"How are they holding up, Ratchet?" Optimus asked, his optics filled with concern.

"Not good, Optimus," answered the medic, a hint of sadness in his voice. "Arcee is the least damaged, but she still needs to remain in recharge. Wheeljack may recover his arms, but he needs to stay in the stasis tank for an extended period. Bulkhead, on the other hand, is in a critical state. We need to allow his body to heal naturally by itself, or the medication would be lethal to him. And, beside..." Ratchet placed a hand on his stomach, where a wound had already closed. "I don't think I'm in good shape either."

Optimus nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. "Please don't overexert yourself, Ratchet. We need a healthy doctor around here."

"I know that," replied Ratchet, his tone serious. He looked over his fallen comrades in their respective bays. "To think that only one Vehicon could have caused all this damage..."

"He took us by surprise," Optimus admitted, guilt weighing heavily on him. "We underestimated them... I didn't expect this much of a resistance. My decision led us to this outcome. It was my fault."

"No one can see the future, Optimus," Ratchet said, placing a comforting hand on his leader's shoulder. Suddenly, he screamed in pain, clutching his wound. "Ahh..." Rachet grit his denta. "You couldn't have known that the Vehicon was capable of that much skill."

"I was reckless Ratchet," the Autobot leader said. "I should have been more careful and found another way, rather than leading a direct assault. It was my mistake."

"You're being too hard on yourself, Optimus," Ratchet replied, patting him on the back. "You did everything you could to protect us."

Jack spoke up from where he was standing nearby. "And you already did tried another plan." he said. "It's not your fault that cybertronians are so bad at stealth, so don't blame yourself for what happened."

"But there must have been another way," Optimus insisted. "We could have found a way to get on their ship unnoticed, to avoid the fighting."

Jack walked closer to Optimus. "But what if we had managed to get on the ship stealthily? What then? Staying hidden on the ground was hard enough, but it would have been even harder once we were on their ship. We could have been found out and surrounded by thousands of Vehicons. How would we have survived that with no escape route?"

Optimus couldn't argue with that logic.

"So stop blaming yourself already. The last thing we want is for you to be depressed and ignore everything when your friends need you," said the black-haired teen.

"Isn't that a bit harsh, Jack?" said Ratchet.

"No, Ratchet," Optimus held his hand in front of the medic. "What he said is right. I can't be depressed now. I don't have time for blaming myself. I have to lead when we are in this weakened state."

"So what's next then?" said Miko, still holding onto Bulkhead's hand.

"We recover," answered Optimus. "We'll wait until we can get back on our feet again, and then we'll strike back."

"And strike back hard," Jack added with determination.

The team nodded in agreement. Arcee, Wheeljack, and Bulkhead needed time to heal, and Ratchet needed to take care of them. Optimus knew that they couldn't rush into another attack until they were at full strength again.

"We need to be strategic," Optimus continued. "We will gather intel, plan our next move, and come up with a solid strategy. We will not underestimate the Decepticons again."

"Sounds good to me," said Miko. "But what about Raf?"

Optimus sighed. "We will do everything we can to find him, Miko. But we need to make sure we are at full strength first. We can't afford to lose any more teammates."

The team fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts. They were battered and bruised, but they were determined to fight back. They would come back stronger than ever before, and they would rescue Raf from the Decepticons.

"ST-3V3: report back to Soundwave immediately when Laserbeak is finished recharging," ordered the dark blue mech.

Bumblebee stood at attention, his red optics fixed ahead as he saluted. "Yes, sir, Officer Soundwave," he replied smoothly, as if he had been doing it for years.

Soundwave nodded in acknowledgement of the response. He turned his attention to his symbiote, lying motionless on the medical berth. Though his visor revealed no emotion, even Bumblebee could sense the care and concern that the mech held for his creation. Soundwave then turned back to the Vehicon impersonator. "Take care of him," he instructed before departing.

Bumblebee was taken aback by the uncharacteristic display of emotion from the usually stoic blue mech. On the battlefield, Soundwave was known for cutting down anything in his path without so much as a second thought. Bumblebee knew that the silence that surrounded Soundwave was a sign of death for anything that dared to break it. He never thought he would witness such a display of emotion from Soundwave, but then again, Laserbeak was his creation. Who wouldn't care for their own creation?

Bumblebee approached the medical berth where Laserbeak lay, his optics scanning the bird's small, origami-like body. Though it appeared fragile and weak, Bumblebee knew better. He had witnessed Laserbeak's deadly laser beam burn down one of his comrades during a battle on Cybertron. He remembered how they had tried to shoot the small Decepticon down, only for Soundwave to appear and turn the battlefield into a slaughter. Bumblebee had barely escaped with his life thanks to a timely retreat order. He knew that Soundwave's skills and his symbiote's abilities made them nearly unstoppable. Bumblebee doubted that anyone other than Optimus Prime or Megatron could take the Decepticon officer out.

