Combustion

Man – I hate that stuffs up so regularly… No chapter alert was sent out for 12 and no review alerts came through to me either. I was most upset :D I mean it's still not working now as far as I can tell. I saw someone had posted a review just a couple of hours ago and still it didn't come through to me. I guess I'll know if the chapter alert is working once I post this, but it's too late then if it's not :P

Anyway, people wondered how I was going to finish this in 2 chapters… well I may have been stretching it. We'll find out soon enough!

On to chapter 13 - lucky I'm not posting on a Friday… Cos you know, that would totally be evil and bad luck lol :D

Chapter 13

More than ever before, Bumblebee was absolutely certain he could never be a flyer. The sensation of nothing beneath his wheels, the knowledge that should he fall from this height it would destroy even him; it was a loss of control that he definitely didn't like. The fact that his safety and survival rested solely in the hands of a Decepticon didn't help matters either. It had been an unexpected act, returning for them, something he never would have expected from Starscream, risking his own life, slightly, to pick them up and spirit them away. He was still waiting for the other gear to turn and the larger cybertronian to demand something from them as payment, or drop them into the ocean.

But he had been silent, not uttering a word or explanation as he carried B in his car form beneath his large wingspan, their destination appearing to be either Indonesia or Australia. He could find no indication of Megatron's presence anywhere nearby, nothing on scanners or within visual range. It posed a problem for his computations, one which had given him only three options. First, the newly resurrected Decepticon had ditched Starscream and gone off on his own, second, he had ordered their rescue, planning to rendezvous later, or three, that their saviour was acting of his own accord. None of the options made any sense to his processors. Megatron may have been powerful but he was hardly a match for Optimus and all of the Autobots combined, so he was unlikely to abandon Starscream when to the best of his knowledge the flyer was his only remaining ally. He was also not the type of bot who would feel any type of guilt about abandoning his rescuers to their fate if it posed even the slightest risk to himself, so there was no reason to send said only ally back to save them. And finally, Starscream was for the most part a coward, and having just resurrected Megatron, was unlikely to anger him again so quickly. Everything he ever did was an attempt to please or impress the Decepticon leader, whether that was proving his loyalty by informing on possible traitors, or even trying to prove his strength and cunning by overthrowing him himself. Saving the two of them would neither impress nor please Megatron.

So he was stuck with a probability assessment nightmare, with no way to predict the outcome without knowing the motivation behind their rescue in the first place. They were only minutes away from landfall, the power behind the jet propelling them into the high atmosphere, where they flew at speeds not possible in the commercial zones below. Shortly they would begin their drop, plunging back into the thick, warm layer of gasses that cradled life on this small rock, the final descent occurring almost directly over their target, limiting exposure to human detection systems and interference. Most likely they would be dropped off and Starscream gone before the human controllers even picked up the phone to report the sudden appearance and disappearance of a blip on their radars. If he was going to get an answer this was the only chance he'd get.

"Why?" The tight beam transmission was received instantly, as though their transport had been expecting it and ready, the response beamed back just as swiftly.

"He ordered it." His processors recalculated, eliminating the options that didn't include an order from Megatron. It did nothing to alleviate his doubts, only raising more questions rather than answer them

"I convinced him you were more valuable alive than dead. Or in Autobot hands." It sounded like a typically Decepticon motive, something vague and shadowy that whispered of plans and calculations. But it lacked the bite usually accompanying such mysterious pronouncements.

"How are we valuable to Megatron? We're outcasts, fugitives from both my people and Sam's." The reminder of his passenger prompted him to check up on his cabin. His human was still sleeping uneasily on the back seat as he had been since only a few short minutes into their flight. It had been helped a little by the light sedative he'd put into his atmosphere, giving Sam some relief from the pain caused by his wounds.

"You Autobots never look ahead. It is one of your biggest failings." Surprisingly it was said with almost humour rather than an attempt to insult or discredit.

"You may be fugitives now, but eventually you will redeem yourselves and regain your position." There was a jolt as they began dropping from their altitude, a steep glide trajectory that probably would have ripped a less robust vehicle apart.

"You will be welcomed back with open arms as the two who strayed for love, even Optimus will come to forgive your sins, if he hasn't already, and their faith and trust in you will be restored." The Australian continent was large ahead of him now, approaching them at a pace that would have made him nervous had he not the ability to calculate their margin of safety. Still speaking to him over the transmission, Starscream's voice dropped until it was almost a self satisfied smirk.

"Most importantly, will be the knowledge of what I have done for you, the debt you now owe, a concept important to all Autobots. Because at some distant point in the future we will meet again, Bumblebee. It may not happen immediately, but at some time, some critical moment, you will face me, and for just a nanosecond you will remember that I helped you escape and rescue your bond mate." Bumblebee shook as their plummet slowed, a lonely stretch of coastal road stretching ahead of them.

