Chapter 4: A Warm Embrace

The four Autobots stared at the empty scraplet trap with fear in their optics. Ratchet activated the frame welder built into his right servo, using the light to inspect the pod. Echo clutched onto Bumblebee as he stood in front of her, his digits coming out to block any potential threats from her. Peeking at the scout's faceplates she could see he was thoroughly terrified. They all were. Scraplets were nothing to be trifled with.

"An empty scraplet trap," Bulkhead said, shivering.

"Most likely ejected into space eons ago," Ratchet added, "Only to end up in the Arctic where the subzero temperatures kept them in stasis."

"Until we brought the thaw," Jack said. Water was everywhere, a small river gushing towards a sewer drain. No one had bothered to check on the pod overnight.

"Now they're ready to eat," Miko supplied, cringing. The statement made the bots quiver, bodies making mechanical sounds as they shaked. "Please stop talking," Echo whimpered with her ears flat. Bumblebee squeezed her hip making the femme blush. She missed the way Bumblebee would comfort and hold her like this.

Normally Bee's cooling fans would have kicked in at being so close to Echo - let alone her pressed up against his back - but right now he was more so worried about protecting the femme. She could tell by the way he gently nudged her further behind him - digits curling around her hourglass waist - that he was not being the shy scout. Right now he was acting like her mate whether he knew it or not.

"How many are there?" Jack inquired.

"Thousands, likely," Ratchet deduced from the size of the trap.

"The base and groundbridge malfunctions are sure signs that their infestation is well underway." Echo winced at the medical officer's statement. She had seen the devastation these vermin cause, and lost quite a few teammates to it as well.

"What do we do?" Bumblebee chirped while looking between Ratchet and Echo. The femme shook her helm, having no clue how to get the groundbridge up and running or how to fend off an entire swarm of scraplets.

The medic vented, his peddes slugging across the floor as he exited the storage facility. "We should try to contact Optimus," came his answer. Bulkhead reluctantly followed the older bot, looking around sheepishly at every dark corner and vent gate along his way. The humans started walking away as well, Raf looking up at his guardian. Bumblebee stepped away from the femme and let her side go. Echo immediately missed the lack of comfort and warmth the mech radiated. She folded her servos over her chassis and glanced at the empty pod anxiously.

Bumblebee looked back over his shoulder at the scared femme, waving his servo as a signal for her to follow him. With a second peek back at the trap Echo hesitantly moved forward, 'Bee allowing her to walk in front of him.

Once they were back in the silo Ratchet opened the communication channel to Optimus's signal. Static fuzzed back and forth as the medic tried to establish a clear connection. "Optimus, do you read me?" he asked repeatedly. His words fell short of a reply.

Echo's face scrunched up into a grimace, her eyes pleading. A surge of worry pulsed through her spark chamber for her father. She remembered what Ratchet had said about exposure to subzero temperatures. The two had already been in the Arctic for far too long, core temperatures likely already reaching the Blue Zone.

"The scraplets have gotten into the communications systems!" Ratchet hollered, punching a computer screen as it began to fizzle and go black. Another dilemma they would have to remedy.

The sergeant's tail flickered anxiously as her fears were growing. As she glanced around amongst the team and the human children she saw the same terror in their expressions. "If we do not eradicate them," Ratchet started again, "They will reduce the entire base to a scrapheap!" Bulkhead grunted and glared at his fellow Autobot. "I say we get out of here and let them keep it!" he bellowed.

"We can't fight them all off," the scout beeped, seemingly agreeing with the Wrecker. He glanced at Echo and witnessed her scowling in thought. His spark chamber ached at her crestfallen grimace and submissive ears.

"Optimus and Arcee?" she mumbled in the medic's direction. Ratchet huffed in revelation and turned to her. "Evacuation is not an option. We need to get the groundbridge up and running, or else they will perish."

