Chapter 7: Exodus, Prison-Style
Rodimus quickly scoured each level for Bumblebee. He had already found the Jettwins with the help of Lyra and now he hoped she remembered the way back to his friend.
The Metal Head paused ever once in a while to sniff the air for Bumblebee's scent and continued on once she was certain it was his. After checking a few more halls, Lyra screeched as she approached a broken titanium gate welded together with holes only a small Transformer could fit through. Sadly, titanium metals were only vulnerable to high-heated weapons. At the end of the pathway was a yellow form laying in a rusted cell.
Luckily, one mech was capable of such a weapon, fire breath to be more exact. Jetfire instantly warned his friends to back away as he rose his core temperature. Like a Predacon, fire flew from his throat and melted the gate, leaving a pile of molten goop on the floor. All members jumped over the puddle and let the Captain use his sword to unlock the mech's chamber.
Bumblebee was startled at first, but when he saw the familiar faces of his colleagues, a smile grew on his face plates. "You…how!?"
"Oh, your 'Secret Admirer' broke us free and with the help of your new pet, we found you," Rodimus smirked.
The warrior looked in confusion at the elite Metal Rhyno, "You were the one sending me all those messages? Why didn't you come down sooner?"
"I was dealing with Acheron at the time. If I left around him, he would've sent Metal Cloakers to follow me, thus figuring out I've been in contact with the 'enemy'. It was hard enough getting the messages laid out for delivery with him always pestering me with questions about my Mistress. Damn fool doesn't know the forces he's playing with much less than the complexity of the world extinction plan he's been hatching," Silos scowled.
"Well now what do we do?" Wasp asked, "We can't just wander back up to Cybertron's surface without getting caught by Acheron himself or one of the mindless Metal Head drones he has guarding our ship."
Bumblebee thought for a second, "How about a diversion with one of us as bait? I mean, the Metal Heads are well aware it'll take a couple of them to take down a full grown, experienced Cybertronian, so why not lead them away from the ship, and whoever is the target can climb aboard as we're about to take off."
Captain Silos arched a non-visible brow towards the other mechs awaiting their replies. Most nodded in agreement while Smokescreen hesitated, "But wait, in order for us to do that, we have to decide on who's going to be the 'bullet-monkey'."
A silent pause and the motion of heads slowly turning towards Bumblebee made the yellow mech uncomfortable. The warrior looked from eye to eye with a wide-optic face and a blank expression, "W-why does it have to be me!? Why does it always have to be me!?"
Unsettled still with no responses from the others, Bumblebee sighed as he rolled his eyes partially before closing them, "You are a bunch of assholes, I hope you all know that. Fine, I'll do it, but next time, I decide whose going!"
Silos was right, the Metal Heads were as dumb as a box of rocks. The warrior found he could walk around them as normally as possible and they wouldn't pay any mind to him. It was awesome but scary at the same time.
Every passage lead to places he never knew existed on Cybertron. Some even were old private berth rooms (not in the good way)-turned-prison cells and knowing he was in one, after realizing the rooms had the same molded look to his, made him almost puke up half-digested Energon. Of course, up-chucking your body's only energy supply wasn't the best idea at the moment.
He skidded silently to a halt and peaked around the corner but resented it when he saw the big octopus-like Metal Head examining the Ethiopia. 'Why does life hate me right now?'
Up top, he saw his friends, as well as the two good Metal Heads, hiding among the wreckage of an old maintenance elevator that used to operate for the femme penthouse/prison. They had the easy job of wait and take while he had to become the main event for the Metal Heads.
Groaning, Bumblebee stepped out of the shadows until he was right behind the creatures messing with his ship. "Hey, Fuckfaces! How about a nice, juicy Cybertronian to feast on instead of lounging about on your fat asses, which I'm certain are bigger than this planet because over half the world is suffocating by your presence!"
A menacing, dark silence filled the platform with all red eyes focused on the warrior. Bumblebee's cocky grin faded as he heard all the monsters started to growl and wag their tails angrily. "Uh…is it okay if I say I'm sorry…or are my words already glued onto your brains?" He swallowed nervously as he began to back away slowly, still under the influence of the cold stares.
Not long after, the other Autobots and their new acquaintances observed a screaming Bumblebee sprinting to and from different corridors with a mob of Metal Heads clawing over one another in an attempt to get him. It looked like one of those famous Scooby Doo cartoon hallway runs with the many doors opening and closing to reveal the group chasing each other as well as the intended target.
