Hi, again! Sorry for the delay.
Once again, the idea of the Neutrals hating both Decepticons and Autobots comes entirely from IDW comics.
Warning: English isn't my mother language, so there may be some grammar mistakes ahead.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers franchise, nor its characters. It is a registered trademark of Hasbro.
-NINE-
TRIP PREPARATIONS
Bumblebee was currently banging the door to the guest room, calling out for the red mech to open up; though, his only answers were constant denials, usually in the form of a simple 'no', or a 'go away', or, also, 'I'm not leaving this apartment again, and that's final'. A sad situation that has lasted the past quartex… The reason? In that time, three more incidents like the one at the store took place; and, in the last one, Knock Out came out with a rather large scratch in the middle of the chest-plates, plus some deep dents on the extremities.
Apparently, whenever the medic appeared in public, a dozen bots pounced on him, recognizing him a Decepticon. Thus, and unable to take it any longer, five solar-cycles ago, the former 'Con locked himself up within his room, and pleaded to be left indoors as long as he was in probation. All in hopes to avoid future encounters with angered Neutrals; and, though he couldn't blame the surgeon for feeling this way, Bumblebee was very much aware that this was getting too far. One day or the other, Knock Out would've to leave the house; and, considering how low they were in fuel, that very day seemed like a good option to start…
Unfortunately, the red mech could be rather headstrong when he wanted. Eventually, the Autobot gave up and called Arcee, asking for a favor…
Fortunately, the femme agreed to buy and deliver some Energon boxes to the scout's place, even though it wasn't the most comfortable route for her; otherwise, he didn't know what else to do, nor who to call ―Smokescreen, maybe; the Wreckers were far too busy with the rebuilding at the moment, and he didn't want to disturb; Ultra Magnus, however, was not an option.
And, just like that, another week passed by, making clear that the former 'Con wasn't planning to go anywhere until the waters had calmed… Which may never, in turn, happen. "I need to figure something out" thought the warrior with a sigh, as he, once again, knocked at the door, hoping to compel the other mech to step outside.
The answer didn't wait long:
"I was lucky enough the first three times! I'm not risking a fourth!" was yelled from the other side.
Sighing, the Autobot sagged his shoulders and let his head drop against the door's surface in defeat. He had ran out of ideas.
Finally reaching out for Ultra Magnus and Prowl, they didn't know what to tell him either… It seemed that things were messy all over the place, so they couldn't exactly blame the former Decepticon for refusing to leave the only place where he felt safe.
Without many other options, Bumblebee let another week pass by. One night he was merely staring at his roof, slowly allowing his systems to drift into recharge, while thinking how bothersome this whole situation was… This wasn't what he had in mind when this parole-thing started. Somehow, things had become more and more troublesome.
About midnight, he was finally in recharge. Only to be woken up by a ringing sound that made him sit up in sudden alert, and look around for the source of the noise; finally, he noticed the small, twinkling light on his personal workstation, at the narrow desk he had on the left side of his berth. There was barely any room between it and the table, so there was no chair; he simply sat on the berth's border whenever he was using it. When the ringing repeated, the bot's processor finally understood: someone was trying to call him. "Not. Happening" thought the youngling, groaning under his breath, as he moved to take the message.
"Bumblebee here, who is it?" He said, pressing a key to accept the call with one hand, while rubbing his face with the other.
Immediately, the holographic screen came online and the face of an old, white and orange mech became visible.
«Oops! Sorry for waking you. I didn't consider the time difference » apologized the medic, smiling in understanding.
"Ratchet!" greeted the former scout, now fully awake.
The medic smiled to the camera. He was standing at the control room of the brand new Omega Outpost, back on Earth. The entire team knew he had been working on it, remodeling it, ever since he decided to go back to the organic planet, two years ago; and the works were pretty obvious: behind Ratchet, Bumblebee could see the arches of the fully operational space-bridge; also, the control room seemed to be quite spacious now; there was, however, somewhat of a teal reflection to the right of the screen… Probably a light from another room.
