Once again, so sorry for how long this has taken - I promise to try and take less than six months to finish the next one.
Also, due to RL and the file format being wrong, this chapter hasn't been betaed, so any mistakes are solely mine.
Enjoy
Upgrade 12
Even knowing it was coming, Rumble felt Starscream tossing him through the wall was rather uncalled for. He crumpled to the ground and shook himself as footsteps came closer.
"What exactly. Did you think. You. Were. DOING?" the Seeker hissed, storming towards the fallen cassette, ignoring the trine mate trying to hold him back. "I order you all to keep as out of site as possible, and you perform a one mech siege on the Autobot base?"
He roared, and made a fist. Optics widening, Rumble shrieked and dived out of the way as the hand punched through the ground where he'd been seconds before. Oh how he missed Soundwave at times like this.
Starscream made to follow him, only to be held back by both Thundercracker and Hook.
"Will you stay still for more than five nanoclicks!" Hook hissed. "Or do you want to remain ground bound for the next cycle?"
The seeker growled, but held back. Thundercracker sighed in relief, and Hook continued his work on reattaching Starscream's wings. To the side, Skywarp pouted at the lack of damage, and immediately looked for something else interesting.
"Can't say much for this place" he muttered, glancing around Starscream's so called 'base'. In reality it was some kind of human installation that had been left abandoned for reasons unknown – and clearly required some work. Starscream and Hook had left a pile of junk inside, for their leaders grand plan.
"Shut it Skywarp" Starscream snapped, and returned to glaring at Rumble.
"Now you had better explain, and explain quickly."
It loathed him to sink this far, but with the seeker on a rampage, Rumble had little choice but to grovel.
"A thousand apologies Lord Starscream" he replied, wincing internally as he fell to the floor in submission. "I merely wanted to see what became of my brother."
If anything, this made Starscream madder, and Hook cursed again as Starscream pulled away and loomed over the tiny cassette, optics narrowing.
"The youngling. What. Did. You. Do? And I warn you now, if he's offline you'll soon follow..."
The youngling? He'd entered the base and the only thing Starscream was interested in was the youngling? Rumble shook his head. "Nothing! Nothing...permanent. I threatened him, injured him, but he was still functioning when I left."
With that, the tension left Starscream's frame, and he smirked.
"Fine, then your little escapade cause no real damage. But do it again and I'll rip you into so many pieces even you won't survive."
"And if you don't stay still you'll be staying in pieces" Hook muttered. "Now stay still."
"I am!" Starscream snapped back, and turned back to Rumble. "Now get up and tell me everything you learned about the base while you were there. Might as well put it to good use."
Danger averted, Rumble leapt back to his feet, falling behind Starscream as he walked off. With no real retribution coming his way, he risked asking one question.
"Lord Starscream. Why is the Youngling so important?"
The smile on Starscream's face was almost terrifying.
"He's a very important piece in a game that's nearly over Rumble. And if you play your pieces correctly, you might very well get that little reminder of your brother back."
Rumble paused, and smiled.
Interesting...
As far as Hax was aware, Sam had never been dumped in a vat of glue. He was also certain that Deuce had never experience such an event.
Yet despite having absolutely no basis to justify it, Hax was sure being dumped in a vat of glue would feel somewhat like he did now.
Once Deuce had vanished, the darkness set in, and the invisible chains slipped over his existence and didn't let go. Suppression, sluggish non-movement. Even being a non-sentient program had felt more flexible than this...abyss.
He didn't want to stay there...but he didn't know where he was meant to go...
It was getting darker...and he was getting slower. Things were harder to remember...was there something he had to do? Someone he had to see?
No...It was too hard...hurt to think...if he stopped thinking would it stop hurting? That sounded good...
Then, a different kind of hurt. A hurt that went deeper...a hurt that made the other hurt go away.
Someone...someone important was hurting. Two? Two? Double? Duo? It was hard to think...just stop thinkin-
No.