The Captain couldn't help but smirk at the sight while Lyra barked happily next to him, and the others started a laughing festival behind the ruins. A few Metal Heads from the insulted group heard them but only paused for a second before continuing their pursuit of the muscle car.
Bumblebee made a few trips around the platform before yelling, "GET ON THE FUCKING SHIP ALREADY!"
Not wanting to aggravate the warrior any more than he was previously, Silos jumped over the barrier he was hidden at the rear of the rubble and immediately opened the vessel. As he tweaked with a few wires and control panels that were damaged during what he remembered was Acheron's "free-to-sabotage" order, he activated the ship's comm. link as well as the engines for takeoff.
"Alright, Cybertronians, we're ready to go. So get you scrappy, idiotic frames on this vessel before I leave you here! And make sure you take Lyra with you!"
Almost instantly, the faint laughter of the mechs he'd left behind ceased as a new noise of scurrying pedes echoed towards the ship. Lyra was the first to board while the others followed. Blurr, however, stayed near the entrance as the Captain prepared to close the open panel for when Bumblebee came aboard.
"Captain, you need hover near the third level. He's not on the ground floor and I just told him to remain on the third level next to the platform with the archway. I hope they don't get him," Wasp said worriedly as he sat in the co-pilot's chair.
As the ship ascended to meet the dock, Bumblebee still ran for his life up and down the levels until he found himself ahead of the aggressive mob by a couple hundred feet more. He spotted the ship and his blue comrade and hissed a sigh of relief.
Blurr clung onto the lifts that opened and closed the door on the vessel to prevent his form from slipping. He heard the familiar howls of the corrupted Metal Heads and knew Bumblebee was heading their way. His optics zoomed in on the warrior's terrified expression, which was soon replaced by an I-think-I-can one.
The muscle car sped up right before he leaped onto the stationary ship. He clawed his way up the steep grade to freedom but had to pause to kick off a Metal Head that happen to reach him before the others. He grabbed Blurr immediately after and pressed a button to make the door slam shut.
Blurr used the comm. link to get the Captain to take off, and as they left the citadel, he patted Bumblebee on the back, "Holy crap, you almost became Metal-meat, dude! Never do that again!"
Bumblebee gave the sports car a sinful smirk, "What can I say, I like my adventures dangerous. Puts some flavor into my life, after all, you only live once so make life worthwhile!"
"Heh, yeah, 'worthwhile.' I'd rather die happy on my berth from old age or natural causes than die doing something as crazy as what you just did, thank you very much!"
"Well, have fun with your dull voyage then, and I'll see you on the other side," Bumblebee beamed as he made his way to the pilot.
The Captain didn't say anything to him nor acknowledge his presence for the time being until the common deadly silence made itself conspicuous. "So, what do you plan on doing once I return you to Fortress Maximus?"
Bumblebee exhaled, "I don't know but we need to find Tigressa and Optimus. That's our first priority, and then we'll take Acheron down."
"You're sure that's what you want to do? That's going to be hard considering my Mistress is on Earth as well as your leader and I'm pretty sure I'm now marked as a traitor. Perhaps if we could use another Cybertronian or two to disguise themselves as Metal Heads to go into the Nest, we'll be able to use them to get to Optimus. As for my Queen, I only know she is hidden among the jungles of Africa."
The warrior scowled at his remark, "You're playing with people's lives for your own benefit. Although it's a good plan, we're not exposing an innocent being to those monsters!"
"Why not!" Silos countered, "They played with mine years ago, so all I want is to simply return the favor; besides, it's only like one random Cybertronian. He or she will be fine or die for a noble cause. Also, the way I see it, out there, it's the survival of the fittest. I suggest you start going with the flow or stay behind and rot! You're young, Bumblebee; you must learn that life isn't always just.
"Of course, the war on Cybertron sort of gave you hands-on experience in that department, not to mention a mental one. You'll see in time that we must make the hardest decisions to protect the majority we care about."
Wasp didn't comment on the Captain's speech, but Bumblebee continued, "Oh, like how you abandoned your people for a cause that was meant to harm the King and serve his evil daughter. Yeah, you're a really great family guy."
Suddenly, the ship halted quickly, and Bumblebee found himself staring into the merciless, yellow eyes of the metal-masked Rhyno whom had stood up after braking.
