Author's notes: This is kinda shorta a chapter, wish it was longer, but it's important to the plot so we shall take it! Please follow and drop a comment, because your love fuels me!
Arcee
A long time ago, before the Autobot and Decepticon war had officially kicked off, the increasingly bickering factions had an important meeting, much like they one they were all currently sitting in. Either Soundwave or Starscream, Arcee wasn't really sure who, but one of them set off a hidden explosive in that meeting which had devastating effects on the course of the war to come.
Right now, Arcee welcomed a bomb hidden in the war room, just so something could take her out as quickly as possible. A bomb, a bullet between her optics. She would take anything if she didn't have to face what was coming.
Nitro Zeus, the weird looking extra Dimensional Con who had been the meeting's focal point had been forgotten. Now Arcee was taking center stage in everyone's gaze instead.
A familiar energy field enveloped her suddenly, cutting her off from the harsh judgments that once threatened to silently pick her apart. Bumblebee was the culprit. He was trying to protect her, shielding her with his own field. Because that was just the kind of impressively good guy he was. And for his act of kindness, he got a good taste of her fear. Her regret, everything that led to this moment in front of everyone. In the spotlight, losing everything.
She was frozen, hiding behind Bumblebee's invisible shield, only able to move her optics to scan desperately to Maccadam for some sort of answer. Why hadn't he warned her this would happen? Maccadam didn't look shocked, per say. More, disappointed. Why that emotion? Had this event been unlikely? So much so it wasn't worth bringing it up and scaring her? Maybe Outlook had a lot to lose by spilling the beans, and Maccadam assumed he wouldn't have to worry about it. Until now.
What was worse, was how uncaring Outlook was. They hadn't made this reveal with any noticeable malice. It was said in a matter-of-fact kind of way. Like Arcee was a game piece that could be traded when her loyalty was maybe a little shaky. Would malice be better? Anything other than a simple statement that ripped everything in her world down and then burned it to ash for good measure?
She was sure she looked half crazed as she scanned to the other side of the table. Soundwave was unmoving. Starscream only smirked. Rhea's eyes widened and she flung around to Soundwave, maybe hoping he would do something in Arcee's defense. Though Arcee appreciated Rhea's concern, that scenario was even less likely. Putting aside the past few years of her poking Soundwave with a morality stick every chance she got, (and also taking a few swings at him to really drive the point home) she was on the opposite team, so he didn't have any obligation to offer assistance.
Then again… Arcee's whole chassis shuttered. If Outlook's offer was taken seriously, and this meeting was when she officially had to take on the Decepticon shield, maybe he did have an interest in defending her. If she was getting kicked out of the Autobots, and was now a Con, Soundwave would be her Lord. She was dizzy and couldn't look at Soundwave anymore.
Humans. Look at them instead. Miko fully had her hands over her mouth to hold in her shock. Really, Arcee could appreciate Miko's reaction. She assumed it would have been Miko who slipped the secret in the first place. Agent Fowler was just confused. Shawn was in a similar state, though he was less invested in how much this damaged their group.
"You got to be freaking kidding me!"
To Arcee's continued horror, it was Jack who snarled that. He broke his rank among the soldiers for the first time all meeting and stepped forward to better fix Outlook and Freegail with a glare. "Whoever fed you that crap is off their meds! Arcee wouldn't jump sides! Where the hell would you even get that idea?"
Jack's outburst was like a spear through her Spark, but it had successfully broken the original silence that once followed Outlook's declaration.
Ultra Magnus was now glaring at Outlook. "I thought I made it clear, that this was not to be discussed until the more pressing threat is neutralized?"
Outlook nodded, "Yes, but the Committee weighed the risk to this upcoming mission and having a member of our army whose loyalties are questionable at best would not be beneficial. And it is rare to have an audience with all three Decepticon Lords. Considering this matter also involves their faction, this was deemed the best place to discuss it."
