Chapter 9: Ambivalence
Like their first return to Earth, the ride was slow but it made it to the blue planet in one piece thankfully. Ratchet didn't nag any of them surprisingly and Bumblebee was happy about that, as his fellow crew members could tell.
Lyra was sprawled across the warrior's lap soundly, purring whenever he decided to take time off his data pad to pet her. For a Metal Head, she was a great pet. Bumblebee didn't mind. Of course, it made it hard to move around with the creature always following him around only to lay back down on him once he sat down again.
"Bumblebee," Blackout called, "We've reached Earth. Prepare to drive to Zhupanovsky; you're going to be the first one off this ship."
The warrior sighed. He's become the bullet monkey again and he still couldn't do anything about it. He called that bullshit.
Immediately as the Ethiopia entered Earth's atmosphere over Russia, the others slowly began organizing their weapons. They took their sweet time while Bumblebee had little time to check his own artillery. He could only mutter hateful remarks after the ship landed near the volcano and he was forced out.
Captain Silos failed to hide his amusement of Bumblebee's temper tantrum as he stormed by the Rhyno with Lyra trailing behind him, as loyal as ever. He just watched as he leaned against one of the door levers with his legs crossed at the mech sprinting to the large mountain with speed and stamina.
Running farther away from the Crew of Assholes, Bumblebee let his mind go blank, listening to only to the natural elements that surrounded him. Without notice, he regretted the decision as he hit the side of the volcano with full force. Most could describe him right now with the appearance of one of those Looney Toon characters that when they hit something head on, they look like a blob against the wall and leave a mark on said wall after sliding down from it.
It hurt like Hell trying to remove himself from his unfortunate place but once off the volcano, he twisted his head back to reality. Now was not the time to play around, especially on a mission that could save his future as well as many others'.
Frantically, he roamed all over the gigantic structure scouting for an entrance to a cavern or something close by. His confidence was dwindling in the wind each time it rose for something out of the corner of his optic and that object was just a hallucination.
Lyra tried to help him but even she had no luck. Primus apparently wasn't shining any ray of hope today, out of all dates, and he seemed not to cherish emergency rescues either. That was horrible God-leadership in Bumblebee's opinion. Way to go Primus for "attempting" to save your citizens!
After an hour of searching the entire surface of the volcano, the warrior huffed and tapped his fingers on his hips impatiently. Whether Optimus was already here or not wasn't too big of a concern but he sure wished his leader would give him a sign that he was.
"This is fucking useless! Lyra, you find anything on your side?"
The Metal Head only whimpered and innocently dug her claws into the dirt while glancing up and down with puppy dog eyes. He couldn't blame her; she tried.
Furious, Bumblebee picked up the nearest rock and threw it towards the volcano. An unusual noise emitted from the spot where it hit, almost like there was something underneath it like…"Metal? You hear that, girl? That was metal! Of course!"
Laughing hysterically, he stumbled towards the site of the sound and began digging with his servos. Lyra helped and soon, as clear as day, metal was visible under the layer of soil with a line that cut it in half. He dug more and more until he was able to trace the remnants of a door built into the side of the volcano.
Judging by the moist dirt that was trapped on top of it, it was recently covered. Most likely from a landslide by a powerful object hitting it or natural causes that accidently occurred within the past week or so.
On the door, mixtures of Cybertronian symbols as well as Kanjian were inscribed around it. This had to have been a combined domain for both species or someone admired both languages.
Not wanting to stall any longer, Bumblebee activated the door and barged in to see a lab with multiple consoles and a ball of Dark and Light Eco surrounded by several opposite rotating rings in the middle of the room. It reminded him of Vector Sigma with a few differences, one of which being that it was comprised of the dark matter as well as the light instead of energy in general.
He quickly scanned the room for another door and found one resting on a platform reachable by stairs. Through the second door, he instantly stood there frozen. Lyra did the same but with more fear spread across her face.
There, lying on a berth that faced the open door with life support hooked up everywhere on the mangled body, was Tigressa. A transparent blue mask covered her mouth and seemed to be attached to a gas that kept her dormant. Dark Eco and Energon were slowly being pumped back into her chassis that looked different from her last healthy meeting with them two years ago.
