Late update, sorry, long chappy yay, moving sucks, enjoy!
"Get up," a harsh voice said behind Orion.
Orion slowly got up to his feet. He could still feel the heat of the gun pointed at the back of his helm. He turned to face to mech.
"Stay where you are, Autobot." the black and white mech ordered. Orion seemed as if he was about to comply, but seemed to think against it. He turned around anyways, not a hint to fear was in his optics. He then said the most confusing thing the two Decepticons had ever heard an Autobot say.
"What are you doing?" Orion said in calm, almost bored tone.
The black and white Decepticon blinked in surprise. In his confusion, Orion grabbed the arm connected to the gun. Before the Decepticon can react, he cried out as his arm is twisted back painfully so that the cannon barrel was inches from his face. "Who made you leader?" the mech hissed as Orion held him in a choke hold, his finger on the trigger.
"Do you believe you can do a better job?" Orion asked calmly, gazing at him with cold emotionless optics.
"What are you doing, kid?" Ironhide asked, who was pointing his guns at the other golden Decepticon who was currently on the ground. He appeared to be much younger than the other Decepticon. (a young teenager in human standards) Orion gazed at the weapon specialist with cold optics that read 'I know exactly what I'm doing.'
"You two Decepticons are trapped here with us and are clearly out numbered, do you really wish to fight?"
"As a matter of fact…" the black and white cons said moments before breaking free from Orion's grasp. He punched Orion in the face, who staggered back but seemed unfazed by the attack.
"We don't need to fight, Barricade." Orion said calmly as he easily blocked a shot from the Decepticon's gun.
"Don't tell me what to do Autobot scum!" Barricade said moments before raising his gun to shoot at Orion again.
Orion glanced at the civilians behind him. They were trapped in the cross fire. As Barricade began to pull the trigger, with lightening speed, Orion was suddenly in front of the Decepticon cop, surprising everyone(even the Decepticons) with his speed. Then just as Barricade pulled the trigger, Orion ripped the gun off his arm and kicked it to the darker side of the tunnel. Before Barricade could even cry out, Orion kicked him in the chest and caused him to stagger back. Once he regained his balance, he was starring into the barrel of a large cannon.(A/N: and this all happened in under 5 seconds 8D)
"Bad move, punk." Ironhide said as he pointed one of his guns at Barricade.
Having taken his optics off of the other Decepticon and regardless of having a gun pointed at his face, the golden Decepticon suddenly jumped and kicked Ironhide's legs out from under him, causing him to fall.
But before the Decepticon could go any further, he was stopped dead in his tracks when a dagger flew past his helm, embedding itself on the side of the train behind him, nearly scratching his golden paintjob.
"HEY! WATCH THE PAINT!" the Decepticon yelled, obviously more annoyed at nearly having his paint scratched then having lost an optic.(A/N: Le gasp! It couldn't be! *evil laugh*)
Orion stood a few feet away, daggers in hand. He ignored the Decepticon's comment and stared blankly at the two Decepticons and Ironhide.
"What are you doing?" Orion asked, sounding clearly annoyed. It seemed as if he were not only talking to the Decepticons, but to Ironhide as well. "Fighting. What does it look like we're doing?" Barricade asked, clearly annoyed.
"Well," Orion began, "I see three full grown mechs fighting like sparklings."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Ironhide asked, clearly annoyed at being called a sparkling(and by someone younger than him).
"Considering it would be completely pointless to kill the Decepticons when they are clearly outnumbered and trapped here with us. Along with the fact that so many have already died, it would be a complete waste of time and energon if we fight one another."
Everyone blinked, confused by his logic.
Orion won the argument. No one was really sure how, but he did. Though most of the civilians weren't too happy about two Decepticons being trapped with them. Orion had taken care of their weapons and Ironhide agreed to keep an optic on the two. Orion sighed, When will this day end? he wondered as he stood in front of the darker part of the tunnel.
"Where are you going?" Bumblebee asked as Orion began to head into the darkness. Orion looked down at the yellow mech who stared up at him with curious baby blue optics.
"I'm gonna try to find us a way out." Orion explained as he gazed down at him with soft optics.
