Trypticon prison hadn't moved, the place still in forced lock down, but curiously the minicons, that had been trapped within, had found an access panel on the top of one of the buildings. The drone that I had built for reconnaissance flew lower to get a good view of the little bot as it angrily bleeped.
"Ratchet, you seeing this?" I asked as I centered the minibot on the screen. The medic was near me, looking at a different monitor.
"Oh great, they're getting loose. Apparently Megatron has control over them now. I'd bet he's using them to find a way out." The minicon saw the drone and waved its arms angrily at it. It aimed an antenna-like appendage, trying to shoot sparks at the drone, but the electric pulse never left the antenna. "They may be small and mostly defenseless, but a lot of them could in theory dismantle an Autobot."
"You think they might be low on fuel rations now?" I flew the drone away, exploring more rooftops but spotted no other minicons. "I know the prison had some rations for them, but not enough to last this long."
"Probably. It could be why they're only coming out now, hunger being their main driving force. However it's more likely Megatron is running low. We better keep a close optic on this, we don't want them loose in the city." Ratchet sighed as he watched the drone footage. "Hopefully that's the only panel they'll find."
"Something going on?" Prime asked as he arrived from his patrol, he'd doubled them ever since we came home, wearing everyone down.
"Looks like the minicons are on the move." Ratchet reported gruffly. "For now they're stuck on the rooftops." I pulled up the recording to show Prime, our leader's face became stern.
"We'll have to keep a lookout near the docks, in case they decide to take a swim. Bumblebee, come in." Optimus turned a bit as he commed Bee.
"Wassup?" Bee's voice came through his com link
"Make sure to include the docks in your route, twice if you can before reporting back. Minicons might be heading our way." Prime hung up and headed back for the door, "Ratchet, do we know if the organic energon is safe yet? We might need to start using it as rations soon too.".
"Again with the energon…Look the only way to know for sure is for someone to take it! In its raw form it is extremely potent, so in theory once it's refined, it should allow us to use less." Ratchet shook his head, getting up from the console. "I'll run another test, but what I've refined is about ready for taste testing."
"Right. Have it ready later today, if you can. It could be the only advantage we've got." Prime transformed and sped off on his third patrol of the day.
"Looks like you and I get to experiment a bit today." Ratchet smirked. "Ready to learn how to refine raw energon?" It wasn't an exciting task, but it was one we desperately needed.
Normally energon has a purplish pink hue, but this new energon was completely different. The crystals were almost clear, refracting a rainbow when light hit it. Refined, it shimmered with rainbow fractals and took on a pale greenish blue hue. It was actually quite beautiful.
"That's just one of the cubes that crystal made." Ratchet picked up a box that was half full with refined cubes. "That's far more than we usually get from normal energon! Honestly if this stuff works, it could save us from a shortage back home."
I took the cube I had been studying, still mesmerized by the glittering substance. I could feel the energy flowing through the cube, almost vibrating in my hand from how much was stored inside. Curiosity took hold, putting the cube to my lips, I bit the top open and drank a bit of the contents. My intake tingled with electricity as I swallowed a huge mouth full.
"It's…really good." Ratchet snapped back around with his optics widening.
"You're sure taking a bit of risk doing that! I told you to be careful!" He scolded, but I felt fine, more than fine actually.
"Come on, what's science without a bit of risk!" I grinned, handing him the opened cube. "If it was harmful, I'd know by now docbot." Ratchet eyed the cube, taking it carefully and gently swirled the liquid around.
"Alright, bottoms up, I guess." He grumbled, downing the rest of the cube in one go. Who knew the old mech could party. "Huh…yer right, it ain't half bad. The flavor is completely different…" both of us were feeling the buzz of energy from the half cube we each had.
"If only half does this, imagine what a bot could do with a full cube." I said, taking another from the box and holding it to the light. "We might have just saved Cybertron from the energy crisis." Ratchet seemed in a much better mood, clunking the empty glass to the full one.
"To the future kid." He grinned, for once he actually looked happy.
The others gathered around in the living area, Ratchet and I excited to show everyone the progress.
"Woh, those look pretty!" Bee said, picking a cube out of the box and shaking it, the glittery substance swirling like a snow globe.
"Cut that out! It's refined organic energon. Those crystals that have been popping up all over Detroit make some potent stuff. This is all from the piece we broke off."
