Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.
Chapter 38
Seven joors later found Ratchet leaning against a medical slab, arms sprawled to the sides, palms holding up his almost trembling with exhaustion frame, while he stood there gazing down at the steady rise and fall of a welded back together chest. Bluestreak's color was still off, grey too dull to be the shade that the sniper usually wore, but it wasn't something Ratchet could fix at the moment.
It would be a while yet of pumping the young mech back full of the energon he'd lost before his nanites recovered from the shock his frame went through. Even if Ratchet knew that, had been the one that spent the last spark chilling joors fighting the sniper's spark and struggling to keep him alive, it was still unnerving to look down at him and see that too pale faceplate combined with that too pale frame.
A heavy sigh heaved through his vents as his optics slid close and he bowed his helm.
It had been too close.
Far too close.
"Aid get that damn energon IV going NOW!"
"I'm trying!"
"I don't have time for trying! DO IT NOW!"
"Ratchet, his spark!" Arcee's pitch spoke of the panic that her vorns of practice wouldn't let her frame show. The flowing emotions that were screaming between them were hard to not focused on. His instincts as a mate screamed different from the ones as a medic, he couldn't listen to the side that wanted to comfort his mate though, he had a dying might as well be mechling on his hands.
"Stabilize him!" Ratchet snarled, more to himself than anything else as he retched off the punctured plating over the dull grey chest.
Ratchet shook his head hard trying to clear away the shaking in his fingers and his frame. By the time he'd got that plating off that spark had stopped beating. It had gone still in that energon filled chamber, chocked just as much as his vents on his own lives fuel.
Blue had been dead.
Choked to death on his own energon.
It took seven shocks to force that spark to pulse again just before the energy evaporated out of existence completely.
"He's not fraggin' breathing!" First Aid yelped as he hooked up the drain feed that he was trying to use to pull the energon not only out of Bluestreak's internal vents but as well as his flooded spark chamber so that they could fraggin' shock him.
"Clear his damn chamber!" Ratchet was yelling. "Flush his vents!"
"We need to shock him now!" Arcee had her hands laced over Blue's throat pressing and pressing trying to force the gathered energon out of his chocked air ways to give the three of them more time. To give Blue more time.
A hand laying on his shoulder pulled Ratchet back to the here and now leaving him to turn and look down at the soft pink femme that pressed herself against his side. Reaching around and tucking her close he lay his chin down atop her head, clutching her tight and letting out a long breath.
"He'll be okay now." She whispered softly.
Ratchet couldn't answer. Instead he just nodded slightly against her.
"Ratchet," She stressed, pulling away from her mate in favor of looking up into those tired optics. "He will be fine. A little recovery time and he'll be good as new."
"I know that." The CMO snorted, looking back to the younger Praxian. "I was there when we fixed him."
"And you know as well as I do Blue is a fighter. He always has been."
"Did you comm Prowl?"
"Aid did when he went to check on Fire and Jolt." Arcee said. "Jazz is fine, antsy and strung if not a bit wild but alright none the less. Bumblebee is still on sedatives and out of it, but he will be alright too. His pups were close, but Fire kept them breathing."
"Were his wings as bad as Blue's?" Ratchet still couldn't get the memory of those blackened appendages out of his mind.
"No." She shook her head. "Fire took care of them. Had to slice off some protoform like we did, but they will heal. Blue protected him from the worst of it. He won't be happy for a while with how much pain medicine he's going to be on, but he will heal and that's what matters."
"Hide and Mia?"
"In their rooms, Fire took them all back there. Hammer is with them, last thing Aid said Rider was there as well. Smokey is with Prowl."
"Where is Jazz?"
Arcee smiled. "Where do you think?"
Ratchet nodded. "Holding up Prowl."
"Can't even tell there was a huge hole in his gut if you hadn't been there. Aid patched him and he was up with Prowl again like nothing ever happened. We're going to have to make sure he doesn't kill his idiot self that way."
"Magnus and Rodimus secured the tunnels I'm assuming?"
"Yes."
"Then I guess all we can do now is wait."
"Neither Rider or Smokey are explaining. I don't think now is the best time for that either."
"They are in here as soon as Blue is up." Ratchet's tone suddenly hardened. "I don't care what I have to cut those bombs are coming out! No matter if they like it or not. If I have to tie them down and strip them, they are coming the frag out."
Seven joors before there was not this play at calm he had now.
Oh no.
He was only trembling now, head in his hands, chevron gripped tightly between his fingers, wings pinned low and tight in distress behind his back, with his spark hammering hard in its chamber. It was still searching for the bond that had gone cold leaving him the absolute wreck he'd been and still sort of was. Not that that was something he could really be blamed for.
When the linked bond that stretched between two that had a bond like Prowl and Bluestreak had went as cold as death because the other's spark stopped pulsing there were certain things like a panic attack that were just a given.
He still wasn't even all that sure when he'd been taken to his office with the door locked, the lights down, and all the windows shut. He wasn't sure when Jazz had appeared again to sit quietly beside him as Prowl hid behind his desk clutching to the silver saboteur like a life line.
