Chapter Sixteen – Battle of the Titans
Optimus' footsteps were lonely in one hallway of the Adonis III, each massive thud echoing by itself. The commander let his optics lift from the floor and lock on Bumblebee's quarters, scanning automatically. He sighed, remembering how torn the youngling was when he discovered that Darren was in Decepticon hands. He moved to the door and set a hand on its handle, then twisted down. He rose an optic ridge, finding the door opened.
"Strange..." he muttered to himself. "Bumblebee never leaves his door open…"
He pulled open the door slowly, scanning the interior. His brow furrowed as he saw no one. Bumblebee's monitors were running on low power, his recharge berth looking untouched, and the lights shut off. Optimus looked around, worrying.
"Bumblebee?" He called. His audio receptors strained for any sound.
Nothing, but the humming of the monitors.
Optimus frowned and exited the room.
"I know you didn't disobey me, Bumblebee," he sighed.
Optimus established a com channel to his squad, shutting the door. He sighed again.
"Everyone meet in the entrance hall…Immediately."
//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\
Ironhide, Jazz, and Ratchet all entered the entrance hall in a straight horizontal line, thoughts darting through their minds as they all saw Optimus standing before them, his back turned to them.
Jazz made a face and looked to Ironhide. "Where's Bee? He's never late to these things," he whispered.
Ironhide shot his optics at the second-in-command. "How'm I supposed to know? That youngling could be anywhere."
"But, Optimus called us through our channel. He couldn't of…not heard it."
Ratchet sighed and nudged Jazz in his side, making the shorter mech stumbled and fall against Ironhide. Jazz growled, standing straight again.
"What was that for?!" He whispered angrily.
"Shh!" The medical officer quieted him. "Just, mute it."
Optimus slowly turned to face his crew members, his faceplate hard in seriousness. They all stood straight immediately, giving their commander undivided attention. Optimus folded his arms across his burly chest, his hydraulics hissing slowly. He sighed and closed his optics for a few seconds.
"Where is Bumblebee…?" He asked without hesitation.
No one answered, and no one could. They didn't know.
Optimus shook his head and looked directly to Ratchet. "Where did he go after resting in your quarters, Ratchet?"
"He went to his own room after a couple Earth hours," the officer replied confidently.
"…Did you give him permission to leave?"
"Yes, I did."
"And his status improved before he left you, correct?"
"That's right."
Optimus shook his head and looked to Jazz, then Ironhide.
"Do any of you have any idea to where he could have gone off to?" he asked, almost desperately. "Any idea at all?"
Jazz's shoulders slumped as he shook his head.
"No." Ironhide grunted. "If he were here, he'd be here in the hall."
"Yeah, Bee's always on time for these gatherings," added Jazz. "Never misses 'em."
Ironhide shifted. "Always the first one…I haven't seen him since you dismissed us from Ratchet's quarters…"
Optimus sighed, rubbing the bridge of his noseplate angrily.
"Where could he have gone…?!" He thundered in a heated whisper.
Ratchet stepped forward. "He did seem rather troubled when he awoke…"
Jazz's optics widened.
"You don't think he…" His voice trailed off. "He wouldn't do that… would he?"
Ironhide shook his head.
"Probably did."
Optimus looked at them, confused. Ratchet volunteered to clarify.
"It's logical to assume that he…went searching for the boy…F-For Darren, Sir."
"ON HIS OWN?!" Optimus couldn't help but blurt out.
"…Apparently," Ironhide muttered.
Optimus turned his back to them and sighed, setting his hands on his hip compartments. He couldn't believe that Bumblebee would be so dim as to go forth on a hazardous mission by himself. He was a youngling…Prone to danger.
Optimus' shoulders dropped.
"Where have you gone, little one…?"
//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\
Darren's Point of View
Meanwhile at the Decepticon Base…
I pressed against the wall, hearing Bumblebee's fingers stroke the concrete on the other side. I brushed my palm in return, and he laughed.
God, how I missed that sound. If only he were closer to me.
"Bee, how're you gonna get in here?" I asked him softly. "That thing could come back any moment now. "
He thought in silence for a few seconds. "If I can't enter go in the front door, I'll just have to go through, I suppose," he mused slowly.
I raised my eyebrow. Go through?
"What're you talkin' about?" I questioned him, making a face to myself.