"My family 'abandoned' me! They didn't care about me! The only person who gave a shit about my poor, disgraceful former life was Tigressa, who willingly helped me through thick and thin even after she offered me a position in her army! She's the only family I have as well as the Metal Heads, and I suggest you get that through your thick skull before I decide to turn around and dump your ass in a cell again with those Metal Heads you pissed off!"
Almost on cue, Bumblebee instinctively sat down as the Captain said the last word. His face was in pure shock. None of the others made a sound, not even Lyra who had frozen in mid stride when the Rhyno confronted the warrior.
With nothing else to add, Silos returned to the pilot seat and resumed to operate the Ethiopia while roughly muttering a song in the Horaquan language. To Bumblebee, it sounded like it was designed specifically to calm angered Metal Heads, for after a few minutes, his voice went from stressed to soft and saintly. The change in tones was incredible.
The melody kind of reminded him of a Cybertronian lullaby most mothers sang to their sparklings. But that was the problem; he only heard it from other carriers, not his own mother. His creator was dead thanks to the war, and he was the last living sparkling from that generation born. After him, the femmes were called into the battlefield so they didn't have time to reproduce.
Thinking about his carrier forced lubricant to form in his optics. He wasn't aware, however, that the Captain saw his emotional breakdown.
Optimus growled as Demon pushed him forward. Tangling with a mech bigger than him wasn't the best idea, so he let the shoves slide.
As the others followed, the Prime just gave the black and red dragon a deadly glare and received air hissing from the latter's nostrils in a loud snort.
"Demon, you're better than this why do you not fight him out of your mind? You're strong enough!" Optimus said as he stopped in front of the dragon and faced him.
Demon did nothing in return. No answer, no forceful movements towards him, only silence. The leader grew impatient for once, "Come on, I know your true self can hear me! I know you're in there! Show me; prove to me you have the power to resist!"
No response. The others were as still as their brother though they sometimes shifted their heads closer out of curiosity.
Knowing full well the dragon could attack him at any given second, he invaded Demon's space while putting his chained hands on the brute's wide shoulder and shook the beast a few times. The dragon's limbs only moved like a rag doll's; his armor rattled together with no sign of any emotion on the beast's face.
"Demon? Demon!?"
After two more attempts, he backed away in utter disappointment. His expression was heavy with concern and fear, and yet, the large mech continued to do nothing, to his surprise. The dragon was as dead as a non-transforming Earth-based car without an engine.
"Moquino, escoropa ci kavas saquey no vakel? Hadrana co-opamd sey vaja corona, Demon?" Optimus spoke a couple sentences more in Cybertronian to the dragon until he heard a faint moan coming from his corpse.
"Pirtura…seckn o paroko, lek-pao Autobot niyara," the dragon responded in the same language. A smile formed on the Prime's faceplates.
"That's it, my friend, fight it! He cannot harm you; he fears you!"
Demon reluctantly shook his head as his eyes kept converting from possessed to normal. He snarled as he clawed his own face trying to get whatever it was out of his processor. With a loud roar, his eyes stayed in their normal state, and the weakened dragon fell to his knees. Optimus quickly went to his side.
Startled by the Prime's actions, Demon said between breaths, "Why…did you…willingly help me? If I didn't regained control, I would have killed you! You had a chance to get away, but you chose to stay with a monster. Why?"
"Your sister needs you, we need you. You're a part of our family now, and family never leaves one another behind, remember? Tigressa may not have always agreed with you from time to time, but she loved you despite the fact she has a hard time showing it."
Demon looked back towards his brothers who were still fighting Acheron's domination over their minds. Slowly, one by one, each severed the bond linking them to the insane mech. They helped their eldest brother up while standing proudly above the Autobot leader.
"Now that we've severed his control, I think it's time we show Acheron who he's messing with," Demon said as he turned to the Prime, "All of us!"
Optimus engaged his battle mask with a smirk hidden behind it, "Like the humans say, 'let's give him Hell!'"
AN: If you're curious about what Optimus and Demon say in Cybertronian (though not true Cybertronian because I don't even know what it would truly mean), this is what it means:
"Mighty Prince, why do you play weak among the mortal abilities? Have you lost the will to fight for your brethren, Demon?"
"Never...will I truly fall so low, great Autobot Leader."