Even now and again as they sat here he caught himself glancing down to the patch weld that was hastily sprawled across that silver middle. The edge of it were still a nasty grey as his nanites were still in shock and trying to acclimate to the medical attention. Dried energon was also crusting in some of the intricate grooves of his sharp, sleek armor.
Prowl knew better than to question why it was Jazz had gotten out of medical hands when there was still energon staining his plating.
The Tribal mech had to have been the one that dragged him in here; since Optimus and Elita were gone he figured it was Jazz that sent them away. It was likely that as soon as Jolt finished the last bit of welding the patch into him so that he didn't leak out Jazz had shoved him off and sent him after the femme medic to help with the mechling.
In fact, now that he thought about it.
That might have been just what happened.
Roddy was yelling, cussing, throwing things and being . . . well like Hot Rod could get some of the time. Optimus wasn't paying him any attention. Elita had a hold of Prowl and Jolt was stopping Jazz from leaking to death. Ratchet and Arcee took Blue—Optimus spark was still quivering in its chamber about the amount of energon that was glittering there on the floor where Bluestreak had been—and Quickfire had taken Bumblebee to her and Aid's bay at least he was thinking that was where she took him.
Optimus had pushed himself to his feet as soon as it appeared Elita had a good enough hold on Prowl to keep him from running after the medics. The towering red and blue commander forcing his quivering spark from making him chase after the screaming mechling that had been sedated and quieted as well as the other mechling that had been stabbed through the spark chamber.
Ratchet would take care of Bluestreak. He would be okay. That was what Optimus had to go on telling himself, and Quickfire was more than capable of taking care of Bumblebee and his pups. Hide and Mia were with him, they would be okay.
At this moment he had to be the thing time had made him and that was a commander.
Swallowing down his panic he walked to the dazed looking pair of bounty hunters standing over dead frames one staring at the doorway the other staring at his brother and not paying any attention to the questions Ultra Magnus was asking them or the ones Roddy was yelling at them.
The fact that pretty much the entire faction was standing around confused and angry probably wasn't helping things. He was aware of the twins, of Blaster, of Cliffjumper, of Blurr, of the Aerialbots, of the Dinobots, of everyone. The questions, the anger, the fear, but all he could focus on was grabbing Hot Rod by his flamed shoulder and pulling him backward.
"Roddy," His tone dipped into that deep, resonating tone he only pulled out to shut up the entire faction and it worked. His younger brother went still, mouth snapping shut, and optics lifted up to hold his.
"Yes?"
"Take a patrol and search the tunnels for anybot else that shouldn't be here." He commanded. For a moment there was nothing but then Roddy's optics flashed and a task settled as something good in his spark. He nodded quickly.
"Right Optimus," And then he was spinning away calling names and bots were scrambling after him as he broke through the crowd. With that in action Optimus turned to Silverbolt who stood before his flight brothers looking around with narrow and cold optics.
"Silverbolt." He called.
The air commander straightened. "Take your brothers, search the borders. Check for anything that shouldn't be there. And unless its wearing an Autobot signal blow it the frag up."
The use of the curse and the command stuck heavy in the air all around them causing a pause before slowly the elder flier nodded, motioned to his brothers, and they were gone. With that Optimus turned to the Dinobots.
Grimlock and his brothers were unusually quiet, though if that had something to do with Wheeljack standing before them holding onto to a nervous Swoop or Scorn standing there holding Grimlock up as much as she was holding him back he wasn't sure.
Bright blue optics shining Optimus rumbled.
"I want the six of you posted at all three of the tunnel entrances that surround the ships. Same orders apply. If it isn't an Autobot. Kill. It."
Grimlock growled out a pleased, dangerous sound, his red visor flashing before he swung and with his brothers and the femme with him they vanished back down the hall.
Stern optics then flashing over to the gathered mechs Optimus nodded to the twins.
"Sunstreaker."
The golden mech lifted his chin and waited.
"Pick who you like, I don't care, but you and your brother and four others—I don't any less than two together at all times—clean up this mess and take it to Wheeljack's lab. Wheeljack, Preceptor," The two scientist were present and stepped forward. "Find out who they are and where they came from and if there is any tracking devices on them or hidden bombs. If there are disable and remove them."
"Yes Prime," The twins and the scientists answered snapping into action.
They're movement forced both Smokescreen and Outrider to back up, optics unsure as they stood watching, but it was then that Optimus turned his attention to them as Magnus stood at his side, arms crossed, and faceplate blank slates. Optimus' optics settled on the two mechs only to realize they were leaking.
Not badly.
Hardly a few scratches here and there it seemed, but it hadn't even accrued to Optimus to check. Cursing that mentally to himself he jerked his chin to the grey with death frames being picked up to their right.
"What is this?"
"Oblivion's paranoia." Outrider muttered in return. "Apparently we were taking too long. So he sent his best hunters to kill us and take what we were after. To piss off Wardrums—"
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker straightened like somebot slammed a blade into their backs, spun, and locked those vivid blue optics on the mechs.
"What did you say!?" Sides hissed at him.
He deep red and striped black hunter turned his own dark blue optics to the crimson warrior that wore just about as much black as he did lifting an optic ridge he shrugged.
"Which part?"
"Wardrums!" Sunstreaker snarled beside his twin. "You said Wardrums!"
