And they said it was impossible.
About six/seven-ish months after leaving this story on pause forever (sorry about that BTW), FINALLY, I completed this chapter!
Full disclosure, this isn't the best chapter I've written, but then again not the worst either.
And, just a heads-up; broken arm or not, Halo's gonna kick aft in this one.
Please, read the end Author's Note 'cause I left two questions there for you guys to have a guess at which may or may not have something to do with the next chapter - Unless I forgot to write out the questions because I am a forgetful person.
If you think you know the answers or have any theories, feel free to write what you think in the reviews section since I can't recieve PMs.
Enjoy :-)
Chapter Four : The anti-pity party
"Of all the scrap-brained ideas," Ratchet vented as the two young 'bots were now patients in the med-bay, "Taking Bumblebee into a potential chase scenario when he no longer has the ability to access his wheels?!"
Bumblebee was still out cold on one berth (couldn't blame him after the day he'd had). Ratchet had managed to stabilise his condition, but he was still under stasis.
Halo Jyn was currently sat on the berth opposite with her back against the wall. A metal cast was around her broken arm and any scratches or bruises were just going to mend themselves.
She'd fallen too, but was too stubborn to have blacked out because of it.
Arcee stood next to Bulkhead as he tried to figure out a way to stop the doctor's angry rant.
Bulkhead shrugged innocently in response, "H-He improvised."
"And you!" Ratchet pointed accusingly at Halo, who immediately lifted her head up at his tone, "What was going through your processor allowing him to go?!"
"Bumblebee can take care of himself," She said defensively, appearing to not be afraid of the medic, "Losing his T-cog doesn't take away his fighting ability."
"Hey, Bee's waking up!" Raf called from where he was standing next to his guardian.
The yellow mech whirred as he grabbed his helm, sitting upright, "What happened?"
The Autobot medic turned to the scout, "You've already lost your voice box and your T-cog - were you really trying to add your spark to the list?"
"I knew it. Without being able to transform I'm pretty much useless."
"Don't say that, Bumblebee," Raf disagreed, "You're not useless."
Arcee stepped forward, "Look, I hate to break up the pity party, but the 'Cons just added 'unknown Iacon payday number-two' to their armoury."
"Neither blame nor praise will modify past events," Optimus said as he approached, "But we cannot afford to take further unnecessary risks. Bumblebee, you are not to leave our base - not until we can retrieve your missing bio-mechanism."
Bumblebee continued to gaze sadly into empty space, wondering if he really was useless now. No matter how much Raf tried to comfort him and tell him otherwise, the yellow mech wouldn't be convinced.
Halo didn't say anything. After all that had happened, she just wanted to recharge in her room. But the Doc-bot said she had to stay in the med-bay for observation until he was certain her wounds had healed.
A sigh escaped from her as she tilted her helm downwards.
Did she feel slightly responsible for what had happened to Bumblebee back then and in that moment? Answer: yes.
It was the guilt she felt from Tyger Pax that had clouded her judgement to let him go on the mission.
As she tried to block out the world for a minute, she heard the conversation Ratchet and Optimus were having across the other side of the room.
"Bumblebee is right to be less than hopeful," Ratchet told him, "But you and I both know there exists a way to make him whole again."
"A transplant," Optimus realised, "But that would require a donor."
There was a pause in the conversation before Ratchet responded, straightening his stance, "You need look no further than the Autobot standing before you."
She sensed Optimus turning back to him with what she assumed was an expression of surprise mixed with concern.
"A generous offer, old friend, but your solution would merely trade one Autobot's handicap for another's," The Autobot leader said.
"I don't rely on my T-cog, not like Bumblebee does. The ability to transform is virtually wasted on me. This is where I spend my days, where my thoughts and hands are of value, not my weapons or wheels," He turned back to the group, "Our team can't afford to be shy even one warrior in the field."
"You make a compelling case. But know that we will find Bumblebee's T-cog."