NO.
It hurt, really hurt, but someone important was hurting too. He had to get to him. How? How? How? How? All he knew was the hurt.
Hurt...focus on the hurt. Wrap it in not hurt...
Was that light? It was pretty. He wanted to hold it.
Did he always have a hand? It made touching the light easier, so he decided he always had.
Oh, it was getting bigger now. The hurt was going away. He embraced it, and felt someone cradle him back.
Yes...that was right...someone waiting.
'Deuce?'
There was a flash of light, and Hax groaned as voices pounded through his head. In front of his optics, various graphs and frequencies flittered around for a brief moment before fading into obscurity.
"Ah, rise and shine sleeping beauty."
"Hax!"
The mech winced as a large frame loomed over him, scanning him meticulously.
"Do NOT get up" Ratchet snapped. "You shouldn't even BE up yet..."
"Aw come on Ratchet!" Deuce whined somewhere in the background, and Hax tried to move his head to see him. And then realised exactly what he'd done.
"...I have a head!"
"And shoulders, and knees, but no toes so you'll just have to settle for a couple of pedes" Jazz joked.
His vision was getting clearer, and the newly activated mech could finally tell he had quite the audience. Everyone from Optimus down appeared to be in the vicinity, and judging from the whining and the struggled stumbling coming from behind the much larger mechs, Deuce was not happy about being kept away.
"Bumblebee! Let. Me. See!"
Ratchet glanced over, sighed, and nodded at Hax. "Okay, get up. Before your other half fries a circuit."
Slowly, carefully...considering it was only the second time he'd ever been in control of a body, first time it was completely his, never-been-used, Hax pulled himself up on his arms, and pulled himself into a sitting position.
"...Morning?"
The collective group smiled back, and Hax immediately started looking for Deuce. Bumblebee was immediately at the side of the table, cradling the other Youngling in his hands. Deuce's optics lit up at the sight of him, and jumped to the table.
"Hax!"
Within seconds, the red Youngling's arms were wrapped around him with enough force to send them both crashing back down.
"Deuce!" Ratchet yelled. "What did I tell you about-"
"You scared me!" Deuce moaned, ignoring the medic. "Don't do that again!"
"Uh...I'm sorry?"
"Deuce" Optimus interjected. "While we can understand your elation, perhaps it would be best if you let Ratchet finish his examination?"
Slowly, and reluctantly, Deuce loosened his grip, and Hax took a closer look at him, optics widening at his outer armour, clearly missing paint and slightly dented.
"You're hurt!"
Deuce glanced down, and shrugged. "Ah, that's old news. Ratchet was gonna fix me up first but I insisted he finish you first."
"And you're not leaving here until I do" Ratchet warned, causing Rhinox, who'd been hanging back with Ironhide, to chuckle.
"It was touch and go for a while Youngling. We weren't sure you would make it – then you pulled yourself together at the last minute."
"So don't leave us in suspense" Jazz added. "What do you think?"
"Think?..."
In reply, Deuce pulled him to his feet, and gestured to his form.
Oh...
He lifted out his arms, and glanced down his new frame. He'd been given an alt mode, probably another Ducati, but his armour was dark blue, a random white stripe interceding the paint. Deuce smirked and tried to poke his eyes, only to be stopped by something in his way. Hax slid his hands across his new face, fingers sliding along the new visor that had been showing all the pretty pictures from earlier.
"That was my idea" Jazz admitted. "Trust me, if you're gonna be flicking through computers you're gonna want your own private monitor. Five minutes and you'll wonder how you ever lived without it."
Hax grinned, pulling up his schematics internally to view as a test. "Cool."
Then his grin faded as he took in what he was reading. He was very much aware of Deuce's own measurements, and something wasn't quite adding up. The youngling cocked his head at his red double, optics narrowing behind the visor as he took him in.
"Deuce..."