As he studied Laserbeak's form, Bumblebee couldn't help but wonder about the symbiote's bond with Soundwave. He knew that most Vehicons didn't have the right to ask their officers such a personal question, and ST-3V3's data on Soundwave's symbiote was empty. The only thing Bumblebee knew for sure was that Laserbeak was male, thanks to Soundwave's earlier words.

Bumblebee looked at the small symbiote again. It was in such a weak state and could not even protect itself. As he thought about his past rage, he wondered, What if I end his life now? What if I offline him and tell Soundwave that his health was worse than he thought? Nobody will ever know, and I can continue with my mission to save Raf. All of those mechs lost their spark by this little thing. He deserves no honor to offline in a battlefield!

Bumblebee raised his right hand, preparing for a death blow.

However, he quickly lowered it beside his body, shaking his head. No! What am I thinking? A worker like me shouldn't try to disobey a direct order. More importantly, I almost offline one of my superior's symbiotes! Why would I do that? I'm just a Vehicon of the Decepticons. Why would I want to destroy one of my comrades? That was fragging insane...wait.

Wait...

What?

Was that...really his thought?

Did he just call himself a Decepticon?

Bumblebee's face showed his horror. He had stopped himself from taking revenge for his fallen comrade, and his reason was that he was a Decepticon's minion. He knew something had happened to him. Something must have affected his mind within this body to make him think that way. ST-3V3 must have something to do with this. Bumblebee noticed that there had been no response from the true vehicon's mind in a while. Hey ST-3V3! I need to talk with you, he said, projecting his thoughts.

Silence.

ST-3V3! Answer me, you fragging con! Bumblebee sent his thoughts out in a furious burst.

ST-3V3's voice stirred in his mind.

Wa...what is it? ST-3V3's voice was weak and shaky, as if he were sick.

Bumblebee frowned, noting the fragility of the Vehicon's voice. What happened to me? Why was I thinking that I was you? Did you do this?

I don't know, ST-3V3 replied, his voice shaky as if he had been exposed to a tox-en. I have only been hiding in the deepest recesses of your mind.

What? Bumblebee was confused. Why would you do that? If you had let me have full control of this body, I would have access to all your data.

I know, ST-3V3 weakly replied. I promised, remember? I said that I would let you have my body if you helped them, and you did. So I just fulfilled my promise and went into hiding, letting you have full control.

Bumblebee was shocked by ST-3V3's words. But if you do that, you will lose everything.

I don't care, replied ST-3V3 simply. I have been through so much. I have been there since the beginning of the war. I fought, I survived, but most of my comrades didn't. Do you know how it feels to continue your life alone while your friends, your brothers, your sisters, and your family are dying all around you?

Bumblebee remained silent. He knew about the pain of loss, but not from his own memories. He knew from ST-3V3's data files. All those events, all that pain, he knew.

You do know, ST-3V3 said, sounding lighter. Then you will understand that from those painful memories, I will not lose any of my comrades ever again! Even if it costs me my spark.

Bumblebee understood the vehicon's feelings. If he were in his place, he would also do the same for his Autobot friends.

So, I let you have my life to save theirs. I don't know what happened to you or anything you did, but I do know one thing, the vehicon's mind stopped for a moment. I am fading away.

Bumblebee's red visor widened in shock. You're…dying?

Kind of, answered the weaker mind. When I surrendered, I let your mind be the dominant one. My mind flowed through yours. I let myself be consumed by your thoughts, emotions, and memories. And from them, I know you've been through as much as I have. I let myself get lost in your mindscape. It absorbed pieces of me bit by bit. Not for long, I will begone and cannot bother you anymore. You can have my body all to yourself.

Bumblebee's shock shone through his optics. The vehicon had just let himself die to fulfill his promise. He had given up his body to Bumblebee in exchange for him saving his comrades. Did he really want this? Did he want to kill someone and take over his life? No, he didn't want it to end this way. He just wanted a way inside to search for his friend, that's all. When he found him, he would just return to his body, nobody would be harmed, and everything would change back to normal. That's what he hoped. And now, here he was, killing this body's owner to keep control. He felt like he was the villain, the evil one, the bad guy.

Bumblebee's thoughts were interrupted by ST-3V3's weak voice. Don't feel bad for me, Autobot. I made this decision on my own. And besides, it's not like I had much of a life left anyway...being cannon fodder...I'm just glad that my sacrifice was able to help save my friends.