Outrider spared a glance over to Smokescreen but the Praxian couldn't take his optics off his brother. The larger hunter sighed. He could already see how badly this was going to end.
Damn.
He needed a Primus damn drink.
Turning back to the mechs that looked to be twins from the first glance Outrider ignored the flare of something that felt like memory in the back of his processor that was suddenly nagging more his attention.
"Yeah, Wardrums," He shrugged. "My manager."
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker looked like they got hit with a tank.
Outrider didn't quite know what to make of that, but Optimus low rumble ended the interrogation before it could begin.
"Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, we will discuss this later."
Neither the huge frontliners looked all too pleased with that order if the glares were anything to go on, but with a huff and a growl they turned away doing as they were told. For even they knew there was no arguing with Optimus when he sounded like that.
"What were they doing here?" Optimus asked, turning his attention back to the huge red bounty hunter.
Outrider huffed. "Kill us most likely. Voltage thought that other mech was Smokescreen. That's why he did that."
Smokescreen flinched.
Outrider glanced at him but turned his focus back to the Prime.
"They were here to kill us and take the mechling, though they would have killed him too probably. They never did care much for the difference between the words dead or alive on a wanted add."
This answer did not make Optimus feel any better, nor did it make him any calmer.
It didn't make Prowl feel any better either as he sat there hiding behind his desk like some scared sparkling clinging to his best friend, but he did have to wonder now that his spark was slowly down slightly. His processor calming with the knowledge Jazz had whispered to him a little while ago about Ratchet' having stabilized Blue and that he would be alright. That the same could be said for Bumblebee and his pups as well. He was trying to figure out just why the pit his brother was leaning against the wall by the door doing nothing but staring at the desk the elder was behind.
He didn't understand why Smokescreen had said what he had, or why he followed after Prowl when Elita and Jazz took him to his office.
Smokescreen's spark was shivering. Twisting and convulsing in its chamber in a bucking contrast with the emotionless front that was his faceplate. His wings hung just the slightest bit uneasily behind his back, but if one wasn't looking for something to be wrong with him they wouldn't have noticed it.
Which meant that obviously Outrider had every idea what was wrong with him, but Smokescreen wasn't paying attention to the Prime or his might as well be brother. He was too busy staring at the lady Prime and a slightly stumbling Jazz pushing his rather comatose looking elder brother onto his feet and heading for the door.
His spark twisted just a little bit harder and suddenly he was cutting off the Prime, looking up into his bright optics.
"Will he be alright?"
Optimus cut off, turning his optics down. "What?"
"That Blue mech, whatever his name is."
Outrider lifted an optic ridge, Optimus sighed.
"Ratchet and Arcee will take care of him."
"And the mechling?"
"Did you not see Quickfire?"
A pulse went through the two of them.
Yes.
They had.
And they had seen Hammerdown as well.
When Jazz and Elita made it through the door Smokescreen turned his back on the leader of the Autobots and stalked after them without looking back.
Drumming his finger against his crossed arms Smokescreen glared at the front of the desk his brother was hiding behind. This was certainly not something he'd ever seen in his life time.
Prowl?
Hiding?
What was logical about that?
This was not his brother. This was not the mech he remembered.
Prowl was all about duty and logic all except for the times things often came to . . . well Smokey. His brother.
Smokescreen's jaw tightened.
So much for not replacing him.
And yet . . . he couldn't help it. Standing there staring down at his own toes he found the truth of his twisting spark was this: he was worried about that mech. For some Primus damn reason he had no idea how to figure out.
Maybe it was because he was a Praxian and what he thought was only two left turned into three then almost turned into two again because a stupid mech with a grudge thought the younger idiot was him. Or maybe it was because of the way Prowl reacted to him. The utter terror and horror, the pain that seemed to have choked him and left him curled in a ball against Jazz trying to either ignore the truth of this world or something else.
The mech meant that much to him.
A part of Smokey hated it, and the other part . . . . Well, he had saved him hadn't he?
Did he do it because he was Praxian, because Prowl had talked about him, or because he was dying and it was all Smokescreen's fault?
Why did it suddenly mean so damn much to him?
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
A quiet, mumbled sort of groan was heard suddenly over the beeping before a small ball of yellow tried to roll away from the annoying sound that was pulling him from the soft, dim nothingness of drug induced recharge only to find that movement was not to be had. Confusion bubbled up through the nothingness making big baby blue optics slowly blink open. What they found was a large expanse of black plating and protoform rising slowly up and down with breath before him.
For a nano Bumblebee had no idea what he was looking at and then the darker edges to the sharp plating registered as the tale-tale stripes that hinted Scout's plating and suddenly Bee was very awake.
Only popping up in shock tore a yelp from his throat and promptly had in a quivering ball before a hand scoped up and pulled him into the familiar hold of Mia's chest.
"Easy Bee," Her voice purred softly right over her audios. He quickly became aware that the femme was laying down, and had him curled in her palm against her chest so that after a confused nano he could burrow into the thudding of her spark on the other side of the thick plating he plastered himself against. "Shush, you're okay."