"And in that instant, Autobot, you will hesitate. And I will win." The last was said in a triumphant whisper as he was released by the large jet, his wheels already spinning at a speed roughly the same as their velocity. He hit the road with a squeal, plumes of smoke billowing out from each tyre. He braked as soon as it was safe to do so, watching as their temporary ally became an enemy again and disappeared back up into the sky.

"We'll see Starscream." A hideous screeching laugh was his final response before the communications were firmly cut, and the Decepticon disappeared from sensors, leaving him alone in a foreign land. He was without allies, friends or purpose now except for the care of his bonded, but as he was coming to understand, that was all he actually needed.

He released the tightness of the safety belts as he checked over the slumbering human inside him, the sedative keeping him oblivious to the world even through the jolt of their landing. Sam looked definitely worse for wear, numerous small wounds dotted the front of his chest where he could see, the thin material of his shirt practically gone except for the remains of the collar and a small tattered bib like section that must have been shielded from the missile explosion behind him. His jeans had stood up better, only torn and holed rather than shredded and gone, but they had offered no protection to his back, which was bloody as well as blistered and burnt. The wounds were severe, of that there was little doubt in his processors, but it seemed there was little he could do. From what he'd seen as they came down he was a long way from the nearest medical facility, an hour at least even going well beyond the speed of an earth vehicle.

His databanks rebelled at not being able to do anything to help, so he vented a counteragent to the sedative he'd used, hating to inflict the pain of his wounds on his bonded, but unwilling to risk him slipping into a coma from shock. He also needed him to be awake so they could attempt to do something to stem the wounds and perhaps buy some time.

His scans ran over Sam from head to toe, an in depth analysis that he hadn't done in a long time, ever since he started seeing him as more than just a flesh being but as a partner. His sensors told him the spark energy that had previously infiltrated every cell was gone, the damage it caused already fading as the body fought off the mutations and aberrations that didn't belong. It was a bittersweet victory, the implications of which he couldn't bring himself to think of. He could already feel the difference. Sam had returned to being just a presence within him, a pressure on his seat cushions that could have just as easily been a pile of metal or a rock as a human being. Oh he could tell the difference between the three substances easily enough, but the impact was the same. No thrill of spark energy surged through him, no sense of the spark he had bonded to. Nothing. He still recognised his mate, but it was like looking through a pane of glass, able to recognise and see each other, but never being able to touch or communicate. It was that reason as much as jealousy that would force him to leave Sam and take his own path. It would be torture always seeing but never again having.

"B?" It was a painfully hesitant voice that roused him from his negative calculations, his momentary lapse letting Sam's return to wakefulness slip past his sensors.

"Sam." He'd come to understand that the usual follow on to a greeting was to ask someone how they were feeling, but in this case it seemed pathetically redundant.

"Are we safe? Did it… did it work?" His human's brown eyes stared at the centre console with both pain and hope, as though he knew the answer and both anticipated and dreaded to hear it.

"It did Sam. The energy of the spark is gone; you're no longer dying because of it." He watched as tears began to leak from those same eyes, the sounds of crying filling his interior. He didn't know if it was due to the pain or their separation or maybe both, but the vision wrenched his spark apart.

"God, it's gone B. I can't feel anything anymore." It was then that he realised Sam was running one of his hands back and forth across the leather of the seat, trying to feel anything beyond what should be there, but there was nothing. Bumblebee could feel it, the sensation itself doing nothing for him, but the knowledge that it was his bonded setting his spark to pulsing. There would be no more climactic joining from this point, only the gentle knowledge of them being together.

"I know. But you will live Sam." The phrase didn't comfort his mate as he had thought, instead causing him to cry out and struggle against the belts still tangled round him. Bumblebee hurriedly retracted them, knowing that the struggling was causing Sam pain and potentially making his wounds worse. As proof of that he noticed increased blood flow from the injuries and swiftly tilted the front seats forward and threw open both doors to give Sam as many exit points as possible, his human taking advantage of that and stumbling out onto the ground. Even as he transformed his scanners kept a close eye on what was happening to his bound, until he could crouch next to the boy who was on his hands and knees. There was a slight edge of panic to his synthesiser as he spoke, desperately wanting to touch and sooth away the fear and pain but knowing that touching would only cause more.

"You have to relax Sam. You will injure yourself further." His human moved surprisingly swiftly for someone as damaged as he was, going from bent over, to kneeling and facing him within a second, his fists swinging and banging against his armour with a thud.

"I don't care B. What does it matter?" He could see tears spill down the face he had fallen in love with and bound himself to, then watched as the face twisted with venom.

"What's the point in going on like this?" The words were bitter, almost selfish and there was an unexpected surge of anger in his systems at the hopeless tone his mate had adapted, his urge to comfort him swept aside. His vocaliser was harsh, almost a bark of simulated speech.

