Chapter 3: Scrap

"Optimus, I can explain-"

Prime shook his helm, effectively shutting the scout up. 'Bee flinched and lowered his optics to the ground shamefully awaiting whatever lecture his commander had in store. A few tense seconds rolled by before Optimus cleared his voice box and waited for his soldier to look up at him.

"I know you have feelings for Echo."

Bumblebee's spark nearly stopped pulsing and all heat from the previous encounter with the sergeant left his frame. A freezing cold wave flushed through his systems.

"Sir, if you'd prefer I stay away from your daughter I will respect that," Bee chirped hurriedly. He was about to continue with an apology but Optimus held up a single digit to silence him. "I am not against this, Bumblebee," he said with a reassuring smile.

"Oh," the scout buzzed with wide optics. He was so sure that Prime would chew him out. This was unexpected. A relief but unexpected.

Seeing the pure confusion on the scout's pale faceplates, Optimus waltzed over to the other empty berth and took a seat. Folding his servos over his chassis he glanced back at Bumblebee. "You both are grown bots and can make your own decisions," he said, "I couldn't ask for a better mech to be her partner anyways."

At that Bumblebee's flushed expression returned. He had served as Optimus' scout for thousands of years and gone on countless dangerous missions. Having to admit to Prime he fancied his daughter was perhaps the scariest thing he's done yet hearing Optimus was approving did lift some pressure. There still remained the obstacle of actually earning the femme's attention.

"I…uh…." Bumblebee stuttered. Rubbing the back of his helm he vented and mustered the courage to speak. "Thank you Optimus, but I don't think it will happen."

The smile on Prime's face was replaced with a sour pout. "And why is that?" he inquired. His subordinate shrugged at that and rubbed his left shoulder submissively. "She hates me."

With a deep scowl the red and blue bot awaited for 'Bee to explain his perspective. No matter what he would say, Optimus knew his daughter had gone too far. Bumblebee did not deserve to be punished for something that was out of his control. Prime knew Echo was out of line and he would not let that go uncorrected one more day.

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Echo vented in relief once her door was shut and slid down against it until she was on the floor. She was free to sulk and mope all she pleased about what had just happened. Ratchet had set her up. Had the medic not made her tend to 'Bee they wouldn't have been so close.

She hadn't felt a charge like that with someone in a long time. There were other mechs before and after him that gave momentary reprieve but nothing could mimic the electric bond between sparkmates. Had she done that? Were her optics off because she could have sworn the charge came from the scout. Not her.

But…

That should be impossible. His spark doesn't recognize her anymore and thus should not be generating a pull towards her. Echo wasn't sure. She didn't want to be sure. She didn't want to give herself hope. Hope died with her mech thousands of years ago when Optimus told her Bumblebee forgot everything.

The femme now worried that her being Bumblebee's mate would come to the surface sooner than she had liked. The other Autobots and children would start noticing these strange things and she wouldn't be able to hide it forever.

She curled up on herself, not knowing what to do from here. By biting her lip she managed to hold back a sob. The days of being able to run into the scout's servos and let him tell her everything would be okay were greatly missed now. She only had herself now for comfort.

A gentle knock on her door made her nearly jump.

Optimus was right outside, looking rather pissed. His servos were folded over his chassis in an off-putting way and a grimace was plastered on his normally straight faceplates. "Sire?" Echo mumbled in confusion at his look.

"Explain to me why our scout just told me you hate him."

Dumbfounded, the femme opened and closed her mouth multiple times. Scouring her processor for anything she might have said or done that explicitly conveyed hatred she came up empty. At least in her perspective she was just avoiding him.

"What did you say to him?" Optimus demanded. He took her silence as an admission of sorts as the femme was never one to be at a loss for words when it came to speaking with her sire.

"Nothing," she blurted out. Her superior tilted his helm to the side in disbelief, challenging her answer. "Nothing? Are you sure of that?" he said. From Bumblebee's account the femme only spoke to him when it was necessary to give orders, not as a teammate. Even then her attitude came off as dismissive.

Echo let her optic shutters close a moment as she composed herself. Gesturing her servo in a calming way she said, "I try not to talk to him."

Prime nodded in understanding and kept his scowl. "That is the problem," he chastised, "I'm drawing the line here, Echo."

