Guys! I made a cool thing over on instagram!
It's a short animatic/storyboard featuring Megatron, Silver Sun, and a bit of Orion Pax backstory. For any fans of musicals out there, please go check it out!
Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Three: Save The Scout
Prax Academy . . . Seven Orns Ago . . .
"So were you born like this? Or one of Shockwave's little experiments gone wrong?" Firestar circled me as we stood in the empty training room.
I was reluctant to respond. Arcee had always warned me not to give away information about my abilities. She knew the threats that could arise if more people knew what I was capable of. At only thirteen orns old, I'd been forced to suppress the loudest part of myself.
As far as anyone knew, I was a medic, and was happy to keep it that way.
And then Firestar had found my letters to Arcee. We never said it outright, but she was still able to piece together a picture.
"My friend asked you a question." Lunar spoke up from a little way behind me. "If you want, I can ask it in a much less friendly way."
I kept my optics firmly fixed on the ground, huddling a datapad close to my chest. Firestar chuckled at me.
"Don't be shy about your powers now, Silver." She taunted. "I know what I saw. And Screwloose pays a reward for bringing your kind to her laboratory. A recommendation from her could get me into Ultra Magnus' team." She leaned forward. "So do what I tell you, or become a test subject."
Present Day . . .
The architect responsible for the Decepticon Warship's design needed to be fired. Every winding, dark hallway appeared the same. Every door was unmarked and unlabelled. Ratchet and I had no real idea of where we were going, but there had to be some way to find Bee.
"This is an absolute nightmare…" My mentor uttered. "Bumblebee has been taken over by the mech who brought him unthinkable pain. And it's all the fault of an old 'bot who was too focused on the mission to be careful about procedure."
I raised an eyebrow. "You mean Bumblebee met Megatron before the psychic patch?"
Ratchet solemnly nodded. "In one of the worst ways. Megatron is the reason he can't speak." My spark dropped. "Tyger Pax was the most treacherous of areas during the end of the war. Rampant with bodies and the few tortured victims that remained alive. I don't know if 'lucky' is the right word for some of the survivors. Bumblebee was the only real recovery we had, and even then…"
He trailed off. Like I'd said, it could drive you crazy as a medic thinking of how you could have saved someone. Ratchet had taught me to never overthink the 'what ifs', to only congratulate myself on the good I did. But his tone was heavy with regret.
"It's not your fault, Ratchet." I tried to comfort him. "It's our job to do everything we can. Not to do the impossible."
My mentor sighed. "Now is a time to focus on the task at hand."
I reluctantly dropped the subject.
Turning the next corner, the sight caused me to stop in my tracks. Ratchet slowed his pace with me.
On the path ahead lay the offline husks of Vehicons. The sheer brutality of their obvious wounds made it impossible to look at without gagging. I turned my helm from them, feeling my breathing become faster. The only thing I could hear was the sound of my spark beating in my audio-receptors.
I shuddered at the feeling of Ratchet placing a servo on my shoulder. He stared with concern.
"If you wish, you can turn back." He reassured me. "I fear that Megatron's mind may now be dominant. There is no guarantee that Bumblebee isn't already gone."
I vehemently shook my helm. "No. He's still there. Just not in control."
Ratchet glanced back to the hallway of offline Decepticons. "I believe we may be needing that optimism right about now."
Following his gaze, I saw the familiar shades of yellow and black through a broken steel door at the end of the halway. Even in the purple lights of the ship, it was clear we'd found him.
Ratchet signaled for me to be quiet as we slowly grew closer. Sure enough, looking through the doorway, Bumblebee was attaching himself to a cortical psychic patch, the other end of which was attached the an infamously familiar face. The tall, silvery-grey and violet frame of the warlord himself.
He was much scarier in person.
His optics, although offline, still gave the feeling that he could strike you dead if you got too close.
Still contemplating the best course of action, I didn't notice the doctor charging into the room until he was halfway to Bee.
"Ratchet!" I stage-whispered. "Don't hurt Bumblebee!"
"That's not Bumblebee!" He ran straight for him, winding up a punch.