"That one piece made all of this?" Optimus picked one up, studying it like I had. "That's impressive. And it's safe?"
"Nothings wrong so far." I shrugged, Ratchet slapped my shoulder, knocking me off balance.
"Your aft is lucky it wasn't toxic!" He was still mad at me for trying it first. "Next time don't drink the stuff til I'm sure it's good."
"How safe is it for me, though?" Jazz hadn't touched anything just yet, which was understandable in his position. "I ain't taking no risks whatsoever."
"True, we haven't tested it on any sparklings, so for now stick with energon grade I've prescribed." Ratchet told him. "Though I'm sure a diluted sample wouldn't do any damage to your sparkling. If the worst comes to worst, we'll do that."
"Hold up, are we running low on normal energon here?" Bumblebee was met with a few skeptical looks.
"Yes, same as everywhere kid. Cybertron sent us the last rations they could give us last week. Bulkhead told me it could take another two months for the next one." Ratchet hadn't been kidding when he said this could be our new life line.
"I had no idea it was that bad…" The yellow mech wasn't the only one shocked at the shortage.
"Then it's settled. The rest of us will leave what's left of the energon from Cybertron to Jazz, we'll act as guinea pigs and test the new stuff for Cybertron." Optimus ordered, handing a cube to a very hesitant Ironhide.
"What's a guinea pig?" Our newest member asked, holding the cube away from himself.
"Some kind of Earth mammal humans like to test things on." Bumblebee shrugged. "Let's give this a go!" He eagerly bit the cube and drank more than half in one go. "Woh! This is good!" His frame vibrated with all the energy.
Optimus only took a sip, but had a similar comment to Bee's, while Ironhide just stared at it. Bee offered the last of his to Jazz to try, but the cyber ninja turned him down which Bee shrugged at and downed the rest.
"I bet I could last on just one of these for the whole day!" Bumblebee seemed to be feeling the high energy effect it gave, he was acting far more energetic than usual.
"Good! That's the whole idea." Ratchet held his helm high, proud of what he'd refined.
Ironhide finally gave in and slowly to a small sip, a soft smile appeared on his face.
"It ain't bad." He drank more, finally trusting us.
As a test to see how well we reacted, the next day we were all instructed to drink one cube to see how long we lasted. Bee had completed his first round of patrol within an hour, which normally took three. He said he didn't feel the need to stop to rest, in fact I'm pretty sure he sped around as fast as he could. Still, it was impressive that he still had as much energy he had yesterday.
"You're still here?" Bee asked as he transformed. "I thought you left hours ago?" I gave him a glare, which wiped the smug look off his face.
"You know my shift isn't for another hour. You sure you didn't just race back to see how fast you are on this stuff?" He shrank back a bit, fiddling with his fingers.
"Ok, so I raced a little, but I haven't seen anything for days." He admitted. "'Sides, I gotta see Ratchet about the side effects."
"What's wrong?" I stepped towards him, but he shook his head and brushed me off.
"N-nothing! My systems are just running warmer than usual. I'm sure it's nothing!" He walked backwards towards the hall as he spoke. "I'll catch you later." He sprinted down the hall before I could say anything.
"See ya…" Hopefully it was nothing. I transformed to leave and began my route early.
Bee was right, there were no signs of Decepticons anywhere, the only Cybertronian life forms I could pick up were from the team. The minicons signals didn't even show up until I went closer to the docks, still miles away on Dinobot Island. I sighed, parking near the edge to watch the sunset. Behind me was the Island, which I could still see in my mirrors, looming just over the horizon.
I had finished my route at least an hour earlier than normal, without speeding. Since I wasn't expected back at the base for a while, I decided to take a moment to commune with the Allspark. Around the docks was a larger concentration of the organic energon crystals, which had spawned when allspark fragments had touched the Earth. It was the perfect spot to meditate.
Staying in vehicle mode, I focused on my surroundings, instantly feeling Allspark energy flowing around me. It was easy to harmonize with the energy here, the crystals acting as amplifiers like I had hoped.
A familiar warmth wrapped around me, pulling me into an almost dream-like state. I was a teal outline again, just like I had been when I nearly went offline, only this time I had complete control. Around me were small pinkish lights that shone like stars, only they pulsed as if they were sparks. I gently touched one and was pulled into a pink hologram that played out around me. It was Bee, me and someone just out of view, standing behind him.
