Sorry for the long delay. I've had some... issues with writer's block and just some creative problems in general. Truth be told, I got a little burnt out for a bit, but I'm trying to get myself back into the swing of things and also working on a non-TF story for the hell of it. Short chapter again, but there will be some longer chapters coming up. These last few chapters haven't been my favorite, but there is some stuff coming up that I'm pretty happy with. Thanks for reading!
Sunstreaker stared at Sideswipe, mortified.
"What?" Collectively, they couldn't believe that their audios weren't glitching, that they were actually hearing the slimy, untrustworthy Decepticon in their private channel. It was an invasion, of the worst kind, and they felt themselves recoil with a want to remove themselves from the comm-link as if it was now diseased.
Sunstreaker clenched his fists tightly. "Please, Wheeljack. Tell me you suddenly gained a horrible sense of humor."
"Afraid not," Wheeljack said, with something close to mock sympathy. "He's here to help, so please, don't shoot him...yet."
Starscream coughed. "I would appreciate it if you didn't shoot at me at all..."
Sunstreaker finally brought up the courage to quietly ask, "Is she safe?"
There was a moment of pause, as if Wheeljack was deciding whether or not to answer that question. Sunstreaker waited nervously, fearing bad news of some kind, which was bad news for him by proxy.
"She's safe, Sunstreaker. She's with me now." Wheeljack said tersely. A ripple of irritation pooled inside Sunstreaker, that last comment sinking in very clearly. He understood the reason behind it; Sunstreaker was dangerous. This was sort of his fault—not sort of, really his fault, and coming to that conclusion was a hard pill for the Autobot to swallow, considering what he'd had to go through to atone for it. The weeks and weeks of buffing and healing were going to be a constant, painful reminder.
It made Sunstreaker feel isolated and ostracized. It also made him feel insecure, as the notion carried with it an underlying point that he couldn't be trusted to look after even a small human being. The problem was, he was having a hard time understanding why he actually cared. He felt conflicted, like his ideals and personal motives were at war with each other, and he didn't like it. All his life, Sunstreaker had stuck to a simple set of rules that prevented him from getting too involved in the lives others. It prevented anyone from getting hurt, (most of all himself), but it also made dealing with these situations extremely difficult.
The feeling was great and rose to the surface quickly, but it was met just as quickly with a feeling of horrible guilt. It was an old resentment, and he was a surprised at how fast that kind of mentality was his first instinct, even after all he'd gone through.
"I'm glad," Sunstreaker truthfully replied.
Wheeljack snorted. "Of course, we wouldn't even be having this conversation if y-"
"Wheeljack!" It was Bumblebee, sounding surprisingly gruff. "Knock it off. It can wait until we make it back."
"But-" Wheeljack started to argue.
"It can wait," Bumblebee repeated.
There was an unfortunately familiar slithering sound. "Not to impede on the affairs of others," Starscream said. "But the little yellow one has a valid point. This base is not, ah, in the most static of moments, and we could be descended upon at any moment by my fellow Decepticons."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Sideswipe grumbled.
Starscream gave a little growl. "Under normal circumstances... yes. As it is, however, I am in the same predicament as the rest of you. As such, I highly recommend we act with utmost haste if we wish to escape with our lives."
"That's going to be a bit of a problem," Sideswipe said. "Sunstreaker and I aren't in the best of shape I'm afraid. We're making our way up but it's slow going."
"Someone's going to have to go down and help you," Bumblebee said roughly, the cycle of air evident over the com. "Stay put, but stay frosty, guys. I'll be there asap."
"Take your time, Bee," Sideswipe joked. "We're not going anywhere."
The com went dead.
Bumblebee immediately knew it was going to be him treading deeper into the mine to help the twins out of their infantile predicament. As expected, Wheeljack didn't exactly leap at the chance to run down to Sunstreaker's and Sideswipe's aid. Instead, his eyes narrowed sharply, and he growled,
"Sunstreaker can save himself. If his brother is foolish enough to want to stay behind and help him, then he's welcome to." He looked down at Allison cradled in his hand, who was looking like a very small fish amongst a bunch of angry, bickering, bigger fish. "I have what I came for." His voice went soft, and his eyes glistened with emotion. Allison did not respond with words, but her brow tightened as she looked up at the Autobot who held her.
Bumblebee sighed. "Well, I can't force you to help with this. I'm going to go down and get them. I need you to do something for me though."
"What?" Wheeljack asked curtly.
"Go get Sari for me," Bumblebee pleaded, letting the words out quickly.