"Optimus," Ratchet turned back to face him, "MECH are savages. Who knows what damage they may have already inflicted upon it, or... or if I will be able to repair it?"
Optimus looked at his friend with empathy, aware of what he was really referring to, "Ratchet, you did everything in your power."
The medic quickly scoffed in a failing attempt to cover up what he was feeling, "Please. Do you really think that this is about my inability to restore Bumblebee's voicebox?
Voicebox? Halo thought, Wait.., the Doc-bot was at Tyger Pax?
The red and blue mech didn't look like he believed his friend, but said nothing.
Ratchet continued, "I-I...I just want to do what's right for our scout...for the team."
If he knew what had happened to Bumblebee all those orns ago, why hadn't he said anything about her?
If he'd known how she'd contributed to the loss of Bumblebee's voicebox...
"STOP!" Halo begged, her friend's scream echoing through the room, "You're killing him!"
She struggled against the bonds that chained her to the wall, Bumblebee facing her opposite and gasping for air. Energon was starting to stream from his chassis where he'd been struck and his throat became increasingly scarred, dangerously close to his voicebox.
An unsettling familiar laugh followed, "That is the point of this war, femme. Of course, you could ease his suffering by confessing the location of Optimus Prime."
The blue femme bit her tongue. She'd known the cost of the war, but never expected it to be that painful to witness.
"D-Don't...N-N-Night..." The yellow 'bot begged.
His selflessness only made it harder for her to make the decision. She tried to hold back her tears (more emotional as a fifteen-orn-old).
Her helm bowed with guilt as she tried to block out the returning screams.
An uneasy feeling grew in the center of her stomach as she realised just how much she was allowing it to get to her. Why should she feel so guilty? This had happened almost seven orns ago and Bumblebee was fine now, right?
But blame like that didn't just go away, as Ratchet so difficultly had found out.
By now, the medic had made his way back towards the group, Optimus back where they'd been talking.
He cleared his throat, "May I have your attention?" When he was sure everyone was listening, he continued, "Um, as you know, my place rather than battle is here at base. As such, I see absolutely no point why I should maintain the ability to transform."
They all appeared a little confused.
"Ratchet, what're you saying?" Arcee questioned.
"I am saying that..." Ratchet answered, "I wish to donate my own T-cog to Bumblebee."
The room was sent into stony silence, no one really sure of what to say to anyone else. Knowing that they could've stayed like that for a while, Ratchet decided to speak up again.
"Now," He began, "As I am the other patient involved-"
"Wait, Ratch," Bumblebee interrupted, looking up at his friend in concern, "Are you...sure this is what you want?"
Ratchet sighed, "Bumblebee, you need the ability to drive and shoot more than I do. As I've said, the power of transforming is all but wasted while I stay here at base and off of the battlefield. Do you accept?"
The yellow scout paused for a second, unable to concieve that Ratchet was willing to do this for him. And although people kept saying that he was more than just the horsepower of the team, he'd learnt the hard way that motivational encouragement didn't help in a high-speed mountain chase.
After careful deliberation, the scout nodded.
"Right then," Ratchet replied, marching past Arcee and Bulkhead, "As I was saying, being the other patient involved, I cannot perform the procedure. Therefore, one of you must serve as my proxy."
Halo heard him stop as he reached her, "Nope."
"Do you have experience in medicine?" Ratchet asked.
"What makes you think I can do it?" She continued to protest, "I can't see, I have a broken arm and most importantly, don't want to."
The medic shrugged, "Those arguments never win when anyone other than yourself brings them up, but they are logical."
Halo involuntarily shifted her seat at the word 'logical', bringing to mind several reminders of her past she'd rather forget. Not noticing this, the grumpy medic continued to examine the other two Autobots capable of performing the procedure.
He shook his helm decisively as he strode past Bulkhead, "Better at breaking things." He stopped at the blue femme, "Arcee."
"Optimus has steadier servos," Arcee claimed.