"We would happily accept any and all ex-Autobots who wish to reevaluate their standing and join the cause," Starscream said, a little too proud of himself. And he gave Arcee a far to assuring smile which she absolutely withered under. Thankfully, Bumblebee's field was there to hinder Starscream's smug pulse that was meant to smash into her.
"Again, who the hell do you think you are!" Jack was now shouting at Outlook. "Arcee wouldn't do that! And screw you for even putting that out there!"
"Jack," Arcee's voice was barely a whisper. But Jack heard it. Still pissed, he left Outlook's indifferent presence in the dust to look to her. His face fell when they locked eyes. She was now shaking, voice box stalling every time she attempted a new sentence.
Jack blinked, taking off his helmet. "Arcee… Tell them they're full of it."
Bumblebee was reaching out under the table, and she quickly took his hand in hers and squeezed. "Can we talk in private?" she whimpered.
Jack took a breath. He broke their gaze to look back at the other humans. Raf had long since stood up in surprise, ready to back up Jack until Arcee spoke. Now, aside from Miko and Rhea, they all looked confused.
"Oh thank Primus," Nitro Zeus laughed in relief. It broke the tension like glass crashing down from a ten-story ceiling. He was observing the drama unfolding with an air of relief, of all things. "You lot still have issues. Good! You were all too damn perfect, it did not sit right with me. Thought I was goin' nuts."
This was her opportunity. Arcee bolted up from the table the moment Ultra Magnus released his side from the meeting. Her optics were trained on the floor as she made her escape, but she did catch Jack quickly clambering down from the table on the provided stairs and hurrying after her into the hall.
The weight of what was said, her inner turmoil, everything, was too much. The moment she was around the first corner she collapsed onto her aft against the wall. She was not ready for this conversation, but she didn't have a choice anymore. She heard Jack's human footfall turn the corner, and she was sure her Spark fully abandoned her to go find a less terrible place to be. Jack had his helmet off and his gun over his shoulder. He was still terribly confused, clearly.
"Cee, what was he talking about in there?" Jack demanded.
Arcee's whole aura was in shambles and thank Primus Jack couldn't detect that kind of thing. She was torn in so many different emotional directions she couldn't think clearly.
"I've been running from this for long enough. And-" she struggled with her next thought. She could only glance at Jack for a fleeting moment before finding her peds much more interesting. "It's true."
Jack was physically taken aback. "Arcee, what the hell are you talking about? Why would you leave the Autobots? What happened?"
She closed her optics. "I don't want to leave the Autobots. It's just…"
"Just what?" Jack demanded, louder again and Arcee flinched.
"I can't lose you." She finally whispered.
He appeared to not have gained any insight from the vague explanation. At that moment, Raf and Miko filed around the corner, along with Agent Fowler, and of course Bumblebee. It allowed Arcee a moment to compose herself. But at the same time, Frankie and Shawn weren't present. That was a relief. She didn't need every single colleague present for her life's upheaval.
"We figure out what's going on?" Raf asked between Jack, Arcee, and Bumblebee.
"I'd be curious," Fowler insisted, crossing his arms at Arcee. "Something big going on in the Autobot chain of command we should be weary of?"
"No," Arcee promised him, "This is all me."
"Magnus is letting the snitch have it, at least," Miko assured Arcee. "Really, the audacity, and it wasn't even me who blabbed first. Why did loose lips choose the freaking meeting of the ages to let the secret slip? Like seriously, the worst part was Starscream's smug face did anyone else catch that?"
Jack whirled around on Miko, Raf quickly mirroring the gesture, "You knew about this?"
Miko winced, "Yeah, kinda. Sorry dude. And I mean, I love to gossip, but everyone was right for stopping me from blabbing. Better hear it from Arcee then me, or that idiot in there."
"But it didn't come from you first," Jack growled at Arcee.
"I didn't know how to say it." Arcee sighed. "It's the Cyberformation, Jack. The Autobots have deemed the procedure illegal, no exceptions."
