Chapter 4

About an hour or two after Optimus left the base on business, Bumblebee made his way down the hall to the storage room where their captive Decepticon was being held. A utility trunk swung at his side, its contents jostling about as he went. Bumblebee gave a courtesy knock before unlocking the door and stepping inside.

With his pain chased farther than it had ever been before, Karl was up and about, milling around the cell without any particular place to go. Now and then, he'd paused to stretch his limbs, wanting to keep the flexible cables as limber as possible...there was no reason to grow sedentary and listless just because he was confined.

However, he stopped the moment Bumblebee entered the room, looking at the Autobot and waiting to see if he'd speak - or, like the blue femme had the previous day, leave an energon cube without a word.

Bumblebee leaned against the frame of the door and raised a servo. 'Welcome to the Hotel Autobot Base,' he wailed in a series of dramatic beeps, 'where everything is stolen from you or government funded. You can check-out any time you like, but you can never leave.' Bumblebee put his arm down and evened his tone. 'Or who knows, maybe you will leave. Anyway, I'm here to spruce you up.'

Bumblebee stepped inside to let the door close and started unloading the trunk filled with refurbishing equipment, cloths and containers of polish and wax.

Karl stared at the polishing equipment, his gaze slowly transferring back to Bumblebee. "I'm imagining things," he said bluntly. "I'm lying somewhere about to offline and this is all some kind of dream."

Bumblebee stopped his unloading. 'Sorry, I should probably be more serious,' he said. 'I'm here because Optimus told me to stop by and give you a shine-up. He did once mention something about personal upkeep increasing morale. So I guess while you stay he figures you should fit in. But I don't really know. I'm just doing what I was told.'

Speaking up close, it struck Karl just how young the Autobots' youngest member really was. That and the mention of Optimus set him somewhat at ease. "...Can't blame me, can you? Not long ago, I was expecting to be strapped down to that med berth and have my plating peeled off." He leaned back against the wall, shaking his helm. "Not being tortured, okay, I can see that. But...this?"

Bumblebee wondered if his scheme had been a bad idea. He'd been curious about him ever since Optimus became interested, but he didn't want to rely on his leader's opinion alone. After all, Optimus did once trust Starscream enough to consider letting him join.

So it came down to finding an excuse to visit. Bumblebee liked to keep himself looking good and knew all about how to do it right, so he'd thought it would be a good excuse. But when he looked at the Vehicon's skeptical stance now, he wondered otherwise.

'Uhm, yeah I guess I agree. Optimus gets carried away sometimes. I can leave if you're not into it, but this is good stuff: carna-something wax imported from Brazil. It'll be fun, we can… you know, chat and whatever.'

It finally hit Karl. Bumblebee's easy manner of speaking, equally free of excessive formality and unhindered roughness, reminded him of the other Vehicons - and that was more tempting than even Brazilian wax. "...Yeah. Alright. Chatting...no harm there." He stepped closer, unsure how Autobots even went about polishing one another or what Bumblebee wanted him to do.

"Although I'm not gonna lie. I've never had anything waxed before."

Bumblebee tried to keep a poker face during that last comment. It was more than evident that the Vehicons didn't come by wax often, and this one looked like he'd never seen a mirror in his life. 'No problem,' he said, handing the Vehicon a bottle of polish and a cloth. 'I'll do the waxing on your enamel plates, and you stick to the polishing on the bare metal, how about that? Now, just sit down on the floor here, we'll stay away from your berth or it'll get dirty.'

Bumblebee sat down along with the Vehicon, scooting closer to the box. 'At least we don't have to go to the wash racks since Optimus just gave you a scrub down. You can go ahead and get polishing, just rub until you're shiny.' He grabbed the tub of wax and unscrewed the lid, and dabbed the sponge with some of the soft wax. 'Here goes,' he said, just to warn the Decepticon before he put his servos all over him. He grabbed a shoulder to hold it still and began rubbing circles into it, slowly covering it. When one area was completed he grabbed the waxing cloth and rubbed it out. A small patch on Karl began to shine, the dull purple suddenly magnificent. He resisted saying anything, pleased with the idea that the Vehicon would be startled at the end.

