Disclaimers:
Transformers are owned by Hasbro.
I make no monetary profit from my fanfic
Summary: A
story about inner courage starring Starscream, Bumblebee and Optimus
Prime. (Formerly entitled The Courage and Truth Within)
Author’s note: The
Decepticon Doctor, Jephfath, created by Seawave.
Rating - PG
~~~~~~
IF I KNEW MY ENEMY
For
Rosemary, Chris, Bumblebee & Starscream
"Let it take you beyond the boundaries of what you thought
impossible."
The latest battle had taken its toll. There were many casualties on both sides and
considerable damage to Autobot headquarters.
"What a mess...." sighed Wheeljack, surveying the damage. "It'll take two weeks at least."
"At least there were no fatalities," Optimus Prime said,
holding his injured arm. "We must
repair our injured and the damage to our force-shield and security systems
before the Decepticons have time to recover and launch another attack - then we
can worry about the rest of the mess."
"We gave them a good licking - they took
a fair beating," Wheeljack said, "but then, so did we. They'll be up and running soon enough - and
they don't have a busted up headquarters to repair."
Optimus Prime nodded. "We're going to need everyone's help on
this - otherwise the Decepticons'll surely take advantage of our weakened
state."
"You can bet on that."
"Let me take a look at that," Ratchet said, coming to Optimus
and inspecting his wounded arm.
"Forget it, Ratchet," Optimus said, gently. "It's minor. My automatic repair systems will take care of
it. The others need your help more than
I do, but thanks."
Ratchet smiled.
"All right then, but after all this, it's R & R for you - and no
heavy lifting for a couple of days at least."
Optimus smiled for the first time since before
the battle. "Yes, Doctor."
Bumblebee was fortunate not to have been one of
those seriously injured in the attack.
He spent a minimal amount of time attending to his bruises and scratches
and was eager and ready to help in no time in any way he could. He knew he couldn't help Ratchet, First Aid
and Hoist repair the badly damaged - he wasn't a doctor and besides, too many
in the Repair bay would do more harm than good.
Much of the damage to the headquarters was too high for him to reach and
the replacement parts too heavy.
Bumblebee did what he could, even if he didn't think it was much. Optimus saw him, looking very frustrated,
struggling to remove a large slab of metal debris.
"Don't strain your diodes," he said, effortlessly picking up
the debris and tossing it onto the large rubbish pile.
"Thanks," Bumblebee said, "that was starting to annoy
me..." He started at another piece of debris.
"Bumblebee..."
The little Autobot scowled when this new piece
wouldn't pry loose. Optimus dropped to
one knee.
"Bumblebee..."
The yellow Autobot looked up.
"I
know how much you want to help," Optimus said, "and you've done what
you can. I don't want you to strain or
hurt yourself."
Bumblebee let the debris go and sighed. "Sometimes I wish I was stronger .... and bigger."
Optimus smiled.
"We're all different - some things we can't change and we must be
grateful for what and who we are and what we do have. Your heart,
courage, spirit and determination make you strong - the inner strength in all
of us."
Bumblebee smiled. "You're right, Optimus - but some of us
occasionally need a kick in the caboose to remind us."
The larger Autobot smiled. "Go and relax," he said
gently. "Then perhaps go for a
drive. It's a lovely day."
Bumblebee nodded and smiled. "Hint taken. Thanks, Optimus."
The Autobot leader patted his little friend and
stood.
Bumblebee returned to his quarters and started
a water steam bath with a dew drops of essential
lavender oil and various Earth substances, such as sea salt, bubbles. It wasn't often he indulged in such a luxury
- one the Transformers had picked up on Earth.
Bumblebee felt the minor pain of his diminishing bruises and scratches,
starting to ease as he lowered himself into the steaming water. He felt his joints relax and let out an
audible sigh of relaxation. He scrubbed
off the little amount of dirt his body had accumulated and spent a while
enjoying the peaceful relaxation.
After an hour and twenty minutes, Bumblebee emerged,
feeling like he'd just stepped off the assembly line, refreshed, all his pain
gone and he was most definitely relaxed.
He used the Automatic-dry and exited his quarters, walked to the Energon
room and re-energized.
"I
feel great!" he exclaimed to himself happily and decided to take Optimus
Prime's suggestion and go for a drive.
He eagerly transformed and sped off.
Meanwhile, at Decepticon headquarters, Megatron
was in an extremely foul mood, snarling and grumbling at just about everyone.