Immediately upon hearing Ratchet's grim prediction, Bumblebee strode towards a petrified Echo and wrapped a servo around her shoulders in a comforting manner. All awkwardness between them was forgotten as she melted into his embrace. The female bot allowed him to pull her into his chassis and tuck her helm under his chin. He shushed her with soothing whirs and beeps when he felt her start to shudder.

Echo trembled at the word "perish". Optimus had faced many perils during the Great War but he could not fight off system failure for too long. The femme felt helpless as if there was nothing she could do to save her father. She had just found him again and couldn't bear to lose him a second time.

"They will?" Jack asked. Everyone turned their attention away from Bumblebee and Echo to the oldest child. His eyes were wide in terror. Miko clenched her fists and glanced up at Bulkhead with a disappointed look. "Bulk, you never run from a fight!" she yelled at him.

The Wrecker vented in frustration, "Miko, you haven't seen these things devour a bot. We have!"

Echo and Bumblebee both tensed, remembering the gory scenes of scraplet attacks back on Cybertron. The scout scowled at nothing and released his sergeant somewhat, though she made no move to get away from him. Peering down at her he saw her optics bouncing between people but her frame was still pressed into his own seeking his touch. He obliged her by curling his digits around her waist like he had done in the hangar bay.

Bulkhead continued, "They go for the juicy bits first...circuit by circuit...and they leave nothing behind-and I mean nothing! Not even your optics." He took a step back and stared hauntingly at the damaged groundbridge panels.

"We can help!" Jack declared and looked to his fellow humans for support. Miko was nodding in determination - a fire in her eyes - while Raf put on a brave face. The young boy smiled through his hidden nerves, "Yeah, we're not made of metal! They won't hurt us."

"Typically I find your small, fleshiness to be your least engaging quality," Ratchet pondered seriously. Bumblebee and Echo both rolled their optics in annoyance at the older Autobot's disdain for humanity. "But it could be an advantage under these circumstances," the medic finished.

Jack nodded. "I'll watch your back while you repair the bridge. Miko and Raf can go with the others." Ratchet dipped his helm at this in agreement. Miko smirked, "Time for a bug hunt!"

The femme couldn't help but look up at her scout. He looked so terrified as he held onto her. She had rarely seen him this worried even before a dangerous operation back on Cybertron. The Bumblebee she used to know was stoic and fearless. Mainly, it was the fear of losing her that made him look this way all those years ago.

Echo wondered if he felt that way now: concerned for her well-being. In truth, he was. Though the mech was distressed over his own safety and that of his teammates, his processor was caught up in the thought of protecting her. Of what would happen if she were to perish.

Bumblebee knew he was losing it. He had to be. He's been fighting alongside this team for millennia yet here he was mortified to lose a femme he met weeks ago. A femme that seemed to despise him up until this morning. Ever since her arrival he was unquestionably obsessed.

That day in the forest, where Bumblebee first met Echo, he knew there was something different about her. He couldn't explain it but just knew it. Her initial apathy towards him didn't diminish his immediate attraction towards her or the subsequent crush he developed.

He wasn't a hunted percent certain if she was truly being nice to him now or just putting on a show to appease Optimus. Bumblebee hoped she had just realized her approach came off the wrong way and that Prime had explained that to her. Yet if this was just a facade...

Somehow her faking it seemed worse to the scout. He had to cut off that line of thinking and refocus on the situation at hand. Developing a newfound friendship with Echo could be explored later.

The sound of his charge's voice drew him from his imaginations.

"I'll go with Bumblebee and Echo," Raf said, starting to climb down the ladder next to him. The femme tensed up at the thought of working with Bumblebee, but managed to hide it from him considering he was still embracing her.

Even though the child would be with them it would be the first time in centuries that the two young Autobots would be alone together. So far, Optimus had granted Echo's wish of not being put in a situation where the two were alone, but that time has come to pass.

"Come on," Bumblebee chirped. He finally let go of the femme and followed Raf into the hallways of the base. Echo groaned and rolled her optics, not looking forward to potentially being eaten alive. But she would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't happy about having her mech by her side.