'So, how great is it, being our captive?' he joked, 'Five stars, right?'

Karl rubbed the polish over his bare metal components, glad to have something active to do with his servos. Wax was a rare and frivolous commodity among the Vehicons, but the act of having someone assist you was comfortingly familiar. He watched patch after patch begin to shine through the wear of his plating, somewhat fascinated by it.

"If you knew what I've been expecting?" Karl replied, unsure if he should be admitting so much. "It kind of is."

He noticed that Bumblebee's overall touch was far gentler than Ratchet's, if not quite as gentle as Optimus's. He allowed the thought to linger, quickly shunting it away.

Bumblebee chuckled. 'Yeah, Optimus is pretty set in his ways when it comes to fair fights. But still, I thought they'd tie you to a chair and knock you around or something, not give you a wash and free health care. But Optimus sees things differently, and that's why he's the one in charge. I trust his intuition.'

Bumblebee wondered if he was pushing his luck, but he was too curious about Optimus' strange behavior on the way out of the base a short while ago. 'You know, he looked pretty distracted when he left today. Did you give him a stern talking to or something?'

"No," Karl said quickly. "No idea why he looked like that." He realized that this made perfect sense...the coolant incident had been strange and far too intimate, and Optimus must have realized how his behavior was coming across. That was why he had sent the scout down for this task. That must have been it. Karl told himself that the feeling settling over his spark was relief.

"It doesn't make sense," he confided, his voice low. "Why hasn't he knocked me around? It's not like I've told him something useful and all of this is my reward. I haven't told anyone anything."

Bumblebee continued over to his other shoulder. 'He's probably just trying to get you to give him the answer he wants. Knocking you around sure wouldn't do that.'

"But what makes him so sure this will?" Karl looked over his shoulder at him, then quickly away. "It's war. It's...not what you do."

'Yeah but obviously torturing you isn't going to-' Bumblebee stopped, and it suddenly dawned on him that Optimus hadn't asked him to join them yet. The Vehicon obviously had no idea, or why else would he still wonder about not being tortured? 'It isn't going to… solve anything.' Bumblebee sped up his rubbing. 'So, are you feeling cramped? When we're finished we could drive around in the sparring room. It's not big enough to hit some serious mph but it's big enough to burn a little rubber and stretch the axles. We could do donuts and stuff.'

The Vehicon perked up. He'd been so cramped, he was beginning not to even register it as a sensation, but something there in the background of his confined cycles. "They'd let you let me out? And into an actual room, moving around?" The thought of transforming brought another reality to light, and "Even if you could...your medic. Surgery..." He waved a servo above the site of his t-cog. "Would that really be okay?"

'You're supposed to take it easy after the surgery, not before, right?' Bumblebee had finished his shoulders and back, and shifted around to do Karl's lower legs. 'And yeah they'd let you out, because I'm one of 'they' and I'm letting you out.' He paused. 'We'll sneak you back before the Big Guy gets home.'

"This is the worst idea." Karl was once again glad he lacked an expression; he was sure he would be fighting a smile. As it was, his voice was brimming with one. "...I can't fight it! You raced our medic. How do I turn something like that down?"

'Oh Primus, and I am so ready to drive with someone new! There isn't exactly anyone on base who's interested casual driving with me. Knockout is a great challenge, but some of the fun gets lost when your competition is trying to snuff you out.'

Bumblebee worked on his second leg, the job coming to a close. 'So…' he started, finally feeling comfortable enough to ask. 'Ever heard of a Con named 404?'

Remembering his own job, Karl went quickly over his own bare metal with the polish. He tried to place the number, going through all the miners he worked with and all the soldiers he'd served besides. "404, 404...no, sorry. Is he one of the younger soldiers? I never got the chance to meet them all before...I mean, it just never happened."