"You're the one that figured it out! Now, you're going to prove to me that your theory works…" A femme's voice spoke, her clawed hand grabbing Bee by the back of his helm, pulling him into the darkness. The hologram stopped, falling back into the ball of light as Bee's screams rang through my helm.
"W-what…" I looked to the other orbs, wondering if they held a clue to what was going on.
I touched another, the hologram this time had all of us in the main living area, Sari and I were explaining something we'd discovered, but again the important information was just off screen.
"You're saying there's a difference?" Ironhide looked dumbfounded as usual.
"Obviously!" Sari exclaimed, pointing to something. "Look at the data!"
"Allspark, what are you trying to tell me?" I was getting annoyed with the missing information. I touched a third orb, the pink hologram showing Bee and me in a field, laying in the flowers.
"I still don't get why you like these things…they shed all the time and always need water." Bee held a dandelion between his thumb and forefinger, holding it above our helms. "This one turns into a puff and gets everywhere!"
"Bee…" I heard hologram me laugh, before it turned into a gasp. A giant spider leapt out of the trees, aiming for the real me.
I jolted back, transforming and pulling my swords out only to slash the air. My systems were running hard, intakes heavy from the dread that vision had given me. Did…did the Allspark let me see the future?
I sped back home, the horrified screams from both Bee and me ringing through my helm. If this was what was coming, I had to warn him.
My tires screeched as I came to a hult inside the base, surprising Prime with my entrance.
"I'd expect that from Bumblebee. You alright?" He asked as I transformed. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Uh…kind of? I can't explain how, but I think something bad is coming our way." The last thing I wanted to do was give Prime something else to worry about. "Have…have you ever come across giant spiders?" The look on his face told me he had.
"Black Arachnia." The way Prime said their name made me wonder if they had been more than friends. "She was an old friend of mine. There was an accident and…she was turned into a techno organic."
"Wait, it's possible to be turned into one? I thought Sari was the only one." He gave a heavy sigh.
"I'm still not sure exactly how, but it had something to do with Elita's ability to take on others abilities that made her turn. Sari…well she's been one since the start." Optimus explained. "I honestly don't know how it works."
"So…she was turned into a spider?"
"Well…her erm…vehicle mode is. Or would it be her organic mode?" He wondered aloud. "Anyway, if she's back…" he looked hopeful but had trailed off. He cleared his intake, a small blush appearing on his face. "We'll have to keep an eye out for her too."
I suppressed a laugh, it was cute to know Prime had a crush on someone.
"Do you have any idea why she'd be after us?" I followed Prime to the living area where Ironhide was watching a movie.
"Did humans really go through this?!" Ironhide was quick to gain our attention, pointing at the horror movie he had chosen to watch. Rotten zombies were tearing a human apart while others ran away from the window he was apparently pulled through.
"N-no! That's a zombie movie. None of that is real, it's all special effects." I quickly explained as Prime turned it off. "Not everything on TV is real."
"Oh thank Primus! I don't think I could handle organics eating other organic!" Ironhide sighed. "So…that's a 'horror movie?' I'm not sure I'm too fond of them." He ejected the disk from the player.
"Why don't you try one that's by this guy named Disney. They're pretty good." I offered, excusing myself from Prime. I needed to talk to Jazz about what I saw.
"Jazz?" I didn't bother knocking, if his door was open we were welcome to come in, his rule. "Are you in here?"
"Yo, what up?" He was in the tree, hidden perfectly in the white flowers, writing something down on a data pad. I jumped up to join him on the opposite branch.
"Have you ever been given a vision from the Allspark?" I asked as I settled onto the branch.
"How do ya mean? Like we did back at the dojo?" He subspaced the data pad.
"More like when you're meditating. I don't really know how to explain it, but I think it showed me pieces of what's coming." Jazz tilted his helm. "It showed this spider bot, Optimus called her Black Arachnia, and I think she's after me. But I don't know why."
"Hm…you communed with the Allspark?" He smiled. "Solid, Sta', you're really getting the hang of this ninja stuff. As for the vision, I can't say for sure, but you were shown it for a reason. Don't look too much into it though, you'll drive yourself crazy doing that."
"I just wish it was more clear on what it was…"
"Some things you just have ta figure out on your own. Sorry I can't help ya much more than that." Jazz leaned back on the tree trunk. "If you really are seeing glimpses into the future, could ya tell me if I'm having a femme or not?" He joked.