Having him hold her like he just did was infecting her. She wanted more of it - even more than her personal goal to not get too close to the scout. His presence was addicting and far more persuasive than her crumbling resolve.

Echo knew in that moment - as she sprinted to catch up to the scout and mirrored his poorly hidden smile - that she was doomed to fall in love with him again. She couldn't run from this forever and might as well start embracing it.

There was a comfortable silence between the two bots as they tactically searched every room and hallway in their path. Rafael traveled just a few meters ahead of them with a flashlight in hand. Every now and then he would turn to say something to them but only Bumblebee would reply. Echo was too focused using her sensitive hearing to try and pinpoint the hive.

The small pitter patter of scraplets was hard to track down as it sounded like the whole base was crawling with them. Still, the femme guided them with hand signals whenever she picked up something.

She finally broke her silence when they stopped so Rafael could check out a small room only he could go into. "Thank you for pushing me out of the way," she whispered to 'Bee, startling the poor mech. He recovered nicely and nodded his helm in crisp military fashion. "You're welcome, sergeant."

Inwardly venting, Prime's daughter clenched her jaw. "Echo," she corrected him, making him blush, "Just call me Echo." Her gaze met his and there was nothing but sincerity within it. If this wasn't a clear indication that she wasn't pretending to be his friend, Bumblebee couldn't be sure what was.

"Echo." He nodded dumbly before their optics broke the exchange at Rafael's return. The boy seemed blind to the encounter as he casually explained nothing seemed amiss in the storage closet. He gestured for Echo to lead the way as she resumed scanning the compound with her scanners.

The trio turned a corner which led to a dead end. There was a large vent access at the end of the hallway that had been chewed through. "That's...not good," Bee warbled, taking a knee as he assessed their surroundings. Echo dipped her helm in agreeance, optics hyper focused on the vent. There were a lot of sounds coming from it and none of them were good.

"Don't these things ever stop eating?" Raf asked rhetorically and walked towards the hole in the grate. Bumblebee was the first to go after him, Echo watching the scene with a careful eye for any lingering scraplets. Content with her analysis the femme caught up to her mate and accepted how her spark pulsed harder.

The scout knelt down besides Raf, gently nudging away the human. Once his charge was far enough away from the vent he gripped onto the bars and ripped the cover off. Echo - for a moment that she unabashedly replayed in her processor multiple times - marveled at his strength. He was a very fit soldier with a broad chassis and thick servos. He had kept his figure quite well throughout the years….She had to stop her thinking there in case her cooling fans might go off.

Bumblebee aimed his cannons down the tunnel ready to shoot any incoming vermin. Echo followed his lead and fired up her own in case a fight ensued. Several seconds passed with the young bots prepared for war yet nothing occurred in front of them. They were unknowingly looking in the wrong direction.

Echo's ears perked up, feeling the vibrations above them. "Listen," she ordered both of her companions while looking up at the ceiling. Raf and Bee glanced that way trying to hear what she was honed in on. The tapping of tiny metal peddes grew louder and louder. Echo's ears rotated to point at the vent shaft right above her helm. Optics wide and mouth agape, the femme screamed as the vent cover broke open.

Scraplets poured out from the hole and showered the flailing female Autobot. Bumblebee sprinted into action shooting at the tiny bots coming out of the vent before they could land on Echo. The femme fell to the ground, swatting away fiercely as the scraplets began eating away at her armor. She screamed in pain as they crawled under the plates and started chewing on her wires.

Bumblebee rolled her over and tried to smack away the scraplets but this only led to them attacking him instead. He beeped and whirred in agony - finding himself on the ground as well - desperately swinging his servos.

"We need to get out of here!" Echo exclaimed and found the strength to stand up. She continued batting the bots with her digits and tail before turning towards Bumblebee. They reached their servos out towards each other, Echo hoisting up the scout.

"Go!" Raf yelled, starting down the hallway. Bumblebee shoved Echo in his direction and tried to block her body with his own. It was futile seeing as the scraplets could just fly around him and still latch onto her. As the young Autobots sprinted through the base the pests slowly tapered off, not traveling too far from their nest. They had gotten their snack for the time being but now the hive knew there was fresh meat to be had.