Bumblebee felt a pang of guilt and sadness in his spark. He never wanted to be the cause of someone else's sacrifice. He wished there was another way.

A sound stirred from a medical berth, and Bumblebee turned to see the symbiote, Laserbeak, awakening.

Look like it's my cue to leave, ST-3V3 said before disappearing from Bumblebee's mind.

The symbiote emitted a static sound that Bumblebee's translator was able to interpret. *Where...where am I?* it asked.

Bumblebee had to be careful not to reveal his true identity, even though he felt a twinge of guilt for impersonating ST-3V3. You are in med bay, sir, Officer Laserbeak, he responded, using the appropriate rank for the symbiote, who was one with Soundwave's body.

The symbiote scanned Bumblebee, and then spoke again. *No need to be so formal, Vehicon. ST-3V3, am I correct?*

"Yes, sir. I am ST-3V3 at your command," Bumblebee replied, doing his best to sound like the real ST-3V3. He sent an audio message to Soundwave, letting him know that Laserbeak had awakened.

Affirmative, came Soundwave's response. ST-3V3: Keep Lasarbeak company until Soundwave arrived.

"Understood, sir," Bumblebee replied before the radio went silent.

Laserbeak's metallic beak parted as he spoke. *Drop those 'sir' words already! I told you not to be formal with me.*

"Of course, Laserbeak," Bumblebee said, surprised by the Decepticon's seemingly friendly demeanor. As a mass-murdering weapon, Laserbeak was expected to be cold and ruthless. Instead, he appeared to have a personality that was almost sparkling-like. "Are you feeling alright?" Bumblebee asked, fulfilling his duty as Soundwave's subordinate.

*I've been better,* Laserbeak replied, moving his wings to demonstrate that he was still capable of flight. *At least I'm not dead yet.*

"You shouldn't try to move. Your wound doesn't perfectly heal yet," Bumblebee said, trying to sound firm. If Soundwave came in and saw his bird on the ground, he would be dead.

*Ahh…you're no fun,* said Laserbeak, clearly annoyed. *You keep much too stress to yourself, I can see it by your clenching servos there.*

Bumblebee realized he had been clenching his servos the entire time, and he slowly unclenched them, feeling the soreness in his joints. He looked at Laserbeak, who was still watching him intently.

*Is it about what had happened with your troop?* the symbiote asked, its voice surprisingly gentle.

Bumblebee's red visor dimmed as the image of the fallen Vehicon flashed in his mind.

*I assume it has a part in it. Is there something more that bothers you?* Laserbeak asked further.

The weight of the situation came crashing down on Bumblebee as he thought of ST-3V3, his wavering allegiance, and the danger Raf was in. He couldn't bring himself to look directly at Laserbeak as these thoughts flooded his mind.

*I see,* said the symbiote, studying him. *You have your own problems to deal with.* Laserbeak noticed Bumblebee's clenched servos and continued, *I don't need to know what your problems are, but I want you to know that some things cannot be finished alone. You always have your friends to help you. You don't need to face this alone." The words sounded familiar to Bumblebee, but he couldn't place where he'd heard them before.

As the med bay doors opened, Bumblebee heard a familiar voice call out, "Laserbeak: report for your status." It was Soundwave, and he swiftly grabbed Laserbeak and attached him to his chassis. Bumblebee knew they were communicating through their link, just like ST-3V3's memories had taught him.

The communicator officer, Soundwave, had been deep in conversation with his symbiote, Laserbeak, for what seemed like a long time. Bumblebee watched from his spot in the med bay, observing as Soundwave occasionally moved his visor closer to his chassis, as if he was trying to teach Laserbeak a lesson. Finally, Soundwave tapped on his chassis a few times and let out a sigh of relief. Then, he turned to Bumblebee.

"ST-3V3: Objective completed. Can return to normal routine," Soundwave said before turning to leave. But he paused and turned back to Bumblebee. "Laserbeak: Want to leave a message."

Bumblebee replied, "Yes, sir?"

"Remember my advice," Soundwave said before leaving the room.

Bumblebee was left alone with his thoughts. He pondered Laserbeak's words about relying on friends for help. It was a good advice, he realized. His friends would always be there to support him, especially in tough situations like this. He could trust them to help ease his stress and tension.

But in that moment, Bumblebee realized that he was alone.

He was in an empty med bay on a Decepticon ship with no way to contact his Autobot friends.

Bumblebee let out a sigh and leaned back against the wall. He felt a pang of homesickness, missing his team and the Autobot base. He wondered what they were up to now, if they were worrying about him.

He lamented...looking around for a familiar faces.

There was no one here to help him.

He was truly alone...

Where was that said friend that can help him?