"Steady," Ratchet agreed, "But much too large to be rooting around beneath my hood."
Realising she wasn't going to win this round, the fighter sighed and began walking away to prepare for the surgery.
Jack felt he should give some support to his partner, "Arcee, you can do this. You're as steely as they come."
"On a battle-field," She denied, "Not in an operating theatre."
The teen shrugged, "Same thing; as long as you're behind the knife, not under it."
The femme sighed and continued to stride away, obviously not overly confident about the procedure.
Halo noticed the scout was being uncharacteristically quiet about everything. He just sat on the berth, taking in all that'd happened.
"Bumblebee?" She said, causing the yellow mech to glance up, "You good?"
The scout disbelievingly nodded, "Uh...yeah, I think so."
"Be happy, Bee," Bulkhead patted him on the shoulder, "You're getting your wheels back."
"Yeah, I know," He said, "And - don't get me wrong - I'm grateful, it's just...I can't help feel guilty. What if Ratchet gets in trouble and he can't shoot back to defend himself? Or what if he needs to drive away from a battle and gets trapped?"
Halo spoke up this time, "Bee, he said it himself: He doesn't rely on his T-cog like you do. And he doesn't have any proper reason why he'd want to go into battle."
Bumblebee shrugged, "I guess you're right, but...I wish I'd managed to get my own T-cog back from MECH in the first place."
Neither really knew how to respond to that in a way that would make the scout feel better, so the uncomfortable silence began to set in again for the twelfth time.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
After anticipating preparation and a lot of hesitation, the surgery was at last about to be performed. Surveying the substitue medic's anxiety, Halo Jyn thought that maybe some more encouragement and support was in order. After all, Bumblebee was their mutual friend.
Arcee stood at the medical computer, monitoring the patients' vital statistics. The archer could sense that she couldn't properly focus.
"Arcee," The gold 'bot said, "You got this."
Although a little surprised, Arcee nodded in acknowledgement of what Halo had said. She went back to the computer monitor, trying a little harder to focus on the task at hand and forget the stress.
"Inducing stasis," She sighed, attempting to sound more confident than the reality.
Bumblebee lifted his helm, looking over at the medic gratefully, "I really appreciate this, Ratch."
Groggily, Ratchet waved his servo, "Uhhh...You can thank me when...it's over..."
As the doctor's optics slowly closed, Arcee took another breath, "Okay, Bumblebee. Your turn."
But before she could activate the stasis log, a beeping noise began to echo from the main computer, causing a slight wave of panic.
"W-What's happening?" Raf asked.
"Ratchet's FLATLINING!" Miko exclaimed.
"No, he isn't!" Arcee really wasn't in the mindset for panic.
The Autobot leader knew too well what the small signal on the main computer's screen meant, "It's an Iacon homing beacon."
"If we're picking up the signal from here, it means the 'Cons just unearthed another relic," Bulkhead realised.
Knowing they couldn't afford to waste time, Optimus addressed the group, "Autobots, prepare to roll out!"
Arcee not-so-subtly murmured a 'yes' in relief. Halo didn't bother trying to ask if she could tag along this time, already aware of the answer. Unfortunately, Bee forgot how serious Optimus could be.
"Time to scramble some 'Con circuits," He said, excitedly jumping up from his seat.
"Except for our patients," The leader's stern voice made it clear that he wasn't about to change his mind anytime soon.
The scout soon caught on as his expression fell and he slumped back down onto the medical berth. At Optimus' orders, Arcee interrupted stasis.
The three able warriors were soon through the ground bridge, leaving only the kids, Bumblebee and Halo Jyn left. Ratchet too but his being under the effects of robot-anaesthesia didn't exactly count as adult supervision.
The archer soon noted Bee's quieter-than-quiet demeanor.
"Bumblebee? You ok?" She asked, but knew the answer was pretty clear.
He shook his helm, "Optimus is never gonna trust me with a mission again, is he?"