"Can I come?" Bumblebee asked innocently. Orion shook his head.
"No, I need you to stay here and keep an optic on Ratchet for me. Alright?" Orion said calmly. Bumblebee pouted. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon. Promise." Orion said, kneeling down to the yellow youngling.
"Okay…" Bumblebee said. Orion petted his helm before the yellow mech began to make his way over to the paralyzed medic.
Orion's lip twitched as he watched Bumblebee start a conversation with the medic. He soon got to his feet and began to walk to the darker part of the tunnel. Before he did he stopped next to Ironhide, who was leaning against a train cart with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Keep an optic on those two." Orion said to the weapon specialist, referring to the two Decepticons seated beside one of the train carts.
"Will do. Now find us a way out of here, kid." said Ironhide. Orion nodded before disappearing into the darker part of the tunnel.
After he walked a few feet in total darkness, Orion turned on his head lights. The two beams of light penetrated the darkness before him as he continued to walk. He pointed the beams of light at the floor to avoid tripping over fallen rocks. As Orion walked along the tracks, his optics darkened as he came across several bodies of fallen Autobots and Decepticons. Most of which had likely perished before the cave in.
They didn't need to die… Orion thought as he gazed down at the gray bodies.
This is war, Ironhide would have likely told him had he heard him say it out loud. In war, bots die. In life, everyone has to die eventually. Whether they want to or not.
Orion clenched his fists. It was true. Everyone does die eventually. Sometimes he just wondered why some died the way they did.
Orion closed his optics and let out a shaky breath before he muttered a silent prayer for the fallen warriors to pass safely into the Well of Allsparks.
Moments later Orion came to a large pile of rocks. He pointed his lights up at the tunnel ahead of him, but that's were it ended. Orion's spark sank for what seemed like the third time that day. The tunnel had caved in on both sides. It was hard to tell how far in Ratchet had taken them into the tunnel. But it was clear that they were going to be trapped a while. Before Orion could ponder on it any longer, an excruciating pain like no other shot through the young soldier, causing him to collapse on his hands and knees. Strangled muted cries escaped Orion's voice capacitor as he doubled over in pain.
He clenched his arms tightly over his mid section. Moments later the pain slowly began to subside, leaving Orion panting for breath.
What the… Orion thought as he slowly removed his arms from around his midsection. He brought the light up to it and could that the metal over the left side of his stomach hung loosely.
Orion winced as he carefully removed the damaged plates out of view. His optics widened at the large dent that covered most of the left side of his midsection. Orion was no medic, he knew that, but he was positive that what he was seeing wasn't normal.
The metal dominated by the dent appeared to be darker then the surrounding metal. Parts of it appeared mangled, most likely he had fallen onto a blunt object when the train crashed.
Orion winced and gasped slightly as a sharp pain, not like the excruciating pain he had felt before, emanated from the dent. He carefully put the loose armor back into place and carefully tightened it. The wound wasn't bleeding, but it still left Orion uneasy. He wasn't sure if it was life threatening or not or whether Ratchet had the tools to heal him.
Ratchet, he had watched over Orion the first time they met. And now he needed him more than ever. He couldn't let a wound stop him from caring for the others. He gritted his dentals as more pain shot through the wound. A moan escaped his voice capacitor.
"Orion?" a small voice behind him said, nearly causing him to jump out of his armor. Orion spun around and relaxed when his optics met a familiar pair of baby blue optics.
It's just, Bee… Orion thought, relaxing slighting as he let out a mental sigh. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay with Ratchet…" Orion said, trying to sound annoyed.
"He fell asleep." Bumblebee said as he came up to him. "You okay?" Bumblebee asked, his optics filled with concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Orion said before realizing he was still on the ground. "C'mon, let's get back to the others."
As they walked back, it suddenly occurred to Orion that Bumblebee had to have gone through the bodies of the deceased. He took Bumblebee's hand and immediately shut off the lights before they came upon the deceased. Bumblebee didn't object but he could see his optics staring up at him in confusion. It amazed Orion that Bumblebee had managed to find him in the total darkness.
"Why did you follow me?" Orion asked, trying to sound neutral.