Allison looked at the yellow Autobot, startled. "You brought Sari with you?" She asked, voice incredulous when she finally spoke amongst them. Bumblebee was suddenly, and painfully reminded of the conversation he'd had with Allison in the woods what now felt like ages ago. This was something of a drastic contradiction from what he'd promised earlier, and he was feeling the weight of what had been a hasty, and stupid decision born from emotion.
"She was worried about you, Allison. You know what she's like. I don't think I could have stopped her from coming if I tried..." Bumblebee explained. "I left her someplace safe and told her to stay put, like her life depended on it." Allison gave him a look that told him she wasn't quite buying it. "Look, do you think I'm happy she's here? This was supposed to be a simple pick-up mission, thinking you would just be at that train... It wasn't supposed to come to this."
Allison nodded at this, her expression softening as she seemed to understand and accept what he was trying to say. She looked up at Wheeljack with urgent worry, who merely looked at Bumblebee and nodded with assent. Wheeljack turned and began to walk the short distance to the mine's entrance.
Starscream lingered, and did not immediately follow Wheeljack to the entrance. The Decepticon looked at Bumblebee with narrowed eyes, a harsh red glow in the darkness of the cavern.
"This is a foolish decision to make, Autobot," Starscream interjected in a low, raspy voice.
"I don't know how things are amongst your kind," Bumblebee responded, face stony. "But we never leave our brothers behind."
"Oh...?" Starscream turned to look at Wheeljack, who had already started walking up the corridor towards the exit with Allison. Wheeljack appeared to be doing his very best to ignore Starscream by avoiding eye contact, while Allison watched the Decepticon apprehensively. "Never?" The Decepticon's eyes slid towards the human and she turned away from his suggestive leer, looking sick to her stomach.
Bumblebee felt a little uncomfortable, but he stuck to his point. "Wheeljack has something he needs to do, something you can't even begin to grasp the concept of. I can do this on my own." He hesitated, hating himself for even fathoming the phrase he was about to speak. "If you want to come, you're welcome to. I could use a map."
Starscream gave the smallest of laughs. It might have been a chuckle, but his sinister face made it unpleasant. "Sorry. Self preservation is one of my defining points." He turned and followed Wheeljack out of the mine, leaving Bumblebee alone with his own flimsy plan.
Turning, Bumblebee looked down the dark corridor before him and made up his mind. Time was of the essence, and he made fast progress as he sprinted deeper into the depths of the mine, leaping back and forth into recesses in the walls for cover. He threw out scanning bursts in front of him as he progressed, letting the information bounce back and tell him what he was running into: always nothing.
Once Bumblebee reached the fork where he and Sideswipe had split up, he moved more cautiously while still maintaining a quick pace. He navigated with utmost care, knowing that while the majority of the Decepticon forces appeared to have been distracted elsewhere, it was by no means definite that a couple of drones may not still be lingering. He was fast coming to the conclusion, however, that whatever had been transpiring in this base was rapidly drawing to a close. That could only be a bad thing, and it inspired Bumblebee to quicken his pace a little.
"Bumblebee," Sideswipe called over his com, breaking Bumblebee's concentration as he slipped down the dark passageways. "Do you read me?"
"Yeah, I read you. What's your status?" Bumblebee ducked behind an alcove to concentrate on Sideswipe, the halls silent around him.
"We're bunkered down in a small...uh...hole. We're next to some sort of elevator shaft."
"A hole? What are you doing in there?" Bumblebee was alarmed. "This wasn't part of the plan..."
"I know, but Sunstreaker's getting a little too heavy to carry, and-"
"You shut your mouth," Sunstreaker interrupted, hazily. He sounded weak, but his aggressive streak was obviously intact. "I'm doing just...ugh...fine."
"This isn't the time to kid around. I'm risking my servos to save you here. What in the Pit are you doing there? You know you were supposed to make your way back up here." Bumblebee hissed through the com, feeling like he was being led further in without a choice in the matter. He wanted to be anywhere but where he was, and the twins were making that harder than it should have been.
"I know," Sideswipe said, quickly trying to deter Bumblebee's wrath. "But there's something here we really think you should see."
Bumblebee blinked, trying to be control his annoyance. "What is there in a Decepticon base that could possibly interest me, Sideswipe? Other than the exit."
"Would a huge elevator shaft that leads down into the earth interest you?"
"Not particularly, no." Bumblebee said, dismissively. "Why?"
"Would an elevator shaft that goes down into the earth with Soundwave and a couple of drones on board interest you?"
Bumblebee froze tensely. "Are you two insane? What could possibly compel you to actually seek out Soundwave and follow him?