"Don't say that, Bee," Raf tried to deter his friend's negative thoughts, but with little luck, "Optimus trusts you."
Bee sighed, "This is gonna be like after Tyger Pax all over again."
Halo unintentionally froze at hearing the event one too many times that day, "W-Well...I guess, all you can really do is just prove 'em wrong. R-Right?"
"I guess so," He shrugged at first, not really taking much notice of her statement.
But he paused for a second after. He'd heard Halo stutter but only once when she was lying about her sight loss. What about Tyger Pax could she possibly have to lie about? After all, she'd only just heard about what happened the day before, didn't she?
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"Prime! Breaking news!" A strange, slightly irritated voice sounded through the HQ.
The sudden noise caused Halo to bolt upright. She leapt up from her berth as if by instinct, careful not to disturb her broken arm.
"Agent Fowler?" Bumblebee said from over at the computer, "What's going on?"
Running to where he was, Halo turned to the screen, "Where's the fire?"
"Wha-?" Fowler paused for a second before looking back to Bumblebee "Who's this and where's Prime?"
Bumblebee shrugged, "This is Halo Jyn - she's new here. And Optimus went to go retrieve another Iacon relic."
Fowler paused for a second, trying to understand what the yellow 'bot had just said, "Look. Let him know that-" He began talking slower, "I've juuuust recieved aaacess to saaatellite imaaagery, which I believe piiinpoints the ceeentre opeeerations of MECH."
"We can understand you when you talk normally, dude," Halo told him.
"For the love of-!" The agent sighed as the kids walked along the platform to the monitor, "Get me someone I know who speaks something other than 'Bleep'!"
Beginning to find the guy annoying, Halo opened her mouth, about to tell him a few 'bleeps' that he'd understand. She didn't though as she felt Bumblebee place a servo on her shoulder and subtly shake his head.
Raf raised his hand in the air, "Uh, I can help."
"WHAT?!" Everyone flinched as they heard Ratchet's voice emerge drowsily from the med-bay, "Do I hear a fuzor in need of voicebox repair?"
"What's a 'fuzor'?" Fowler demanded.
Ratchet sat up on the medical berth, "I am able! Just ask Bantor - he was all mandril before I...put a tiger in his tank."
No one really knew what to say in response to that. Bumblebee finally spoke up, turning to Raf.
"Please, Raf. Ask Fowler to send the cooradinates," He begged.
"Bumblebee...you heard what Optimus said about leaving the base," Raf reminded him worriedly.
"This will be the one chance I'll have to get my T-cog back and make a real contribution to the team again."
Halo sighed, "Look, I'll go with him if it'll make you feel better."
"Really?" Jack asked, "Don't you have a broken arm?"
The gold femme placed her non-broken hand on her hip in defence, "That and a ship full of home-made grenades with pretty significant detonation ranges."
The boy was a little concerned, "Uh-"
"Shush!" Miko interrupted, grinning excitedly, "She's gonna blow stuff up!"
Jack just gave up after that, "Um, sure. Send the coordinates, Agent Fowler. We'll...make sure Optimus gets them."
The government agent was a little suspiscious at first, but figured the kids could be trusted. Boy, was he wrong.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"I don't get it," Breakdown stated, pausing from breaking away the icy stone from the latest relic discovery, "All this chipping away with my hammer...just to bring Megatron another hammer?"
Knock Out rolled his optics as he stood nearby, "Yes, but your hammer doesn't have mystic properties that could vanquish the Autobots at the snap of your fingers."
The bigger mech sighed and continued to smash away at the slowly-crumbling rock.
Little did either of them take notice of the three Autobots to the side, who knew fully well the powers that the 'hammer' held. And they were determined to retrieve it - if not for the war's sake then for at least the scout's.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
The familiar bright emerald of the ground bridge portal materialised in the middle of a dark forest. Bumblebee leapt out first, battle stance at the ready.