Jack was flabbergasted, "Arcee, you HATE Rhea turning into a Cybertronian! Wouldn't that be the greatest news-" he stalled as her sorrowful optics finally found him, and stayed there. "Oh." He realized.
"OH," Raf also realized.
"I know it makes me the biggest hypocrite in the universe," Arcee agreed as Jack remained suddenly idle. "But yeah… It's the whole, you're going to die one day thing that I can't wrap my head around. I haven't even had the bearings to ask you if it's something you would want to do."
He settled hard into the wall with a huff. "I guess, I never thought about it. I mean, I have, but not to the point of ever coming to a real conclusion."
It was a better time than any for Bumblebee to arrive too, "I think it's something we all have thought about more than once," and he gave Raf a guilty glance. "It's a morality thing… and now a regulation breaking thing too."
"Doesn't really matter either way," Arcee huffed with a tone of mock amusement. "Secrets out now. Jack, I'm sorry it came out like this."
"How is this going to affect things for you?" Jack asked both Arcee and Bumblebee.
"You don't have to worry about me, Jack," Arcee insisted. "I'll deal with the fall out. It's all because of my stupidity anyway." She hugged her knees a little tighter, "I guess, I'll meet you all in a neutral location after this to hang out. I'll start shopping around for apartments in Kaon today."
"That's it?" Fowler snapped at her. "They are just going to throw you out of the Autobots for no reason?"
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Bumblebee promised. He sat by her side and shook her shoulder, making her look his way, "And I know Ultra Magnus is going to say the same thing. As long as you want to be on the team, you're on it."
"Arcee," Jack said, making her wince. His expression was deadly serious, "I won't have you changing your life around for me. If you want to leave the Autobots, you need to make that decision because you want it, not because joining the Con's will give you a legal loophole for Cyberforming us. Do you want it?"
That sure was a loaded question. Her first instinct was a very strong no, but she was so disgusted with how things were shaking out on her team. And it wasn't just the Cyberformation thing. It was everything. "I don't- I have no idea. I don't want to right now. I just want to go home. But that's probably not an option for me anymore."
"You're incorrect." Ultra Magnus insisted. They all looked up at the looming bot. he had found his way into their little sadness huddle too. Arcee clearly hadn't traveled far enough from the war room to get the privacy she wanted for this private conversation with Jack. Maybe that was a good thing. "Until I receive your official resignation, or you have committed a serious enough offense, you are not being removed from the Autobot ranks. The Ethics Committee can submit as many formal complaints as they want. They don't know you like I do. And I am not worried about a conflict of interest in upcoming military campaigns."
Arcee was almost trembling with relief. She nodded to him gratefully, a little too overwhelmed to voice her thanks out loud.
"So…" Miko began, and Arcee had to brace himself for whatever was coming. She felt Bumblebee tense up in kind. "What is your decision, Jack?"
Jack frowned. "You're doing it, right?" he asked her, throwing the topic back onto her.
"Oh, for sure. But just not now. I already decided I want to be a cool guitar grandma first." She crossed her arms and smiled at Arcee, "And hey, that gives us plenty of time to convince the Ethics Committee. Or overthrow them. Whatever is easier."
"I will have to think about it. For real this time," Jack admitted. "I mean, me and Jenny haven't even had time to get married. She wants kids down the road… Can Jenny and my hypothetical kids also go through with it when they want to?"
"And if they don't?" Arcee asked, acting as devil's advocate against her own argument.
Jack scratched his hair, "Oh boy. I see why this is a tough issue. I don't really know. My mom too, can't forget about her. I don't know if she'd be into it… And-" he looked to Fowler with lost eyes.
The older man winced, "I wouldn't want to tell you one way or the other, son."
Jack shook his head, "I actually was asking you too."
Fowler startled. "Oh. Well, I have no idea. If June went along with it… I'd have to consider- Sweet stars and stripes. Do I have to answer this now?"