Silently, Bumblebee walked to her side and scanned the monitors with her vital stats on screen. "What has Acheron done to you?" He whispered as he noticed Lyra rubbed her head against the unconscious tiger-dragon's immobile tail, hoping she would respond. Only the sound of the life support breathing was audible.
Unsure of what to do, he observed her new form out of curiosity. She didn't change too much but she did gain horns next to her ears and a large, pulsing skull gem on her chest, most likely implying she took full leadership of the Metal Heads before Acheron screwed their lives up. Metal Kor had died a few months back in the Eco Dimension by the "Eco User", thus forcing Tigressa to take back the complete role of "Mother".
Other than those two major differences, Tigressa still looked like herself with minor armor structural changes. Her wings were now able to be seen which gave him the idea that they aren't retractable like they used to be.
"Bumblebee!"
He jolted from his position upright at his name. And when he heard it again, he saw Captain Silos enter the room he assumed was the Medbay.
"Bumble…!" Silos paused quickly as he saw Tigressa in her present state. He calmly walked to her with fear and tranquility mixed in his expression, or what was visible on his face. "Escoropa ci sercripne, corakei sa, ninacosepai sa, Miatrina?! Jaruka mei sole! Jaruka mei sole, Tigressa!"
This time the Rhyno spoke in Cybertronian. It sounded odd coming from someone who hates Cybertronians in general. Nevertheless, he knew under shock, people tend to say crazy things in many languages they didn't even know they spoke.
Roughly translated, Bumblebee could make out the sentences as clear as water: "Why do you sleep now, so peaceful, so beautiful, Mistress? Come back to me! Come back to me, Tigressa!"
The first sentence made no sense to him but after a few seconds, it dawned on him. Why was he so blind to the obvious facts laid out in front of him all this time? "You're in love with her, aren't you?"
Captain Silos didn't acknowledge the question, only slipped his hand into Tigressa's petrified one. He was lost to her and her alone.
Bumblebee wasn't one for romance, but he had to smile a little at the sight. He knew Tigressa would go against it however; Silos had enough time to spend with her before she returned back to consciousness. As long as he didn't comment when she does wake up, the Captain would finally complete what he apparently wanted to do all along: stay by her side as more than just a friend and a soldier.
"Uh…Bumblebee…Silos, we have a slight problem and…whoa, did I miss something?" Smokescreen interrupted.
"Never mind them, Screen. What's the situation?"
The sports car clicked his fingertips together awkwardly, "W-well, we found Optimus and Tigressa's brothers, but…um… evidently, we weren't the only ones who spotted…them."
Smokescreen gave the warrior a weak grin while the muscle car's optic twitched, "WHAT!?"
"Hey, I didn't do shit this time. Blame that on Acheron, not us."
Without hesitating, Bumblebee charged out of the room, knowing Silos would take care of the tiger-dragon. When he went back outside, all Hell broke loose.
Metal Head against Metal Head fought angrily with one another as the Kronos Brothers tackled two Bowsinks whom were gusting fire at their attackers. Luckily, the rebel Heads had their original trademark, golden skull gems while the other ones displayed their corrupted, blood red skull paragons. There was, however, the unfortunate side to this: the rebels were getting their asses kicked and Optimus was stuck in the heat of the battle fighting Acheron.
Blackout, Arcee, and the others were also stuck in combat with the red-skulled Metal Heads whom they had no choice but to kill.
Snarling, the muscle car stormed towards the nearest Brother, Poltergeist, and mounted the large mech with no effort at all. The green and black dragon said nothing to this and allowed it to happen until he felt Bumblebee steer him by the horns to face the closest Bowsink. The dragon could tell the warrior was not going to take any of his complaining or problems.
With a battle cry, Poltergeist lunged forward on command and stepped on any luckless Metal Head that crossed his path. Like Grimlock on a rampage, the dragon plowed through the battlefield, straight into the Bowsink's leg.