The Youngling grinned. He had a feeling he knew what was coming.
"...Why am I shorter than you?"
Bumblebee only just managed to choke back the giggle, while Jazz didn't bother. The rest just rolled their optics at the inevitable tantrum. Deuce just smirked.
"Ah, wondered how long it would take you to notice. Figured since you were younger, you could be my little brother."
"Little! You...how!"
"Oh don't overreact" Ironhide muttered. "There's only about an inch in it."
"One point two five to be exact" Deuce chimed. "I wanted to make it a millimetre for every day I'd been alive that you weren't, but Ratchet said that was too much."
Hax was glowering now, and the bots swore they heard growling.
"Now now Hax" Jazz snickered. "You know size doesn't matter."
Hax just glared at him. "Say that to a human male. I dare you."
Oddly enough, Hax actually having a physical body didn't really appear to change anything in the base. Deuce had been in and out of the med bay so much in the past few months that having him with a blue shadow really wasn't that much of a change. Much to Ratchet's dismay, Hax was about as good a patient as Deuce, and the two of them were climbing up the walls as he kept them in the med bay. Both had somewhere they wanted to go, and weren't happy about being kept away.
Finally, after driving their long suffering medic to his breaking point, he found himself marching in front of Jazz, Bumblebee and the newly parted twins, glaring with a might that would have made Ironhide proud.
"Alright, listen up." He began. "This is Hax's first trip out, and first time he'll be in vehicle mode for an extended period of time. Jazz!"
The Pontiac stood up straight.
"Where are you going?"
"Lookout. Straight there and back. No detours, side trips or extracurricular activities."
"Good. Bumblebee!"
"Yes Sir!"
"What are you to do it there are any, and I mean any signs of malfunction or incident?"
"We come straight back, no questions asked. Younglings in my boot if necessary."
"Excellent. Deuce! Hax!"
"Jazz says jump, we say how high" Deuce chimed.
"And no being stupid" Hax finished. "At least, any more than normal."
Deuce giggled as Ratchet glared and Hax fled behind him.
"Kidding! Just kidding."
Ratchet growled, but waved them towards the door. "Out. And back in 60 minutes. FLAT. And I mean it!"
The four gave mock salutes and headed out. The second they were in the corridor, Deuce turned to Hax with a smirk.
"You do realise that he never once said we couldn't race?"
Hax rested his chin in his hand and nodded thoughtfully. "Well, that could be listed under 'nothing stupid'."
"...But?"
Hax grinned. "But he really implicitly stated that we couldn't."
Twenty seconds later, two Ducati's screeched through the halls, and Bumblebee and Jazz sighed.
"Ah younglings..."
"Wouldn't have them any other way though."
"Too true. Race em?"
"You're on."
All things considered, it was one of the most peaceful trips to the Lookout they'd actually had. Nobody crashed from memory issues, there were no explosions, and no unexpected visitors. Deuce and Hax, in an unusual display of calm, had played a game of chicken to see who'd go closest to the steep hill (something that Jazz and Bumblebee swore Ratchet would never find out about) before sitting side by side as it got darker. Their watchers were standing guard as vehicles – watching the two huddle together whispering furiously.
'Do you think we should be worried?' Jazz piped up.
'...of what?'
The Pontiac laughed over the comm. 'Whatever those two are planning?'
Had it been possible, the camaro would have grinned. 'I'm sure whatever it is, we will inevitably be involved at some point. Probably as an alibi.'
'Hey now, they're not that bad' Jazz replied. 'Considering some of the things you got up to when you were thei-'
"Bee?"
Both immediately silenced and focused on Hax, who was standing and heading towards Bumblebee with tentative steps. Every now and then he'd glance back at Deuce, who would nod approvingly.
"...Yes Hax?"
Encouraged, Hax sped up, and sat next to the front wheels.
"I have something for you. It's a gift."
Bumblebee's spark twinged. "Thank you Hax. You didn't have to do that."
