stepped in just in time to get hit by the balled up tarp as Thunderhoof threw it back, and Bumblebee turned to him in irritation. Thunderhoof just held his hands up in mock innocence.

"Can't charge me for assault." He said, turning to Strongarm as well, "Wasn't even aimin' for him."

"We could still charge you for attempting to assault a Medical Officer." Bumblebee replied.

"You bots ain't that petty."

"Don't test me."

Thankfully that threat was enough to make Thunderhoof stop, and Bumblebee dropped the tattered cloth in front of him.

It was almost strange, how quick it had been to get used to Thunderhoof sitting around the scrapyard. The humans had already started treating him as if he were something they'd been dealing with for months. He supposed it wasn't too unusual, they'd gotten used to bots like Grimlock running around pretty quick, but the fact Thunderhoof had a much worse criminal record than the Dinobot worried him. Thunderhoof may be acting arguably civilized now, but Bumblebee knew it was only a matter of time before he tried to escape, or worse, hurt someone.

Ignoring that for now, he wandered up to the Control Center, Strongarm following, leaving Thunderhoof and Knock Out to go back to their bickering. Denny was talking with Fixit as if nothing had happened, and the Mini-Con was typing away at his computer and chatting back.

"So what was all that about?" Strongarm asked as soon as the two greeted them.

"Eh, got a customer who got a little too touchy with the vehicles." Denny explained. "Threw a tarp on Hoof when he slammed his door into her face, and I'm pretty sure Knock Out was barely holding back-"

Waving his hands, Bumblebee interrupted, "Woah now, wait a second here. Hoof? We're doing nicknames for the prisoner now?"

Denny shrugged, "Well, Thunderhoof's a bit of a mouthful, so why not? He doesn't seem to mind."

"Have you forgotten about the fact he's a criminal?" Bumblebee asked, genuinely concerned, "I'd rather you not get too friendly with him. In fact, I'd rather you not even go near him. He could hurt you, or worse."

"I appreciate the concern Bee, but I think we can take care of it." Denny assured, "Russell and I have helped our fair share with the Decepticons, haven't we? I don't think Thunderhoof will be a problem."

"I still don't think it's worth the risk." Bumblebee said, looking to Fixit afterwards, "Any signs of Decepticons?"

Fixit shook his head, "No, and the others haven't reported seeing anything noteworthy either. I assume they'll be returning shortly."

Bumblebee nodded. He didn't like this one bit, no sign of Decepticons and no way to track them down. Well, no way except the aggravatingly stubborn Thunderhoof, who still hadn't told them anything, and Bumblebee was sure he'd resist as long as he could. He'd always respond with the same thing, that he wouldn't risk ratting out the others as long as he was too weak to fight back.

As it was, he'd certainly recovered significantly since the Predacon attack. His leg had healed enough to where he could stand and hobble around a short ways, but not enough to actually get very far. Though he still seemed to be fatigued from the aftereffects of Ripclaw's venom, and spent a lot of his time trying to rest, but Knock Out assumed that was normal. He had no experience working with Predacon venom, but the symptoms were similar to some other poisons he'd messed around with in the past. It would likely fade over time, Cybertronians were resilient.

Bumblebee had questioned his choice of words and what he meant by 'messing with poison', but Knock Out had assured him it had all merely been research. Knowing that the medic had a questionable past as a Decepticon scientist, Bumblebee had doubts this was entirely true, but hadn't questioned further.

"How much longer until he can be put in stasis again?" Bumblebee asked as Knock Out approached, apparently done with his bickering.

"I seem to have forgotten just how much you forged and raised Autobots fear the rightfully agitated former labor caste." Knock Out said, before looking to Strongarm, "I'm no expert on the rules and regulations, but I'm sure there's some sort of moral code against forcing a chronically ill bot into cryostasis, isn't there?"

"Actually, there isn't much about that in the books." Strongarm admit, projecting her rulebook, "We put Steeljaw in stasis after his self inflicted injury, but it was considerably more minor than Thunderhoof's were, and less likely to cause long lasting damage. Though, I suppose it would be morally wrong to put Thunderhoof in stasis, all things considered."