"We weren't seeking him out," Sideswipe argued. "We just happened to stumble on him."
"For the love of Primus," Bumblebee swore. "You two..." He swung around the corner and picked up his pace again, running down the corridor, his ion cannon primed and ready in case he encountered any troops. "Is Soundwave in the vicinity?"
"No. Like we said, he took the elevator down with some drones. No one's come back up."
"Stay exactly where you are, I'm coming to get you."
Sunstreaker grunted. "That almost sounded like an order."
"Consider it one," Bumblebee said. "I don't want Prime holding me responsible for the both of you getting slagged."
"Whatever you say, Bee," Sunstreaker said in a low, subdued tone. "Just get your aft down here quick. I'm dripping energon all down my chassis and I'd like to get it cleaned up before it rusts."
Bumblebee just shook his head, feeling somewhat disgruntled at Sunstreaker's misplaced humor. He slammed his fist on a door lock, and it opened with a whoosh. Bumblebee found himself frozen in his tracks, spark freezing as his energon stopped. He was face to face with a Decepticon drone troop, about three heads taller than him and holding a weapon that dwarfed his ion blaster in comparison. The two stared at each other for a split second, taking in the surprise, but Bumblebee could see the processor spinning behind this drone's single-eyed gaze.
The Autobot reacted first, leaping forward and punching it in the chest with a loud crunch. The Decepticon stumbled back, losing its weapon as Bumblebee followed up with a swift kick, knocking the enemy flat against the stone wall. Beside the drone there was a door laid into the wall, and after some split-second thinking, Bumblebee threw it open, simultaneously grabbing the Decepticon by the chassis. He pushed with all his strength, throwing the Decepticon into the room, where it fell back against the ground with nothing to stop its forced descent.
The Decepticon got up and and ran towards him, but Bumblebee quickly slammed the door closed just as the massive body on the other end collided with the thick plating. Raising his ion cannon, he blasted the lock, causing it to explode in a shower of sparks as it fused the handle shut.
Bumblebee turned quickly, systems running hot with the rush of his encounter, and with a quickened pulse he fled back down the hall. He hoped that he'd make it to the Autobot twins before they did something royally stupid.
By the time Bumblebee had made it to the location that Sideswipe had pinged on his internal radar, he had worked up enough frustration to just about take it out on the both of them. He ran down a grated ramp, ducking under low-hanging pipes and skipping over vents in the floor, and finally crashed through a door at the far end which opened out into a huge cavernous room, filled with overhanging cargo nets and secured equipment.
On the far end was the elevator shaft the twins had observed. It was gigantic, two double doors with meshing over the outside and thick metal plating. At first Bumblebee didn't see any sign of the twins, until he saw a small blinking light in a far corner, followed by a hushed, "Hey! What do you think you're doing? Get out of the open!"
Bumblebee angrily made his way over to the small blinking light. It was coming from a deep recess in the wall, about half his height. Some mesh plating had been removed and placed inconspicuously behind a huge crate. Bumblebee crouched, sticking his head into the low gap, coming face to face with Sideswipe, who was fumbling with a small indicator light on his shoulder cannon.
"What in Primus' name do you-" Bumblebee was abruptly interrupted by Sideswipe, who reached out and grabbed him, pulling him down and into the hole.
"Are you insane? Get inside here before someone sees you!"
Bumblebee glowered angrily. "Everyone was waiting for you up there. What are you doing jeopardizing the mission?"
"Come on, Bumblebee." Sideswipe complained. "This is a great chance to see what the Decepticons are up to."
"Frankly I don't really care right now. I'm more concerned with getting Allison and Sari out of here."
"Misplaced your human, 'Bee?" Sunstreaker muttered. Bumblebee didn't appreciate the joke at all.
"That's it, you two... I don't care how injured you are, I'm dragging your sorry afts out of-"
His words were interrupted by a very loud and rather frightening drone of metal. Something hummed in the air, and the three Autobots stared out of the hole, trying to figure out what the noise was. Bumblebee was the first.
"The elevator..."
"It's coming up!" Sideswipe said.
There was a brief pause, then Bumblebee spoke. "Move back...quickly!" The three of them tried to squeeze further back into the recess to stay hidden. It was a tight fit as there were dark, oily pipes wedging their large bulk in. Bumblebee had no time to wonder just how long it had taken the Decepticons to modify the stone around them to suit their needs.
They stared out of the hole, half of their vision obscured by a metal crate. The visible half gave them a clear view of the elevator. A few moments later the humming stopped with a massive clang, and the doors rattled. A few seconds later, they opened, and out of it stepped the hulking image of Soundwave.