Out of curiosity, Bumblebee peered up to see the mega Metal Head tumble forward onto Entity, who got out from under the monster's massive jaw with a few minor dents. He could see the others immediately striking against it until its body was laying frozen. One down, one more to go.
"Come on!" He ordered as Poltergeist's speed increased towards the next Bowsink.
While Bumblebee dealt with Bowsink, Optimus and Acheron battled fiercely with swords creating sparks among them. The black and white mech slid his blade into the ground and swung around it, only to kick the Autobot in the face.
Optimus stumbled back but kept eye contact with his opponent. He twirled his own sword in his servos before leaping towards Acheron and striking the insane bot's side which earned him a bellow of pain. Before the Prime could do anything more, Acheron grabbed his wrist and rotated the older mech's wrist, forcing Optimus to drop his blade. He then swiped his foot under the leader's own pedes and knocked him to the dirt floor.
With a sadistic laugh, the mech raised his sword with the Prime staring at him wide-eyed. "Good-bye, Optimus Prime!"
Before he could send the final blow, a loud audio-breaking noise filled the battlefield and forced him and the Autobot to turn to the source.
Suddenly, a blast hit the Titanic-sized brute before Bumblebee could reach it. Stunned while watching the second titan fall with a hole through its chest, the warrior converted his gaze from the volcano to the dead Metal Head until he saw Silos waiting silently on what appeared to be a cannon engraved in the mountainside.
The Rhyno had a military posture upon his form while the "good" Metal Heads aimed for a group of oncoming Distorted. "Cheka!" He roared with his ears pointing downward for anger.
The cannon let out a low rumble before a burst of blue and purple energy emerged from it and blew away the altered Metal Heads. It was at close range to the ground so the blast sent a shockwave through the ground, alerting every creature within ten miles of its presence.
Poltergeist let out a small whimper and backed a little from the impact of the weapon. He looked like a spooked horse with Bumblebee being the doomed rider having to try and calm him.
The yellow mech almost forgot a fact he had learned about Kanjians during the time he had spent with Ghost and Spirit: although they are tough, mentally and physically, and hard to kill, their animal instincts can sometimes take control and make them feel afraid of simple noises and/or actions. Learning that sounded similar to a big, buff guy having a tiny, girlish voice when he spoke. An illusion or a fault of sorts; their common weakness is their own senses, imagine that.
"Why you slithering traitor!" A voice yelled whom Bumblebee recognized as Acheron, "I give you sanctuary, I give you a stronger army to command and you defy me!? How dare you!"
Silos only grunted until he shook his head with a growl, "I am no traitor to my race! I am only betraying you for my true master! If you call the Nest you've modified for your own personal use a 'sanctuary', then you are as delusional as you are idiotic! This army is not just a bunch of mindless soldiers; they are my family and they are not stronger, only corrupted in their own thoughts to where their true selves have been released! Although Tigressa made them that way to begin with, she programmed them with a choice also!"
"What choice do they have?" Acheron smirked, "For creatures with such raw abilities, your 'master' didn't exactly teach them how to think for themselves much. If that was the case then why can I still overpower them? They are only beasts on a leash; they'll do whatever their commanded as long as the person their serving offers them food!"
"You're sorely mistaken, Cybertronian. Look around you! A lot of them have been able to break free from your mental bonds! They know how to fight you off and they've been successful! You are no God! I don't care what you do or how you try to capture me, but I'll never submit to you!"
Acheron hissed at the Metal Captain with disgust and disproval, "You'll break someday; you'll regret your defiance whether it's direct to you or your lovely Princess!"
Bumblebee expected Silos to remark against him again, but to his surprise, a toothy grin appeared, "My 'Princess' has survived through thick and thin, what makes you think you can do anything to her?"
"Did you not pay attention to the recent events, Captain? Tigressa is injured severely and most likely dead in that volcano. How could she possibly live through something like a gun blast to the upper chassis?" Acheron mocked while Silos still kept the large smile imprinted on his face.
"I don't know, why don't you ask her yourself?"
Stepping to the side, he gazed up to see a shadow form over him and slip past him. Acheron's own grin faded into disbelief.