Arcee was sure Bumblebee felt her guilt pulse from her Spark. Seeing the apprehension the conversation was causing was putting even more stress on her already overloaded brain.
"It could be a topic we revisit, after the threat to the universe is gone," Bumblebee suggested. He gently patted Arcee's back, "And like Magnus said, you still have a home. You have time to think too."
"It'll work out!" Maccadam exclaimed, peeking around the corner with a big goofy grin. Arcee wasn't the only one totally startled. Chummy as always, the big bot came over with the clear intention to brighten Sparks. Arcee didn't complain, because she could really use more of that kind of mindset right now. He plopped himself right in-between herself and bumblebee, snatching them both by the shoulder to pull them close. "You'll choose what is right for you! I know it for sure."
Arcee arched a brow, "I thought you said I was so undecided you couldn't see one way or the other?"
He winked at her, "Indeed that is true, but it's not my Sight I'm relying on, it's my confidence in you!"
Arcee scoffed, "Well, I guess someone here has to have it."
"Arcee," Jack intoned. She tried not to flinch as she looked his way. "Just, keep me in the loop this time, ok? We're a team, remember?"
Arcee bobbed her helm. "Yeah. I hear ya loud and clear, partner."
Maccadam squeezed her and Bumblebee again, "See? It's halfway solved already! Like my old buddies once said, secrets wither in the light but thrive in the dark!"
Bumblebee beamed at him, "Oh! Are we about to get more insight into the mysterious past of Maccadam?"
"I'll get around to it, eventually!" Maccadam laughed, probably basking in the continued mystery. "But seriously though, nothing strange about me, or my past. Not worth thinking about."
Miko crossed her arms in an indignant fashion, "Aren't you like, one of the original Primes?" She asked point blank. It was a popular theory, one which could not be proven but Maccadam never felt like answering.
Maccadam quickly let himself up and dusted off his hands, "Welp! That's all the sagely advice I can offer today! No need to get too deep in the weeds regarding little old me!"
"That's a yes to Miko's question then," Bumblebee muttered to Arcee.
She managed a small smirk. As messed up as the Autobot side was in the political sphere, if she did leave, she would miss this. Her team. Her friends. Just the day to day. Maybe that was enough… She glanced Maccadam again, wanting to glean a hint of whatever choice she would make.
The sudden horror-stricken expression that had consumed Maccadam's faceplates probably didn't mean anything good, but something told her it wasn't related to her stupid little identity crisis.
She wasn't the only one to notice. The once jovial bot's glazed optics staired at the wall with terror. "Maccadam?" Ultra Magnus demanded, "What do you see? Is it to do with what was discussed in the meeting today?"
"I can't…" He squinted hard, his sights on the future uncertain. That meant it had everything to do with the extra dimensional bots. "It's unclear. But I feel it. The fear, the Energon shed. It's Prion."
Arcee wasn't the only one thrown. The Minicon planet? Hadn't that been dealt with at least five hundred times?
Miko scoffed, "Oh boy, are the little guys fighting for real this time?"
"If that's the case, Laserbeak can probably defuse it again," Raff offered.
Going by Maccadam's face, Arcee had a feeling this wasn't that simple. Grief struck him in that instance, and he looked to the group with absolute devastation, "My Sight was too slow."
Arcee got the emergency ping in her HUD. Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus clearly got it too. And then the sound from down the hall of annoyed groans and then a Space Bridge ripping open suggested the Con Lords just received their own version of the alert. An SOS from the Prion Base, no other info offered other than the urgent request for life saving assistance. If that wasn't a normal appeal for the feuding Minicon factions, Arcee would probably take her time too. But Maccadam's face stuck in her mind. She stood up to hurry right after the Con Lords, intending to use their own Bridge so she didn't have to wait for their own. Bumblebee was right behind her.
It was probably just more of the same. The two Minicon leaders more than likely just went too far this time, actually managing to hurt the other. They would most likely have more annoying war meetings and peace talks to smooth things over after this.