The Decepticon took a few steps into the room, and then moved aside to let a few soldiers into the room. They seemed to be busying themselves with the equipment in the room, collecting it and carrying it into the elevator. Soundwave stood up straight, and seemed to be occupied with something. Bumblebee and the twins froze, trying not to make a sound. Soundwave then sounded out an order;
"Ravage; eject." The Autobots' energon froze as something on Soundwave's chest rearranged itself, and out of it sprang a small, box-like shape which transformed in mid-air, altering its form into that of a panther-like creature. It hit the ground with a heavy clang, and immediately began an organized scout of the room, head swinging back and forth as if it was smelling the surroundings. Soundwave turned back to watching over the drones. At one point he grabbed a nearby drone that was carrying something by the shoulder, giving it a rough shake. He spoke in deep Cybertronian, angrily, and then shoved the drone roughly away. The drone hurriedly placed the object back down, then rushed over to engage with something else.
Bumblebee's eyes were on Ravage as he stalked the perimeter. He was on the far side of the room, but it wasn't going to take him long to reach their hiding place and find their little hole. Bumblebee had no choice; he slowly leaned forward, exposing his head and shoulders. Sideswipe almost blurted out a noise in shock, but managed to contain himself. Soundwave's back was to him, but he still felt petrified as he reached out for the grating. Ever so quietly, he lifted it off the ground, fingers gripping the mesh tightly so that it didn't make any noise.
At one point Soundwave shifted his weight, and Bumblebee froze, his arms still outstretched. The grating wasn't heavy, but he wasn't sure how long he could hold it with just his finger tips. After a brief moment, he resumed pulling it back, scuttling back slowly on his elbows as he pulled the grating up against the hole. He let go, but knew that he was going to be unable to lock it from his position. The three remained still, not daring to shift.
Bumblebee was wondering where Ravage was, when suddenly the lighting on the other side of the grating was obscured by four slender legs. It caused the light inside the hole to play against their faces as they waited with bated intakes. Ravage's head came down then, and it seemed to sniff the air. The heavy snorting sounds echoed in the recess, and Bumblebee's spark fluttered nervously. He slowly raised his arm, pointing his ion cannon at the grating. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but it was looking like there was no other option. Ravage's snout touched the grating, causing it to move slightly. Bumblebee prepared to initiate his canon, when suddenly Soundwave barked out a new order.
"Ravage; return."
The Decepticon creature didn't hesitate, defaulting to its master's command and ignoring its hunch. Bumblebee remained frozen, as did the twins, as they saw rough shapes moving behind the mesh. They heard metal slamming against metal, followed by the sound of the heavy doors rattling. There was a huge clang as the doors closed, followed by the noise of the elevator descending.
Bumblebee waited for a few moments to confirm that no one was coming back up. Once he was sure, he exited the hole quickly, the twins climbing out behind him. He looked around the empty room, optics searching for hidden enemies.
"Well," Sideswipe said. "That wasn't so bad-"
Bumblebee turned around quickly and grabbed the Autobot by the shoulder. "Are you two fragging nuts? Do you have any idea whatsoever how stupid that was?"
"I think we were pretty well hidden in that hole..." Sideswipe's continued bravado was way past the point of annoying Bumblebee, which was almost as rare as Wheeljack's recent mood swings.
"You shouldn't have even been in there," Bumblebee fumed, optics searching around the room as the heated energon circled his system. Even with the elevator gone, he didn't feel safe in the room, and they needed to roll out and meet up with Wheeljack. Hopefully he and the others had found Sari by now.
"Look," Sunstreaker said, finally joining the conversation. "You found us and rescued us. Hooray. On the bright side..." He gestured towards the elevator. "...We did find some useful data on this place. Frankly, I think it's about time we were on the offensive."
"Your disregard for even basic orders is offensive, Sunstreaker. This was a rescue mission. You've already caused enough trouble as it is…" Sunstreaker's face turned sour, but the smaller yellow Autobot was too incense to care. "The whole point of this was to get everyone back to safety." Bumblebee took a step back, trying to give himself some space. "I know, you're right. This is good intel; really good. But... we just want you back safe, even if you do drive everyone insane. You don't need to prove yourself by running off into danger when we're trying to rescue you."
There was an awkward silence for a moment as the group tangled with their conflicted emotions. Sideswipe was the typical icebreaker. "You have to admit," he said. "It was fun."
Bumblebee turned to look at the Autobot. "You... are mentally unhinged."