"Oh, it's great to see you! How're things there?" The youngling asked excitedly, forgetting all his troubles.
«As good as they can be. Jack's completely focused on his college studies, though that doesn't stop him from doing part-time jobs to cover the expenses; Miko's enduring her last year of high school… Comes here from time to time, via ground-bridge ―sometimes more often than she should, if you ask me… » commented the old mech, crossing his arms and averting his optics on the last part, making Bumblebee chuckle. «Rafael, however, was moved to high school already. First year. »
"W-wait, what? But, he's fourteen now, isn't he? Shouldn't he be-…?"
«Both his parents and teachers agreed on it, stating he was too advanced already. I know something has been bugging him, though… He has been working on some science project nonstop, plus offered to help me with the new mainframe» interrupted Ratchet, trying not to show it, but evidently feeling as worried as the boy's guardian; his optics were betraying him. In these two years, the medic had become too close to the three children they once worked beside with, and had most likely formed a full guardianship bond with them. «In other news, Rafael has also become an uncle. » The white and orange bot announced, to change the subject; he was smirking now.
"Whoa, really? Since when?"
«About a year. A baby girl; he's very proud, showing off pictures all around» chuckled the medic.
Imagine the boy doing so made the yellow mech smile and chuckle. How he missed the kids… The life on Earth's base. He came out of the Well right before the war started, reason why he didn't have any memories from Cybertron before it became a collection of ruins; Ironhide, Ratchet, Optimus and every other bot at the base where he was raised tried to compensate this by telling him multiple stories from the planet prior to the conflict, even showing him recordings. Even then, he couldn't help but feel like Earth was more a home than Cybertron… Raf and the other kids were family to him. He wished to see them again…
«You ok? » Ratchet wondered, arching an optic ridge, noticing the growing depression on the youngling's expression ―not to mention his fallen door-wings.
"Yeah, yeah; just… Tired" excused himself the warrior, rubbing his face-plates.
«Oh, right. Your most recent-… » His voice faded as he started to mumble and gesticulate awkwardly, looking for the best way to refer about his friend's situation. «… Job. » He ended up choosing, rising his shoulders.
Bumblebee arched an optic-ridge at the screen, one servo still perched on the side of his neck wires.
"You know about Knock Out, don't you? This call wasn't spontaneous, was it?" He inquired.
The medic visibly deflated, sighing.
«Arcee called the cycle you became his parole officer, over a quartex ago; and Ultra Magnus called but a couple joors earlier, telling me that you're in a tight spot right now. » Ratchet admitted, leaning against the mainframe's green keyboard, resting his weight on his elbows, forearms crossed.
"They think I'm crazy" corrected the youngling, rolling his optics and frowning.
«Nobody said that » retorted the older mech.
The warrior allowed himself to fall on his back across the berth.
"Not to my face." Bumblebee rebuked, snorting. "But I know they believe it, because I'm sheltering a Decepticon. They're all waiting for this to go south, just so they can give me the 'I told you so' moment…" He kept ranting, glaring at the ceiling lights.
«Oh, for the AllSpark! No one wants you to fail, Bumblebee! If anything, we're all cheering for you, and hoping this will turn out ok» stated the white and orange bot angered at the concept, frowning, and one hand going to the side of his hip. «However, I can sympathize with the others, and, thus, admit that I believe you're taking unnecessary risks. Starting with the fact of where you're sheltering him; why don't give him his own place while the parole stand? There must be some cheap hotel already operating on the city, right? »
"Not the best idea…" answered the yellow bot, bittersweet, as he pushed himself upwards to sit straight again. "Didn't you hear from Magnus? Knock Out became a magnet for angered Neutrals…"
«Oh, right; he did mention something of the sort… How's he? » Ratchet asked, straightening too, crossing his arms.
