Chapter 18-Broken
As the missile hit, Bumblebee felt himself being catapulted backwards with the truck. As he hit the ground with a bounce, he heard a horrible grinding sound, and suddenly Bee's whole body was racked with waves of pain, and he couldn't help the cry of pain that escaped from his lips as he tried to move and found he couldn't. As he looked back, Bee chirped in distress as he saw the damage to his legs, most of which were trapped under the truck he'd been holding at the time of impact. As he felt his spark begin to race, Bee couldn't help but think back to the last time he'd been injured in battle, and as he lay there for a second wishing the pain would stop, Bee was certain he could hear Megatrons mocking tones. 'He's not here, he can't hurt you again, you're doing a good enough job by yourself', thought Bee to himself as he slowly and painfully began to attempt to pull himself out of the wreckage. However each small movement was pure agony on his exposed wires and he was unable to fight back the chirps of distress that were echoing through the suddenly silent street.
Ironhide was also feeling the pain of the blast as he'd been catapulted into the air too but luckily enough he'd been in front of the truck and it was only the initial impact that had hit the larger bot, not the truck as well as with Bumblebee. Getting up, Ironhide looked over the new dents and scratches on his already scarred bodywork with a dismissive eye, before he turned to look at the devastation the blast Starscream's missiles had caused behind him. He was glad to see Ratchet and Jazz moving, as hopefully they would have been able to keep all the humans safe, but his spark jumped instantly when he could see no sign of Bumblebee. Moving closer to the scene, Ironhide felt his spark drop as he heard the chirps of pain which he knew from bitter experience, were coming from his youngling.
As he neared the injured Bumblebee, Ironhide had to lower his optics. He'd sworn to himself that he would keep the younger 'bot safe after his last injury at the hands of Megatron, but as he saw Bee struggling to move, Ironhide couldn't help but feel he'd let his youngling down. Bumblebee however felt his spark settle a little as he saw the bulk of Ironhide moving towards him, and he chirped gratefully as Ironhide lifted the truck from the rest of his injured lower limbs, and when he saw the distressed look in Ironhides optics, Bee tried desperately to reassure the weapons specialist through the comm-link that he'd be okay. Ironhide raised an eyebrow at Bee, who was clearly in huge amounts of pain, and sighed loudly, "Right now you're not though are you?". Bee was about to reply when a new and far sharper pain pierced his spark, and he raised panicked optics to look at Ironhide, and voiced the single thought that had erased every other in his head, "Where's Mikaela? And where's Sam".
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Sam slowly opened his eyes and shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears caused by the blast. As he slowly began to move he saw Mikaela lying beside him, her eyes still closed. Sam felt his heart sink and he crawled closer to her, shaking her with as much force as he dared, "Mikaela. 'Kaela please, you have to wake up". He shook her once more and to his relief she slowly open her eyes, and gradually focused on him, "Sam?". Sam let out a sigh of relief as Mikaela reached out a hand towards him, and began to move forward. As she inched nearer to Sam, Mikaela winced at the several small cuts the flying debris had left on her exposed skin. However as her thoughts went back to the blast, she suddenly realised she didn't know what had happened to Bumblebee as she'd blacked out just after the blast. Sam saw the way her eyes widened with concern and he shook his head slightly, "I don't know 'Kaela, I've only just come round myself". However Mikaelas questions were answered as she heard Bee's pained cries, and as she shared a worried look with Sam, she found the strength to push herself up from the ground; and ran as quickly as she could towards Bee, followed by Sam.
"Oh god Bee, are you okay?". Bumblebee looked up at Sam, 'Couldn't be better', he thought crossly to himself through the pain. Bumblebee then looked up as he heard Mikaelas soft cry of distress, and he tried to crawl towards her but the pain was too much, and he raised half closed optics to meet her concerned blue eyes, "I'm sorry beautiful, I couldn't keep my promise". Mikaela swallowed back her tears and ran to her 'bot, trying not to look too closely at the damage that had been done to his legs just yet, focusing instead on his face and optics, breathing deeply to calm herself. As she gently stroked his face, Bee leaned into her touch, the gentle rhythm of her hands easing the pain he was in slightly. Sam looked up at Ironhide and saw the concern in the larger bots eyes as he yelled for Ratchet, who came running, much to Bee's relief.