"Still hasn't talked to you?"
"Na, they're pretty quiet when I ask, but I ain't concerned. I do feel them sharing feelings now though." He was smiling lovingly at his much larger sparkling bump. "Bet Prowl told them not to say a word, it'd be like him.
"I'm sure he did." I laughed in agreement.
I went on a search to find Bee, who was stangly not in his room or in the med bay. Ratchet told me he had come in earlier, but wouldn't say why he was there. When I brought up that Bee told me he thought he was having a back reaction to the new energon, Ratchet relented a bit.
"You know why he was over heating then?" Ratchet smirked, which worried me. "Just go ask him…if you can find him anyway." With that I left, rolling my optics at how helpful he had been. I just wanted to make sure Bee was ok.
If he had a bad reaction, maybe he was in the wash racks? I listened at the door, hearing water running. Found him. I went in and froze just before turning the corner. Someone was moaning in pain! I quickly rushed in, only to find Bee playing with a shower jet. My face burned when I realized he wasn't using the showerhead to clean himself, but to pleasure himself. He tilted his head back, unaware I was there and stifled another moan with his free hand, opening his optics a bit. He screamed when he caught a glimpse of me, dropping the shower head and falling backwards off the bench, scrambling to cover himself.
"S-slag Star! Do you even knock?!" He quickly got up, his face red and his cooling fans running on high. "S-sorry…you…surprised me."
"I-I didn't…erm…I thought you were hurt." He bit his lip, looking towards the floor. "Bee?"
"I-it's nothing! I…frag…" his frame shivered. "T-the new energon threw m-me into my heat cycle. I guess with us rationing so much, I didn't realize how long it had been since my last one…"
"O-oh…" that explained why he had raced home and felt hot earlier. I did not know how to bring up the shower head. "But why are you hiding from me?"
"I'm not! I…I didn't want to disturb you when you got back so I decided to try cooling off with cold water but then…" He brought his knees together and blushed. "I can't explain how it happened from there…"
I vaguely remembered mine, but it had been cut short because of the reprogramming. I do remember the need…how much it felt like your frame was going to burn if someone didn't touch you. Bee turned the water off as I contemplated how to move forward with helping him. We couldn't go to his room, the door hadn't been rehung, which left my room.
"Bee?" I purred, slowly walking up behind him. His EM field was giving off a strong signal that was pulling me in, making me dizzy with lust. Is this how it felt to be around a mech in heat? "Wanna go to my room?" I wrapped my arms around his waist, making him gasp as I nuzzled one of his audial horns.
"Please…don't…" he begged, engine revving. "I-I need to get out of here…" he struggled away, shocking me.
"Bumblebee?" I didn't try to reach for him, he was already scared. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine…I just…hate my heat cycles." He admitted, staying away from me. "Everything…is so sensitive, I don't know…all I know is my first cycle was hell." He stepped towards the door. "I'm sorry…"
"I'm sorry it wasn't pleasant for you." The hurt in his optics told me whoever it was hadn't been gentle with him. "You can lock yourself in my room tonight if you want. I can stay in your room."
"Thanks, Star. Really, it means a lot, but…I want you to stay with me." He finally stepped closer, the cloud of lust nearly fogging up my processor. "I know I can trust you." I had to stop him from kissing me, putting a finger to his lips.
"I want to…believe me, but your field…" I wasn't sure I could stop kissing him if he started, and I did not want to end up fragging him here.
"Slag, your room's a lot darker than I remember." Bee said as I shut the door, throwing us into near darkness.
"I just haven't turned the lamps on is all." I followed the glow of his optics, stopping him from bumping into one of the plant tables and leading him to my berth. "The flowers enjoy the sun at least."
We both laid down, our legs hanging off the side as we laid in the darkness in a slightly awkward silence. Bee took my hand, lacing our fingers together, making it harder to ignore his signal.
"Is it cool if we don't do anything? I mean…even I know eventually we'll give in, but until then, can we not?" Bee looked over to me, biting his lip nervously.
"Of course, I don't…want you to feel like I'd do that to you."
"Do what?" He tilted his helm, sitting up on his elbows. "Oh…OH! No, don't get the wrong idea, my first time wasn't with someone I didn't know. He…just didn't get that it was my first." Bee sat up, his back to me as he spoke. I sat up and leaned against him.