"Because you have your entire life before you now Sam. You ask why you should continue living without the effects of the bond when I will live this way for far longer than you. Your suffering may seem like an unbearable length of time but consider how it will be for me. I will live thousands of years longer than you, I have a memory that does not fade with time and the ability to experience those thousands of years in increments of microseconds." He got as close as he dared to those brown eyes, knowing that his human was often overwhelmed by the glow of his optics, his vocaliser toning down to a precisely modulated discordant twist that set human nerves on edge.

"Your pain will be nothing compared to mine Sam, so do not complain to me about the futility of your life." There was a moment of stunned silence between them as they both tried to comprehend that for the first time he had raised his voice in anger. He stepped back to give them both room to think. He took the opportunity to observe their surroundings, a bare and unremarkable stretch of road in a relatively unremarkable section of land. To one side a brief stretch of palm trees filled the few dozen feet before the beach, while to the other open grassy plains stretched, mountains in the distance and outcroppings of trees surrounding them. A dry wind gently caressed all of it, a peaceful setting that only pointed out exactly how remote they were from both human and autobot civilisation.

"I'm sorry B." It was barely a whisper over the breeze and rustling of trees but his audio receptors picked it up regardless.

"It's ok Sam. I understand." His bonded made a gesture indicating that he wanted him to come closer again, so he once more bent down over him and extended his hand so they could touch. The slickness of Sam's blood on his metal fingers was an uncomfortable feeling and he directed his sensors outwards again, running them back and forth over his mate.

He almost missed it at first, the tiny pulse of recognition that resonated with the frequency of his scans. The second time it caught his attention, his sensors zeroing in on that beat that had nothing to do with Sam's heart, causing a pulse that was at once extremely familiar and yet totally alien. He'd felt it before, but it didn't belong where it was.

"Sam. Would you please remove your shirt?" His sensors already told him what he would find, but he refused to believe it until his optics had observed it as well, the vibration that tingled between their hands seeming too much of a gift to be accepted without proof. It ceased as their hands separated, his mate pulling the tattered remnants of the garment over his head, the pain obvious as his face twisted and more tears slid from his eyes. He obviously sensed the urgency in his tone however, as he complied without question.

The ruined garment was slowly pulled upwards and away, revealing his stomach and chest, relatively unscarred compared to his back, with only a few puncture wounds as evidence of the battle they had been through. Even in that state it stirred the surging of desire he always felt around Sam, tempered now by both fear at his injuries and hope at what would be revealed. Most of the damage was an angry red, inflamed and weeping or beginning to scab over, but a small wound, barely larger than the tip of a screwdriver, was different. It had pierced his throat, above the sternal notch, entering just at enough of an angle to avoid the major arteries as well as the oesophagus and windpipe. Compared to his other injuries it seemed like a lucky, though hardly significant wound, but around it dark veins had spread. Like spider webs they radiated out from the point of entry, covering only a few inches across his chest and around the base of his throat. Buried inside the wound lay the projectile that had caused it, smaller than a pea, but emitting a faint light that his optics could detect through the thin layers of skin.

It resonated with his presence and the sweeping of his scans until even Sam noticed that something was going on, his soft hand returning to grasp one of B's metal fingers. The first jolt crossed the distance between their clasped digits like a sudden stab with a small pin, the second lasting longer and then longer again. Light seemed to glow where flesh met alloy, those delicate ribbons of power that had marked their first joining spiralling out and upwards, curling around his bonded's arm like streamers, gently tangling about him as though blown by some hidden breeze.

His eyes were slightly panicked as they met his blue optics, asking for answers he didn't have, but when the light connected with the dark veins in his human's neck there was a flash that seemed to encase him like a shield, and whited out every scanner at his disposal, rendering them useless, his only connection through his fingers where Sam clutched at him. With instantaneous and overwhelming force the bond slammed back between them, the connection almost dangerously strong. For a brief instant he could almost feel everything that occurred within the human body before him, could feel the cells multiplying and dividing, could feel each breath in and out, each heartbeat as though they were his own.

It lasted a total of only 1.6 seconds, a period of nothing to a human, an eternity of remembered bliss to him, and then it faded, disappearing as swiftly as it arrived. Where their hands still touched though the bond was once more alive and strong, the connection prompting feelings of joy and ecstasy that he'd thought would be forever lost to him.

His focus adjusted with seemingly agonising slowness, filtering and balancing to compensate for the sudden flash, before finally returning to operation and taking in his mate before him. His processors stopped, everything ceasing to function as his sight and scans were met by perfect unbroken flesh, no trace of the former wounds or trauma evident except for the lace like formation at the base of that beautiful neck. His head reared back with a click and whir of gears that seemed abrupt and sudden to suit the depth of his surprise, watching as the eyes staring at him faded from bright blue to their usual brown and he released his human's hand. He made no effort to hide his wonder and astonishment as his vocaliser desperately tried to put in to words everything he was feeling, finally only able to mutter a brief phrase before it seemed to short out on him with shock.

"By Primus. The Allspark…"

Fin