Knock Out nodded, and Bumblebee sighed in defeat. No one was on his side for this, and though he saw their points, he still didn't like it. He wanted the threats contained, and he wouldn't be calm until they were. He walked off to distract himself, leaving Knock Out and Fixit as they began to talk about Predaking's repairs. Strongarm went to follow Bumblebee, but was stopped by Fixit.

"Knock Out's planning to go out and work on Predaking, and since Bumblebee doesn't want any of you going out alone, he'd like to know if you'd join him." Fixit explained.

Strongarm agreed, and thankfully left Bumblebee alone. It was for the better, he was too stressed to deal with much right now. Maybe if he found a place to sit and relax…

"Oh, hey Bee! Didn't know you were back already!"

Or not.

Waving in greeting, Bumblebee said, "We got back a while ago Grim, about when Knock Out and Thunderhoof started complaining."

Grimlock looked to him a bit confused and said, "They've been complaining almost all day though. Well, mostly Knock Out, Thunderhoof's been mostly quiet but I think he was asleep most of the day."

"Their most recent complaining then." Bumblebee explained, beginning to wonder how any of his team managed to tolerate the two. It would certainly drive him crazy if he had to deal with both of them. "Hey Grim, if you don't mind, could I have some time alone? I've been a bit stressed and I need some time to myself."

"No problem!" Grimlock said, "I gotta find Bob anyway, she went scuttling off somewhere when that lady came in. I hope she didn't go into the woods to look for Sunstreaker."

He ran off, in search of his new Insecticon buddy. Bumblebee had assumed Grimlock would be upset he couldn't go out and do much while everyone else went on to patrol the roads, but he seemed happy as long as he had someone to mess around with. It was a good thing too, because Bob was prone to wandering off.

It'd all work out though, Bumblebee assured himself, wandering off further to lean against a wall and stare at the clouds. He was supposed to be the optimistic one, right? If he'd been the ray of hope for Team Prime, he could be a little more optimistic for his team, couldn't he? He wouldn't let this stress get to him.

Strongarm was right, they'd be okay. They usually were.

He must've dozed off after a while, because it wasn't very long until Strongarm came up to him, and he noticed the sky was a light mix or orange and pink. It was evening now.

Upon noticing him shake his head to wake up, Strongarm said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were awake! If I had known-"

Bumblebee held a hand up to stop her as he stood and responded, "It's alright, I shouldn't have fallen asleep like that. Think the stress might've gotten to me, but I'm fine now. Anything to report?"

Strongarm shook her head, "If you mean Decepticons, no. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker returned just a moment ago, and Drift and Arcee are still out at the moment, but they're fine. I was just going to tell you that Knock Out and I are wondering if we should wait until they return to go."

He had hoped there'd finally been some Decepticon sightings, anything to do would be nice about now.

"Might be better to wait until dark," Bumblebee said, "It'll be less busy out anyway, and you'd have an easier time sticking together when there's less people around. Might be a bit odd to see a police car and a bright red jet flying together, right?"

Well, Knock Out would be a bit higher in the sky, but better safe than sorry. Strongarm seemed to agree, as she nodded and returned to the Command Center where Knock Out was waiting. Taking a moment to stretch and loosen himself up, Bumblebee followed. Fixit and Denny weren't there now, likely having wandered off to do something else, but Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were standing nearby and complaining to each other about dirty roads, and Knock Out seeming to be listening in. Grimlock had also managed to find Bob, as she and the dinobot were wrestling each other.

"Try not to break anything again, will you?" Sideswipe stopped his complaining to shout at the two, "Neither of us want to get in any more trouble for your rough housing!"

Well, that made things seem reasonably normal, for their usual shenanigans anyway. But things were not normal, and Bumblebee was quick to check on their Decepticon prisoner. He was immediately alarmed to see him not in his spot. He turned back to the others in irritation, ready to scold them for somehow managing to let an injured prisoner get away, but paused as he saw Thunderhoof sitting by the Ground Bridge.