Case of explosives in hand, Halo Jyn emerged from the bridge alongside him. She wasn't like Wheeljack when it came to urges to (Miko's words) 'blow stuff up', but she was no stranger to a good ol' payback mission.
Bee glanced through the trees at the base, his optics narrowing, "There. But too many guards with those electric guns."
"Okay," She turned to him, "Here's the plan: I'm gonna go scout ahead. In about five minutes, you'll see a signal. That's your cue to go."
Without waiting for a reply, the femme picked up the case and was about to move when he stopped her.
"Halo, these guys are dangerous," He said, dead-serious, "They'll break us down for spare parts if either of us get caught
Halo Jyn smirked, "I didn't plan on getting caught."
"I'm serious. You have no idea what they're capable of."
"And they don't know what I'm capable of. You think this is my first stealth mission?" She pulled away from him and started off out of the forest, "Just sit tight and wait for the signal."
"Wait, what's the signal?" Bee asked her.
A plotting grin formed on her face, "I'm gonna give you a chance to guess that for yourself, Bee."
He was about to protest but she was running down towards the far side of the military base faster than he could say 'The Fallen'. So instead he did the only thing he could think to do; lie in wait for the yet-to-be-revealed signal.
Halo had almost reached the other side of the MECH base. Her golden and silver frame darted gracefully through the various warehouses as she tried to avoid any humans who were lurking around on patrol.
Unfortunately for them, the femme was just as quick as she was when her arm wasn't broken.
It was kind of annoying to her that Bumblebee didn't think she could do this mission. After all, she'd been fighting this war since she was a kid. In comparison to that, what harm could a few self-overrating humans do?
As she moved, she subtly deployed the grenades, spread out across the base and set to go off as soon as she pressed the detonator. Finally, she reached the edge of the base, taking cover behind a non-rigged-to-explode building.
She waited in anticipation, grinning the same cute-yet-strange grin she had when she was ready to do something crazy.
"This is gonna be fun," She mused to herself, her thumb pressing down on the detonator.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Silas proudly gazed up at the fake Cybertronian that stood towering above his team. After all this hard work, sacrifice and strife, he would finally have the power over Titans and hold an advantage of a impending war.
Alongside him (about ten times his height) Starscream too looked to the makeshift Transformer.
He grinned deceptively, "We are mere moments from experiencing the miracle of transformation!"
As usual, his celebration was premature. A booming sound echoed from outside, followed by the building simultaneously rumbling. As the wave passed and the ground was stable again, the MECH leader turned to the lead engineer on the platform next to him.
"What was that?" He demanded.
The engineer pointed to the CCTV screen, where the aftermath could be seen, "A grenade-" He paused as another explosion echoed from outside, then correcting himself, "Or grenades. Setting off at the Western and Southern borders."
"Then dispatch the troops to deal with it," He ordered, "No doubt Autobot or Government are responsible, and we can't afford either to find our project."
At his command, half the group of soldiers ran out of the bunker to take care of whatever was attacking, guns in hand. Silas, Starscream and the remaining soldiers proceeded to attempt to activate the robot.
But a second smashing echoed, this time from the metal barricade. The soldiers immediately prepared themselves as the sound came again, this time created a deep dent in the large door. At the final punch, the metal door crashed to the ground.
The dust settled as quickly as it had risen, revealing the trademark black and yellow of the Autobot scout. His normally calm blue optics were now narrowed determinedly. He glanced at the soldiers, then at Starscream before his optics finally rested on the makeshift Cybertronian.
"That's what they need my T-cog for," Bee realised.
"No T-cog!" Starscream suddenly shouted, aiming his missile-launching arm at him and smirking, "He's unarmed."
Bumblebee leapt out of the way just as the missile hit the wall he'd been standing in front of. He swung the factory melting-basin forward like a wrecking ball, managing to knock the former Decepticon SIC off balance and smash him against the wall.
Realising that Starscream wasn't going to win this fight, the human soldiers began rapidly firing at the scout, with little effect. The bullets merely bounced off of the Autobot's metal armour.