"Sorry, I thought…" He took my hand again, laing his helm against mine.
"I should have been a little more clear, especially since…" Bee trailed off. "Never mind, let's just change the subject." He squeezed my hand tighter.
"I think the Allspark gave me another vision." I was quick to get off that topic.
"Really? How?" He moved so he could look me in my optics.
"I was meditating by the docks and I was able to connect with the Allspark. I still don't know what they mean, but…we should be more careful near the forest." As I spoke, Bee laid us down with me laying on his chassis so we could talk.
"Why there?" He asked, gently tracing his thumb over my chevron. "Did the Allspark show you who it was?"
"Someone Optimus knows apparently." Apparently he didn't realize his gesture was relaxing more than a turn on, the touch slowly putting me into recharge. "Someone named, Black Arachnia." He stopped for a moment, which annoyed me deep down.
"She's back? I don't wanna know what she's been up to…" He absentmindedly continued as he spoke, which now I think about it, he was doing on purpose because he could definitely feel how relaxed I was.
"Cheater…" Bee laughed, wrapping his other arm loosely on my back. I wrapped my arms around him, both of us drifting soundly into recharge.
A wave of lust coursed through my frame as I slowly online, making me shiver. I opened my optics to find Bee wasn't laying next to me like he had been, he was sitting up, hovering just above my helm with darkened optics.
"Hm, morning." I smiled up at him, pulling him into a kiss, which he quickly deepened. "Mmm, Bee, slow down." I begged as he pulled me into his lap, forgetting he was in heat.
"I need you…" he moaned, biting at my neck cables. "I-I can't stop." I noticed now how hot his frame was, quickly realizing he really couldn't. He needed to release it or risk overheating.
"Tell me what you need." I purred, kissing his audial horns, sending him into a frenzy. His panels snapped open, lubricant leaking onto the bed underneath. Through the bond, I felt what he needed, but lacked the correct interface equipment for that. My face flushed, but he felt the nervousness I was feeling.
"T-take your time. H-have you ever played with our own valve." He was trying to compose himself but failing. "Ahhhhh…" he moaned, shaking as his heat took control.
"N-no…" I blushed, realizing I had never touched myself, but I knew what felt good from him. "But I'm quick to learn." Kissing his nasal ridge, I slowly moved down his frame while tracing a transformation seam down his side. His fans kicked on high as I settled between his legs. Bee was worrying at his lower lip as he watched me, optics a deep azure blue from his heat cycle.
Tipping his hips forward a bit, I got a full view of his dripping valve. The deep grayish blue mesh had identical blue bio lights to his spike, his outer node was bright yellow, begging to be touched. His spike was just above the outer node, the lights pulsing softly with his spark beat. He was beautiful, but I felt him becoming uncomfortable from my gaze.
"S-something wrong?" I looked up to see his face turning red.
"No! Just…you're beautiful." Bee didn't know how to react to my compliment, his optics widening a bit. Taking the chance, I licked up his spike, pulling a needy moan from my lover. Remembering how he did it, I moved back to his valve and kissed the junction between his hip and leg before deciding to go for it. His lubricant tasted sweet, nothing like my own, making me want more. Now I see why he likes doing this.
Moving his legs further apart, I pushed my glossa past the outer mesh to taste more of him.
"Guh….f-frag Star!" Bee's hips jerked, forcing me to hold him down. I was embarrassed by the sounds I was making, the wet noises making me blush again. After getting him even wetter, I removed my glossa, inserting two fingers as I went to suck on his outer node. I mimicked the finger strokes he'd used on me, which made Bee squirm and whimper in pleasure. Keeping my fingers deep inside of his valve, I moved so my thumb could stroke his node as I took his spike into my mouth again.
Bee placed a hand on the top of my helm to ground himself, urging me to continue. Even with his spike in my mouth, I smiled, humming slightly to drive him over the edge. I choked, his overload taking us both off guard, trying to swallow the transfluid that hit the back of my intake, the rest ended up on my face and chassis.
"S-sorry…" he panted, trying to recover. I wiped my face off best I could as he reached for a cleaning cloth in his subspace. Before he let me take the cloth, he licked my cheek off before kissing the nape of my neck. Frag he was nasty…which was a huge turn on.