He rushed over, snatching the tool he was about to grab and demanding, "What are you doing over here, and how did you get over here without anyone noticing?"

"I'm doin' what your Mini-Con asked me to." Thunderhoof explained, pointing to Fixit beside him, "Somethin' that'd be a lot easier to do if you'd give me that back."

Denny and Russell were with Fixit as well, apparently this was where they had wandered off to. All were looking at him in confusion, and it was no wonder, seeing as Bumblebee was standing over them all and holding away a simple tool like it was something a child had been trying to get to. Except instead of a child, it was actually a thirty foot Cybertronian, and a very obviously unamused one at that.

Brushing away his embarrassment, Bumblebee tried to defend himself and said, "How do you know he's not going to turn it into a black hole like the first one?"

"D'you really think I wanna go through that again?" Thunderhoof asked, but was shushed by Fixit as he chose to explain. It irritated him, but he didn't complain as the other spoke.

"Thunderhoof has experience with Space Bridge tech, remember? I asked if he could help me upgrade our Ground Bridge, and he agreed."

Looking back at Thunderhoof unsurely, Bumblebee asked, "But is he really worth trusting?"

"You seem to forget that I was the one originally in charge of the Alchemor's prisoners, lieutenant." Fixit said, rolling up to him to retrieve the tool. Bumblebee was hesitant to give it to him, but eventually complied, and Fixit handed it to Thunderhoof. "I think I can determine whether or not a prisoner can be trusted. I asked for Thunderhoof's help, and he agreed. I don't think he'll be doing anything that could land him in more trouble at this point."

"'Sides, didn't you bots make it a thing on Cybertron where prisoners are forced to do work? And that helping can actually get you outta that hole quicker?" Thunderhoof asked irritably, slowly standing to get to work on the bridge. "Unless you Autobots scrapped that last bit, wouldn't surprise me none."

Bumblebee wanted to argue, but couldn't. Fixit had a point, he had been the one originally in charge of the Alchemor, and he knew more about its prisoners than he did. But that didn't stop him from distrusting Thunderhoof. He could be planning something, and Bumblebee would do his best to keep an eye on him. If Thunderhoof knew how to build Space Bridges, he knew how to tamper with them too.

He walked off, leaning against the Command Center and doing his best to look ignore the others so he could pay better attention. But it didn't take very long for Thunderhoof to realize Bumblebee would occasionally glance at him distrustfully, and as much as he tried to ignore him, it only managed to irritate him further. He eventually began to paw at the ground lightly.

Denny seemed to notice the agitation, and sent Russell off to distract Bumblebee, asking Thunderhoof, "So uh, how do you even know how to build these things in the first place? Doesn't seem to be common knowledge."

"According to Autobots, it's what I was forged for. Good for physical labor, but no good in a cramped space like a mine. So I got tasked with building." Thunderhoof explained, leaning down to exchange his tool for another and huffing in annoyance, "Maybe if the Autobots had bothered to build the bridges themselves they'd actually know how it was done. Even humans can bother to learn."

"I'm sure we would've managed eventually!" Bumblebee barked back, Russell trying to stop him from making things worse. He quieted down a bit, muttering, "Who needs an irritable old Decepticon like you to do it anyway? Bet it wouldn't take too long to figure out."

Unfortunately, Thunderhoof still heard him.

"Yeah? Well get to it then!" He snarled back, pawing the ground again in annoyance. His grip on his tool tightened, and it bent slightly. "Would make it a whole lot easier for the bunch of us."

Backing off from near Thunderhoof and by a somewhat concerned Fixit, Denny took a chance to stop Bumblebee from arguing back and asked, "Hey, can we please all just get along and stop with the fighting?"