Those big blue optics blinked, unsure of what was going on, or why everything was so hazy inside before he registered the pain medicine. Letting out a low grumble he huffed and burrowed further into Chromia's plating. His spark felt like a speck lost in a sea of fog, it was annoying, and in a way hurt. He couldn't feel anything, every pulse he sent out looking for his bonds bounced back at him in a distorted echo of itself.
The pulses weren't making it out because the meds wouldn't let them. He couldn't feel and he couldn't be felt.
He pushed himself a little harder against Chromia's chest.
He hated meds.
Even if they were the reason he was alive and couldn't feel the pitifully wilted doorwings and winglets at his back. He was aware that he didn't hurt and that there was probably a pretty good reason for that, but at the moment he was a little busy with trying to figure out what was going on. That was why he slowly peaked himself back out from his curled spot and glanced around.
They were in their room. Chromia laid out on her side of the berth she shared with Hide and Bee with the forms of his pups curled into a large black ball together against her middle. They were breathing slowly, obviously on some type of sedative and pain killer. Bee wouldn't be able to call to them and have an answer to his questions even without the meds in him too.
But they were okay.
A quick sweep of their dented, and patched plating reveled a few welds and more than a few scratches, but they were alive and still in one piece. The little mechling let out a sigh of relief.
Going back to assessing his surroundings he found a wire attached to him leading to the annoying beeping machine by the side of the berth. It looked and sounded like a spark monitor, sadly he'd been hooked to enough of them by now that he knew what they were. With a pout on his lips he went to yank the annoying thing from his arm when a huge black hand stopped him.
His optics darted up to the tired faceplate of his sire.
Ironhide looked like he'd run around the whole planet or something, but his optics twinkled and his lips curled into a bit of a smile as he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to Bee's tiny one.
They mechling suddenly went to purring.
"Hide," He chirped happily, snuggling against the huge mech's faceplate.
"Evening Bee," The weapons specialist rumbled in response. "How are you feelin'?"
The happy chirp turned into an annoyed huff as the little mechling pulled back and tugged at the wire only to have Chromia reach up and stop him this time.
"Stop that." She scolded lightly.
"Itches." He squeaked in response.
"Yes I know," She sighed. "But it has to stay there for a little while okay? Fire will be back to check on you in the morning and then it can come out alright. She will also lighten your meds dose. Sound alright to you."
Bee's antennas flickered, his doorwings trying to copy the movement only to send a sharp stab of pain through his back leaving him yelping and twisting trying to find out why that hurt.
Ironhide's and Chromia's sparks dropped a little at the sound as Mia tried to stop his twisting. Laying her fingers between the sensitive appendages like Quickfire had showed her to keep them from moving while they set in with the repairs the femme medic had done.
"Calm down Bee," Hide scolded him gently, trying to get his twisting against Mia's chest to come to an end. "You're alright."
"Hurt." He squeaked, confused. Why did it hurt?
And then it all came slamming back.
Explosions, Blue, Jazz, his pups, himself. They were all hurt! Those bots had come and hurt them! And then Rider and Smokey had been there.
What happened?
Another mad glance down to his resting pups, watching closely until he was sure there frame were moving with the breaths they were taking proving that they were still alive. Once satisfied with that Bumblebee cast his optics up between his creators' and clicked.
"Blue? Jazz?"
"They're fine, Bee." Chromia told him softly. "I promise they are fine. Just like you, they're fine."
"What happened?" He mumbled. One moment he'd been watching Blue work and then everything had gone to pit. He didn't understand.
Why?
How?
Hide's low, angry, protective snarl answered pretty much all Bee's questions without even a word. The huge mech himself seated on the side of the berth, but somehow, carefully he managed to pull both Chromia and Bumblebee into his lap without disturbing the recovering pups in the middle of the berth.
Yeah.
For Bee, that was answer enough.
From his sudden perch curled in the arms of both his sire and his carrier all his world consisted of for a few klicks was the thundering echo of their sparks beating behind their armor that his audios were pressed against. However, a flash of red in the corner of the room suddenly had his attention and wiggling slightly Bee peaked around Chromia's arm to find something rather surprising sitting at Ironhide's desk picking at an energon covered blade.
Outrider.
To be completely honest, Ironhide hadn't registered the younger mech's presence until Quickfire was turning away from his berth after laying the still oblivious of the world mechling and his pups out for Chromia to hold and him to watch over only for the brightly painted femme to come to an abrupt halt when her optics found the red mech shifting uneasily in the doorway.
Those cobalt blue optics held uncertainly not only for the femme but the huge blue and black mech that had twisted around beside her.
And suddenly Rider found himself face to face with a past he'd tried so hard to put down.
There should have been surprise there, he imagined, but then again how did he know whether or not these two had already been told of his and Smokey's return. It made sense he figured. Though they had yet to show themselves.
The reason for that Rider could only guess at even if he wasn't all that sure he wanted to be.
The time for guessing would have to come later though for now all he could do was stare back into the bright and dark blue optics fixed on him from across the room. His plating tightened down despite himself for what reason he didn't know. Maybe it had something to do with the hardening in Hammer's jaw or the sigh that rattled through Fire.
Somehow watching the uncertainty in their optics was even worse than watching it in his brother's.
Why?
He didn't know.