"You really do learn quickly." He purred lovingly as I straddled his hips. "That thing you did with my spike and valve, frag that felt good." His praises were raising my internal temperature more, making me want him even more. My panel slid open, but instead of him grinding his spike against my valve, I felt our valves press together, our outer nodes lining up and rubbing against each other.
"Bee…" my grip on his shoulders tightened as he took a hold of my hips to keep me in place. Electricity ran over our frames as we scissored our valves together, pulling us into a simultaneous overload. I kissed his audial horns as he recovered, my frame feeling light and tingly.
"That was new…" I whispered, trying to catch my breath.
"I liked it." Bee revved, obviously ready to go again. "I wish we could keep going." But it was almost time for our shifts, and if he didn't want anyone else to know about his heat cycle, he had to pretend to be fine.
"You're still running hot." Just from sitting on his lap I could feel the heat rolling off of him. Without him actively suppressing his EM field, the need and lust was incredibly intoxicating, but he could only hold it off for so long.
"I'll be ok…" he wavered. "We've got tonight too." It was like he was reminding himself.
"Bumblebee, please don't push yourself too hard. We already have Prime running on fumes, I can't have you doing the same." I kissed his cheek, taking the cloth from him and cleaning off my face before cleaning us both off. He kept trying to get the cloth back, making a game of it and forcing me to pin his hands above his head.
"You're a child." I gave him a look to which he just grinned an evil grin. I threw the cloth in his face as I let go, distracting him long enough for me to get out of arm's reach.
"Cheater…" He replied, quickly getting up to attempt to pin me to the wall. All it took was a step to the right to avoid him, making him flail his arm up as the tripped, I quickly grabbed his wrist to spin him into my chassis. My other hand ended up on his lower back to catch him from falling back. In this pose it could be mistaken we had been dancing.
"Clutz." I teased, lacing our fingers together. Bee's cheeks turned pink despite the glare he gave me. Before he could get back at me, our coms rang which meant I had to let him go.
"Get your afts out here now! Those minicons are making a move…" Ratchet yelled, making it echo between us. I had to hang up to stop the ringing noise.
"G-got it…" Bee answered, rubbing his audials.
"Those minicons seem to be breaking their way through now, they've busted a hole in the side of the main building." Ratchet had been flying the drone again, showing us the images he's captured. "It's not big enough for a 'Con to get through, but if the minicons are free…"
"They can get the energy needed to open the gates!" Bumblebee gasped. "Have they actually escaped?"
"Unfortunately, yes, but they are still confined to the island. Unless they learn to swim, they should stay there." Ratchet showed the little bots roaming the city freely, looking for energon.
"I got a feeling it won't take very long." Optimus' tone was serious. "Stay diligent on your routes today, we could have company."
Bumblebee still refused to let anyone other than Ratchet and me know he was even having his heat cycle. It wasn't a wonder as to why he pinged me a half hour into our early shift to meet up at the edge of the city, under an abandoned overpass.
"Does this finally convince you you need to go home?" I asked as I pulled up to him, he was still in vehicle mode.
"I will not look Prime in the eye and tell him about this!" Bee huffed, transforming in front of me. "I'm fine…" It was my turn to sigh as I transformers, crossing my arms.
"I hate to say it, but you could be a liability if you…." Bee glared at me, through our bond I could feel he was angry with me.
"I can handle it!" He pointed to himself. "I called you here cause I saw a minicon. At least I think it was one. Sheesh, I never said anything about this being about my heat cycle…"
"What are you two arguing about now?" Optimus pulled up along with Ironhide, shocking both of us.
"I called everyone…" Bee shot me a look, making me feel really bad. "If I really saw a minicon or not!"
"I still say it was a rogue human made bot." I played along, catching the look Prime gave me.
"I lost track of it around here. There's a lot of places it could have gone through, I don't think I can find this one on my own." It was hard for Bee to admit, but if it was a minicon, then there could be more hidden around.
"Everyone fan out!" Optimus ordered as he and Ironhide went to our left.
"I'm going this way." Bee headed under the abandoned freeway, his tone saying not to follow. I'd have to make it up to him for nearly exposing his secret.
I took the upper portion of the broken bridge, weary of where I stepped, careful not to cause it to cave in. From here I could see into a few of the abandoned buildings around here, most of them covered in demolition signs, but nothing looked out of place. Prime was inside the one across from me and Ironhide in the building across from him, the only sounds around us were from them. The freeway bridge was crooked, allowing me access to the rooftop of a crumbling apartment that looked like it could give any moment.