"I
shall make the Autobots pay for this humiliation..." he
snarled, whilst having his wounds attended to by Soundwave, who was quite used
to Megatron's bad moods.
Megatron tried to sit up, and winced with the
pain. Soundwave gently pushed him back
down again.
"There will be time for that later," he said, as he continued
to attend to his leader's wounds.
"Jephfath will be here soon."
The Decepticon leader balked at the idea of
being in anything less than perfection - nevertheless, he appreciated
Soundwave's treatment and concern and Soundwave knew that, even if Megatron
didn't say it.
"The Autobots must've had inside information," Megatron
growled. "Or a
spy."
"The Autobots too suffered heavy losses," Soundwave pointed
out.
Megatron knew that once again, his friend was
right - not that he gave a damn how much the Autobots lost.
Megatron scowled. "It's just one of those days..." he
grumbled, cross.
* * *
Out in the fresh air, Bumblebee relaxed as he
cruised on the road. The air rushing
past him, his wheels on the solid ground gave him a wonderful
"Earthed" feeling. He loved
earth and its people - the planet was so different from his own home world. It's
a pity the Decepticons had to follow us here and bugger it up... But
Bumblebee didn't want to spoil his relaxation thinking about his enemies. He
turned his attention to trees. Earth's
natural wonders were so different from Cybertron's. At times Bumblebee missed his home and had
come to think of Earth, as many Autobots had, as a second home.
* * *
"I'm sorry, Megatron, but that's all I can give you for now,"
explained Jephfath, the Decepticon CMO to his grumbling leader. "We're extremely down on energy. There's barely enough to go around."
Soundwave looked at Megatron apologetically.
Megatron nodded. "We must restock. Soundwave, find out which
is the nearest source of available energy."
"I
already have. It is the Richardson Power
Plant in
"Good work. Have the jets
been repaired?"
"Ramjet,
Thrust and Dirge are still damaged.
Starscream is undergoing minor repairs, but Skywarp and Thundercracker
are fully functional."
"Get those three out there - you go with them."
"Yes, Megatron. However,
Starscream will object."
"I
don't give a damn," Megatron growled.
As Soundwave had predicted, Starscream just had
to put in his two Energon chips worth.
"My back and afterburners still smart - and my legs feel like I've
run to one end of the galaxy and back again - get someone else," he
snapped.
"These are Megatron's orders," Soundwave stated, bland,
holding his ground.
"I
don't suppose he's going to get off his ass?"
Soundwave glared daggers at him.
"Okay ... okay ...." Starscream gave in, uneasily - and most
reluctantly.
* * *
Bumblebee was quite enjoying his leisurely
drive. He'd spent two days away. He'd driven down to the beach - and a little
girl had called him 'Herbie, and he'd smiled.
He'd driven on the road and was given a free full tank of petrol and a
tune up by a friendly service station owner.
It was nearing dusk for the second time now and
Bumblebee thought of his friends back at Autobot headquarters and decided to
return home and drove along the coastline.
* * *
Starscream grumbled all the way to
"He's worse than a whiny Earth child," Skywarp silently
radioed to Thundercracker.
"I
know what you mean, Sky," Thundercracker radioed back. "I've seen people on those pathetic
Earth talk shows with more interesting things to say."
"You can say that again, Thunder!"
Soundwave, in tape deck mode, inside
Starscream, mildly amused at the secret radio transmissions he'd tuned into.
Thundercracker radioed Skywarp again. "I'd rather be taking a whole bunch of
whiny Earth children shopping than listening to-"
"What are you two radioing about?" Starscream demanded,
detecting the transmissions.
Thundercracker immediately cut communication,
inwardly sighing with relief that Starscream hadn't tuned in.
"It wouldn't be about me, would is, fellas?" Starscream
pushed.
"No, Starscream," Thundercracker lied.
"We just-" Skywarp began.
"Save it," Starscream said, disdainfully, weakly, and really
not interested. Sore, angry and tired,
the only thing on his mind was getting the blasted energy and returning home to
Decepticon headquarters, recharging and flopping down on his resting ledge.
"There it is ..." Starscream breathed, as they came up on the
Richardson Power Plant. "At last ..."
"What's the matter, Screamers?" Skywarp teased. "Flight too rough for ya? Ya must be gettin' old, Starscream...."