She passed through the vortex without asking the surrounding Con's for permission to do so. She stepped out onto the barren soil of the desert world, her whole body and Spark stalling in the brutal chaos that was laid out before them.
Date: October 1st, 2021
Steven
He was on his fifth cup of coffee as he staired down at his phone. Well, it was less of a stair and more of a glare after the first hour. Waiting through the night for a text or a call, or anything from this mysterious person using Rhea's contact info to communicate. He was told to wait, and it was all he could do. Not like he was missing out on sleep. He couldn't stay asleep without being tortured by those, things, every time he closed his eyes for any extended period of time. All he needed was coffee, fear, and paranoia to stay awake.
Ben emerged from the guest room, again. He had been checking on Steven periodically after doing who knows what in his room. "Anything new?" He sat down next to Steven at the kitchen table, even scooting his chair in a little closer so he could hover over the phone.
"No," was all Steven felt like sharing. His ability to tolerate Ben's excitable attitude was already low, and his chronic lack of sleep wasn't making it better.
Ben managed to inch his face even closer to the phone. In the same instance, he blew a tired raspberry and leaned back in his chair. "Welp, we can't leave until we hear something from the phone person. Max said so. What do we do while we wait?"
Steven sipped his coffee. It had gotten cold again, and this would be the third time he microwaved it. But he did so regardless because his stomach already hurt and cold coffee wasn't helping. "You don't have to do anything. This is my burden, apparently. You should be worried about the upcoming tribunal regarding your potential standing in the Military. There are resources for you to use. I recommend you get on that. The sooner the better."
"And leave you alone to deal with all this paranormal craziness?" Ben gasped.
Steven glared at him. "It's not paranormal," he insisted, because that didn't help Steven feel any less crazy.
With an unconvinced glance, Ben picked up the slip of self-writing paper and waved it in the air, "No? then what do you call this?"
Steven was usually quicker to the draw, but he just didn't have enough stamina to fight or quip back. He retrieved his now steaming mug from the microwave and sipped it until wakefulness returned to him. "I don't know what to call it."
Ben smirked, setting the paper back down next to the phone. Good for him, he thought he won. Steven was too tired to correct him. "How about we pass the time with a game?" he went on to suggest.
Steven rubbed his temples. Rhea nor himself were into board games, so they didn't really have anything like that in the house. But he was sure Ben would come up with some sort of ridiculous venture even without a template. "Sure."
Ben turned the phone to face himself, tapping its screen as if he was trying to get the attention of someone hidden within, "We can go back and forth guessing what could be behind all this. No wrong answers! My guess is… Aliens."
Steven gave him a pursed look, "Care to elaborate?"
Ben leaned his chair on its back legs, balancing himself like that until he almost fell and had to jolt back down, "Haven't figured that out yet. But, seems like we're dealing with something crazy advanced. Hacking into your girlfriend's phone and all. Every once and a while taking over the minds of Max and Oliver… Then again, I've also considered dark magic, clones from the future, your Rhea is from the future! And every variation of time traveling antics. Maybe it's a mix of all of the above. What's your guess?"
Steven pursed his lips further. He already didn't like the game. "I don't have a guess."
"Boring," Ben informed him flatly. "I already said no wrong answers! Really, first thing to pop into your head, go!"
Steven sighed. He glanced into his room from the kitchen, catching the corner of his safe from this vantage point. "Me."
"Ok, now you got to explain that too," Ben huffed.
Steven pressed his head into his hands, "That's just it. I can't. It's just this gut feeling I have but I can't even explain it to myself. My safe is the key, clearly, and I'm the only one who can open it and relock it. So, somehow I am involved. Where Rhea stands, or Max and Oliver, I just don't know," he trailed off, because he really had no idea where the thought was going. He was rambling. Only sleeping three hours in the past three days tended to do that.
"What about the dream monsters?" Ben pointed out. "You think they have something to do with this whole conspiracy too?"