Bumblebee and Poltergeist had the same expressions but the warrior noticed she was limping with the wounds on her chassis covered in a transparent white, swirling substance that was slowly repairing the damaged wiring and metal.
Standing as intimidating as she could, Tigressa let out a fearsome roar with her new wings opened for dominance. No Metal Head moved at the sight of the large femme, corrupted or normal. She instantly directed her piercing stare to Acheron, who gave no hints of backing down.
The tiger-dragon said nothing, only moved her tail from side to side furiously. When Acheron moved slightly, Tigressa's eyes flashed bright yellow, and his form was covered by the femme's shadow in less than a minute.
"How are you still alive? You should be dead!" Acheron snarled.
Tigressa kept a strict expression, "You forget, I have Light Eco stored on this planet. Much like the Omega Lock back on Cybertron, Light Eco is a healing force while its dark counterpart does the opposite for most. You failed to exterminate me and keep all Metal Heads at bay. They know who their true leader is, and they helped me but they could not touch the Light Eco which would have repaired me sooner. Captain Silos, however, can."
Immediately, she turned to the staring yellow and red eyes around her and shouted, "Metal Heads, who is your master!?"
Both sides bellowed in agreement towards her and grew louder when she yelled the same phrase again, "WHO IS YOUR LEADER!?"
Slowly, the red skull gems faded back to their signature golden color with their eyes following the same recovery. The Brothers reared up and joined the Metal Heads' hollering while Acheron swallowed hard at their calls. He could feel the world spinning around him and for once felt fear overload his systems.
Optimus and Bumblebee's crew waved their weapons around at their victory and made their way to the large femme and the warrior himself, who jumped off Poltergeist and waited patiently next to the tiger-dragon. By this time, they all noticed her wounds had fully mended themselves with only faint scars lining them. The Light Eco vanished instantly into thin air with a small whisper sounding from it.
"Acheron," Optimus called with his guns aimed directly at the black and white mech, "You have been found guilty of attempted murder, treason against your own kind, and sedition of Tigressa! You will not be given mercy by death and you will stand before the Council as a traitor of Cybertron and Earth!"
Acheron had a blank reaction that turned into disbelief, "You can't do that! You have no right!"
"On the contrary, Traitor, I have every right. Especially if she gives me those powers, which I'm sure she's already have!" Optimus retorted while pointing to the tiger-dragon. "Tigressa?"
Acheron gave her a "please-spare-me" look which she acknowledged with distaste, "Well, at least we agree on something together. Captain, help Rodimus and his friends take our new foe back to Cybertron's Fortress Maximus."
As Acheron struggled in Blackout's grip, Bumblebee turned to Tigressa with confusion, "Wait, how do you know about Maximus?"
The large femme smirked, "Let's just say I've been around long enough to see certain things and…Cybertronians up and running before the Civil War. I know he's no longer sentient but he does make one Hell of a prison, I'll give him that.
"Oh and by the way, scouts have just reported to me all across Cybertron that not only they are sorry, but that you left a pink and white femme back in the stockades where you and your fellow crew were being held captive. Do you know her?"
Bumblebee's smile dropped from his faceplates, "Oh fuck, we forgot Elita! I-I…um…I…O-Optimus! Optimus, we forgot Elita!"
From a distance, both bots could hear an angry voice yelling, and they knew who it was, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LEFT ELITA!?"
Cringing, Bumblebee muttered, "S-sorry Tigressa but we better go. Um, would you like to go with us and clear your name, or do you want to stay here and make life difficult for us when we only appear in front of the Council with Acheron?"
"Fine, I'll go," Tigressa rolled her eyes, "but if Alpha Trion starts any conversation against me, I'll kill him!"
"You know you're in no position to threaten them, right?"
"Eh…I only have so many years left ahead of me; why not make life a little more interesting before I die? Like humans have said over the years thus far, 'you only have one life so live like you have only one day left to live!'"
"You're going to kill all of us eventually, I hope you know that," Bumblebee mumbled softly.
Tigressa broke out into laughter as she walked with Bumblebee to the awaiting Ethiopia.