Perhaps it was the underlying truth that he knew no matter what he did Hide would always love him, but Fire and Hammer. Yes they were family, yes they might as well be siblings, but there was no rule of sparks that meant he had to be forgiven for the glitched monster he had become without them.
And suddenly, for the first time since he woke up under Dustoff's hands Outrider was wary of what somebot was going to think of him. Of what he'd done. Of what he'd become.
Of who he no longer was.
And then something completely insane happened. Quickfire's optics—that had been flicking over his frame—settled on the rather deep gash in the side of his neck. Bombstrike had managed to land a few lucky hits on him and the points of which were sparkling with energon in a few various parts of his frame. For the most part he couldn't even feel them. The sensation of energon leaking over his plating as well as the dull throb of nonlethal wounds had long since become something that Rider's processor didn't bother with. He would live so there was no part in extending the energy it would take to worry about it.
By the flare that flashed through Fire's optics that line of thinking was about to get him in a whole pit of a lot of trouble. Then the next thing he knew a femme half his sized had him falling backward into a rolling chair, a hand to his jaw shoving his head a little too hard to the left, and a hasty patch job going to work all while Quickfire was belittling him.
He found himself missing Dustoff in the middle of that fond lecture.
"You big idiot." She hissed quietly as not to disturb the pups and the mechling even if they could probably recharge through a hurricane with the amount of sedatives she had in them. "What the frag were you thinking? This is almost a main vein!"
"It doesn't even hurt." He huffed, rolling his optics and trying to pretend she wasn't putting an awful crick in his neck. Somehow he figured complaining about that little fact would do nothing but get him a lump on his head.
Fire didn't seem to find his comment funny or helpful and he got himself a smack up the side of his head anyway.
"Mute it." She muttered as she worked.
Another roll of his cobalt blue optics and then he paused in his inner complaining when those orbs settled on the hulking blue mech that was leaning against the desk he had his back too. His thick hip had Hammerdown propped up with his arms crossed over his chest while he stood there gazing down at the mech that with another had pulled him from his life in an alley besides a scrap bin and given him a chance for a future.
The mech he thought got his stupid self killed by a bounty hunter, but now sat here before him very much alive and very much the thing that had taken him from his family. That is if one could call what they had been when Rider vanished a family. Hammerdown wasn't so sure they could.
It was part of the reason that lead to Outrider doing what he had done. It was why Hammer could stand there and look down at him without the desperate anger he thought he'd have.
No.
There was no anger in his chest.
Only a small smirk playing at him lip as he watched Quickfire fuss over him.
Rider stared back up at him, confusion and apprehension alive in his gaze. Wary of that smirk that stayed in place before slowly he realized that said smirk wasn't leaving. He wasn't . . . mad?
A smirk of Rider's own curled up the side of his lips.
Hammer snorted down at him. "I thought you were gone."
Rider shrugged as much as he could with Fire's hands on him. "So did I."
"I got my stupid aft in a whole lot of trouble because of you." Reaching out Hammer punched him softly in the shoulder only to duck out of the way rather quickly when Quickfire swiped at him.
"Stop that."
"Yeah well," Rider chuckled. "I got my stupid aft in a lot of trouble because of myself. So."
"Ya stupid son a glitch." Hammer rolled his optics.
"Oh both of you shut up."
Rider couldn't hide his smile even if he'd bothered to try.
Bumblebee blinked, big baby blue optics over Chromia's arm. The huge red mech wasn't something Bee hadn't seen before. On no, in all honesty he'd seen him first. He just wasn't all that sure what the big mech he wasn't supposed to be talking to was doing in his berthroom with his creators and his pups.
Tiny little head tilting further his antennas flickered—wings trying to but Mia's fingers wouldn't let them—as he let out a curious twitter.
Rider's optics rose, but with a sigh he looked away again. He was only here because he had nowhere else to go.
Right?
This was all because Smokey ditched him for his brother and Hammer and Fire were . . . well he just wasn't pushing that right now. He was here because he needed to be here.
It had absolutely nothing to do with wanting Hide to look at him like Hammer did a klick ago. Nope. Not at all.
Bee was just really confused.
The world had exploded, bots got hurt, then bots got fixed, he was back on stupid medicines, his pups were fine, and Hide's brother was perched over in the corner of the room with this expression that looked a whole lot like somebot stabbed him in the toe or something.
Another head tilt as he tipped his optics back up to Mia and Hide who he found were looking the same way he was the mech in the corner who seemed to be growing more and more uncomfortable.
Well now, that just wouldn't do would it?
Clicking quickly drew his creator's optics to him again as he beamed a bright smile and then pointed across the room, the arm that was dangling the wire flinging out, as the short yellow finger positioned on Outrider. The red mech balked a little bit at it.
Once he had attention, Bee beamed. "Hi."
Outrider blinked in response.
That wasn't really the reaction the little mech was going for. His head tilted again, antennas waving up and down in response to his curiosity. Those dark cobalt orbs tracked that movement, set on him rather closely even if his whole frame seemed wary of where he was and what he was doing.
Not that Bumblebee understood that he had any reason to be. All the little mechling saw was his sire's brother had finally been allowed range to come and see him, and that was pretty much all the thought he was putting into this sight before him. He was a youngling though, why should the presence of his sire's brother register as anything but good to him?