He missed.
After dodging, Bumblebee threw a punch of his own, powerful enough that it sent Ratchet flying into the wall beside me. I rushed over to check if Ratchet was okay. His optics were foggy and his speech came out in mumbles as he struggled to regain balance.
Optics now focused on Bumblebee, I saw his now narrowed directly at me.
"You…" He marched towards me. "You have disrupted my task for long enough."
I wanted to dodge, but was the only thing standing between him and Ratchet. Fighting wasn't an option, and neither was running. So I did the only thing I could think to do.
"Rafael needs you, Bee." I spoke as loudly as I could. Bumblebee's frame jolted to a stop. "You need to snap out of this. For him."
The scout's eyebrows furrowed. He shook his helm, backing away from me. He looked around, realising where he was. The pupils of his optics widened back to their wholesome, kind selves.
"Bumblebee?" I was almost afraid to call out to him. "You're there, aren't you?"
"S-Silver…" His tone was much softer, and almost in pain. "You need to take Ratchet and go. I can't hold him off for long."
I shook my helm, stepping closer. "You know I can't do that. This is your body, Bee. This is your mind. You can fight him."
Bumblebee stumbled back, holding his helm in pain. Taking sympathy on the scout, I again stepped closer, closing the space between us. I could see the hint of blue flush across his face as he refused to look me in the optic.
Gently reaching out with one servo, I brought Bee back to face me. There was a chance I might regret what I was about to do. I didn't know him, and he barely knew anything about me. But we didn't have the time for that right now.
I had to bring him back to us the only way I knew how.
Closing my optics, I matched my breathing to his. He slowly relaxed until I felt a gentle tap on my forehead as he leaned against it.
I tapped into the ability that had plagued me for orns.
"Remember, Bumblebee…" I whispered. "Please, show me who you are."
Bringing out the deepest parts of a Cybertronian's subconscious was dangerous, especially if you didn't know the extent their true selves went.
But I saw happiness. I saw Bee as a child, taking the servo of a familiar blue and red mech. I saw Bumblebee with his old comrades. Spending time at their base, having fun, even them helping him during his recovery after Tyger Pax. I saw the pained goodbyes they said to each other before the Exodus.
Bittersweet memories. His grief weighed heavily in my spark, but the warm feelings of joy also broke through.
Steadily opening my optics, I glanced up at the scout. I felt a sting of relief as a single energon tear ran down the left side of his face.
I let out the breath I'd been holding in. "B-Bumblebee?"
"Silver…" He began.
Any feeling of relief I had quickly disappeared at hearing a series of sounds that resembled a mocking laugh. His optics opened again, but the pupils weren't just small. They were red. Scarlet red, like those of a Decepticon.
I tried to back up. A deafening bang rang through my audio receptors. The feeling of pain was delayed. Too afraid to look down, my servo shook as I brought it to the injured area of my stomach. As soon as I touched my stomach, my frame jolted as the pain came flooding in.
"If only it were as simple as a flood of memories." Megatron snarled smugly. "But I appreciate your effort. If you want your scout back, you can have him."
The psychic patch activated.
Bee's optics widened and shrunk at rapid speeds, malfunctioning at a scary rate. He grabbed his helm, screaming out in pain. Just as quickly as the patch began, it ended. The red drained from his optics, turning back to their bright blue colour. They didn't stay blue for long as he sank to his knees in exhaustion. He leaned on one servo for balance.
Stumbling back, I brought my servo up to see it coated in fresh energon. My breathing grew fast and heavy. I almost fell, but stayed standing as a pair of servos caught me. I looked up and saw that Ratchet's fear was clear in his optics. The effects of the earlier attack appeared to have worn off of him.
He glanced over to Megatron. The warlord's frame was now moving. Not big movements, or even obvious ones, but enough to know that he was stirring from his sleep.
"We need to go. Now." He informed me, shakiness obvious in his tone.
I shook my helm, closing my optics. "N-not without Bumblebee…"
"Oh, for Primus' sake…" Ratchet grumbled, reluctantly letting me go and marching over to the scout. "Bumblebee! Snap out of it!"