Oh yeah, that. One more piece to the mismatched puzzle they were a part of. Freakish, red eyed beings both Steven and Ben shared in their nightmares, ripping them apart every time they managed to catch a few minutes of sleep. They were appearing in the waking world more frequently. "I just don't know. I have no clue what those things are, or why we're seeing them. A collective hallucination? Drugs in the water? Your guess is as good as mine."
Ben fully gasped, slamming both hands down on the table and making Steven jump. His nerves were shot. "Maybe that's it! What if we aren't awake, but are still somehow in the nightmare with those things!"
Steven groaned. He didn't know what he was expecting with this little exercise. Nothing productive. "And if that's the case, then what?"
Having failed to learn his lesson last time, Ben balanced on the back of two chair legs again as he hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I guess we try to wake up? Then we meet up in the real world, fight our way through those monsters and go from there. Whatever it is, we're in it together." He went to give Steven a thumbs up, but he had leaned his chair to far back and started falling. Steven caught the back of his chair before he crashed, pushing him right side up.
"I suppose, being abducted by aliens or stuck in a nightmare could be worse," Steven mused with a halfhearted chuckle. Without Ben, (annoying as he was) Steven assumed he probably would have gone nuts by now. He had been when all of this started. Whatever this was, Steven was glad they were in it together. He also did not share that sentiment.
Ben drubbed his hands on the table before he stood with a new clear resolve blazing in his eyes, "How about this? I'll take the next safeguarding watch, and you go out, get some fresh air and buy some beer. And then when you get back, you can get drunk for the first time in your military career? Deal?"
Steven considered the young grinning man. Faced with nightmare monsters, aliens, future dooms or waking nightmares, Ben was almost unshakable. His confidence was so solid, Steven could admit it was a little contagious. And yeah, alcohol sounded pretty good right about now. "Deal."
Location: Prion
Bumblebee
He stumbled after the others through the portal Soundwave left open. How many times had they rushed across the universe to this same little planet? Too many to count, and it was always the same story. Minicons slapping at each other or some other hijinks like it. Not like this was the first time they had used the most urgent code to ask for help when it wasn't anything serious beyond dented egos. This time, Bumblebee caught mention of a communication problem. The message from Prion had a significant delay for some reason. He assumed that would be explained when they got there, and he tried not to read too much into Maccadam's prediction.
He stepped out of the portal, and his peds squished into Energon soaked dirt.
Bumblebee's Spark jumped; the horrible feeling akin to his life force snuffing out as his mind struggled to take in the unfamiliar sight of an utterly devastated region. This was where two opposing Minicon camps had been, set up right beside the excavation equipment and the hole in the ground.
Now, it was all rubble. Craters pocked the wreckage littered ground. Massive gouges were slashed into the rusty dirt, some still smoldering. This hadn't been the Minicons squabble. This was a well-organized attack. And speaking of the Minicons who once called this place home…
"Sparkplug!" Bumblebee called out into the twisted wreckage. His mind spun as he hurried out into where the small Autobot settlement used to be. Others of his team were there too, but he didn't focus on that. He zeroed in on the first tiny metal body he saw and rushed forward to help them from the collapsed building they were half buried under. He took them by the servo and went to dislodge them. The limp chassis came out easy, because their whole lower half was gone. Bumblebee was frozen again, holding onto the dead Minicon with trembling hands. Gently, as if worried he would somehow hurt the poor Spark more, he set them back down. There had to be survivors. He carried on looking. He continued finding corpses. He didn't stop, calling out for the Minicon leader as the others were.
Somewhere outside his bubble of denial, Bumblebee heard Grimlock and the other Dinobots grumbling. They had arrived too late as usual. But this time, Grimlock and his boys weren't the only ones to arrive onto the scene far too late to help. The buzz of Laserbeak's thrusters were circling overhead. Also, something that sounded like whimpering was coming from the airborne bot, but Bumblebee didn't understand anything beyond that.