Line? The femme jerked back. "Sire-"

"I have no right to tell you what to do with your relationship with Bumblebee" Optimus paused, furious, "However, I will not tolerate you making an adversary of him. You will maintain a professional attitude becoming of a sergeant with all of my team members. Is that clear?"

Echo ground her denta and nodded. This wasn't a father telling his daughter to behave. This was a commander disciplining his subordinate.

"Crystal clear, sir."

"Goodnight."

Echo watched him storm off to his quarters down the hall without another word or room for negotiation.

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Optimus had still been quite upset with her the following morning, barely sending her a passing glance. She knew she had to fix her attitude to make her father happy. To make Bumblebee happy. The fact that 'Bee had the impression she hated him tore at her gears and punched her spark. It was so far from the truth and motivated her to change her mindset.

Echo may not want to get hurt by letting Bumblebee back into her life but knowing her actions negatively affected him hurt her more.

Unable to sleep that night the femme had left her quarters to get a head start on the next day's projects. The tasks and scanners occupied her processor in the hours before Team Prime would get up from recharge. Of course she also dwelled on her actions and let her guilt simmer. She ran scenarios of how to approach the scout and make amends for her demeanor as she repaired a tool Ratchet had been working on.

As the hours slipped away from her, Echo's ears barely picked up the sound of peddes emerging from the barracks. Tearing her optics from the groundbridge controls she discovered the scout and her father walking side by side in the midst of a conversation.

"Oh, great," the femme muttered to herself. She knew Optimus was expecting her to say something to Bumblebee after he scolded her last night. Thankfully, neither mech had noticed her just yet which allowed her to fake ignorance and continue her self-employed tasks until they got closer.

Once the other bots spotted Echo in silo working their conversation died out. Bumblebee looked at Optimus for encouragement before stepping away from Prime to speak with the femme. He hesitated a moment as if to reconsider that he could do it. Shaking any doubts from his processor the yellow Cybertronian continued on.

"Good morning."

Echo paused her work and turned around. On her faceplates was a warm smile to greet the bashful scout. She was met with innocent optics rotating anxiously. "Good morning, Bumblebee," she replied sweetly. The femme needn't look behind 'Bee to know her father was smiling in approval. Prime disappeared to retrieve Arcee for their continued Arctic investigation.

At Echo's softer disposition Bumblebee grinned and his doorwings perked. His spark thrummed rapidly in excitement. Whatever Optimus had promised to speak to her about had seemingly worked. The femme actually looked eager to see him.

"Do you need help with anything?" the mech chirped. His optics analyzed the silo and medbay noting how tidy it appeared. Echo must have been working all morning and could use an extra servo to finish things up.

Surprising herself, Echo followed his gaze and genuinely looked for something he could help her with. Unfortunately her many hours awake left little untouched. A frown formed across her faceplates in disappointment. "I might have gone a bit crazy and done everything already," she said. Her optics traveled back to the scout, expecting a dejected expression.

'Bee did feel thwarted but only because he didn't know of another way to excuse him being around her. Perhaps they could pick up Rafael together or he could help her watch the scanners? Both ideas seemed weak to him as the tasks did not require two bots.

"I'll let you know if I need help, though."

Bumblebee's optics shot up to meet Echo's. He had to replay her words twice to verify he had heard her correctly. A rush of heat coursed through his metal at her offer. Countless times the scout had volunteered his aid but the femme had never asked him for it beyond what was required for a mission. Paired with her sweet smile the mech could tell by her tone that she wanted his help this time.

"Okay," was his simple response.

Echo and 'Bee looked across the silo to see Ratchet and Bulkhead approaching. Timidly, both bots turned away from each other and soaked up the charged energy they found themselves in once more. As the scout walked towards the Wrecker so that they might go pick up the children, the young Autobots' sparks calmed down in unison.

Though, neither were aware of it.

Bulkhead and 'Bee left promptly since it was a Saturday and the kids would be itching to spend all day at base. Ratchet took up his usual spot within the medbay double checking everything. He seemed very enthused to see his station so neat and organized. Knowing it was the femme who did this he strode over to where she religiously stared at the main computer.

"Long night?" he asked.

Echo vented and stepped back some. Rubbing her tired optics she nodded and pivoted to lean back against the nearest wall. "Couldn't recharge," she replied and crossed her servos over her chassis. "Figured I would be productive in the meantime."