He still didn't really get what it was Jazz had been trying to tell him before.
All his processor knew was it should be a good thing.
Right?
He had felt it more than once, just how much Hide and Mia and Prowl had ached for the bonds to the mechs they had lost. He had felt those cold, shriveled bonds that curled into themselves. Always calling, always aching, never to be answered or made linked ever again.
Bumblebee was well aware what broken bonds were. He knew that they hurt. He had a few of his own. It was not a feeling he wished on anyone.
He knew just how much he wished his could go away. Whether that was wishing for his robo-cat back or at times when he did miss the femme he couldn't truly remember. He did want every now and again for the sting that came up in his chest from time to time would be able to go away.
And here, sitting before them, was the very solution to one of the heaviest hurts Mia and Hide carried. It was Outrider. And he was right there!
So what was with this . . . uncertainty!?
Why couldn't bots just be happy? Really, was that too much to ask for?
Rider had been there, he had helped saved Blue, and Jazz, and Bee. He wasn't bad—Bee knew that from the moment he'd laid optics on him in that hallway—he was just afraid. Though of what Bee couldn't tell.
Not since he hadn't been allowed near him added onto the fact that now he couldn't even feel himself with the meds pumping through his systems. It wasn't fair. Really, it wasn't.
He wanted to know what was going on. He wanted things to be okay. Mia said things were fine. That everything would be okay. So why didn't they feel that way?
Sure he could blame it on the drugs and his inability to be what he was because he couldn't feel anything, but there was more to it than that. Somehow he knew this.
He just couldn't grasp what it was.
Either because he was too young to make sense of it or he just wasn't trying hard enough. Considering in Bee's mind and spark he was pretty sure he wasn't too young to understand his own family—thanks very much—he was going to go with he wasn't trying hard enough.
Which meant he was going to have to try harder.
The first thing he registered was numbness. The kind of numbness that stretched out to every atom in a frame. The kind that meant you weren't even sure how much of you was still attached to be felt. Considering Blue had more than once had a doorwing tore off it was not a waking feeling he enjoyed.
Nor was the painstakingly long process of forcing a processor back to the land of the living after what felt like a century in a medical induced recharge. It was like picking away at an avalanche with a plastic spoon. So much pressure—even if it was just in his processor—it was suffocating.
Blue hated it.
He had always hated it.
Being trapped in his head.
Ratchet knew better then to do this too him. There was a reason he was on the same no heavy drug list the twins were on. He was PTSD. He had confinement issues.
Praxus was not something he ever truly got over. It was something he learned to live with and sometimes it was harder than others. Trapped with no way out, even if it was only in his head, was far too much the same and far too terrifying. He'd spend too long like this.
Stuck in his head with no way out. Too many nights curled into Prowl's or Jazz's side as he silently sobbed for all he had seen at the ripe age of a hundred and twenty vorns. For all he had lost in a wall of falling metal and fire.
It was not something that went away, no matter how long it had been. No matter how he had healed. Some of it would never go away, he knew that. Everybot still alive to this orn had these problems. Blue knew he was not the only one, but it was hard to compartmentalize the fact that others knew what trauma was as well when he was the only bot to make it out of Praxus alive.
Struggling against his mental demons and the slow drag of meds Bluestreak bit back a whimper and tried harder to pull his way into the land of the functioning. Then suddenly there was conciseness and a hand stroking carefully and lovingly over his chevron.
He caught a low murmur of something, but his audios weren't quite all the way back into his grasp yet as he optics finally flickered open leaving him to slowly blinking them a few times. He was met with the glowing brightness of the medical bay lights until he managed to tilt his head ever so slightly and found the cool, worried, dark blue optics of Prowl.
The tired, worried, thin line of the elder mech's lips suddenly lifted into a still worried but far warmer motion as he leaned forward.
"Blue,"
The sniper tired to sit up, but quickly figured out that was a horrible idea letting out a pained squeak as he fell back flat onto the medical berth.
"Hey now," Jazz's warm, smooth voice drifted to his audios when that visor slid into view along with that grinning faceplate as the mech looked down at him while a clawed hand lay gently against him and forced him still. "None of that now. You're fine, just relax."
Bluestreak opened his mouth the speak but ended up just coughing as it felt like the last bit of smoke and ash as well as dried energon worked its way out of his throat. The hacking went on for a long moment, sending waves of pain through his aching frame leaving him whimpering between each round of hacking.
Somehow in the mists of all that Prowl and Jazz stepped back and Arcee was there to take their place, gently raising the berth to bring him into a seated position as she raised a strange colored liquid something. He was too busy coughing to pay it much attention though.
Not even the calming flow of Arcee's field pressing against his flaring waves of anxiety and pain exploding off of him. With a soft smile and touch Arcee tipped his chin and in between his hacking and gasping she somehow managed to get him to take three big swallows of whatever it was which lead to another round of Blue thinking his inner vents were about to be hacked up until finally the burning eased. Taking swallow after swallow of fresh air as quickly and as smoothly as he could the Praxian shuddered at the taste of the whatever it was the femme medic was managing to get up to drink from every few breaths or so.
"Slowly," She muttered softly to him. "Slowly, Blue. Easy does it."