'That's too bad; I thought we'd have a friend in common.' He finished up the waxing and closed the cap, then turned to Karl. 'That's my big secret, that I'm 'friends' with a Vehicon. I'm telling you because you're a Vehicon too, but you can't tell Optimus, or anyone else. None of them know.' Bee rolled his eyes. 'Though I'm sure 404's friends all know. He likes to brag.'

Suddenly it clicked with Karl, and it was all he could do to keep his voice down. He waved a servo about, bringing his digit to a sharp, excited point aimed at Bumblebee. "The big rumor going around! They said that one of the soldiers was sneaking around with an Autobot. That was you?"

Bumblebee covered his face for a moment. 'Eh, yeah. I'm sneaking around with him.' Bumblebee shook his helm. 'That big mouthed slagger. But they probably don't believe him, I'll take comfort in that.'

Karl capped the bottle of polish and handed it back to Bumblebee, along with the rag. "If it's any more comfort, we never did. We figured they were just throwing together stories up there, y'know? Heh...and 707, the guy who was in charge of loading? He always said someone had self-serviced to a picture of a truck, and word of mouth just turned it into an Autobot." He stopped himself, unsure if he'd just said something horribly tactless. "...Never thought it was one of those things that could really happen."

'I get it. It's pretty unlikely.' Bumblebee looked a bit downtrodden then. 'The thing that we've got, it's not easy. There's so much uncertainty. I won't join the Decepticons, not under Megatron. I'll spare you my feelings on him, since you're a Con and all. The only think keeping 404 from joining us is his best friend, who needs to be taken care of for some reason. So we're thinking, if we both survive the war, we'll make it work then.'

"I get you. It's just hard..." The Vehicon paused, unsure of what to say to something like that, because he certainly wasn't in a position to give comfort or advice. "I don't think it would be out of line to tell you that the Decepticons are just as ready for this to be over. Officers included. I mean, I'm sure you already know."

'I could guess.' The conversation was falling into a darker place, and Bumblebee knew if one of his comrades were here they would tell him to pipe down. But they weren't here. He looked at Karl seriously. 'See, here's why the Autobots have to win: If we win, Optimus will claim territory somewhere, here or maybe elsewhere, and accept any Decepticons who want to join him, and let the rest of them go off and try to survive on their own. But if the Decepticons win, Megatron will hunt down and kill each and every last Autobot he can find. Optimus know it; we all do, that he'll chase us to the end of the universe. Sometimes I can't recharge because I think about it, how we might just be unlucky enough for Megatron to keep us alive. I have these nightmares about it, what will happen to us.'

Bumblebee stood up and paced, trying to cool himself down. 'Never mind, forget it. I'm sorry. It's just… Not all of the Decepticons are as nice as you, Karl.'

Everything within Karl, every last lecture Shockwave had programmed into them, was telling him to keep his thoughts to himself. He leaned on his knee actuators, speaking without heat. "He knows it's not going to end as long as there are Autobots. That you won't back down and settle for a loss any more than he will." He looked up.

"He's got his own vision of what the world should be like...and I guess you've got yours. And really, who's going to settle for just surviving when they've each got the fate of the world on their backs?"

'His vision?!' Bumblebee stopped himself. He leaned against the wall, trying to look less hostile to the tense Vehicon.

404 had told him a little about what the Eradicon army had been raised on, how it had been filled with horror stories. But even though Bumblebee was more than old enough to hear the truth, 404 never wanted to tell him just what he'd been told. He felt guilty then, for going behind 404's back for the answers, but it was something he needed to know. 'What exactly do they tell you over there?'

"They told us all about the caste system. The eons of misery, poverty, bots in the lower rungs having their names blanked the moment they came out of the well. Torture and murder going on behind closed doors." He straightened up. "You may not work that way in this base, but it's what you fight for. I don't see how you can get around that."