"I think what hurts the most is his pride" chuckled the former scout, sitting Indian-style; nonetheless, he finished his commentary sighing. This all did nothing but remind him that he had crashed with an obstacle, and that he needed to find a solution for it; otherwise, Knock Out may end up back in jail, while he would be doubted as a law enforcer. It was evident that he was making a mistake; problem was that he couldn't see where. Looking back at the screen, locking optics with the bot who performed as one of his guardians, growing up, the warrior decided that this was the best time to ask for some advice. "I don't know what else to do, Ratch… I mean, I realize there are some bots who can't forgive him for choosing the 'Cons; but I can't just lock him away forever."
«And what's your suggestion? Because not even Optimus would've been able to keep him safe from an entire planet » commented the doctor, arching an eyebrow.
Bumblebee deflated, resting his chin on a fist, door-wings falling behind his back. He was right about that; he couldn't keep Knock Out away from every single Cybertronian on the planet. A plan like that one would be madness… "Unless… There are no angered Cybertronians around" thought the warrior, optics widening as a plan started to take form within his processor.
Smiling, he proceeded to walk the medic through his idea in full detail, before finishing the call and lie down to catch some sleep; although, recharge didn't come for a couple more hours, which he used to plot his next move.
…
It was a sunny day in Cybertron, though the air announced an acid storm approaching; but, what really was worrying Knock Out was the fact that Bumblebee, not only intruded his bedroom and shook him by the shoulders until he woke up, but also that, once he was fully awake, the warrior dragged him out of the apartment. Even worse: they were headed downtown! Where was he taking him?! He tried to ask, but the yellow bot only said that he had an idea to help him during the probation time, and sped up. "Oh, scrap!" was all the medic could think as they reached the police department in which Bumblebee worked. A hundred possibilities of why would the younger mech bring him there popped up in his mind. Unfortunately, none of them were good…
What were they doing there?! Was he going to ask another cop to take care of him?! Or worse: was he going to tell Ultra Magnus that he couldn't watch over him anymore, and that Knock Out should be tossed back into his cell?!
By the time the warrior and himself entered the building, the former 'Con was hyperventilating. The weird looks from the other officers didn't help his nerves either, so he was about to plead to his guard that they left the place, when Bumblebee suddenly waved at some other cop. Knock Out recognized the guy: he was the same bot that entered the clinic next to Ultra Magnus a month ago.
The white and black mech, who was merely walking back to his new desk after going for a fresh cube of Energon from the dispenser, stopped on his steps and waved back at the incoming Autobot. However, his always calculating optics soon focused on the red mech, who was now trembling behind the former scout. He wasn't all too sure as of what exactly was going on…
"Hey, Prowl. Is Magnus here?" The yellow bot asked, walking up to the former second in command.
The Praxian checked his inner chronometer, before turning to glance at the captain's office. The door was closed.
"I believe he is. Alas, I can't say whether he's available" answered the Middle Triplet, taking a sip from his cube. "Most likely not, considering he hasn't come out of his office in all the time I've been here." He analyzed. "Want me to pass him a message?"
"No, thanks; I rather talk to him in person, if you don't mind." The young mech said, politely, receiving a nod as answer. As Prowl turned to resume his own work, Bumblebee kept walking and patted Knock Out's shoulder. "Grab a chair, we're going to wait."
"Ok, do you mind to tell me what the scrap we are doing here? I'm dealing with enough stress already, you know?" Knock Out demanded, frowning.
"Alright, alright! Just sit down and I'll explain you my plan." Bumblebee promised, as both of them took seat next to the commander's office's door.