There was a tiny hand stuck out of another mound, and Bumblebee started digging. "That you Sparkplug?! Hold on, we're here!" He unearthed another body. It wasn't the minicon leader, and they weren't alive either.
"Bee," Arcee was calling to him, but he was halfway digging through another pile. How had this happened? He felt like he had just talked to Sparkplugs team! "Bumblebee!" her voice and presence was jarring. She was over him, offering a hand for him to stand. "Soundwave's team found both Minicon leaders." She explained, but her expression was matt, devoid of relief. Bumblebee didn't want to admit what that meant.
He accepted her help and stood, and they made their way to what used to be the Decepticon side of the encampment. The town was similarly leveled. They stepped over a small mound along the way, all that was left of the rickety wall once separating the two factions. Bumblebee spotted the three Con Lords, all looking down at something in the rubble.
Bumblebee didn't know why, but he ran the rest of the way. He had to slow, just so he didn't stumble to a stop and trip into one of the silent Cons. At their peds were two little bodies, one wearing an Autobot emblem and the other proudly sporting the Decepticon shield. Sparkplug's tiny weapon was shifted out but inactive, all electrical power now depleted. Doomitron wielded both shifted servos, a gun and the other a blade. But none of that mattered. Their optics were dark, and their Sparks departed. It seemed, in their final moments, they had been fighting side by side, making their final stand together.
"My scans indicate no life signals are online," Soundwave's voice cut through Bumblebee's grief as it boiled under the surface. About a million clashing emotions bombarded him at once, and the most crushing was guilt. He looked up to see Soundwave's visor pulled down over his optics and he scanned the horizon. It made his already flat expression impossible to read. "Residual energy is radiating from the gashes in the ground, and I see trace readings from a communication dampener. Whatever ship did this was the source of that suppressing signal. It must have only just departed, and that is what allowed the SOS signal to finally reach Cybertron."
"Our team has been on the receiving end of these kind of attacks before," Starscream noted, but he was only talking to Soundwave at the time.
Soundwave nodded in agreement. "It could only be the Star Saber that could cause this kind of devastation."
"You are sure?" Ultra Magnus' voice cut through the background noise of Bumblebee's mind, but he was so busy staring at Sparkplug's cold faceplates, he couldn't bring himself to look at his own leader who stood somewhere behind him.
"Affirmative. When we were still warring, Megatron was very weary of this weapon. It would appear, whoever stole your leader's servo has recovered from the limb attachment surgery enough to use the sword to it's full potential." Soundwave retorted.
The bot who stole Optimus' arm had done this. They had used Optimus' remains and his weapon to slaughter defenseless lives. The sword of the Primes, only able to be wielded by a Prime, had been totally defiled with the spilled blood of the innocent. Bumblebee was sick. His processor couldn't keep up with the horror as he continued to take in the landscape, or the bodies as they piled up, little chassis scattered along the ground all the way to-
"The Relic," Bumblebee realized, stating that thought out loud the moment it jolted him back to reality.
Everyone once surrounding him was on the move, and he stumbled right behind to the dig sight. It wasn't much of a surprise. The few miners stationed here to chip away at the shield were dead too. The final layer of rock and dirt once shielded from their digging equipment was blown away, an even greater hole in place of the original. The thief who stole Optimus Prime's servo and his most devastating weapon, had utilized that power to break the shield surrounding the mystery relic in the ground. Whatever the Relic had been, it had been big, and it was now gone.
Leaders were talking amongst themselves, fliers trying to catch up with the lingering Energon trail of the ship responsible for the slaughter. It was determined, though Bumblebee didn't catch who realized it, that the Star Seekers must have utilized Quintessa to shield this attack from Maccadam's Sight. The other dimensional entity, horrifying space pirates, and a still mysterious enemy from this reality, they were all working together, and they were ten steps ahead.