The yellow mech still shielded his optics from the fire, "C'mon, Halo. Where are you?"
He didn't want to have to hurt humans in general, but on this rare occasion (with them being evil and all) it seemed unavoidable.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
The gold and silver Autobot ducked behind yet another building at hearing the clustered stomping of the MECH soldiers, getting closer towards her.
"I think it went this way!" One of them shouted, pointing to the direction opposite to where she was hiding.
It? She thought in annoyance, What do they think we are? Mindless drones?
As they began walking away, one of them paused, taking a call from someone. The others turned back, looking to him as he talked to the person on the other side.
"Hang on...Ok, sir...Yes sir...Report back to you." He ended the call and addressed the others, "This one's apparently got some kinda 'special metal properties'. Silas said it's a capture mission not a kill."
"Another guinea pig for their experiments?" A second one asked.
Halo tensed at hearing the word 'experiment'. She'd had her share of science when she was imprisoned with the Decepticons. But humans this ruthless? There was no telling what they'd do to try and unravel Cybertronian biology and technology...
The first nodded, "Yeah. He ordered stiletto-bot to destroy the other intruder."
By 'other intruder', the Wrecker guessed that they meant Bumblebee. And she knew for a fact that she'd never be able to forgive herself if something bad happened to him when she could stop it...not again.
The soldiers had already left in the other direction to go find the remaining 'intruder', AKA her. Realising she probably had little time before the scout would be scrap metal, Halo darted quickly and silently around the other side of the building, running back the way she'd come.
She knew she couldn't fight as well with as broken arm, but was pretty sure she could kick stiletto-bot's aft, whoever they were. Sprinting around the corner, Halo finally came to a halt outside the building where they'd been keeping Bumblebee's T-cog. Keeping close to the wall as cover, she subtly leaned in closer to hear their conversation.
"Give me back my T-cog, Starscream," Bumblebee demanded.
Starscream? Halo had heard that name many times before. But what was a Decepticon second-in-command doing working with humans?
The 'Con laughed mockingly, "Or you'll what? Shoot? So sad, to be deprived of achieving the sensation of speed. How utterly pathetic to be a failure as an Autobot."
The Wrecker swiftly reached for her golden staff, transforming it into a blaster rifle. In a single motion, Halo revealed herself from behind the wall, aiming the pistol directly at the grey Seeker.
"He's not the one who failed," She snarled at the 'Con, "Drop the T-cog or drop altogether."
Starscream blinked at in surprise, "Seriously? Another one?"
Noticing the Seeker was distracted, Bumblebee sprinted forward and went for him. Starscream yelped as the mech tackled him to the ground, causing him to throw the T-cog in the air.
"NOW, Halo!" Bee shouted to her.
The femme dropped her pistol, lunging forward and leaping towards the cog to catch it. Time seemed to slow as a whole. She reached out with her free arm just as Starscream managed to wrestle Bee off of him. He aimed his blaster in a matter of milliseconds. Two shots fired.
One shot hit the bio-mechanism just as Halo reached it. The other shot (whether intended to or not) hit Halo, right in the abdomen.
The force of the blast sent the young 'bot flying backwards, crashing agains the floor as she scraped to a stop. The T-cog stopped alongside her.
"Halo!" Bumblebee yelled, then glaring at Starscream, "You-!"
The Decepticon laughed in amusement, "Time to jet!" He grinned, transforming out of spite mid-air, "Because I can!"
Immediately, the Seeker launched himself out of the newly-created exit in the wall. Not even caring about his T-cog, Bumblebee ran over to Halo, who lay clutching onto her wounded stomach in agony. He knelt down next to her, optics widening at seeing the normally-tough 'bot in such pain.
"Halo?" He gently helped her to sit upright, "A-Are you okay?"
She groaned, struggling to regain her balance, "Bee...I'm fine." She paused as a she realised, "Wh-What about your T-cog?"