Ratchet caught her staring down the exit tunnel where the Camaro had departed. "I see," he chuckled. Peering back down at his niece he clicked his glossa to grab her attention. "Why don't you go back to the barracks? You've done a good share of duties for the day and should rest."

"Thank you but I'm good," Echo sighed, flicking her tail absentmindedly. "I think I'll play some video games with the kids and Bumblebee when they get back." The silence that followed her statement gave the femme a paranoid feeling. She looked up to see her uncle staring at her as though she had two helms. "What?"

"You," he started hesitantly, "Want to spend time with Bumblebee?"

Echo shrugged her shoulders and feigned nonchalance. "That's what you and Optimus want, isn't it?" she asked.

Ratchet vented heavily. "Because we know deep down you want your sparkmate back," he replied. His firm gaze did not waver when the femme glared daggers into his optics. "I want-" she stopped herself and clenched her fists. Tearing her furious stare away from her uncle she huffed and stepped away.

"I'm gonna work on the groundbridge."

The medic watched her blink her optic shutters a few times to hold back tears. It was quite clear to him that Echo was holding back her true emotions. Thousands of years without her other half had trained her to push everything down and pretend it was okay. It hurt Ratchet to see the bubbly happy femme he saw grow up and find love to now shut herself down and push people away. This was not the Echo he knew.

For now, the mech decided to leave her be and let her distract herself with the groundbridge. He did have to prepare Optimus and Arcee for their mission so a more private conversation could occur at a later time.

Bumblebee and Bulkhead arrived back at base just as Ratchet finished explaining the perils of the journey into the Arctic for Arcee and Optimus. The three children engaged in a quick conversation with the truck and motorcycle, though Echo wasn't paying much attention. Her optics were still plastered to the bridge controls waiting to send her father and Arcee through. She had already completed whatever calibrations that were required and tapped her digits impatiently on the panel.

"Daughter," Optimus suddenly whispered in Praxian. Echo glanced up over her shoulder to see the red and blue commander standing behind her. She flashed a look to see Arcee a distance away with her servos crossed waiting for Prime. Planting her gaze back on Optimus she found him smiling. "Thank you for speaking to him," he said once again in the language of Praxus. Though glad her sire no longer appeared distraught with her, Echo only managed to nod in acceptance before turning back to the bridge controls.

Activating the portal the femme listened until Optimus and Arcee's footsteps disappeared. Now that Prime and Ratchet were no longer around she felt less pressure in approaching the scout. She peered at Bumblebee and the kids getting ready to set up a video game. 'Bee had the most enthusiastic smile in his optics when Raf suggested one of the scout's favorites. Echo couldn't help herself but emulate his grin.

Shejolted when the groundbridge controls suddenly sparked, the contraption shutting itself off and the blue swirls fizzling out. The femme cursed in Praxian, her tail whipping in fright as she took several steps back. "By the AllSpark!" Ratchet exclaimed as he sprinted over to assess the damage. They both glanced at the glitched out computer screen above the levers and sent each other a reluctant look.

The femme held her right wrist which had been shocked. Thankfully her cables and wiring didn't appear to be damaged but she continued to rub the area due to the discomfort.

Bumblebee took his gaze off the children to see what the commotion was about. He hadn't seen or heard the bridge controls fail but did see Echo nursing her servo. "Sergeant?" he whistled in concern. Taking a step back from the loft area he debated whether or not to rush over there to make sure she was okay. Despite their friendly encounter this morning the scout was hesitant to approach her in case she turned him away.

Echo hated that he called her by her rank. Yes, she did outrank him and it was etiquette to address your superiors by their title. However, most of the other bots rarely referred to her by title or Optimus for that matter. They were all a family now and ranks felt weird.

In addition to that the femme had spent thousands of years as a scout alongside Bumblebee being equals. She knew the only reason he hadn't achieved the rank of warrior yet was due to him having to start over again after Tyger Pax. By now he could have easily made sergeant or even lieutenant considering how long and loyally he has served by Prime's side.

Continuing to clutch her wrist, Echo locked optics with Bumblebee and was about to let him know she was okay. "Bulkhead! Bumblebee! Here, now!" Ratchet hollered and scared the femme. She scowled at her uncle and walked back to the bridge controls again.

The kids and their guardians grunted as they had planned on having a fun day. Helping Ratchet with his chores was not on the to do list. As Bumblebee and Bulkhead reluctantly walked over, the femme could feel the scout standing right behind her.