"Ratchet fell asleep." Bumblebee repeated.
"Then why didn't you go to Arcee and Sadie?" Orion asked curiously as he stepped over unseen bodies.
"Arcee was busy helping bots, Sadie and Tailgate were recharging." Bumblebee said as he kept his optics focused on the ground.
"Just don't go running off again. Ratchet will probably wondering where you went when he wakes up." Orion said as he gazed at the darkness ahead of him.
"Okay."
Moments later Orion and Bumblebee stepped into the dim section of the tunnel the others were in. Ironhide looked up at the sound of their footsteps echoing behind him.
"Hey, kid!" he said, walking over to them, "Did you find us a way out?"
Orion shook his head solemnly. "The other side's caved-in as well." Orion said.
"Scrap," Ironhide cursed before Orion shot him a glare that read 'Not in front of the youngling'
"How much energon do we have?" Orion asked, knowing that there were several civilians running low on energon. "Enough for at least three days." answered Ironhide. Orion nodded before turning to the civilians in the tunnel.
"I need everyone's attention." Orion said calmly, every optic turned to him.
"I checked out the other side of the tunnel. It's caved in on both sides and our comm links aren't working down here, so we'll be stuck here a while. We have enough energon to last us a few days."
"A few days? Does anyone even know we're trapped in here?" asked a red and white femme, Override.
"Yeah, what if they think we died in the cave-in?" asked Tailgate.
"We had a rendezvous time and the train has a locater beacon. The bots we were suppose to meet will know something went wrong. There are also several teams of Autobots stationed on the other side of the tunnel. They will all know that something went wrong and send a search party. Help will come." Orion said calmly.
Orion watched the civilians slowly go back to whatever they were doing before shifting his gaze to the green and white medic leaning against a train cart.
"C'mon," he said gently to Bumblebee before the two of them walked over to the paralyzed medic.
"I close my optics for five cycles and he disappears." Ratchet said in an annoyed tone as he shook his head. Bumblebee's antennas drooped down in embarrassment.
"I got bored." Bumblebee said before a loud crash behind them caused him to jump.
"They're stealing the energon!" one of the civilians yelled as Barricade ran past them carrying the container holding the energon cubes.
A black blur ran past Ratchet, Bumblebee, and Orion and tackled Barricade to the ground which caused him to loose his grip on the bag containing the energon cubes. As the golden Decepticon tried to get away, Orion suddenly appeared in front of him and kicked his legs out from under him, clearly not impressed with what they had just attempted to do.
"Where would you go!" Ironhide yelled as he planted a foot on Barricade's chest.
"On top of that you broke one of the energon cubes." Override said, who was kneeling down beside the scattered energon cubes. One of them were broken and empty, the glowing purple liquid spilled on the ground.
"We are all gonna die anyways. This is war. Survival of the fittest." growled Barricade. At this Ironhide growled before picking up the black and white cop and threw him into the younger golden Decepticon.
Angry shouts and cries came from the adult civilians. Orion could only hear half of what they were saying considering they were all speaking at once. He could hear things such as "They killed us all!" and "They can't get away with this!"
"Relax!" Orion said firmly but calmly, attracting everyone's attention. "It was my cube of energon. I won't have any more energon the rest of the time we're here." Orion said calmly.
"Orion," Arcee said firmly as she crossed her arms over chest.
"It's alright, Arcee." said Orion before a light touch caused him to look down.
"You can have some of my cube, Orion." Bumblebee said, looking up at him with big optics.
"No," Orion said, shaking his head slowly, "You need it more than I do."
"Then I suppose we'll split some of ours." said Ratchet. Orion nodded in thanks because he knew the medic would not take no for an answer. "What about these two punks?" Ironhide said, pointing both his guns at them. "What do you want to do with 'em, kid?"
"I'd feel a lot safer if you just put 'em offline." said Override. There were several agreements from the other adults, but Orion cut them off. "No, I will handle these two." Orion said calmly.
"Kid, Barricade pointed a gun at you and they tried to steal our only energon. I think that's reason enough." Ironhide said as he charged his cannons. But Orion stood in between him and the two Decepticons, surprising everyone including said Decepticons.