The yellow mech glanced over to the now smouldering biomechanism. At sensing his doorwings lower, Halo recieved her answer. She inwardly cursed and shakily stood up, Bumblebee following in suite. He slowly walked over to the T-cog. Carefully, he reached down and picked it up in both servos.
"Well," A sigh finally escaped him as he examined the damage, "Looks like I won't be transforming or going on missions anytime soon."
"Bumblebee...I'm so sorry," Halo began, trying to think of something to say that would ease his sadness, "I should've gotten to it in time."
He shook his helm, "Don't blame yourself, Halo. This was my fault."
She would've argued, but the familiar whirling sound of the portal came from outside. Bumblebee began moving towards it, optics gazing sadly at the nearly-totaled T-cog. Sighing in regret, Halo followed her teammate outside.
As predicted, Optimus, Arcee and Bulkhead were there. The Autobot leader appeared ready to scold both of them at first. However, his expression softened as he saw what the scout was carrying.
He activated his comlink, "Ratchet, send a Ground Bridge." He looked down at the broken bio-mech, "And prepare for surgery."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Halo stood silently, leaning her back against the wall as they all anticipated the end of the procedure. She kept her helm turned from the others; Even though she couldn't see them, sensing their sympathy was no challenge.
"Haley," Bulkhead said softly, from where he stood next to Arcee, "You okay?"
"I'm fine," The young femme responded all too quickly.
This time, the green Wrecker knew better than to pursue the question.
Arcee glanced at her, "Halo, you did the best you could."
"And the 'best I could do' got his T-cog fried," She spoke in a tone that wasn't angry or even slightly irritated; More disappointed in herself if anything.
She didn't save Bumblebee's voicebox, but she'd been trying her best to save his ability to transform. Now, the young Wrecker felt like she couldn't even do that right. After what felt like hours, Ratchet finally emerged from the med-bay, glancing down at the floor in reluctance.
"W-Well?" Halo Jyn stuttered in an almost scared tone, "How is he?"
Ratchet's shoulders fell slightly, "I...did what I could."
Optimus strode over to the medic, placing a comforting servo on his shoulder, "Our scout could not have been in better hands, old friend."
Miko turned to Jack, whispering as quietly as she could, "And we didn't stick with plan A and let Ratchet donate his T-cog, why?"
"Bumblebee wouldn't accept it," Jack answered.
A whir came from the scout as he groggily sat up. Eagerly, the yellow and black mech stood up and began stretching, quickly regaining his child-like energy.
"Did it work, Ratch?" He asked hopefully.
"Please, Bumblebee, recovery takes time," The medic said with every sense of severity in his voice.
The T-cog already looked like it was battle-scarred enough. He didn't want the young Autobot to further the damage that had already been inflicted upon the biomechanism. Nor did he wish to make the mistake of getting the scout's hopes up.
Still, Bumblebee was all too ready to get back to his old, transforming self. He eagerly tried transforming into his alt mode. As Ratchet had warned, he remained in his bipedal mode.
"The damage was...severe," Ratchet told him with regret.
Halo knew what that meant. She'd heard it from the doctors the day she'd been freed from Shockwave. Despite what the Doc-bot said, Bumblebee tried once more to transform, with even more determination. At seeing his attempt was met with the same response, the yellow mech lowered his door wings sadly.
The gold femme lifted her helm slightly at hearing a clicking sound. The team even more so as Bumblebee's frame shifted in a flash, back to his Camaro form. Raf, Jack and Miko all cheered for him while the others looked on with smiles, all too happy for the scout.
A proud, yet surprised, smile also donned the medic's face as he realised the Autobot could transform once again.
"Ratchet, you're AWESOME!" Bumblebee exclaimed, drifting donuts around where he was. He stopped, opening the passenger side door, "Where do you wanna go, Raf?"
His young charge laughed, "Ha, anywhere!" The boy eagerly climbed in and strapped his seatbelt on, "Just...drive!"