"What have you done to yourself this time youngling?". Bumblebee looked up at Ratchet and chirped unhappily as the medic raised concerned eyebrows when he looked at the damage the blast had caused to Bumblebees lower torso, before shaking his head as he moved round out of Bee's sight and began to take a closer look at his injuries. Bee tried to turn himself so he see what Ratchet was doing but all it did was cause more pain. Mikaela felt her eyes cloud with tears as she heard the low moan of pain that came from deep inside Bee, and as she met Sams gaze, she saw the tears glimmering in his eyes too. Mikaela gently cupped Bee's face with gentle hands, "I'm gonna go see if I can help Ratchet fix you up big guy". Bee looked at her and despite the pain he was still in, he felt his spark flutter hopefully as he saw the determined light shining through the tears in his girls bright blue eyes. Bee chirped at Mikaela softly before he carefully curled his hand round her, smiling as Mikaela curled into the warmth of his embrace, "Love you beautiful". Mikaela met Bee's clear blue optics and smiled back at him, "I love you too big guy. Now let me go help Ratchet try to get you fixed up". She heard the unhappy chirps from her 'bot, along with Sam's voice reassuring him, as she walked round to join Ratchet. However as she saw the destruction that had been caused to Bee by the blast, she almost wished she hadn't. Ratchet looked up as he heard Mikaela's sharp intake of breath, and contemplated telling her to go away when she looked up at him with eyes that not only glistened with tears for the hurt that had been caused to Bee, but also with a battle light that matched that of the weapons specialist who was standing guard over his fallen youngling, which despite the seriousness of the situation caused Ratchet to smile to himself, before he heard Mikaela asking him in a calm voice if there was anything she could do to help. Ratchet shared an approving glance with Ironhide, who was trying desperately to contact Optimus, before looking down at the young femme who was so important to Bumblebee, "Are you any good with wiring?".
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Mikaela was concentrating on untangling Bee's shattered wiring, as Ratchet fixed Bee's legs back on with some hurried welding, easing some of Bee's pain, but as he explained to Mikaela as they worked together, it would still take a lot of work before Bee would be able to stand or transform to his alt-mode. Listening patiently to Ratchet, Mikaela was faintly aware of Lennox and Epps yelling at each other crossly about the Raptor firing on them, and she smiled to herself as she heard Jazz trying to explain in soothing tones that it was no ordinary plane, which only seemed to infuriate the two soldiers even more. However her concentration was suddenly interrupted by a series of unexpected explosions, which knocked her onto her back. Wincing as she pushed herself back upright, she quickly called out that she was okay when she heard Bumblebees worried chirp, and as she looked up at Ratchet and Ironhide she felt a growing sense of unease as she picked up on the worried looks in their optics as they gazed back down the street.
"Oh my god, what is that?". Mikaela heard the shout from Epps, and turned to look in the direction the blasts were coming from. To her horror there was a large and heavily armoured tank heading towards them and she'd bet her right arm that it was definitely non army issued. As she watched the tank seem to mindlessly plough on towards them, Mikaela saw Jazz quickly transform down to his alt-mode and speed down the street towards the tank; Ratchet also watched Jazz and glanced at Bumblebee, before meeting Mikaela and Ironhides worried gazes, "I will fix him, I promise you", before he quickly transformed and sped after the Solstice. Ironhide gazed at his youngling once more before he swapped his gaze to meet Mikaelas, "Keep my boy safe girlie", before rapidly transforming into his Topkick alt-mode and racing after the others. Bee watched the as the other Autobots left to fight and he felt his spark sink, as once again he'd been injured and had been left behind. As she heard the stressed chirp from Bee, she reluctantly left the progress she'd made on his wiring, and ran back round to be beside him. Sam looked at her as he heard the panic in the soldiers voices, before he knelt in front of Bee, "Come on Bee, you have to try to get up". Bee chirped and tried to pull himself along the concrete by digging his fingers into the concrete, trying to ignore the pain as he did so. However the distance he covered was minimal, and he looked up at Sam with pain filled optics, which tore at Mikaelas heart as she watched. Sam heard the dejected chirp from a defeated Bee, as did Mikaela, and they quickly crouched down in front of Bee, "I'm not going to leave you, and neither will 'Kaela, will you?". Mikaela looked back at Bee, and met his optics with her own determined blue eyes, tracing a pattern on his now dull and dirtied paintwork, "Hell no. I'm with you til the end big guy. You're not getting rid of me that easily".
Bumblebee looked back up at the two teenagers that had become so important to him and although his spark still ached at being left by the other Autobots, Bee knew he was no longer alone and it eased the fears the young 'bot had about being alone. However it didn't ease the worry Bee was feeling at being a sitting target for the oncoming Decepticon, and he could see no way of being able to get out of the way. Ratchet had managed to reattach his legs, but Bee was still unable to use them, or transform, and there was no way he could drag himself to safety, and he was still in possession of the cube. Chirping softly to Sam and Mikaela, Bee looked at them both with optics that were filled with distress, "I know you want to stay but you have to leave and get to safety, I don't want you getting hurt because of me". Sam looked up at Bumblebee with hurt eyes which only made Bee feel worse, before Mikaela looked up into his optics with eyes that burned brightly, "We aren't leaving Bee, you've always been here to protect us when we've needed it. Its our turn to protect you now".
"Thank you beautiful, but you're not going to be able to protect me against that". Mikaela turned to look at the oncoming tank before she began scanning the surrounding area, "There must be something somewhere that we can use to help us". Sam sighed as he heard the frustration in Mikaelas voice, and turned to look back at Bee and as he saw the resigned look in his blue optics; Sam knew there was no way they could let Bumblebee sacrifice himself for them, he'd already been through so much for them. Sam's eyes then widened as Bee held out the cube for him, chirping sadly as he did. Sam could see the worry in Bee's eyes as he took hold of it and he looked up at Bee with a determined, if slightly unsure look, "I'll do my best to keep it safe for you". Bee looked back at Sam and tried to stop the feeling of dread that lodged itself in his spark when he saw the cube in Sam's small hands, before thinking to himself worriedly, 'Hope you stay safer than I've managed to'. Sam looked at Mikaela and when he saw her looking across the street, he followed her gaze to where she had seen an abandoned tow truck. Mikaela smiled to herself as she began to form a plan in her head, before she turned to look at the injured 'bot who meant so much to her, "I think I know how we can get you out of here big guy".