Somehow, Bumblebee had wandered back to what used to be the Minicon settlement. He returned to Sparkplug's side to pull him from the pile of rubble. Though Doomitron wasn't an Autobot, he picked him up too and laid them both down in a more dignified position. More bodies were added alongside them by others who were digging through the rubble, but Bumblebee couldn't register who else was helping.
"Bee, you have to snap out of it." Arcee was pleading. "Ultra Magnus needs us. We're being assigned to scout groups to follow any kind of trail to follow, and you have the most experience in that department."
He couldn't do anything. Despite seeing death and devastation countless times before, he couldn't shake this. Not this time, because this was his fault. "Sparkplug wanted to come back to Cybertron," Bumblebee said, staring down at the minicon leader's body. "I was the one who gave the order to keep them here. Every death is on me."
"You couldn't have foreseen something like this." She promised.
He still couldn't look at her. The shame and guilt threatened to swallow his Spark whole. He was on his knees beside Sparkplug's body. "It wasn't even for a good reason I told them to stay here. It was to keep them out of the way! They went down fighting a battle they never could have won! What am I supposed to-"
He yelped, yanked back to the present and to his peds by a firm hand by the back of his neck.
"Hey!" Arcee snapped at whoever had just man handled him. He was spun around to be facing Soundwave's chest plates, and he looked up to meet the Decepticon leader's pointed stair. He had even shifted his visor away to really drive home the disapproving look. "Autobot, get yourself together. You are a leader now, and you cannot crumble. If you do, your people will too."
Bumblebee stammered. "B-but, they're dead because of me!"
"That is not factual. Whoever would have been stationed here would be dead regardless because both our collective factions failed to predict this outcome. Far superior forces should have been assigned to guard the Relic."
"I told Sparkplug to stay here and guard it," Bumblebee whimpered. "So how can I not be responsible for at least his death, and everyone under him?"
"In that case, it is your fault," Soundwave agreed flatly.
Bumblebee's Spark twisted again, and he was left unable to activate his voice box this time. He knew it was the truth, but wow was that blunt.
"Great pep talk," Arcee snarled as she shouldered her way in-between them, and her servo wrapped around Bumblebee's shoulder plating to comfort him. Or shield him from Soundwave, Bumblebee didn't know which.
Soundwave secured his hand onto Bumblebee's other shoulder before she could lead him away, and he fixed him with a smolderingly serious look, "I have given orders that have led to the deaths of countless comrades and even Minicons. That is the burden of leadership, and you must put it away for another time to grieve later. But if you instead choose to wallow in self-pity, all those sacrifices are in vain. That is a disservice to those who have fallen fighting for what they knew to be right. Do not dishonor them in that way. Learn from their deaths and build a stronger foundation to better lead and protect those who remain."
Between Arcee's half embrace, and Soundwave's firm grip on his shoulder, Bumblebee could somewhat ground himself back into reality. He looked back to Sparkplug. A sob caught in his voice box, and he pulled it back down. "O-ok. Thank you, Soundwave."
Expression still cold, he nodded, letting his hand drop from Bumblebee's shoulder. He left them to return to his own faction. Bumblebee leaned into Arcee for support. Though the advice was harsh, and he had no idea why Soundwave offered it to an Autobot, Bumblebee appreciated it. Either Bumblebee had looked pathetic enough to move the usually emotionally flat Decepticon leader to action, or it was a means of offering his own support in the only way he knew how. Experience. He wondered if that was a sign they were on the road to some kind of friendship. Probably not. He felt selfish for thinking that at such a time, but it was what popped into his brain pan in such a frazzled state.
"You ok?" Arcee asked, far gentler than Soundwave's tone had been.
He forced a nod. "No, but this isn't about me. Soundwave is right, I need to get back to Magnus and help in some way. We gotta do everything we can… to make sure this never happens again."
And to make sure Sparkplug didn't die for nothing. Optimus wouldn't want him thinking about revenge. Bumblebee never thought he would see the day he would consider it, but that day sure felt like it had arrived.