The team all watched with grateful expressions as Bumblebee swerved around and sped out of the base entrance. Ratchet chuckled to himself, then calling out for the scout to be careful.
"Whoa, Bee's T-cog looked like it was ready for the scrapyard," Bulkhead stated, still in disbelief.
Arcee nodded, "Hard to believe the Doc repaired it."
Optimus turned to them both, "That is not all Ratchet has repaired today."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
The Wrecker sat peacefully in the empty training room, back against the wall, scanning through an audio-based site that Miko had introduced her to: YouTube Music. She'd been trying to listen to the latest rock music, as the pink-haired girl advised, but just found it so...boring.
Katy Perry, Beyonce, Nicky Minaj; They seemed okay, but not really her style of artists. Finally she stopped when she found a few likeable rock bands.
"The Cab?" Halo said, questioning the name, but playing the recommended song, "Sure."
The femme found herself unconsciously nodding her helm to the song 'Angel With A Shotgun'. So much so that she didn't even notice when another Autobot walked into the room; Her helm was already echoing the song. Feeling a light tap on her shoulder, she immediately leapt from her chair.
"Whoa, Halo, it's me!" Bumblebee put his servos up in defence, just as startled by her reaction.
She exhaled in relief, "Sorry, Bee. I was playing a song and didn't hear you."
He smirked, "So Bulkhead was right? You do like music."
"Maybe," She shrugged, picking up her bow and mounting it onto her back, "So, did you drop Raf home?"
Bee nodded, "Yep. We played a bunch of videogames first, though. Driving videogames."
"Must feel great to have your wheels back."
"Definitely. Speaking of which..." He began in a playful tone, "Now that I can drive again, and you've got your cast off, I think you owe me a race rematch."
Halo Jyn smiled, wanting so much to say yes. But her expression soon faded as she realised that she still hadn't told him about their shared pasts. There was too much guilt in her to not admit what she did. And there was no doubt in her that once he did find out, he wouldn't want anything to do with her.
"I...I can't," She finally stated reluctantly.
He tilted his helm, "Oh...okay. Why not?"
She sighed, "Bee...I have to tell you something. And I know it's going to change the way you see me, but I have to tell you anyway-"
"I know you're Nightbreak," The scout cut her off, greatly to her surprise.
The Wrecker stepped back in shock, "Wait...you do? How?"
He shrugged, "I figured it out earlier. Also, I'm a scout: If I couldn't recognise people, I wouldn't be very good at my job."
"And you...you still want to be friends?" She questioned, "I mean, after what I did...I didn't save your voicebox when I had the chance."
"Halo, it was either save me or save an entire HQ of Autobots, including Optimus," He told her with the sincerest tone in his voice, "And that's all in the past now."
The femme didn't look like she believed him, "You've really forgiven me?"
"There's nothing to forgive. Honestly, when you disappeared after we got out, I'm just glad to know you survived," He reassured her, "Now, do you want to go race?" A mischevious smirk spread across his face, "Or are you too scared of losing?"
Halo allowed for a small smile to tug at the corner of her mouth, "If I'm remembering right, I beat you last time."
"Then I'll beat you this time!" He exclaimed, quickly spinning around, darting out of the door and towards the main room.
"Hey! False start!" She called, laughing and running after the scout at a quicker pace.
Halo Jyn's arrival on Earth had been anything but peaceful. But it was worth it for the friends she'd made and family she'd reconnected with.
Unfortunately...afore-said 'family' expanded further than she thought.
Yaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy!You have no idea how much this chapter has been bugging me. I really hope you guys liked it :-)
Question time:
1) Who do you think Halo's real paren5s and brothers were?
2) Why do you think they left her?
3) What faction do you think they were part of? Autobot, Decepticon, or Neutral?
Thank you for taking the time to read my story! Again, sorry for it taking so long. But, I promised I wasn't going to give up, so I'm keeping it.
Until All Are One,
GreyroseLegacy.