"Shut
up, Skywarp!" Starscream snarled viciously, firing a warning shot
across the black jet's nosecone.
"Ooh!" Skywarp blasted
back near him.
Starscream wasn't bothered to fire back. He didn't want to waste any more of his
diminishing energy on Skywarp.
"Follow me," he growled, as he advanced toward their
destination.
"I'm detecting an Autobot Sky-Spy," Skywarp said suddenly.
"Destroy it," Starscream ordered.
"Yes Sir!" Skywarp said with sarcastic enthusiasm, as he
targeted the small satellite and launched a heat seeking missile, which
collided with its target, blowing it out of the sky. "Shove that up y' exhaust pipes,
Autobots!"
Starscream and the other Decepticons
transformed. He didn't pay any attention
to the negligible resistance from the humans - he barely felt the blasts. Soundwave jammed the humans transmissions.
"Soundwave, the Energon cubes."
Soundwave provided the empty clear cubes from
his chest compartment, while the humans ran frantically about.
"Quickly," Soundwave said to the others. "We must gather enough energy before any
Autobots arrive."
One of the humans blasted Starscream in a
tender spot in his elbow. Starscream
winced, spun around and blasted the human's large weapon.
"You'll pay for that!" he spat, furious.
He would have succeeded in blasting the human
as well, if a colleague hadn't pushed the human out of the way. Starscream grunted and turned to the others,
realizing it would not go down well if he lost control and he forgot entirely
about the human.
The Decepticons gathered quite a few Energon
cubes. The human owner and manager of
the Plant, Mr. Richardson, had secured his daughter and was running about,
quite frantic and swearing most impressively.
* * *
As Bumblebee neared
As he approached the source of the danger,
Bumblebee couldn't help feeling a sense of dread. It can't be that bad.... he
forced himself to believe.
"Hurry up!" Starscream snapped.
Skywarp and Thundercracker glared laser beams
at him, ready to throttle him, the only things preventing them was the urgency
of their mission and they were too low on energy to waste it on him. Skywarp helped the others condense the
Energon cubes.
With a shock, Bumblebee saw just what - or who,
rather the humans were going crazy about.
"Decepticons!!"
Before he could transform or radio for
assistance, Soundwave blasted him and took out his communications. Starscream spun around and snarled viciously
at Bumblebee.
"Filthy
Autobot...." he spat, abandoning his stack of Energon cubes and
blasting at Bumblebee. He knew he only
had a limited amount of energy - and if he spent it in engaging his weapons, he
might not have enough to get back to Decepticon headquarters, but he didn't
care. "You'll never leave here
alive!" he screamed, transforming into his F-15 jet fighter mode and
released his cluster bombs.
Bumblebee reversed, but not quite in time. The bombs exploded. The Autobot was thrown quite a way back,
hurt. He transformed into his robot mode
and tried to escape. He knew he couldn't
win. Meanwhile, Soundwave radioed
Megatron. Bumblebee lay on the ground,
hurt and helpless.
Starscream, up in the air, fired at him. He blamed the Autobots for his pain and
current condition - and everything else that pissed him off recently. He was about to end Bumblebee's misery with
one final fury from his remaining cluster bombs.
"Do not harm him," ordered Megatron's voice over his radio.
"WHAT?!"
"I
said-"
"I
heard you the first time. Have
you flipped?! Did the Autobots fry your
logic circuits too in the last battle?"
"Shut up, Starscream!" Megatron snapped. "Do not harm that Autobot."
"Fat chance." Starscream
ignored his leader and readied his bombs to fire.
"Soundwave," Megatron's voice, now calm, came over the tape
deck's communicator, "shoot him."
Starscream dodged Soundwave's first blast. "Okay!
Okay!" he exclaimed, narrowly avoiding Soundwave's second one. He grunted, then transformed.
"Thank you, Starscream, for obeying your Leader..." Megatron
said - there was no mistaking the sarcasm.
"The Autobot could be useful."
Although quite relieved, Bumblebee didn't want
to find out just what Megatron had in store for him - he was sure it wouldn't
be pleasant.
Starscream calmed himself, but still felt
fatigued and very cranky. He transformed
and flew down to the other Decepticons.
Thundercracker flew to Bumblebee and picked him up. Personally he
couldn't see the point in attacking one small Autobot so savagely, but of
course he couldn't say anything.
"Let's get back."
The four Decepticons left with Bumblebee and
the Energon cubes they'd gathered.