Echo stopped at the hallway leading to the barracks, heels screeching against the pavement. She was venting heavily in exertion and fear but was still aware enough to know they couldn't lead the straggler scraplets back to the main area of the silo. If they did, the whole swarm would know exactly where they were and come for them. Ratchet needed as much time as possible to get the groundbridge back up and running.

"What are you doing?" Bumblebee called out, coming to a halt as well. The femme ushered him forwards and glanced over her shoulder to see just a few scraplets racing towards them. "I'll hold them off. Get Raf out of here!" she ordered after shoving him one last time.

Bee shook his helm furiously at her. "No, I'll-"

"'Bee," Echo said his nickname firmly, "You're leaking energon. Go! That's an order!" The scout hesitated for a moment - looking down at himself to see that she was right - before carrying out her command. His yellow servo picked up Raf before he took off in a full sprint. Echo began shooting at the remaining scraplets once she confirmed Bumblebee and the child were safe.

The scout reached the main silo shortly after and set Rafael down. He clutched his chest where a trail of energon was leaking, trying his best not to panic at the injury. Looking over his shoulder he wondered what was taking the femme so long. She better be okay, Bumblebee thought to himself. He nearly started heading back before a green form entered his view.

Bulkhead had arrived with Miko, holding his injured left servo. The Wrecker seemed to have also found the hive on his search. "Ratch, we need the patch kit. We're leaking energon like-whoa!" the green Autobot exclaimed while looking up.

A swarm of scraplets were flying above their helms, swirling around menacingly. They saw the new Autobot victims and hurtled towards them like a tornado landing on the ground. Bulkhead cried out as hundreds of scraplets tried to latch onto him, zipping around his body.

The humans tried their best to fend off the enemy and save their guardians. Jack froze them with a fire extinguisher whilst Miko and Raf swatted them with toolbars and anything they could get their hands on. Despite their efforts it seemed every downed scraplet would produce three more in its place.

Bumblebee fell backwards from the force of the swarm feeling as though he was completely covered in the little devils. He crashed into the ground trying to wipe them off his body and faceplates. "Get the frag off me!" he buzzed. No matter how hard he tried the vermin made their way under his armor plates and chomped his frame.

Being shot during the war countless times and suffering at the hands of the Decepticons for thousands of years couldn't compare to the excruciating pain of being eaten alive. It was a slow death that Bumblebee had only been able to imagine in his darkest nightmares.

The sound of a rifle firing caught the scout's attention. He rolled onto his side and looked back at the hallway entrance. His vision was blurry from the endless system alarms plaguing him but he was able to make out the sergeant. There, Echo knelt down on the ground as she took out what scraplets she could. Her battlemask was unsheathed: a black glass screen that covered her face and displayed targets and information.

Bumblebee wasn't able to look at her for too long before the scraplets started eating away at the sensitive wiring underneath his chest plates. He attempted to pry them out whilst whirring in torment. The sounds of his terrifying beeps reached the femme. Her optics snapped to the scout as her instincts willed her to her mate's side. However, she didn't get too far before being taken down.

Echo gasped in shock as the swarm flew towards her, knocking her over as well. She dropped to the floor and swatted the air helplessly. She screamed and shouted as they too began devouring her chassis. One lucky scraplet managed to squeeze underneath her helmet, biting at the base of her ears. The femme slapped away the creature before it could do more damage.

Their only chance of survival was the efforts of the humans slowly taking out the scraplets. That, and the bugs began to disappear once they were full, likely to come back with a stronger appetite and numbers.

By this point, the black paint on Echo's armor was practically nonexistent. Her smaller frame had been quickly consumed by the scraplets in comparison to the bulky mechs. Though having arrived to the "party" later than everyone else, she looked the worst among them. She curled up in a heap on the floor, groaning in pain as the last of the scraplets were beaten by the humans.