"Are you good?" he whispered into her audio receptors. Echo nodded quickly, putting her focus back on the medic when he started messing with the ground bridge. She wanted to reply to her mate but her spark started pounding in her chassis uncomfortably. 'Bee failed to notice her shift away from him and turned to Ratchet.

The grumpy Autobot fumbled with the controls and punched the side of it in frustration. Bulkhead folded his servos over his chest and glared at the medic. "You're not gonna fix it by breaking it more," he claimed. The Wrecker was annoyed that his time off-duty would be spent watching Ratchet mess around.

The red bot ignored his statement and pointed a digit at the controls. "The groundbridge is down and I need some heavy lifting in order to make repairs," he barked. Bumblebee's optics flared anxiously at his tone. "Are Optimus and Arcee okay?" the scout buzzed.

"Yes, they got through just fine," Echo answered him over her shoulder. Bumblebee contained his joy at her speaking to him without bitterness again. Though, he did puff out his chassis slightly in pride.

Bulkhead raised an optic ridge at the sergeant with pleasant surprise. He had not heard Echo openly speak to Bumblebee without some trace of disdain before. Like most of the other bots and the children, the Wrecker found 'Bee's crush adorable and hoped something would come of it. Perhaps the femme was finally warming up to him?

"Now get to removing those panels, chop chop," Ratchet barked again, startling the two younger bots. Bumblebee dramatically rolled his optics and buzzed a drawn out sigh. Echo's lip quivered into a smirk, making her bite it to hold back. Ratchet growled at the scout and threatened to get out his throwing wrench.

"You still have it?" Echo asked in surprise, remembering the medic knocking her on the helm a few times when she was being rebellious. "I do," Ratchet muttered, grumpy as ever, "It keeps you young ones in line."

"Right," Echo narrowed her optics and smiled. "I think I still have a few dents from when you threw it at me."

"Don't tempt me." With that, Ratchet commenced inspecting the base's wiring with Echo assisting him. She had learned quite a lot since arriving on Earth and was somewhat of the team's new mechanic in addition to the medic.

Bumblebee and Bulkhead made quick work of the floor panels, stacking them nicely so Ratchet wouldn't throw a hissy fit. Echo joined him in inspecting the many memory chips built into the floors. The entire time the scout hovered over her trying to see what she was doing. Before the fembot could say anything about needing personal space the power shut down for a couple seconds and flickered back to life.

"Not good," Echo said to herself while looking up at the ceiling. Her ears rotated curiously as did her optics. She flicked her tail and unintentionally smacked Bumblebee's pede. "S-sorry," he stuttered, stepping back. The femme shrugged it off and tucked away her appendage.

Looking at Ratchet she found him removing a chip with large chunks missing. "We have a serious problem," he said whilst holding up the damaged device. The humans and Bulkhead came closer to peer at the chip cautiously.

"What could have caused this?" Echo asked. Ratchet handed the chip to her with a shrug. Bumblebee once again leaned over her shoulder but the femme decided to allow his innocent curiosity to continue. He wasn't harming her by venting down her neck cables so why should she make a big deal out of it?

The power went off again and took longer to come back online this time. Significantly longer. Bulkhead chuckled to mask his fear and peered around nervously. "Or that?" he queried. Bumblebee whirred in similar thought, finally taking a step back from the sergeant's position to look up at the ceiling.

"Main power grid?" Echo suggested. She tried to remember all Ratchet taught her about the base's systems and Earth technology but not much came up to explain the odd happenings. Her uncle lifted a brow, "Hopefully it's not a substation malfunction."

Echo's ears picked up the delicate patter of human feet on the ground behind her. She knew it was Raf as she could tell the differences between the human's footsteps. Before turning around to greet him the femme heard Rafael call out to the group about having found something. Echo set down the groundbridge chip and pivoted her body to smile at him.

"We're busy!" Ratchet growled.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Every bot and human jumped at Echo's blood-curdling scream. She backed up and slammed up against Bumblebee. He grabbed onto her out of instinct, looking around to see what had frightened her. The scout activated the cannon on his left servo while his right wrapped around Echo's waist. He pulled her into his side in an attempt to shield her as she pointed her own weapon at the object in Raf's hands.

Bulkhead and Ratchet took multiple steps back and also activated their respective weapons. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" the Wrecker and Jack jumped in front of Raf, holding up their hands in defense. "Calm down!" Jack exclaimed. Miko waved her hands, "What's gotten into you guys?"