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Ironhide sped towards the incoming Decepticon tank, dodging the missiles that were being fired towards him. As he transformed, he managed to avoid yet more missiles by performing a series of complicated moves using sheer agility and his guns for extra power, finally coming to a stop just in time to see Jazz speed past him and launch himself at the tanks gun turret. Jazz looked over at Ironhide and grinned at him, "Some pretty fly moves there, big guy". Ironhide looked back at Jazz and was about to reply to him when the tank suddenly transformed, catching Jazz off guard and throwing him across the street, where he landed hard against a building. Ironhide growled under his breath, and finally let out the frustration he'd been feeling since Bumblebee had been injured, blasting both his cannons towards the oncoming Brawl. Ratchet, who had quickly rushed to check on Jazz, who was fine other than a few scratches; saw the tank preparing to fire at Ironhide and managed to get back across the street to deflect the blast with his shield, before he managed to take one of Brawls hands off with his blade attachment, turning to share a quick look of satisfaction with both Ironhide and Jazz, before they concentrated on taking down the large Decepticon. However it was a blast from one of the guns belonging to the soldiers that finally took down the Decepticon, and as they watched Brawl fall to the ground, Ironhide looked back at Ratchet, "Any way you can fit me with some of those Sabot rounds?".
However the respite Brawls demise has given them was short-lived as they heard a cold voice echo through the streets. As they shouted a hurried order to fall back, Ironhide met the eyes of the human who was in charge of the soldiers, "Get your men behind us, we will keep you safe". Lennox nodded at Ironhide and guided his men away from the robot he quickly realised was the one that they had seen earlier at the dam. Epps shared a look with his captain, "Guess he's not on ice anymore".
Megatron advanced towards the Autobots, uncaring of any of the human insects that got in his way. The first target he sighted was Jazz, who fired his own weapons in an attempt to hold back the Decepticon, but he was caught by the blast from Megatrons cannon and fell backwards, moaning as he felt the damage to his circuits, and also to his arm where he'd fell. Megatron laughed triumphantly as he advanced towards the fallen Autobot and Jazz felt his spark begin to sink as he tried to get himself up. Megatron watched Primes lieutenant struggle, "Oh this I will enjoy, depriving Prime of his first lieutenant. Maybe one day you will learn not to be so foolhardy".
"I don't think so Megatron, why don't you try picking on someone your own size". Ironhide unleashed a blast from his cannon that knocked the Decepticon leader off-balance, allowing Ironhide to take up a protective stance over the fallen Jazz. Megatron quickly got to his feet, and glared at the large black Autobot who was preparing to fire his canons once again, "You won't always be there to protect those weaker than you". Ironhide quickly unleashed a series of smaller but just as deadly blasts at Megatron, who quickly transformed back into his alt-mode and flew out of reach of 'Hides cannons. Ironhide glared up at the 'con, before whispering under his breath, "Oh yes I will be, you taught me that lesson when you hurt my youngling, but then I wouldn't expect a cowardly Decepticon like you to understand that, leader or not". Jazz yelped as he finally managed to stand, cradling his injured arm, "Thanks 'Hide. My spark owes you". Ironhide looked at the smaller 'bot and saw the pain in Jazz's optics, "Not a problem Shorty, I wasn't gonna let that bag of bolts hurt another member of my family, I still owe him for Bumblebee". Jazz looked back at Ironhide gratefully, "Well I gotta say 'Hide, I'm glad you were there, though don't think I'm gonna be much help, he got me pretty good". Ironhide saw the damage to Jazz's bodywork, and his injured arm, "Transform back down to your alt-mode and get yourself out of the city to safety. I didn't save your sorry ass to have you taken out while you're still injured. I'll explain to Prime when he gets here".
"You're the man 'Hide". Jazz slowly transformed back down to his alt-mode, and as Ironhide watched the Solstice escape to safety, he was unaware of Ratchet coming up alongside him. "We'll soon start thinking there's a soft bit in that tough spark of yours". Ironhide turned to look at Ratchet with narrowed optics, "Not a chance Ratch, just don't want any more fallen members of the team. One is enough". Ratchet laid a comforting hand on the weapon specialists shoulder, as he knew Ironhide was still desperately concerned about Bumblebee, and Ratchet could only hope that either Mikaela or Sam had found a way to keep Bee safe.
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A/N: Hey sorry it's took so long to get this chapter out but just started my new job and its taking me some time to get used to the new shifts :) Hope you all like it, I've jiggled around with the timeline of the start of the battle a little as it makes more sense to me that way... and hope you like that last section! Enjoy as always xx