"Then we'll handle this a different way." Orion said firmly, his pale royal blue optics revealing no emotion, "They are in as dire situation as we are. I don't see how killing them will solve anything. If we want to survive we need to put aside our differences and work together." Orion said calmly. "No offense, but I think it would be a lot safer for the younglings and everyone else if you just kill them." said Override.
"Don't kill him!" a red mech, who had been unconscious since Orion had carried him out of the train, cried out as he ran in front of the golden Decepticon. He appeared to be the same age as the golden Decepticon, but appeared a bit younger. "My brother may a cruel idiot but he's not completely heartless!" the red mech argued.
Everyone looked at him surprised, as if to say 'Your brother is a Decepticon?'
"Nah I'm as cruel and heartless as a con could get, Sides." the golden Decepticon said, speaking for the first time. "That's not true!" he yelled as he turned to face the golden Decepticon, "If you were really that cruel you would have killed me ages ago, Sunny!" Sideswipe argued, ignoring the snickers coming from a few of the civilians(and Ironhide).
"MY NAME'S NOT SUNNY! SUNSTREAKER IS THAT SO DIFFICULT TO REMMEBER?" the golden Decepticon growl, his crimson optics flaring. Barricade looked at Sunstreaker, having hear him say that plenty of times back in Kaon, this was nothing new.
"Just kill them already!" someone said.
"You can't kill Sunstreaker! He's my twin so if you kill him you kill me!" Sideswipe said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Can't argue with that." Orion stated calmly, looking at Ironhide with emotionless optics.
"What about the other con? No one's related to him." someone said.
"ENOUGH!" Orion nearly yelled, his optics flared with rage, "There will be no more fighting! They are both out numbered. Are we really going to murder them in cold blood?" Orion yelled, much louder than intended. Everyone stared at him with both shocked and surprised expressions as the room suddenly became dead silent(no pun intended).
"We will handle these two and there will be no more pointless death." Orion said, a cold edge was clear in his voice as it appeared as if he were struggling to contain his anger. At what? Only Ratchet and Ironhide knew.
"Come with me." Orion said as he walked past the two Decepticons.
"What?" Sunstreaker asked.
"Come. With. Me." Orion said slowly that even a demented three faced Decepticon could understand.
"I don't take orders from y-"
"NOW!" Orion said, silencing the entire tunnel. You didn't need to know Orion to know when not to mess with him.
The two Decepticons reluctantly got up and followed Orion. Ironhide stood behind them, weapons raised in case either of them tried to escape. Orion took them to one of the still intact train carts. It was slightly further away from the civilians, but still close enough to keep an optic on them.
"Get in." Orion said as he stood next to the door. Before either of them could protest, Orion added a firm, "Now."
Both Barricade and Sunstreaker climbed into the train, Orion followed. Suddenly Orion slapped a pair of stasis cuffs on Barricade. Before Sunstreaker could react, Orion did the same to him. Moments later both Decepticons were laying on the ground, immobilized and glaring up at Orion. He turned and walked towards the door of the train.
"If you behave, I won't turn you in. Got it?" Orion didn't wait for their response and jumped out of the train. He walked past Ironhide without a word and walked back to the others.
Later…
Orion sighed as he sat down in one of the open doors of a train cart. It had been a long day. And the day wasn't even over yet.
"Hey you alright, kid?" Ironhide asked as he walked up to him.
"Why wouldn't I be?" asked Orion, he had long cooled off from his outburst earlier.
"Well, you almost lost your cool earlier with the Cons. And I'm pretty sure you scared the scrap out of those two." Ironhide said, smirking slightly. "I'm pretty sure I scared the scrap out of everyone." Orion said, trying to sound casual.
"You…wanna talk about it?" (OMG CALL THE PRESSES!) Ironhide asked, knowing full well what Orion was thinking about. "Y'know…about what happened to he-"
"There's nothing to talk about." Orion said calmly, cutting him off as he kept his gaze locked on the ground.
"Well…if you ever wanna talk… Ratchet and I are here." said Ironhide.
Orion nodded and closed his optics as he listened to the sound of the weapon specialist's retreating footsteps. Once he was sure he was gone, he placed his palms over his optics and rested his elbows on his knees.