Turning to glare at Bumblebee, Thunderhoof threw his tool to the ground and yelled, "Not if he keeps purposely provoking me! I haven't done nothin' to harm anyone in this scrap heap, yet he keeps treatin' me like some sorta-"

Thunderhoof cut himself off, hands going to his head as he cried out in frustration and pawed at the ground again, hard enough to leave deep gouges and kick up dust. Every bit of coding in him was telling him to charge the irritating yellow bot, the threat, and it was near impossible to fight the instinct off. He knew he'd only collapse on his busted leg, and he didn't want to give in to the Autobot's taunting, or prove him right.

Bumblebee saw him as what all Autobots saw his kind as. A servant. An animal. Prey.

"A criminal? That's because that's exactly what you are!" Bumblebee argued, taking a step towards the others, "You've hurt too many people for me to even think about trusting you!"

Electricity sparked across Thunderhoof's fingers. "And you haven't? You've probably murdered more Decepticons than I've stomped Autobots! Or do they not matter to you? They're not people to you, right?"

Even the twins and Grimlock had quieted from their conversations and rough housing to watch and listen in on the fight going on nearby. Fixit was quick to step in, rolling up between the two fighting bots and said, "Now then, that's enough, both of you. I'm sure we can settle this-"

Bumblebee cut him off, stepping around him and grabbing a pair of stasis cuffs, saying, "I don't care what Knock Out or the others say, I'm putting you in stasis. You can't be trusted, you're too dangerous."

He approached Thunderhoof, and the larger bot stepped back, but only hit the Space Bridge. He continued to paw the ground anxiously, electricity sparking across his hands and legs as the Autobot approached.

"Don't you dare touch me." He growled, stomping the ground lightly to try to scare Bumblebee off. It caused a small tremor, but it wasn't enough to faze the other, and Bumblebee continued to come closer. Thunderhoof pawed the ground once more, electricity growing stronger, and put his hands to his head as a rush of panic went through him suddenly.

Kick him. Charge him. Stupid instincts. Run. Coward.

Bumblebee managed to grab one of his arms in his confusion, but he was quick to yank it away. He stumbled back and fell to the ground, beginning to tremble as he growled, "Get away from me!"

Was he panicking? Why would he be panicking? He'd dealt with worse!

Kick him.

His leg twitched as he backed up from the Autobot, hitting a wall again. Some things fell on him, and he jumped. Bumblebee looked irritated, more threatening than usual. Was it the setting sun? Was it the darkness? He could see in the dark, no problem, why was it bothering him now? Why was an Autobot scaring him?

He's a threat! Charge him!

Fixit and the humans were concerned, the twins, Strongarm, and Grimlock confused. Knock Out just stared on silently. Bumblebee's aggression was one thing, Thunderhoof's sudden terror was another. They'd never seen either act like this before, and it was beginning to become worrisome. Thunderhoof tried backing up again as Bumblebee took another grab at his arms, but only succeeded in being pelted by more items on the shelves.

"Could someone help me with this?" Bumblebee asked irritably.

Sideswipe was quick to respond, "Ah, Bee, I don't think-"

Panic was becoming the only thing fueling Thunderhoof now. He kept getting grabbed at and he didn't like it. He wanted it to stop. Something was terribly wrong. This wasn't an Autobot anymore, this was a predator.

"You know, this would be a lot easier if you'd just stop struggling!"

And with those words, Thunderhoof was face to face with something terrifying. A predator, a threat, and he finally gave in to instincts.

Fight! Run! Survive!

"I said get away from me!"

Bumblebee flew back as he was hit with an electrified kick, colliding with Grimlock as the Dinobot managed to catch him. He took a moment to register what happened, pain surging through him as the electricity faded, though pain continued to linger in his chest. He looked down to see it dented and cracked. It had been foolish to approach Thunderhoof alone, that kick could have easily offlined him had he been against a wall, or the ground. And that was exactly why he wanted the Decepticon back in stasis.

Removing himself from Grimlock's arms he turned to the Dinobot and said, "Now do you see why I want him in stasis! He's dangerous!"