… … …
Ultra Magnus's morning was, officially, a damn nightmare: as soon as he checked in, an avalanche of reports fell on top of his desk; only to be topped off by the call he was attending at that very moment, in which he got informed that a Decepticon of high-risk escaped from custody. He was among the last batch that arrived to the planet, and was inside a stasis-pod, so none of the guards knew how the guy got out exactly, but the security cameras recorded him as he scrapped the trooper that tried to stop him. The commander had ordered to send him the videos immediately, so he could have a clear idea of what he was dealing with, and was watching them at the moment from his data-pad. At first the only bot in the camera's frame is the prison's guard, making a routine round at the max security level; but, suddenly, a flash of light fills the room, making the picture go completely white; by the time the image is visible again, the guard is on the ground with a Decepticon ―a Seeker, considering the wings on his back―, on top of him. After dealing with the guard, the runaway prisoner notices the security camera and proceeds to destroy it as well. "How did you get out of there?" The commander wondered, as he replayed the video, paying especial attention to the pod which is full one second, and empty the next. Something was utterly wrong… Either someone sabotaged the prison's cameras, or that guy magically popped out of his confinement; and, since the later was highly improbable, Ultra Magnus tried his luck with the first theory.
Leaving the datapad on his desk, the Wrecker called back at the prison's chief to ask a full diagnosis of the security system. Meanwhile, he glimpsed at the pile of reports he had yet to read; doing so, he found a pattern: there were, at least, four reports about stolen Energon. Was this related to the escapee? He was so concentrated trying to put both events together, that he forgot that he still had the prison's chief on the communicator until he received an answer… Snapping out of his trance, the commander apologized and listened to the other mech with care. Apparently everything worked as it should, without bugs or glitches of any type. Thanking the information, the blue Autobot hung up, and started to read the reports at light speed, a theory starting to slowly form within his processor…
The footage was from a couple cycles ago, yet, the robberies has been happening since a good couple of months. His brow furrowed in deep thought. These events may not be connected, but, the mech that escaped seemed disorientated, as if not knowing how he got there, nor where the room was located; a probable side-effect of his prolonged stasis. If so, the Seeker would automatically search for two things: reach the outside to reboot his GPS, which he already did; meaning that, now, his main concern was to refill his tank. Long periods in stasis reduced the amount of burnt fuel, but the frame still consumes Energon; thus, when one wakes up, one of the first things needed is, precisely, the bluish fluid.
Sorting out the reports, Ultra Magnus started ordering the robberies that took place during and after the day of the escape. "Too big of an area…" soon realized the bot, reading the addresses; nonetheless, he had to keep in mind that the reason for this could be the fact that the previous robber was yet in action. Still, he had to investigate in order to recapture the guy before anything else happens…
Grabbing one of the data-pads, decided to start looking around, the commander went to leave his office. Going alone would be against protocol, so his mind was set on Prowl; having been second in command of the Autobots, and a law enforcer since before the war made the Praxian the best choice.
However, when he opened the door, all he could do was stop and stare as he realized that he had, both, Bumblebee and Knock Out, sitting right outside his office; the two mechs were far too engrossed in an argument, since they missed the tall Wrecker staring at them.
"What're you two doing here?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.
The former scout turned to look at his superior, while the medic remained there, growling and with his optic-ridges frowned; eyes on his ward.
"I need to ask you a favor" stated Bumblebee, while signaling that he wished to speak in private.
Nodding, Ultra Magnus allowed his visitors within his office and closed the door.
"I'm in a hurry, though, so-…" The commander commented, as he went to take sit at his desk. The other two did the same on the two chairs across the table.
"It's alright, I'll be brief." Bumblebee said with a shrug, as he finally sat. "I want to go back to Earth."
The blue mech suddenly lost his balance, reason why his skid-plate collided with the top of the seat, while he stared at the youngling with wide optics; his processor trying to decide whether he truly heard those words, or if his audios were playing him tricks. Meanwhile, beside the yellow bot, the former Decepticon face-palmed, shaking his head in disbelief too.
An awkward silence ensured.
"I'm… sorry. What?" was capable of asking the Wrecker, once his processor rebooted; optics blinking rapidly as to come back to the present.
"Oh, just wait. It gets better…" Knock Out mocked, getting comfy on his seat, lazily leaning his chin against his left servo.
Bumblebee dedicated a frown at his charge, smacking the guy's shoulder as if offended for his words. The red mech barely dedicated him a glance from the corner of his optics.