The foursome arrived back at Decepticon headquarters,
grateful to have had enough energy to make it that far. The cubes were unloaded
in the Energon room.
Jephfath had repaired Megatron's wounds, but he
was still a little sore in parts. He
suggested that he rest for another day at least, but Megatron wouldn't hear of
it. Jephfath handed him an Energon
cube. Megatron drank it, silently
grateful to be able to replenish is fast diminishing energies.
Megatron stood, walked out of the repair bay
and confronted Soundwave, Skywarp, Thundercracker and Starscream. Inwardly, he was angry that they'd taken
longer than he'd anticipated, but knew in their weakened state, it couldn't be
helped.
"Good work," he said, inwardly relieved that the Autobots
hadn't foiled their efforts. "Take that
Autobot to a prison cell until I'm ready for him. Dismissed."
Bumblebee tried to struggle away, but
couldn't. The Decepticons left.
"Starscream...." Megatron's voice was low.
Starscream winced - he knew he was in or an
earful. He'd been dreading this moment. Great. As if I don't have enough worries .... He
turned around.
Megatron waited until the others had gone. "You dare disobey another of my orders..." his voice was no
longer low.
"He was an Autobot - okay, so I was out of line. Shoot me."
"Don't tempt me."
"Go ahead."
Inwardly, Megatron was quite impressed that
Starscream wasn't whining and
grovelling.
Starscream placed his hands on his waist "Can I go now?"
"... Yes - but do not let it happen again."
"Fine, fine..." Starscream left.
Megatron then realised how absolutely exhausted
Starscream was and smiled to himself.
Starscream stopped at the Energon room, picked
up a cube and drank it. He wanted
another, but each Decepticon had been rationed one cube and if Megatron found
out, he'd go off his rocker - again.
Starscream felt his hunger quietening down, but not the lingering
pain. He slowly walked to his quarters
and entered the computerised combination.
The door obediently slid upward and slid closed again when Starscream entered. He couldn't remember the last time his messy
quarters looked so wonderful. He smiled
as he eluded his junk on the floor and immediately flopped down on is resting
ledge. If anyone dared to disturb them,
he'd throw the large jet propulsion system, lying on the floor at their
head. Starscream made himself
comfortable, grateful as he felt the subtle tingling of his automatic repair
systems take care of any remaining damage - and that he had the opportunity and
time to finally get some much needed rest.
He smiled and closed his eyes.
Bumblebee sat in the cell, keeping his fear in
check. It was not long before Megatron
entered with Soundwave. Bumblebee could
tell Megatron wasn't in the best of moods - no wonder after the ass kicking he
got in the last battle, but Bumblebee was wise enough not to mention that to
Megatron's face. Soundwave raised his
gun. Bumblebee sensed that this was only
the beginning. He knew there was nowhere
for him to run or hide and didn't even flinch when Soundwave fired. Inwardly the Decepticons were quite impressed
with the little Autobot's courage, but said nothing.
* * *
Optimus Prime turned to leave the main control
room, when he saw Ironhide.
"Have you seen Bumblebee?"
"No, Chief."
"He said he was going out for a drive - that was two days ago and
he hasn't returned. The Sky-Spy gave his
last coordinates as
"He's probably still out enjoyin' himself."
Optimus smiled.
"He needs that."
* * *
When Bumblebee came to, he found himself strapped
to a metal bed. He tugged on the Energon
bands that bound his wrists, waist and ankles, but it was no use, in fact they
became a little tighter.
"Do not waste your energy," Megatron said. "You cannot escape."
Bumblebee stopped struggling and scowled as
Megatron looked down at him.
"You Autobots may have won the last battle, but you will not
win the war."
"What makes you say that?"
Megatron let out a cold chuckle. "Pathetic Autobot... do you really think
you stand a chance?"
"Not me alone, Megatron, but united-"
"Save it," Megatron snarled.
"You Autobots shall never triumph."
"Says you."
Megatron brutally backhanded Bumblebee across
his face and was inwardly surprised when the Autobot hardly flinched, but he
did scowl and Megatron smiled. Bumblebee
knew he lacked the physical strength to break the bonds that held him, so he
used another tactic and tried very slowly to squirm his small hand out of the
Energon clasp. He wasn't sure what he'd
do if he managed to free himself, or even if he'd managed to escape Decepticon
headquarters, but he didn't fancy the idea of being a helpless sitting duck -
and anything was better than lying trapped here, listening to Megatron's
gloating.