"It's not from me" Hax replied, almost apologetically. "Its...well...it's complicated."
Deuce tapped on the camero's bonnet, grabbing the attention of both. Bumblebee was glad he was in vehicle mode and thus spared the embarrassment of appearing as if he hadn't noticed him approaching...which he hadn't.
"It's from Sam" Deuce said, and Bumblebee froze.
What?
"Deuce!" Hax yelled. "You can't just say it like that!"
"What?" his twin argued. "It is."
"Uh...maybe I'm missing something here" Jazz piped up. "But isn't that kind of impossible?"
Bumblebee didn't know how to answer, and Hax seemed to pick up on his disbelief, because he sighed, fingers brushing against the yellow paintjob.
"Think this would be best if I just...gave it now."
The Camaro tensed as static rustled through his circuits, then jerked as it flowed through him, easing him into another world...
"Let me tell you something son, a driver don't pick the car, a car picks the driver. It's a mystical bond between man and machine..."
"Bumblebee!"
"You gotta get up, you're okay...you're okay..."
Bumblebee shuddered as the words and emotions shot through him. So familiar and not his own.
"I wish to stay with the boy."
"If that is his choice."
'He wants to stay...wants to stay with me.'
Joy, sheer joy and relief and holy-crap-we-actually-made-it-out-of-this-alive – emotions bright and vibrant and nearly suffocating in their intensity. Bumblebee actually whimpered. Somewhere in his processor he recognised that he'd activated his transformation cog, but could bring himself to care.
"Finally! Weekend. Gonna see Mikaela tomorrow so tonight it's all about you and me buddy."
"Bee! What's with all these speeding tickets?"
"I'm thinking maybe I should consider Astronomy as a major for college? What do you think?"
Memories. Memories and emotions that shone with their primal 'Sam-ness'.
It was Sam. All their time, all their stories, from the other point of view.
It was like suddenly finding the missing pieces to a puzzle. Everything in Bumblebee's mind just 'clicked'. And yet.
A keening whine broke from his processor, and he tensed when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.
"Bee?"
He forced himself to relax. Jazz, just Jazz.
"Bumblebee?"
The scout blinked, coming back to reality. He was kneeling on the ground, hands digging into the dirt. The younglings were watching him, confusion mixed with a heavy dose of fear.
"Did we break you?" Deuce asked. "We didn't mean to."
Bumblebee shook his head. "No...I'm fine. It was just...unexpected."
"Don't know how much you heard" Jazz began. "But apparently the dynamic duo met some ghost of Sam or something when they split up. Gave Hax whatever it is that made you short circuit."
Bumblebee looked up. "Memories. He left me memories."
Optics widened, and Jazz stepped back before recovering like a pro.
"Are you...okay?"
The camaro nodded, and began his transformation again.
'I think it's time we went. Ratchet wasn't kidding about the countdown."
He shut out the whines from the twin bikes, and ignored Jazz's prodding comms, choosing instead to sink into his gift.
It was memories, and emotions...but there was something else there. Something hidden in a corner, barely possible to see.
For a moment, in his mind's eye, he could see Sam smiling, and whispering words he'd never once said.
"Take care of them Bee. They're gonna need it."
In future, when remembering their drive back, Jazz would kick himself for thinking everything was going to be okay from now on.
Suddenly, Deuce swerved, screeching across the road. Behind him cars slammed on their brakes, followed by the honking of horns. He was frozen in the middle of the road, not reacting even to Hax circling him.
Bumblebee and Jazz immediately swung round, Bumblebee moving to keep traffic away, while Jazz moved in.
"Deuce?"
He didn't get an answer, and more worryingly, his hologram began to flicker.
Jazz cursed, this wasn't good.
-Deuce!-
-I got this Jazz-
Hax had braked at his side, between his brother and the Pontiac, and his own hologram was reaching out, hand appearing to grasp the handle of the other bike. A shot of electricity flew across the bikes, and Deuce jerked, wheels revving. Suddenly, he shot off, flying down the street.