He could hear the screams of the other neutrals running through the streets. As well explosions all around him, threatening to thrown him on he ground. No. He had to keep running. He had to get to her. The streets were too crowded to transform. He had to keep running. He cried out and nearly collapsed to the ground as more pain shot through his spark. He could hear her calling out to him through their bond, begging for him to help her. "I'M COMING!" he yelled both verbally and through their bond as he quickly regained his balance. More pain shot through him, this time in his leg. He cried out as he collapsed to the ground on his hands and knees. He had to keep going, he had to get to her. He had to. He quickly got up and ran the whole way back, limping slightly as he did so. He ran through the broken down door and his optics met a horrifying sight that will stay with him for the rest of his life.
Orion jumped slightly as a light touch brought him out of his thoughts. He looked up and his optics met a pair of baby blue optics. "Hey there, Bumblebee." Orion said, pushing his thoughts aside.
"You okay Op?" Bumblebee asked curiously.
"Op?" Orion asked, cocking his head in confusion.
"Short for Orion Pax. Op." explained Bumblebee. "You don't look like an Orion though."
"Then what do I look like?" Orion asked, slight amused.
"You look more like an Optimus." Bumblebee said innocently. "Optimus?" Ironhide said as he walked up to them. (apparently Orion's been sitting there for a few minutes) "I like it. Has a nice ring to it." Ironhide said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I agree," Ratchet said, who was sitting a few feet away against a train cart, still in earshot. "Very heroic."
"Hey, don't I get a say in this? I like my name, thank you very much." Orion said, crossing his arms over his chest. At this the two pieces of metal on Bumblebee's helm flattened against his helm.
"But," Orion said, placing a hand on Bumblebee's shoulder, "You can call me that if you want, Bee."
"Really? Awesome! But I think I'll just call you Orion." Bumblebee said, causing both Ratchet and Ironhide to laugh. Orion's lip twitched.
This youngling just knew how to raise someone's spirits.
Later that night, Ironhide and Orion had agreed to take shifts to watch over the civilians as well as keep an optic on the Decepticons. Orion had agreed to take the first shift and was now walking around the tunnel. Most of the civilians only had minor injuries. The two who's injuries worried Orion most was Ratchet and Tailgate. Tailgate's wound had begun to bleed again earlier, but Orion had been able to patch it up. Ratchet was still paralyzed. He wondered if it would become permanent if it was left untreated for too long. Orion pushed the thought aside as he looked behind him to see Bumblebee following him.
"You need to recharge, Bumblebee." Orion said calmly when he caught the yellow mech rubbing his optics tiredly.
"Not tired." Bumblebee lied.
Orion sighed softly as he continued to walk around the tunnel, checking on each civilian as he did so. He knew why Bumblebee was following with him. He didn't want to be alone. And for some reason, he was the only one he trusted. At some point Orion turned around to see Bumblebee walking with his optics shut.
"C'mere you." Orion said quietly as he scooped up Bumblebee in his arms and continued to carry him around for the rest of his shift.
When his shift was over, Orion walked over to Ironhide and gently shook him awake.
"Wake me up in a few hours." Orion said when the black mech onlined his optics.
"Sure thing," Ironhide said, smirking slightly when he noticed a recharging Bumblebee in Orion's arms.
Orion walked over to an empty space a few feet away from Ratchet. He carefully placed Bumblebee on the ground. He sat down beside him and leaned against the side of the train cart and closed his optics.
"You have to recharge eventually, Bumblebee." Orion said without opening his optics.
What sounded like an annoyed groan escaped Bumblebee's voice capacitor. Orion knew that Bumblebee had been awake his entire shift. Bumblebee slowly sat up. He brought his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. He rested his chin on his knees as he stared at the ground with tired optics.
"I don't wanna recharge…I don't wanna be alone again." Bumblebee said quietly.
Orion's spark ached. Even though Bumblebee had managed to hide it earlier, he still mourned for his caretaker. Wounds take time to heal, Orion thought. But scars stay with you forever.
"You're not alone, Bumblebee." said Orion, "You still have us."