Bumblebee's optics widened with surprise. 'I know about the caste system, but Megatron and Optimus were trying to end it together, not just Megatron. And torture? Listen. The Optimus Prime you've seen in the last few days, that's the same mech whose been running the troops since the start of the war. He would have never… that could have never happened. And he's not faking now. He can barely lie to make people feel better.' Bumblebee took a step closer, now that his voice had evened out. 'Just think about it. Pretend Optimus Prime was a bad, bad mech behind closed doors. Why would he spare a soldier who knew barely anything compared to one of the officers? If the Autobots are torturing mechs behind closed doors, then why aren't I torturing you? I mean, you're as closed in as they get.'

"You're also offering to take me into the sparring room and let me drive around," Karl pointed out. "Awfully nice of you to do, but you can't tell me it's the usual way of doing things, can you?" He tapped on the back of his own servo, thinking before continuing. "And let's just say Optimus Prime really is a decent mech. It doesn't make the system he's fighting for a just one, and if he doesn't think it's right, why has he been fighting a war to keep it?"

Bumblebee was getting more confused by the minute. 'I don't know what system you're talking about.' He watched Karl curiously. 'Have you even heard any of Prime's epic, gallant speeches about peace and equality?' Bumblebee raised his servos. 'I swear I've heard him say this stuff a hundred thousand times and it won't be the last. I know it all better than I know my own cereal number. When we're created, our spark tells us to choose a path for ourselves, and choose what we become. And when we're confined to our station in life and forced into a role, it makes us sick and restless because it's against our very nature not to choose for ourselves.' His gaze met Karl's optical visor. 'And so, that is why freedom is the right of all sentient beings. You can't tell me you've never heard that. That's Optimus' creed. That is what we fight for.'

"I've never heard any of it. Never once..." Shockwave's lectures had been thorough and Megatron's the epitome of empowering. He'd never heard of Optimus' creed or even known that he'd had one. Karl glanced away, then quickly back. "But that doesn't answer my questions. It can't be that simple. If that's all there is too it, then we want the same thing! Why are we fighting over..."

The sound of the door unlocking and the door opening cut him off. Arcee stepped in, a cube of energon in hand. She immediately frowned. "Bumblebee? You're still down here?" She eyed the wax and polish. "What are those?"

'Uh, I was just… you know, getting to know the resident Con.' Bumblebee pushed Arcee to the door, leaning close out of Karl's earshot. 'I'm almost done, can you just not tell Optimus? Here, I'll take that for you.' He took the cube and gently nudged her out with his hip. 'Thanks,' he finished before shutting the door in her face.

There was a long moment before the sounds of retreating pedes came to them. It seemed that Arcee had gaped at the closed door before deciding to go on her way.

Karl stared in half terrified silence. "You can do that kind of thing to each other? And you don't get threatened with decomission." He gave a low whistle through his intakes. "Optimus really does go easy on you guys..."

Bumblebee chuckled with chagrin. 'Well, Optimus isn't exactly here, is he? He would expect better from me, I guess. And as for Arcee, we've become like a family since we were separated from the other Autobots. We put up with each other. So uh, sorry for losing it before, I shouldn't have. Do you still want to go drive for a bit? We have time… and we don't have to play around.'

"No, it's fine. You didn't lose it, we were chatting. Like you said." Karl stretched his shoulder plates and found them to be no less stiff than when Bumblebee had first arrived. "That still sounds great, actually. If you're sure she's not going to be out there waiting for us."

'The benefits outweigh the risks,' Bumblebee said. He quickly threw the supplies back into the trunk. 'Oh by the way, Optimus doesn't actually know anything about this, I was kind of just using a wax job as an excuse to meet you. Heh, he's not going to believe it's you.'

Karl, who had stood up to flex his plating, stopped mid-stretch. "...Not sure why you'd want to meet me. There are other Vehicons that're lot more interesting."

'Well there aren't any other Vehicons staying at the Autobot base.' Bumblebee picked up the trunk. 'Alright Karl, let's get this show on the road.'