"Tell me, Darren, did you see any other passageways in there?"
"N-No, none I can remember…"
"Exactly. They must be hidden," he told me. "That's why I have to go through."
"Through what?"
"This barrier." His palm patted the wall twice. "The wall."
I squinted my eyes, leaning back. "The wall?!" I whispered in shock. "How are you…"
Thud…thud…thud…thud….thud….
I stopped immediately and turned my head to the cell's steel bars, picking up that horrible sound of massive footsteps. I cried out, pressing against the wall. Oh, God, I hoped it didn't hear me talking.
I heard Bumblebee whirr.
"Darren, what is it?"
Thud…thud…thud…thud….thud….
I whimpered, huddling up with my knees to my chest in the corner.
The monster was coming back…
I heard that horrifying shing of the chain mace, and that dreadful laughter. The footsteps grew louder with each second that passed by, even each millisecond. I shook my head. I didn't want any more pain. My insides and side hurt enough. Another attack would probably kill me.
I screamed. I knew Bumblebee was concerned, I could hear it in his whirring.
"Darren, move away from the wall," he ordered me desperately. "Move, Darren."
I only breathed faster, my heart pounding. I swallowed.
"Wh-Why?"
"Darren, trust me on this, okay? Move to the other end."
I hesitated, but slid away from the wall, one hand still on my side. I almost felt petrified in fear, like I was drowning in it. I hugged my knees for dear life. The monster laughed at me again. His footsteps were horrifyingly close, thudding one by one in my ear drums.
Thud…thud…thud…thud….thud….
"God, Bee, I hope you know what you're doing…"
//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\
Bumblebee's Point of View
I stepped back from the wall after rising to my normal eighteen foot height, venting in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. I closed my optics just for a moment. I promised myself that I was going to fight my hardest for Darren. Get Barricade exterminated, and do my best to do the same to Starscream. But, my number one priority was to get Darren out of that confinement, away from any Decepticon claws.
I opened my optics slowly and flared them.
"For you, Darren."
Stepping back once again, I then lunged forward with my shoulder ahead of me, concentrating all of my strength to it. Once my shoulder impacted the wall, the concrete crumbled away and tumbled onto the ground. I pushed the debris from off of my armor and stepped into the dark cell, my optics naturally scanning around. My antennae perked as I heard Barricade's mighty footsteps nearing, and the swinging of his chain mace. My optics fell to Darren and I stared.
Thud…thud…thud…thud….thud….
"Darren, stay put until I tell you otherwise," I said to him, giving him a gesture.
He nodded, sliding into a corner. His whimpers tore at my spark. I unleashed my shoulder cannons and cocked back my arm swiftly, my whole forearm replaced with a plasma cannon. I let my battlemask slide down sharply and I lowered my stance. I hissed.
"Don't worry, Darren," I assured him, already aiming for that monster. "He won't get you."
The human didn't reply.
Thud…thud…thud…thud….thud….THUD.
The Decepticon appeared before us.
Barricade roared, violently lashing out at the steel bars with a hand, denting and whipping them away as if they were nothing. The Decepticon charged at me, and I dodged, making him hit a wall. I jammed my elbow into his back and aimed a cannon for his head. He struggled as I pressed my elbow deeper. Barricade snarled.
"You thought I'd give up after what you did to me, didn't you?" I growled in his receptor. I drove my arm cannon into his head, letting it pulse to life. "Not yet."
I fired and the beast roared, throwing his mace back at me. It curled under between my legs and lashed up, striking me in the back. I cried out and fell against Barricade, feeling blood ooze down my back, dripping onto the floor. I grabbed Barricade's shoulder with my hand and tried to turn him, but he beat me to it.
The Decepticon stepped on my foot, preventing me from moving, then struck my chest with a fist, causing all the air to rush from my vents. In my alarm, I was blown to the floor, my back hitting the metal roughly. Barricade towered over me, the spikes of his mace right in my faceplate. I held my breath, trying to let my fear not get the best of me.
"Pathetic youngling," he growled at me, snickering. "To think you have any courage."
I narrowed my optics at him. I didn't have to respond. I knew what he was saying wasn't true.
The spikes came even closer, grazing my cheekplates. I felt them run down my neck, snapping wires in half, energon trickling. They hovered over my stomach for a long moment, Barricade laughing the entire time.