"Hey! I already explained this plan to you!" complained the youngling.
"Yeah… I don't remember agreeing, though" rebuked the medic, looking away.
"Earth's the best option! That way-…!"
"Wait! Hold that thought!" interrupted the commander, yelling and gesturing the other Autobot to stop talking with his good hand. Then, eyes closed and venting heavily, he massaged his temples with said servo, before eyeing the other two mechs. Nonetheless, his optics soon were fixed on the former scout. "He's on probation, Bumblebee!" He reminded the youngling, pointing at the accused. "He cannot even leave the city! And you want him to get out of the planet?"
"Actually, he can leave ―both, the city, and the planet―, If required." The law enforcer stated, calmly, with a shrug.
"What?" asked the other two males, quizzically staring at the youngest bot in the room.
Bumblebee simply took out a data-pad and handed it over to the commander, smile never failing. All the while, the red mech followed his companions every move with upmost attention, wondering whether this was true. Could he leave? Not knowing what to think, he started analyzing Ultra Magnus' expression, which was morphing into one of shock, to another of anger, and, finally, a clear face of disappointment.
Knock Out felt his right optic-ridge arching in confusion.
"You've got to be kidding me…" muttered the blue bot, after a while, using his claw to rest his forehead. The data-pad still in his other servo.
The former scout smirked, triumphantly.
"As you can see, Knock Out is free to roam wherever he needs to, so long as he remains within my sights at all time. However, since there are no specifics about the territorial limits of this, I'm free to speculate and say that ―dunno― he can go to Earth, as long as I go along." The warrior stated, quite proud of himself about having found this loophole.
"Uh… Is that true?" Knock Out asked the Autobot commander, utterly confused at this point.
"Unfortunately…" admitted the Wrecker, barely sparing a glance at the red mech, before focusing on the yellow one more time. "Why do you want to go there?" He asked, straightening up and showing he would listen to his argument before making his mind.
"Him, actually." Bumblebee stated, pointing at the medic, who simply rolled his optics, already having heard this outside the commander's office. "I can't efficiently protect him here, sir; whenever we step into the street, the Neutrals jumps on us. Until the probation's over, I believe, the best option is to get Knock Out as far from Cybertron as possible; and we already have an Autobot base posted on Earth, fully operational."
Ultra Magnus dedicated a long stare at the youngling; then, he looked at the 'Con on the other chair, arching an optic-ridge. One could see the wheels behind his eyes working at max speed, as he considered his options with upmost care. Then, he glanced at the data-pad in his hand, evidently re-reading the parole terms; nonetheless, he finished with a tired sigh.
"Alright, soldier… I'll allow this" announced the tall bot, with a nod; thus, the former scout begun smiling at these news. "So long as our comrades are fully informed over the matter!" The commander warned in the end, pointing a digit at his subordinate's face.
"Ratchet has been informed last night-…"
"What?!" cried the Velocitronian, shocked at the fact that everyone had been preparing this behind his back.
"… -and he promised to tell Fowler about my idea." Bumblebee kept saying without missing a beat.
Another nod from the Wrecker, and he got up to look for the documents required.
Meanwhile, Knock Out was somewhat slouching on his seat, optics wide and processor in override. All he could think was how he was stuck with a law enforcer who, all the sudden, decided that he was feeling nostalgic about his home away from home, and wanted to pay the planet a visit. Would he really have to go back to that mud ball? No, thank you! Bumblebee may have beautiful memories from Earth, but he didn't! Not to mention that he would be trapped inside their base? With Ratchet? Oh, sure… He would love to live for ten vorns, next to Optimus' lifelong friend and chief medical officer; not to mention they had already attempted to terminate each other. No problem, at all. "I'm fragged…" concluded the red mech, groaning and face-palming again, only to end rubbing the space between his optics with a digit.
Meanwhile, Ultra Magnus had found the data-pads he was searching and had begun filling the permits for both of them ―being the scout's immediate superior, it was his job.