The roof cracked under my weight, making me freeze in place. I made sure it wouldn't give any further as I slowly made my way to the rusted fire escape door, but luck wasn't on my side. The crack seemed to follow me, reaching under my foot and around the other as the roof caved.
I cried out, landing hard on my left side that went numb for a nano click. The dust clogged my intakes, causing me to cough uncontrollably as my commlik went off.
"Ugh… Starlit here." I tried to talk but was still choking.
"You alright? Where are you?" Optimus sounded worried, I could hear a muffled echo of his voice somewhere outside.
"Yeah…roof caved in on the apartment building. I'm fine, just dusty." I brushed some plaster off of me as I turned my lights on to see nothing but clouds of orangey dust settling around me. Through the murkiness I thought I saw a shadow of something down the hall.
"Prime, I think something is in here with me." I kept my voice low, moving towards where I saw the shadow.
"Stay where you are, we're coming." Prime kept the commlink open just in case, but I could hear the three of them gathering outside, thirteen floors below me.
"Is someone there?" I called out when whatever it was started rustling around. It stopped, a whirring sound coming from the room to my right along with computer-like noises. A tiny bot rolled out into the settled dust. He looked similar to a man made moon rover on its lower half, the upper half was a torso that held two scoop like arms and a helm with one glowing red optic. It looked up, tilting its head to the side in confusion.
"Hello there." At first the minicon did nothing but stare at me. Suddenly it hissed at me and charged, it's left arm turning into a probe that crackled with electricity. I easily kicked it away, making it fly down the hallway. The distant crash alerted more that were hidden that way, little red optics flickering on in the darkness. A ring of hisses rang out as the optics of at least twenty minicons were charging towards me down the hall.
"Oh Frag!!!" I yelled, running towards the stairwell. I forced the door opened, slamming it shut behind me to use my laser swords to melt the door shut. The minicons banged on the door, noisily beeping and screeching at me in anger.
"Do not come in!" I yelled into my com. "They're more than I first though!" I heard someone at the bottom of the stairwell, praying it wasn't more minicons.
"Starlit! Ya there!?" Ironhide yelled as I heard him running up the stairs as I ran down.
"I'm fine, get going!" I skipped several flights by leaping over the rails as the mini con started cutting through the door. Ironhide shoved me in front of him when we met up on the third floor, using his iron ability to bust down the wall next to us. He grabbed my arm and both of us flew out the hole he made as the minicons burst down the stairs.
The beam Ironhide hit in the wall was apparently a load bearing one and the entire left side of the building crashed around us. Ironhide used his own body to cover me as we were pelted by rubble.
"D-doesn't that hurt?" I asked him as a huge piece of plaster nailed him in the back.
"Nope! Can't feel a thing with my iron hide." He grinned, making me realize his name was his ability. Sentinel is terrible at naming bots…
Once the building had settled into its now leaning over state, we made a break for it and got out of the way. Bumblebee had his stingers aimed at the rumble pile we had come from, covering our retreat in case a minicon had fallen with us.
"You two alright?" Optimus looking over to us, making sure nothing was broken. "Starlit, how many did you see?"
"I'm not sure, but I counted twenty in the hall with me." As I spoke, a minicon scurried off in front of us, dragging a long metal pole with it. The rest of the minicons emerged, each carrying a large piece of debris with them, ignoring us completely.
"What are they doing?" Bumblebee asked as the one that attacked me shuffled by. "Are they trying to repair the city?"
"Good question, but we can't let them get away." Optimus threw his axe down, cutting off their path. This got their attention, the minicons turned to us, red optics glowing bright as they all hissed again. "Take them out!"
"W-wait a second!" I stopped them, which also made the minicons pause. "We can't just kill them, they all have a spark!" I stepped between my team and the minicons, allowing them to retreat.
"Starlit, they're no longer under our control…"
"So that's an automatic death sentence?" I put my hands on my hips. I knew better than anyone what it was like to be reprogrammed. "They're not evil, they're just listening to whoever is in command of them. If we can learn to communicate with them, maybe they would consider coming back."
"Ugh…you're right. They weren't like this before." Optimus sighed, picking his axe up. "I just hope we can figure out how soon, before they come back.