He coughed one more time over the mouthful of meds until it all finally settled down coolly in his tanks leaving a far more pleasant icy chill in replace of the burning pain that had been there moments before. Panting out a long breath he settled back letting his optics glance around the room and then almost came out of the berth in a yelp of shock when what had happened caught back up with him.
"Bumblebee!"
"Whoa, Blue-mechling." Jazz latched hold of his shoulders and held him down as Arcee back up and Prowl took hold of his face in his hands holding him still.
"Calm down, Bluestreak." The elder Praxian rumbled lowly. "Calm down. Bumblebee is all right. He is with Hide and Mia."
Blue panted uneasily, fear having his spark pounding harder as he staring into his mentor's optics. "What happened? Who was that? What did they want? Why? Is Bee really okay? I could have sworn— What was all that? Why did they think I was Smokescreen?"
Prowl was fully ready to deal with the rush of questions, he knew the younger better then anybot else did and he knew how he would respond. However, that last little rush that got thrown in on the end made him pause, lean back, stare hard at him, and then glance back to the corner of the medical bay that his younger brother had taken to scowling in, but Smokescreen was already gone.
It took four orns for Bluestreak to be let out of the medical bay, for Bumblebee to be let off the monitors and the meds, for Outrider to not freak out about being in Hide's and Mia's quarters, for the pups to wake back up and have a lick fight over who got to snuggle Bee the most, and for Smokescreen to all but vanish while never being out of sight.
It was strange how a mech could be out of sight and yet always be there at the same time. It became clear very, very fast that Smokescreen wanted nothing to do with watching Prowl fuss over Bluestreak or explain why some mech tried to kill him because he thought he was him. Granted he had already sort of explained if but Prowl hadn't been all that much thinking clearly when he had and now Smokey had no plans on explaining it again. He didn't even want to talk to his brother. He didn't really even want to look at him which meant the Praxian ended up staying with Outrider and in turn the mechling.
Not that Bumblebee was complaining. He was stuck on berth rest and since that was the very definition of boredom even with his two pups licking and nuzzling at him almost constantly. The fact that Rider and Smokey were there at all, even if they weren't doing more than sitting around Hide's desk doing nothing but staring at each other and him he wasn't complaining. At least he hadn't been while he was stuck on the berth tired to a wire.
Chromia never left him the whole four orns. At least in the respect of leaving the room. She was either in the berth playing with him, holding him, keeping him calm, or she was around the room or the attacked washracks. She too didn't really pay the two hunters much mind. Neither did Ironhide. Even if his beloved sire did disappear every joor or so either to fetch energon, a medic for checkups, or to banish somebot from coming to look. Whether or not they were looking for him or Rider and Smokey, Bee wasn't sure.
Honestly, he wasn't too worried about it.
The meds had started filter out of his system by this late afternoon he found himself in now, which meant he had started to reach out and assess his surroundings. Even with its diluted state his spark was very capable of picking out and finding the vastly difference pulses of his family. Sitting there in the middle of a pile of black metal and protoform curled around him in too balls of resting pups he could make out where just about everybot was.
He could feel the increased presence of the many standing guards moving about the outside of the ships. A bit of picking and he made out the Dinobots circling in agitation through the tunnels. The twins were two balls of building tension. He could tell, even like this, something was bothering them.
Over the course of the orn he had felt them on a guard shift and on round trips to the medical bay. At first Bee had been afraid this meant they were hurt, but it didn't take him long to figure out they were going because they were hanging around Arcee and Ratchet. That made him a tad more worried because it meant they weren't hurt, it meant they were worried about something.
He couldn't reach enough to question them though. Not with the still bit of meds in him. So he had to settle with more looking. Prowl and Jazz taking a now capable of walking Bluestreak to his room. Optimus, Magnus, and Hot Rod in one of the command centers. Elita was with Arcee it seemed helping out with Quickfire, First Aid, and Jolt.
Everybot was accounted for, he looked and found no missing presence, with left him to sigh in relief as he lay against Echo's softly breathing side. He still wasn't all that sure still what had happened. He wasn't sure what he was suppose to ask either.
Everybot was okay, that meant Mia was right didn't it? That everybot was fine and that things would be fine.
Bee wasn't sure.
Especially now that he could poke and prod at the sparks across the room from him playing cards. His poking and prodding was being rather ignored though. The two mechs were here, hiding from something Bee knew that much. Not that it was clear how playing cards at Hide's desk was all that much of hiding. They certainly weren't hiding from Bee even if they were refusing to admit he was there.
Not that he really got that either.
The whole idea of trying harder was a little hard to do when the others weren't trying back. It was somewhat annoying too.
A heavy snort left the dark mass of black colored pup to his side making the little mech glance down to find Scout's big black optics staring across the room to the game of cards that was going on and the two that was playing it. Testing out his newly unclouded spark Bee poked at his link to the mech pup earning himself a glance and a slight shift as Scout rolled slightly letting the mechling roll with him so that he was sprawled out over his shoulder looking between his two tall audios.
"What is?" The mech pup asked with a soft rumble.
"Me just confused." He answered back.
The conversation popped Echo's head up leaving her to look over at them. "Confused about what?"
"Them." Bee flicked his newly healed sensor appendages.