"I must warn you: ever since this new Council took over, the policies for interstellar travel has been rather excessive. Even for me." The Wrecker warned the other two, without looking away from the files he was working on. "The space-bridges are under constant vigilance, and the permits to use them are hard to get; even with these documents, you won't have it any easier…"
"I'm sure I can handle it." Bumblebee dismissed with a shrug.
Knock Out, on the other hand, scoffed humorlessly, earning a quizzical look from his guard. The Velocitronian simply smirked in a predatory way, stating that the youngling only said that because he had never been forced to do similar transactions before. He, on the other hand, had dealt with such things in his life…
The commander was forced to agree with the medic, stating that the standard time for this type of petition was about eight deca-cycles.
The yellow mech's optic-ridges nearly disappeared into the line of his helm.
"Eight deca-cycles?! That long?!" He cried, suddenly jumped off his chair.
"More or less" guessed the blue mech, shrugging.
"Oh, scrap…" muttered the youngling, sagging his shoulders while staring at the ceiling.
"We could yet avoid all that, by simply not going to Earth" mocked the medic, smirking and crossing his arms.
Pissed, the former scout frowned, told the blue bot that he would do it, grabbed the data-pads and the medic, and stomped out of the room.
Ultra Magnus, meanwhile, remained on his place, looking at the door for a couple seconds. "I can't believe I just authorized that" thought the mech, groaning, and passing his good servo along his head. There was a tiny voice on the back of his mind saying that this was a bad idea, and that he would regret it at some point… But, maybe, he could do something about it. Not officially, but off the record-…
Getting up, he walked out of his office, and made his way out ―calling Prowl as he passed next to the Praxian's desk.
The yellow bot and the former 'Con were already outside, and ready to transform and roll away, when the commander caught up with them. The Wrecker said that he would allow this plan of his; however, he wanted to settle some conditions for it to take place.
The younger Autobot arching an optic-ridge and cocked his head in confusion.
"Conditions?" He wondered.
"Yes" stated the commander, nodding deeply. "If you're decided to go back to Earth, I want you to take someone with you, to help you watch over him." He explained, while gesturing to Knock Out, who snorted, feeling slightly offended.
The former scout dedicated one brief glance at his warded, before going back at Ultra Magnus with annoyance.
"You do realize that it's just Knock Out, don't you?" Bumblebee retorted, disregarding his superior's worries.
"Hey! I'm still here, in case you're interested!" The red bot complained, highly offended at this point.
"Plus, Ratchet would be there" continued the young warrior, ignoring, once again, the former Decepticon.
"Yes, but the doctor isn't a law enforcer, nor warrior-class."
"He proved himself during the war. Many times!" complained the smaller Autobot, defending one of his mentors; remembering the stories he heard from the other mechs, when he was a sparkling. Plus, the missions the old mech has been forced to take ever since they crash landed on Earth.
"I'm not denying it." Ultra Magnus assured, gesturing the youngling to calm down. "I'm simply stating that I would feel better if you take the old team with you. At least Bulkhead and Wheeljack." He attempted to explain his take on the situation, glad to see that his companion was slowly understanding his point. "The others would accept the offer, I think we both know that…"
Knock Out blinked, staring from one mech to the other, pondering what would his young guard decide.
In the end he agreed.
"Any idea where can I find Arcee? I haven't spoken to her in quartex now." Bumblebee asked.
"Try the spaceports" interjected Prowl, from behind the commander. "She was the one to check me in, when our vessel landed." He commented with the faintest smirk, a gesture that only those who has known him for eons were capable of recognizing.
Right after the yellow mech thanked this information, Ultra Magnus nodded and asked the Praxian to follow him, before they both transformed and disappeared down the road.
It was decided: he was going back to Earth… in company of those that he once called enemies. What could possibly go wrong…?
That's all for now! Who you think the Seeker is? What about the missing Energon?
Let me hear your thoughts!
See ya!