The yellow mech seemed to be brought back with Ratchet's signature blend of irritance and reluctant compassion. He groggily stood up, but jumped into action like a true trained fighter. Ratchet rushed back over, picking me up in both arms. I tried thanking him, but no words could come out.
10% rate of survival when shot in the stomach. I recited in my helm.
The words of every medical textbook I've read flooded to me.
Keep your optics in focus on your environment.
My optics blurred, becoming less and less able to recognise the halls of the ship.
Do not fall asleep.
Each step Ratchet took to run felt like the whole world shaking. He did his best to ease the journey, but I could already feel myself drifting. My body felt numb and cold. My spark struggled to keep up with the amount of energon I was losing.
"Silver." Ratchet's voice found me, drawing my optics to look up at him. "We're almost back. Do you hear me?" I nodded. "Good. Hold on for a few more minutes…"
Do not fall asleep.
I thought of Arcee. I thought of seeing her again. But it was difficult to see that picture as reality. My mind was unravelling, confused, and losing trace of what it was supposed to do.
My mentor suddenly halted to a stop.
"Frag…" He muttered under his breath.
Turning my helm, I followed his gaze to see several Vehicons running straight forward. The three of us dodged, hiding around the corner. It was this moment that Bumblebee seemed to notice the wound in my stomach.
His optics widened. Eyebrows furrowed in worry, he turned to Ratchet.
"W…was that me?" He struggled to bring himself to ask the question.
The doctor shook his helm, reaching for the medical bag I kept on my hip. "We do not have time for the specifics, Bumblebee." He opened it and began digging through it for the needed tools. "My priority is stabilising Silver Sun. Yours is dealing with our current aggressors. Do you understand?"
Bumblebee gazed at me in shame and guilt. He nodded to the medic, transforming his servos into blasters and turning the corner.
Then came the sounds of blasters, clanging metal. The grunts and screams of soldiers as they fought for their own survival. As much as I obviously wanted Bumblebee to be okay, I'd be lying to say those sounds were comforting.
I drifted again, further than before. The servo I held over my wound dropped to the floor.
The last thing I remembered was Ratchet urging me to stay online.
No One's POV . . .
Arcee hadn't moved in hours. Not to pick up Jack. Not even to get energon. She didn't speak to anyone who tried.
All she did was stare in regret at the broken frame of her sister. Silver lay on the medical bay table, her sparkbeat worryingly slow. Her wound was sealed shut now, but she'd lost an immense amount of energon.
"She won't wake up tonight, Arcee." Ratchet walked over to the femme. "I will be on duty for now. It is best that you rest-"
"And leave her like I did earlier?" The two-wheeler snapped. "I'm not going anywhere."
The medic sighed. "You know you're just as stubborn as she is."
Arcee chuckled bitterly. "Sure. My sister, 'stubborn'."
"I'm not joking." He defended, leaning against the wall beside her. "Earlier, she insisted on being there to help Bumblebee. She knew it was a warship, and she knew the dangers. That is her kind of stubbornness. The refusal to lose a life on her watch."
The blue femme partially cracked a small smile. She'd not really seen that side of Silver. She almost wondered if the doctor was exaggerating to make her feel better.
"I guess I might've seen that before." She admitted. It's just…I'm not sure what to do with her now. The last time we saw each other was before the Exodus. She was sixteen orns old." She turned back to Ratchet. "She didn't dive into battles, she was quiet and jumpy, she followed me around like a lost cyberfox."
Ratchet tilted his helm at her. "Autobots change, Arcee. You're more aware of this than anyone else."
She shrugged. "I know, but…I just don't understand this new Silver. I missed seeing her final orns of growing up. Now, she's been here for two fraggin' days, and was almost offlined!" She sighed. "This…this isn't the life I want for her."
The doctor gazed at Arcee in sympathy. He himself struggled with understanding the concept of family. He'd lost his own so long ago that he could barely remember their faces. Just blurry, vague pictures in the back of his mind.