Unfortunately for Bumblebee, his plan didn't
work. The Energon bands became
tighter. He tried to pull against them,
but they tightened still. He tried to
ignore the pain in his wrist, waist and ankles.
"The more you struggle, the tighter they'll become - they're
designed that way, so unless you want them to slice you to pieces ...
painfully. I suggest you stop."
"Thanks for the heartfelt advice," Bumblebee spat, staying
still and hoping in vain that the bands would revert back to their original
hold on him. The tight pain was very
uncomfortable, but thankfully not enough to slice into his skin. Megatron showed no signs of releasing his
discomfort. Bumblebee scowled again.
"You see, Autobot - I have you and there is no
escape."
"Spare me the rambling." Bumblebee did not want to give in to
or admit his fear.
"Now, Bumblebee...." Megatron said, his voice
mock-pleasant. "You'll tell me
everything I want to know."
"Or you'll torture me, right?"
Bumblebee narrowed his eyes. “Or
blast me to pieces.”
"I
want to know the Autobot's latest battle strategy," Megatron stated.
"I
don't know what it is with you Decepticons.
Do you think Optimus Prime goes around saying, 'now, Autobots, gather
round and hold hands. My latest battle
plans are...'"
"You try my patience! Don't
bother telling me you don't know - and if Prime hasn't divulged any plans As
yet, so soon after the last battle - I know you Autobots are upgrading your
security. I want to know about the
system."
Bumblebee remained tight lipped.
"All right then," Megatron said, "Soundwave, the Cyber-Probe."
Soundwave stepped out of the shadows of the
room. Until this moment, Bumblebee
hadn't even been aware of his presence.
"As you command, Megatron."
"I
warn you, Bumblebee," Megatron said, "the Cyber-Probe is excruciatingly
painful - Are you sure you won't reconsider?"
Bumblebee noted the sarcasm in the Decepticon
Leader's voice. "Go jump in an acid lake, Megatron." He knew
insulting the Decepticon Leader in these circumstances wasn't wise, but what
more harm could it do?
"So be it," Megatron said, an edge to his voice. "Soundwave..."
The dark blue Decepticon turned to the
Cyber-Probe controls and activated it on low power at first, slowly
increasing. In the beginning, Bumblebee
felt nothing but a tingling sensation, but slowly felt that change and knew he
wouldn't have to wait long for the pain.
He tried to blank out his mind to it - not to think about it.
Soundwave increased the power and the sensation
started becoming quite unpleasant for our Autobot friend - and slowly the pain
came, like a predator stalking. The pain
became more intense. Bumblebee tried to
put it out of his head, but found he could not.
"He is resisting," Soundwave said.
"Increase."
Bumblebee wanted to say 'no!' but what good
would it do?
Soundwave did so. Bumblebee definitely felt the pain now. He knew however strong willed he was,
fighting the Cyber-Probe would only make it worse for him, and he knew he could
not resist it - it would eventually locate the information in his brain and
extract it, and so he erased it from his memory. The pain grew more and more intense - it felt
as if someone was squashing his head. He
wanted to cry out, but forced himself to remain silent.
"The information has been erased," Soundwave said. "Further exposure to the Cyber-Probe
will permanently damage the Autobot's brain."
Megatron grunted angrily and bashed the
bed. "You think you're smart, don't
you?" he growled at the Autobot.
"Soundwave, turn the damn probe off. We've wasted enough time and energy on this
runt."
Soundwave did so. Bumblebee was too hurt to scowl at Megatron's
insult, but was grateful the thing had been turned off. The pain didn't go away, but it didn't get
any worse either. However, Bumblebee
knew this wasn't the end of it and didn't want to think about what was coming
to him next.
Megatron looked down at him and smiled. "You don't think you're going to
get off that easily, do you? Tell me
what I want to know or suffer
the consequences."
* * *
"Optimus Prime, attention," came the voice of Teletraan I.
"What is it?"
Teletraan switched on the morning news. The broadcast showed pictures of people
looking rather panicked, running about.
"Unfortunately the Autobots were unable to be contacted last night
when four Decepticons made off with their energy takings from their midnight
raid on the Richardson Power Plant in
"Bumblebee!" Optimus exclaimed. "He was .... Teletraan, report from Sky
Spy."