-Aw slag! Deuce!-
A screech of tyres and Bumblebee was chasing after him, ignorant to Jazz's calls.
-Great. Hax with me, and I mean with me.-
Despite having an edge on speed and two extra wheels, Bumblebee didn't dare cut in front of the youngling. The frantic and erratic driving suggested that Deuce would just crash into him. Or worse, transform and leave them with yet another town of people who had to sign government waivers.
Hax didn't even stop when they finally hit the country roads, or even the base. Ratchet was waiting at the front, looking tense. Which became pure panic when Deuce bolted straight past him and into the base. He seemed torn between tearing after him, and rounding on Bumblebee. The medic in him finally won out and he gave chase, leaving Bumblebee outside to transform, and wait for Jazz and Hax to catch up.
"Okay – what the slat was that about?" Jazz snapped, transforming and heading in. Bumblebee shrugged.
"No idea. He wouldn't answer my calls either. Hax?"
The Youngling shook his head, and jerked up when he heard footsteps thundering towards them.
"Every time! How in the pit does he vanish every. Damn. Time!"
He pointed at Bumblebee and Jazz with gusto. "What. Happened?"
Both of them shrugged. "Seriously have no clue Ratch" Jazz replied. "Things were going great. Had a good time at the Lookout, were coming home, suddenly, Deuce freaks. Just stopped in the middle of the road and shut down."
"Wouldn't answer us, and when Hax...did something he took off like a shot."
Ratchet sighed. "I knew this was a bad idea. I just thought it would be Hax that..."
He trailed off when he realised a certain smaller member of their party was missing.
"Slaggit! When did he run off?"
"You know, this trick doesn't work so well now that I have a body."
"...Shut up."
Deuce was huddled up in his rafters, arms wrapped around his legs. Hax gave him a once over, before sighing and huddling up next to him.
"I may not be in your head any more, but that doesn't mean you get to keep things from me."
Deuce didn't answer, just curled up more.
"What happened? Why'd you freak out?"
His red half mumbled, and Hax frowned.
"Wanna say that at a decibel that's audible?"
"...mons."
"...one more time?"
Deuce tensed up, and swung round, grabbing Hax by the shoulders.
"Simmons!"
Hax blinked.
"What?"
"It was Simmons! I saw him!"
"Deuce, that's impossible" Hax tried to soothe. "He's all locked away a million miles from-"
"I know what I saw!" Deuce shrieked. "He was right there."
Hax sighed, and pried Deuce's fingers from his paint job.
"Okay. Here's what we're gonna do. We're going to talk to Ratchet and make sure you're not...not damaged. And then we can talk to Optimus, and prove that Simmons was. Not. There. That sound good?"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S FREE!"
"Hax!" Ratchet snapped, and Hax flinched.
"What? I think I'm inclined to be just a little bit upset."
"Deuce, Hax" Optimus began. "We upped security. Keller has promised to keep us informed of any sightings. You were never in any danger."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Deuce's voice was flat and emotionless. It was almost worse than seething anger.
"Deuce..." Optimus began. "You were doing so well...we were afraid of what might happen if you felt you were at risk."
Deuce's hands began to clench.
"I am at risk if he's out there. He's coming for me again, I know it."
"Deuce – I promise you that he won't-"
"You lied to me..."
"Deuce...please try to-"
The Youngling fell and slammed his hands into the ground. The impact of metal echoing through the room only deafened by his scream.
"You lied! That's all there is too it! You lied!"
Before any of them could react, he turned and fled, a harried Hax on his tail.
Jazz hung his head, and pulled back on Bumblebee's arm when he made to follow the two. Slowly, he looked up at Optimus, optics dim.
"What do we do now big bot?"
Optimus was still staring at the door the two had fled through.
"...I really don't know."
To be continued...