Bumblebee was barely strong enough to crash down next to Bulkhead and Ratchet, his upper half leaning against a wall. His optics dulled as he took in Echo's weakened state wishing he had the strength to comfort her. He couldn't see her face at this angle but the mech could tell she was in excruciating pain by the way she clutched her abdomen.

The femme was only semi-conscious, barely able to hear the conversation between Ratchet and the humans. From what she gathered, they were going to fix the energon fuel line. A leak was likely the cause of the groundbridge malfunctioning. Echo continued to lay still since any movement caused pain to shoot through her systems and warn her of the many repairs she required.

"Echo," she could hear the scout calling out to her. His beeps sounded as if they were off in the distance but they grew louder and louder as she came to.

"Are you okay?"

"Ugh," she managed, "No." The femme growled, mustering all of her strength in order to lift herself up. The bot was only able to prop up her elbows allowing her optics to stare drearily at the concrete below. Bee watched as her tail slid lethargically across the floor.

"We can't bring Optimus and Arcee into this," Bulkhead stated, hearing the scraplets doing their dirty work off in the base somewhere. Unlike before, the hive was now on alert and quickly making their way through the base on a rampage.

Ratchet hummed in agreement, "If they come in, they'll be fresh meat. The scraplets won't have a reason to leave." He stopped to search through his processor. "In order to lure them out of the base, we'll need bait."

"Where are we gonna get that?" the Wrecker asked angrily, "They already helped themselves to everything in here." He gestured to all of their torn up bodies.

Echo hissed and perked her ears, the scraplets coming closer. "We've got...incoming," her voice came out shaky. She felt as though all of her energy was gone. Looking at Bumblebee's collapsed form and fading optics she knew she had to do something and fast.

As the scraplets broke through the vents in the ceiling as a swarm, the sergeant frowned whereas the others shuddered in fear. "Not like this," Bumblebee chirped, tensing as he waited for the end. Echo heard herself growl knowing the scout didn't deserve this. None of her companions did and there was nothing stopping her from making sure her sire came back alive.

"Ratchet, all systems go!" Jack yelled as he, Miko, and Raf ran into the silo.

The medic crawled up to the groundbridge controls. "Groundbridge, online," he muttered, slamming back down face first as he activated the vortex, giving his last bit of vigor to do so. He collapsed back into a puddle of his own energon.

Echo looked to her old mentor, a determined look spreading across the silver plates of her face. "Bait, huh?" she whispered to herself while gazing at the blue and green flashes of the groundbridge. She blinked her optics, eyelash plates pinching together as the bot winced from moving.

"Echo, no!" Bumblebee buzzed frantically when he spotted the femme standing onto her peddes. He knew what she was about to do but was helpless to stop her. To his utter horror, the scraplets began flying towards her eager for a meal.

The female Cybertronian flashed her tail defiantly and grit her denta together. "You want some of this?" she taunted, earning the attention of the entire swarm, "Come and get it!" The bots and humans looked on as Echo began running through the groundbridge with whatever well of energy she had drummed up. Bumblebee tried to rise up and go after her, but Bulkhead pushed him down to avoid being eaten.

The femme glanced behind her and smirked as she saw the swarm following her. Though, the smile faded when she came to the end of the bridge, falling down into the snow below. The Arctic was cold. Her damaged form caused her core temperatures to drop immediately and set off the internal temperature control systems. It effectively caused her to freeze in place at the mercy of the scraplets.

Looking up and through the snow storm, the Autobot spotted her father far off limping towards the vortex. When the mech recognized his sparkling he seemed to move faster, motivated by the sight of her. Echo shook her helm and looked back at the buzzing sound of the scraplets approaching.

"Get down!" she shouted as loud as she could, hoping to warn them in time. Optimus frowned - concern and confusion in his optics. However, he realized what she meant as the scraplet swarm broke through the groundbridge. They passed Echo intent on devouring the untouched Autobots beyond her.

Prime turned away, shielding both himself and Arcee as the bots flew towards them. He braced but only felt them pelting his body. Peeking his optics open he saw them freeze and drop to the ground, just merely crashing into them like snowballs.