The two pups glanced their way. Echo let out a curious sound while Scout just snorted, his audios folding down in a fought back snarl.
"Me don't get why they here." Scout huffed, his long tail starting to flick back and forth against his sisters back. While the two of them were healing neither really felt all that great, but they were alive, and when it got right down to it that was all that really mattered. They had no more grasp of the events that had gone down then Bumblebee did, but all either pup cared about was that moment they had both woken groggily to find their brother laying between them and they had both bounded to their paws and started licking him all over. The music of his giggling laughter had been their reward and they made a point of dragging it out of the bored little thing at least twice an orn.
Now though he was trying to figure something out, much as they were, and staring at the mechs across the room seemed to the chosen past time of the afternoon since Mia was in the shower and Hide had gone to get lunch. The guardians' seemed to trust the two with Bee and his pups. Scout wasn't sure he liked this, but he also knew his fangs were more than capable of making a good enough point should they do something he didn't like.
Since so far they hadn't given him a reason too he kept most of his snarled, hissing threats to himself, but that didn't mean he was happy about this. Echo on the other hand didn't seem to mind. Though as that was the siblings' normal way Bee wasn't worried about either of their reactions. Considering he was quite sure the two mechs being here was a good thing it was nice to have Echo on his side in managing her brother's temper.
And being alone now since Mia was showering—even if the door was open and she could see out just as well as they could see in—and Hide went to get something for them all to eat Bumblebee saw an opportunity, and he was going to take it.
Pulling his little self up off of Scout's back he earned two curious glances from huge black optics as he scurried over to the edge of the berth. Taking fistfuls of the soft mesh fabric that made up the berth's sheets and blankets Bee wiggled himself around until he managed to half slide, half drop to the floor.
With a giggle up to the two pups looking over down at him he twisted around and relishing in the freedom of not being hooked to monitors he toddled across the floor until he was staring up the thick expanse of a red leg.
Smokey and Rider had been too busy trying to out play each other in cards to notice that the little mech had scurried over to them but when tiny fingers closed around a gap in Rider's ankle both their attention turned down in quick snaps to find the tiny mechling grinning brightly up at them.
"Hi." He beeped quietly earning himself two rather confused looks.
Outrider blinked with a strange expression down to the tiny thing hopping up onto his foot and holding on tight to his lower ankle. Snorting a short breath Rider glanced from the little mech to the Praxian that sat across from him wearing much the same strange confusion painted across his faceplate just as the larger mech did. For a long moment the two of them just stared down at him until slowly Rider leaned back in his chair with a raised optic ridge down to the little mechling.
"Hello again," He rumbled.
"What doin'?" Bee chirped.
"Wasting time." Smokescreen was the one that answered, as he leaned around the edge of the table to look down at the mechling. "What are you doing?"
Bee's doorwings and winglets flapped, their still slightly off looking edges from the cuts of charred burns making the yellow things almost seem to flutter him off the ground even if they all knew that wasn't possible. "Wanted to ask question."
"And you couldn't do that from the berth?" Outrider huffed. "Mia's gonna get mad at me that you're out."
"No not." Bee retorted.
"Yes is."
"No not."
"Yes is."
"No not."
"Yes is."
"Will you please stop arguing like a youngling with the youngling it's making my head hurt?" Smokey groaned with a rub to his forehead.
That got Bumblebee chuckling as he wiggled around on Rider's foot attempting to climb but sliding back down when the big mech shifted, tickled slightly by the little fingers catching hold in sensitive and relatively untouched places. The hunter wasn't use to the tiny fingers of a mechling scrambling all over his frame and his shifting off balanced Bee enough that he squeaked in fright and slid back down to land on his aft on the middle of Rider's foot. The squeak got two hounds growling as they jumped off the berth and hurried across the room. The femme pup to quickly stick her nose down in a sniffing wave to make sure Bee was unharmed while the mech one bristled his whole body and hissed a snarl up at the towering hunter.
Rider paid him no mind as he too leaned down to check on the mechling.
"Sorry," He told Bee softly. "I just wasn't . . . expecting that."
Bumblebee gave himself a good shake and shoved Echo lightly in her sniffing so that he could look back up at Rider and let his slight pout at falling be replaced by a happy grin. Reaching up he made grabby hands for the brother of the mech had made up pretty much his whole world most of the time. The motion seemed to confuse Rider though as he was once again blinking in shock down at the mechling until he seemed to realize what it was that Bee wanted with an added hint of a chirped.
"Up."
Careful of the still overly sensitive appendages on his back Rider pluck up the youngling and raised him to rest in the crook of his arm laying against the table's surface. Once there a happy purr took over said tiny youngling and he snuggled into Rider's thick, warm plating.
Both Outrider and Smokescreen stared down at him in complete bewilderment.
What the frag had they gotten themselves into?
Trouble, that's what.
Hope you enjoyed. As always thanks for the reviews. Looking forward to what you thought.
Update schedule is a little crazy at the moment with life being . . . well life, so thanks for hanging with me guys. I am working on the chapters, just not as much as I wish I could. Hopefully things will even out soon, but honestly I don't know whats going to happen. So we might be back to every other week.
Sorry.
-Jaycee