But no one seemed to believe him, as they all chose to stare at him in shock instead. He was tempted to argue, but instead just decided to go back to going after Thunderhoof himself. But upon turning back to the prisoner, he didn't look particularly threatening. Thunderhoof was bunched up and shaking, hands at his head as he whimpered to himself. It was a major change in his demeanor, and one Bumblebee had missed in his frustrations. It was actually quite concerning.

"Well, I think it's about time we all had a little talk, isn't it?"

Knock Out had finally taken a chance to speak, and walked up to Bumblebee. He didn't seem particularly happy.

"If this is about wanting to lock up a dangerous criminal like him, you won't win that argument." Bumblebee said.

"Oh no, it's not about that." Knock Out assured, "It's about the fact you only want to lock him up because he was a Decepticon."

Bumblebee raised a hand to argue, but Knock Out wasn't having it, and he raised his own to stop him.

"Let me ask you something," He began, "Say Thunderhoof was an Autobot crime lord, would you be as inclined to lock him up?"

"What? Of course!" Bumblebee argued. "Faction has nothing to do with crimes!"

"Does it?" Knock Out asked, a hint of irritation in his voice, "Then tell me, why is every single prisoner in the Alchemor's database a Decepticon?"

Bumblebee wanted to argue, but Knock Out still wouldn't let him.

"It's because Autobots slap the badge on any bot who dares speak their mind against yours." Knock Out hissed, putting his hand on his own badge, "Your beloved Autobots tore the tires off my back and carved the Decepticon emblem into my chest. Do you want to know why?"

This time Bumblebee made no attempt to argue.

"It's because every bot who steps out of line is branded a Decepticon."

Strongarm gasped. Sideswipe and Grimlock looked on in disbelief.

"That's not true!" Strongarm cried, "Autobots would never-"

Sideswipe cut her off, "Save it Strongarm, I don't think we should be butting in on their arguing. Doubt we'd do much."

Surprisingly, she listened to Sideswipe and went quiet. Bumblebee just stared downward, Knock Out finally backing away from him.

"I want you to come with me to work on Predaking instead of Strongarm." He said, walking to Thunderhoof, "We need to have a more in-depth discussion, if you don't mind."

Thunderhoof was still curled up and shaking where he was sitting, but no longer whining. He didn't seem to notice the other's approach, but instead of trying to get his intention, he looked to Russell and motioned for the boy to come over. He was a bit hesitant, but walked up to Knock Out, who then motioned to Thunderhoof. Russell took a pretty good guess at what he was being told to do.

"But why me?" He asked.

Knock Out shrugged. "I think he'd sooner talk to you than me right now."

Russell felt unsure, but tried anyway.

"Thunderhoof?"

Russell saw him fidget, but he refused to uncurl his body and kept his hands on his head and his eyes shut.

"Thunderhoof, please look at me." Russell said, taking a chance to walk closer to the frightened bot. Thunderhoof wouldn't hurt him, at this point he knew he wouldn't. "It's alright, please just look at me."

"Stupid, worthless, busted piece of scrap!"

Thunderhoof stomped the ground as he yelled, not even caring about the pain it caused him. Russell immediately backed off at the outburst, and Knock Out's wings jolted in surprise.

"D'you Autobots get some sorta kick outta watching me suffer?" He asked, body trembling in a mix of fear and anger, "I'm a faulty pile of scrap with nothin' left, yet you keep me alive? There ain't no reason to keep me alive! I can't walk, I can't sleep, I can't even act right anymore! What's the point of keepin' me around anyway, is it fun for you?"

He'd finally broken, and he couldn't take it anymore. He punched the ground and turned to Knock Out.

"Why didn't you just let me die?"

He curled back up, barely keeping himself together, until noticing Russell staring at him. The boy seemed upset at Thunderhoof's words, and it only frustrated him further. The kid was beginning to care about him, and he hated it. He was broken. Useless. There was no good in him, why couldn't the kid see that?

He eventually became painfully aware that the Autobots were looking at him as well, and in an effort to hide his weakness, Thunderhoof eventually transformed. There was a moment of unsure silence, until Knock Out finally walked over to Bumblebee.

"We should probably go now."