Karl shrugged. "Can't argue with that." And on that note, he followed Bumblebee out into the hallway.

The sparring room was large and bright, a relieving change from the storage room, which was sized more like personal quarters. Bumblebee goofed off, showing Karl how he'd learned to do a running flip into alt mode, and promising he'd teach him if Karl's surgery smoothed out his transformation. They sped and drifted, tires screaming through exhilarating turns.

It was clear that Karl would never match Bumblebee in speed, and his vehicle mode emitted a low rattle whenever he took a sharp turn. Under the bright, warm lights of the open room, he couldn't have cared less. He followed every instruction Bumblebee gave him and very nearly picked up the transformation flip. Eventually he was goading him mid-race, like a fellow Vehicon, and laughing all the while.

Throughout the day Optimus had tried to avoid thinking about the coolant incident, but it only made it worse. His actions had been so incredibly inappropriate. How could someone join sides with a leader who let his desires get the better of him? And that alone… that was something unfamiliar. Optimus was the type to repress his needs, and it had been a long, long time since anyone had even caught his attention. He couldn't keep back the memory of Karl relaxing beneath his servo, the relieved sigh escaping his vocals. Primus, Optimus was in trouble.

By the time he returned to base he was uneasy about seeing Karl again. When he reached the turn, he found himself thinking of something he could do first, something that needed to be done. He was rather dirty, a layer of dust and dirt clinging to him from a brief battle. So instead of right he turned left down the hall to rinse off.

As he walked down the hall he heard the roar of a pair of engines, one of which was unfamiliar. He stepped in front of the opened entrance to the sparring room and watched the scout and the Vehicon speeding around, and momentarily forgot his worries. He smiled, enjoying the sight of them tearing up the floor.

After countless laps around the outer parameter of the room, Karl found himself right on the scout's bumper. He gave a triumphant chuckle. "Got you now, Autobot..." He pressed down on his gas pedal, giving it everything he had as he took the corner -

And saw Optimus Prime standing in the doorway.

He skidded to a screeching hault, transforming back so fast it made his t-cog screech. His gaze shot frantically from Bumblebee to Optimus, thinking only of what they'd been doing and what it may have looked like, to say nothing of his roaming free in the base. He briefly thought of drawing his weapon or chancing an escape, but shot the idea down just as fast; this time, it simply wasn't an option.

Optimus blinked as he looked over the Vehicon. He tilted his helm slightly, not sure if it was his imagination making Karl gleam the way he was. The light flicked over him with his every move, his surroundings reflecting in distorted curves off the brilliant purple enamel.

"Karl," Optimus said with a quiet tone. "You look very nice."

The Vehicon froze, as though he couldn't believe what he were hearing. There was just no way. And then, in keeping with the day's patterns, he gave a reply that he couldn't believe he was giving.

"Thanks. Er, so do you."

So do you. The instant he heard himself say it, Karl wanted to offline.

"I'll...just go back to the cell now?"

"Oh…" Optimus said, finally noticing Bumblebee again, "no, there is no need for you two to stop on my account. I'm on my way to the wash rack. I'll return afterward and bring you straight to Ratchet from here." Without waiting for a response, Optimus turned and started down the hall again. He didn't know what other foolishness would escape from him if he lingered near the drone any longer.

Karl waited until he could no longer hear the metallic shifts and groans of Optimus's body in motion. The Autobot leader's vocals replayed through his memory banks, every time as gentle and rolling as the last, with never a single catch to indicate insincerity. He saw that the sparring room door was still open.

"He knows," the Vehicon said, more to himself than to Bumblebee. "It's not whether I can or can't escape. He thinks I won't even try."

And deep in his spark, Karl knew that Optimus was right.

Upon witnessing the interaction between his leader and their captive, Bumblebee suddenly realized there was a world of something happening that he wasn't aware of.

To be continued!

Ahh, I had such warm feels writing this last part with Chai.