"For your sake, and Silver's." Ratchet began, reluctant in his words. "I will ask for her to begin training with you. Perhaps…it may do her some good to know she can defend herself."
The blue Autobot gazed at him, farrowing her eyebrows. "You would do that? You always stood by her choice not to fight."
The white and red mech allowed a sigh. "That was when we were on Cybertron. When our ranks were higher and it was much less common to send medics into the field. As it stands, on this planet, we are at a much higher disadvantage. Silver Sun may find herself in danger more than once." He shook his helm solemnly. "I do not wish to see her like this again."
Ratchet's presence at the Academy was one of the few reasons Arcee felt comfortable leaving Silver alone there. 'Cee knew that if anything happened, his priority would be her sister.
"I appreciate that, Ratchet." She offered a subtle smile, turning back to the white and pink femme on the medical table. "Do you really think she'll be alright?"
The medic confidently nodded. "You know I would tell you first if I thought otherwise."
She was grateful to him for understanding her fears. "And Bumblebee? Where is he?"
"Arcee, you can't blame him." Ratchet grew stern. "He was under Megatron's control."
"I know." She assured him, standing up. "Trust me, the only one you have to worry about blaming him is himself."
She strode towards the hallway, her optics fixed to the floor as she tried to think of anything other than her sister.
The next day . . .
Bumblebee lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. His optics were duller than usual. He'd heard that Silver had woken up the night prior, but couldn't bring himself to visit her, or even to look the others in the optics.
A knock at the door brought him out of his spiral. He slowly climbed out of bed and shuffled over.
"Who is it?" He called.
"It is me, Bumblebee." A monotonous voice responded, though his tone seemed softer than usual.
Opening the door, Bee was partially relieved, and partially scared, to see the towering frame of the Autobot leader. Arcee being mad at him was one thing. But Optimus…for some reason, that disappointment hurt much deeper.
The red and blue mech seemed to recognise the scout's fear.
"It's good to see you up." Optimus offered the scout a slight smile. "We've all been worried for you. Especially Silver Sun."
Bumblebee's optics blinked at that part. "But…I shot her. Why would she care about me?"
Optimus sighed. "Bumblebee, I believe you have been putting a lot of emphasis on the frame that pulled the trigger instead of the mind who carried out the act. Megatron is to blame here. Not you."
"It's not just that, Optimus…" The scout struggled to admit. "I didn't even know he was there the first time. What if he's still there? What if part of him is still controlling me? Hurting Silver and Ratchet was bad enough, but hurting anyone else in the team…I think I should leave-"
"No." Optimus' stern interruption startled Bumblebee. The leader leaned down to his level, placing a servo on his shoulder. "We are Autobots. We do not leave our teammates to face their demons alone." His eyebrows furrowed in worry. "Bumblebee, you went through an unthinkable loss of control. By the person who brought you so much pain, no less."
Bee felt his spark twist at remembering that excruciating feeling. His optics dropped to the floor, welling with bright blue tears. He didn't want Optimus to see, but the taller mech already had.
He reached out to the yellow mech, opening his arms. Bee wanted to believe he'd "grown out" of needing this kind of comfort, but he hadn't. He needed the feeling of someone caring about him half as much as Optimus cared.
He accepted the embrace, hugging Optimus back tightly. The tears slowly fell down his face as he buried it in Prime's shoulder.
Optimus sighed heavily. "There was a time that I believed that the mech I dearly cared for in Megatron was still there. But after seeing what he did to you, and the devastation at Tyger Pax…I realised that the line between naivety and hopefulness is almost invisible."
End of Chapter Three
Thought I'd hit you with some Optimus-Bee Father-son fluff at the end there. Just to clarify, they're not actually related in this story. Optimus just took him in as a kid.
This story is going to go a little further than Transformers Prime went. As I'm sure a few of you agree, the show ended too soon and could've been so much more. So that's what I'm trying to do now.
Any ideas are welcome! How do you think Season Three should veer off into a different direction? Any ideas for more Predacons? Let me know!
'Til All Are One,
GreyroseLegacy1