Concern for the young femme returning, Optimus stood tall. "Echo?! Are you hurt?!" he called out in Praxian, only able to see her lying down in the snow. She lifted up her helm with a pained half smile on her face. "The base is a mess," she hollered sarcastically.

Optimus vented in relief that she was okay and started limping towards her again with a grunt. Arcee followed behind him slowly as her systems were mere minutes away from shutting down. "What did you do this time, young one?" Prime asked in normal tongue, watching Echo pluck off the deactivated scraplets from her body.

"For once," she chuckled, "It wasn't my fault." She rested in the snow, grateful that the whole situation was now over. All the group had to do was clean up the base and make sure everyone got the repairs they needed.

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Ratchet was too weak to take on the daunting task of healing the team on his own. Thankfully Echo was managing enough to take over. She was the first to get patched up so she could focus on the team with the children's help. The kids monitored vitals and ran systems checks on a schedule while the femme did her best to patch up wiring and meld gashes. It took many hours, consuming the rest of the day.

Optimus, being the biggest bot, was the quickest to recover. Due to it being close to the humans' curfew he offered to take them home. Before departing he ordered his daughter to stop and take a rest for the night. There was no argument on her end as she was nearly falling into a subprocessor nap from all the work.

When Prime was gone with the kids, Echo took a final vital check of all the bots. Of course, she saved the scout for last so she could linger around. "'Bee?" She whispered while kneeling at his side, knowing he wasn't in shutdown mode. His optics met hers as they flickered online. A weak smile spread across his faceplates, and he greeted her with a pained whir.

'Bee scanned her over injuries, wondering why she wasn't getting recharge. He hadn't been totally conscious when she was fixing him up but was sure Echo had been working for hours. Before he could ask her how she was doing - though it would be an obvious answer by the looks of her - she opened her mouth with a reluctant smile.

"Optimus told me what you said to him the other day," Echo said. Her smile faded at that, replaced with guilt. She was deeply ashamed of herself for hurting the scout. Her scout. He deserved far better than what she had given him. Bumblebee gave her no reason to treat him like scrap and she could now see the error of her ways.

She regretted not embracing him in Germany. For not running into his servos and explaining everything. No, she regretted leaving him in the first place after Tyger Pax. She should have stayed. This was her chance to stay.

Bumblebee's faceplates flushed hot, and his frame went stiff. His spark started pulsing impossibly faster anxiously. He was waiting for Echo to say that Prime spilled the truth about the scout's feelings for her. As each millisecond passed the nervous pit in his gears churned harder and harder.

Echo's ears flattened and her brows knit together. "I don't hate you," she whispered with a cracked voice box. Grabbing his servo with both of hers, she declared, "I'm sorry for making you feel that way."

A rush of relief passed through the scout and was quickly replaced with a wave of butterflies or whatever the humans called it. To hear her speak the truth finally put his worries to rest. It was one thing for Optimus to say it but from Echo herself it meant a lot more.

If it weren't for the tubes keeping him refueled and the vital scanners attached to him, Bumblebee would have placed his other servo over hers. He wanted to take this moment of truths to tell her how he felt, emboldened by her vulnerability.

Ratchet stirred on a berth not too far away, grumbling in discomfort. Echo broke her gaze from her mate and stuck it on the medic. She didn't want to deal with the older bot teasing her or the scout for being in such an intimate position. Hesitantly, the femme peered back down at Bumblebee and beamed. "We'll talk later, okay?"

Disappointment hit the mech briefly. He wasn't sure when he would get the courage to tell Echo how he felt again but also didn't want others to pay witness to that. The other day was already embarrassing enough.

'Bee nodded his helm in agreement and squeezed her digits reassuringly. This made her smile widen, exposing her fanged denta in pure joy. Her servos slowly unlocked from him as she slipped away to update Ratchet on everyone's status. All the while, her mate's optics were glued to her as he anticipated the next time they could be alone together.