He drove them into my metal and I screamed, feeling wires snap and fray, sparking and stinging my insides. I twitched as my circuitry received so many unpleasant jolts of pain. He forced them deeper and I felt my breaths quickening. Primus, the pain…
"Ohhhh…!" I groaned. I turned, thinking they would lift away. They only went deeper. "Ahhh!" I threw my head back and cried.
Barricade laughed loudly, lifted away the spikes, and then shoved them into my chest, cutting into one of my vents. He narrowly missed my spark, but cut into its chamber, messing up its pulse.
I couldn't breathe right, and I swept my leg out at him subconsciously. The beast fell, but his spikes stood in my chest. I swatted his wrist away and they finally were out.
The pain was unexplainable. Hot with blood, stinging, throbbing…only a few of the millions of words. I couldn't give up. No, not on Darren.
Turning onto my side, I propped up on one elbow, firing twice from my shoulder cannons. The plasma impacted his chest, burning into his metal, making him groan out loudly. I fired over and over and over, merciless, my optics flashing. Barricade fell on his back. I had him down for the moment.
I looked over my shoulder to Darren, his little image very blurry.
"Darren, run," I breathed shakily. "G-Go. Get outta here…"
I coughed up blood. I felt dizzy, like I was going to pass out. My internal alarms went off in my head. I ignored them, blocking them out.
Darren stared at me. "B-Bee, I can't leave you."
"Darren, please listen to me, you have to go!"
He whimpered, but rose to his feet.
"B-Bee…"
"P-Please, Darren, trust me, you must go …" I was cut off by Barricade's hand wrapping around my throat, squeezing, his claws digging into its wiring. I tried to scream, but all air was cut off. I couldn't breathe and my fingers couldn't pry his hand away. I strangled out a hoarse cry barely.
"D-Darren, go!!" I managed to yell. His hand tightened and I gagged. "G-Go!!"
Darren whimpered loudly and ran for his life. Barricade didn't care. He wanted to kill me, and he knew that Darren probably would only run into dead ends.
Barricade laughed.
"Any last words, Autobot scum?" He snickered. I heard that shing in my receptors.
I gagged again, my world darkening. Spikes grazed my side.
"Do what you want t-to me, Barricade," I strangled out. "Do what you want."
And with that, spikes drove into my chest. I screamed, but no one heard me.
//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\
Back at the Adonis III
Optimus paced back in forth in his quarters, the rest of his squad watching him silently with wider optics. The commander paused in mid-stride, rubbing the bridge of his noseplate like he always did when he was frustrated and angry. He sighed irritably; angered that he could not discover Bumblebee's location.
Their youngling was missing and everyone's spark missed his' presence.
"Jazz, establish a private com link with him," he ordered. "Tell me when he's answered you, and ask him where in the Pit he is." Optimus closed his optics for a second, trying to remain collected.
Jazz blinked at his commander, then nodded. The second-in-command clicked a private channel and waited for Bumblebee's acceptance. He got nothing. Furrowing his brow, he continued anyways.
"Bumblebee, this is Jazz, do you copy?"
Buzzing white noise, nothing more. The channel clicked dead unexpectedly.
Jazz leaned back, surprised. Everyone stared at him.
"What is it?" Ratchet asked curiously. "Lost connection with 'im?"
Jazz just stared at the ground, taking Ratchet's words to consideration.
"Y-Yeah…y-yeah," he hesitated. "Lemme try again."
The channel was established.
"Jazz to Bee. Bumblebee, respond, over."
Static and white noise, and again, nothing more.
Jazz shook his head as the link clicked off again.
"I'm not getting anything from him…," he said softly. "It keeps cuttin' off."
Ironhide grunted. "He always responds. Ya sure that's him yer' contactin'?"
"Of course, 'm sure. I've contacted him plenty of times before…"
Optimus' brow furrowed.
"Let me try," he said, worry in his voice modulators. He initiated a private channel with Bumblebee, and waited a few moments before calling his name.
"Bumblebee, this is Optimus. Respond now."
Nothing.
He tried again, shaking his head. Worry grew inside him, rising.
"Bumblebee, this is Optimus. Please respond."
He waited. The channel started to clear from the static. Hope rose…
…But, died. The com channel clicked dead.