"Scraplet!" Bulkhead yelled. The age-old pest of their homeworld and a terrifying sight.

"What's a scraplet?" the horrified Raf asked, looking at the small Cybertronian creature in his hands. Echo shifted in Bumblebee's servos causing the mech to grip her harder.

"The most dangerous vermin to ever crawl upon the face of Cybertron," Ratchet answered, receiving odd looks. Jack scoffed and gestured towards the scraplet. "This small thing? Really?" he laughed. "But it's so tiny! And you guys are giant robots," Miko joined in on the teasing, not believing that her guardians were afraid of a bot no bigger than a puppy.

"You have no idea what that thing can do!" Echo called out. She felt Bumblebee nodding his helm since she was pressed against his chassis so tightly. They were of similar height, 'Bee only a couple feet taller than her. Therefore, her helm was basically in the crook of his neck cables. Her right servo clutched his chassis for comfort. At the moment Echo was more worried about being eaten alive than getting out of Bumblebee's embrace.

"He couldn't hurt anything," Rafael said. He looked down at the tiny bot with affection. The creature blinked its optics open and looked around the silo. It scanned the Autobots, making a whirring noise. Suddenly it sprung from the child's hands.

Echo shot at the scraplet as it bolted towards her, its mouth open to reveal rows of sharp teeth spinning around. She pressed further up against Bumblebee, their bodies plastered together. The scout shot at the scraplet but missed as it jumped around. It dodged both of the Autobots' aims.

The scraplet flew up into the air, landing on the yellow servo encircling Echo's waist. Out of subconscious instinct Bumblebee shoved away the fembot so she was out of harm's way. She stumbled and regained her balance as 'Bee fell to the ground, the scraplet eating away at his paint job and metal.

Echo's spark skipped a beat at seeing her sparkmate being attacked. It screamed at her to help him before he was made a meal of. The young mech tried grabbing the pest, only for it to then latch itself onto his other servo. Before it reached back to his chest armor Echo's silver tail swatted the scraplet yards away. It landed back near the humans before starting to run back towards the femme.

She was spared when Rafael hit the damned thing with a crowbar. Out of pure rage the young human beat the scraplet repeatedly only to be held back by Jack and Miko. "Easy there, killer," the older boy said, taking away the weapon.

Once the threat was gone the sergeant turned quickly to assess Bumblebee's wounds. She knelt down at his side, beating Ratchet to the punch. The medic stepped to the side whilst raising an optic brow at the femme's sudden interest in the scout. She turned Bee's knee from side to side as she analyzed the scraplet's damaging bites. Thankfully it hadn't reached any of his delicate wiring or gotten under his armor plates.

Glancing up, Echo met Bumblebee's anxious optics. "Are you okay?" he chirped, venting hard from fear. The femme's ears perked at him in confusion. "Am I okay? You're the one who got chewed up" she chastised. Bumblebee shrugged and whirred sheepishly as she looked back to his damaged servo.

"Bumblebee!" Rafael screamed in dismay and rushed towards his guardian.

"It's just a mesh wound," Ratchet responded, "He'll live."

"Now do you see what I'm saying?" Echo said, looking at the humans, "These things devour anything metal, especially living metal!" Her digits gestured towards the yellow mech still sitting on the floor, accidentally grazing his chassis as they passed. Bumblebee felt his gears knot at the soft touch.

"Well at least it's dead, right?" Miko asked, shoving a thumb over her shoulder at the metal pile Raf left behind. Ratchet scoffed and rolled his optics. "No," he started, "When it comes to scraplets there is never just one."

Echo felt a shiver run through her systems. "I think I know how they got in here," she said, locking gazes with the scout. Upon their optics meeting both young bots felt the heavily charged energy between them return. Their close proximity and the femme lurking over him made Bumblebee's spark jump. When he noted how the black Autobot jerked back at the exact same time his helm tilted curiously.

Had she felt the same thing?

Echo internally shook her helm and glanced over her shoulder to see Ratchet, Bulkhead, and the children looking to her expectantly. "The pod they found in the Arctic," she said. "We need to go to the storage room," Ratchet grumbled in response. Echo nodded in agreement and turned to help Bumblebee stand up. As the group reluctantly made way for the hangar the sergeant and scout walked side by side for the first time in thousands of years.