Bumblebee looked up at Orion before climbing onto his lap. Orion's optics widened as the yellow mech curled up and settled into his lap before falling into recharge. Orion hesitantly placed an arm protectively around the youngling. He leaned back against the train cart and closed his optics as he listened to the youngling's soft clicks before falling into recharge as well. Arcee, who was sitting on the other side of the tunnel, smiled at the spark warming moment before gazing down at Sadie who was recharging peacefully in between her and Tailgate.
"So, he really doesn't remember does he?" Tailgate asked quietly as he gazed across at the room at his childhood friend. Arcee nodded. "Any of us?" he asked.
"He still remember Chromia and myself as well as Dion I believe." explained Arcee. "Orion hasn't been the same since the stasis depression nearly over came him…"
"He's still in the stasis depression isn't he?" asked Tailgate. Arcee nodded again.
"He's still in a certain stage but over came the stage that nearly kill him. I haven't been able to speak to him about what happened since he joined the Autobots. He's forgotten much of his past before it happened." Arcee said solemnly as she gazed down at the ground. "I spoke to Ratchet about it…"
"Does Orion still remember her?" asked Tailgate.
"In a way, yes. But from what Ratchet told me, no doubt it's images he doesn't want to remember."
Meanwhile…
Ironhide gazed at Orion, who appears to have already fallen into a deep recharge. He smiled slightly at the sight of Bumblebee recharging in the war hardened mech. He, along with Ratchet and Arcee had spoken about Orion's current condition shortly after his outburst when nearly everyone agreed to have the Decepticons killed. They were all worried about Orion, whether he knew it or not. Ever since Orion had become an Autobot, his depression hadn't gotten any better, nor has it gotten any worse. Only at the mere mention of what had happened or something that was connected to what happened to the young soldier was enough to make him lock away what little emotion he revealed nowadays, or it would do the complete opposite. As Orion had done earlier about his refusal to kill the Decepticons as well as tolerate their attitude.
As Ironhide gazed at the two recharging mechs, he noticed that Orion seemed to care about the yellow youngling in his lap.
Poor kid… Ironhide thought, knowing Bumblebee had lost his caretaker in the crash. This was war. Bots died and there was nothing they could do about it. Ironhide thought. He shook the thought out of his processor. Not the best of places to think about that. Ironhide knew that both Orion and Bumblebee had one thing in common. They had both lost someone close to them in this war.
Ratchet gazed at the red and blue mech recharging a few feet away from him. Ratchet had spoken to Bumblebee earlier that day before he himself had fallen into recharge and the yellow mech had gone off after Orion.
One thing was clear to Ratchet. In the short hours Orion had known Bumblebee, they had already formed a strong (almost brotherly) bond. Ratchet had known Orion ever since he had been brought into his med bay when the Decepticons had attacked the neutral city, Tagon Heights, and he himself had never seen him care for one individual as he did for Bumblebee. If Ratchet could move he most likely would have been in 'The Thinker' pose. He began to wonder if this small youngling might be the answer that could unlock Orion from his stasis depression.
A/N: Too long a chapter? *shrugs* Well there's a hint in Orion's past and cute moments with Bee X3 lol I dunno when I thought of Bee thinking of the name Optimus, I just thought it'd be cute. Oh and this is a NO SLASH fanfic just to remind you all :3 So yeah, the two Decepticons are Barricade and Sunstreaker. Why'd I make Sunny a 'Con? YOU SHALL SEE *evil laugh* eh sorry if the parts with the Cons sucked, they were typed with little effort, sorry ^^; Oh and this is DAY 1 of being trapped, next chappy shall be the beginning of day two then goes into day 3, you'll see why.
hehehe whoops, sorry Bumble218, forgot that the extremely cute moment with Orion and Bee is actually in the beginning of chapter 3 ^^; oh well, there are some cute moments here in this chapter :3 so enjoy drawing them!
PS- oh and I made a few changes to chapter 1, nothing too big. It just connects to what Arcee and Tailgate are taking about Orion not remembering him and much of his past before the stasis depression. And Sadie is actually a few years younger than Bee, not a year older.
PSS-Riddle me this; why do you think Orion doesn't smile?