"There has been no report from the Sky Spy since 18 hundred hours
last night."
"Decepticons... They must have destroyed it... Optimus to
Skyfire."
"Skyfire here, Prime. I'm
passin' over the gorgeous Canadian Rockies.
I'm on my way home."
"I
need you to take a detour to
"I'm there, Prime," Skyfire said, and increased to maximum
speed.
"If you can't find any sign of him, return to base."
"Will
do."
Skyfire arrived on the scene and transformed.
At first Mr. Richardson freaked, thinking
Skyfire was another Decepticon, then calmed down as he recognised him as an
Autobot. "Ohh, thank God ..."
he breathed.
"Was anyone hurt?" Skyfire asked.
"No, thankfully. It all happened so fast."
Skyfire relayed the news to Optimus Prime, who
too was relieved there's been no human casualties.
"How much energy did they take?" he asked.
"They came, they stole, they went," Mr. Richardson said. "They didn't take much, but sure scared
the fuckin’ shit out of everyone."
"I
bet they did," Skyfire said.
"We'll help you clean up."
Optimus became puzzled when Mr. Richardson said
the Decepticons hadn't taken much energy.
Strange, he thought, but he was more concerned about Bumblebee.
"Did anyone see a little yellow Autobot called Bumblebee?"
Skyfire asked. "Transforms into a
yellow Volkswagen Beetle."
"I
did," a little girl said. "I
saw the bad Decepticons shoot at the little car."
Optimus and Skyfire went cold. The little girl showed him where she had seen
the Decepticons shoot at Bumblebee. The
large Autobot saw strained tyre tracks, which confirmed his fears, but also to relief
there was no debris and no broken chassis.
"I
saw Bumblebee change into a robot.
"A red and blue Decepticon shot him and then they took him
away. The black one, I think he was
called Skywarp called the other one Star Screech."
Skyfire smiled, feeling a little hopeful. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Deona," the little girl replied. "And my Daddy is happy that you're
helping us."
Skyfire knelt down to Deona and shook her hand
with his smallest finger. "It's a
pleasure," he said.
"I
hope that Bumblebee is okay."
"So do we all," Skyfire said.
Mr. Richardson smiled, picked up his daughter
and kissed her on the cheek.
"I'll send some Autobots down here to assist you with getting this
place in order again. It's the least we
can do."
"Thanks," Mr. Richardson said.
Skyfire waved to then and they did as
well. The Autobot transformed and took
off.
Skyfire opened a channel. "Do you want me to go after Bumblebee,
Prime?"
"No, not alone. No offence -
you're too big to be sneaking around."
Skyfire laughed. "None taken - I know!"
"However,
I need transportation to get to Decepticon headquarters."
"Say no more! You got
it."
* * *
"So, Bumblebee, will you tell me what I want to know?"
Bumblebee pursed his lips and said nothing.
"Ahh..." Megatron said.
"I see. The strong, but
silent type ... Too bad." He activated some controls. Bumblebee looked nervously at him, and
decided whatever Megatron was doing, the result would not be a pleasant one for
him - and he was right. First he saw a
bright, but pale orange coloured light above him - so bright it hurt his eyes
and he found he couldn't close them to block it out - and then the pain - more
pain, this time through his entire body.
He tried to struggle away, but found he couldn't and the Energon bands
became a tighter - he'd forgotten about that and it hurt more than it did
before. He heard a short laugh come from
Megatron.
"Why bother? In a few hours
you won't be able to feel anything at all... Unless, that is, you tell me what
I want to know."
The light had shorted out Bumblebee's optical
circuits - he could not see, but his eyes hurt like hell. He glared in Megatron's direction. "I won't tell you anything"
he growled, through the pain. "I'd
rather die then betray my friends."
Megatron looked down at him, inwardly admiring
the little Autobot's courage, but said nothing to that effect. "So be it."
Bumblebee felt his pain grow more intense and
he winced. He did his best to ignore it,
but found he could not. Megatron stood
there, enjoying it. Soundwave, on the
other hand, could see no reason to torture the Autobot further, seeing he
obviously was not going to tell them anything, but knew when Megatron was angry
he pretty much did what he bloody well wanted to. Soundwave knew his friend was still bitter
after his humiliating defeat in the last battle and was quite sure he'd get
over it soon enough. Megatron's rages
never seemed to last too long.
Please somebody, help me! Bumblebee's mind screamed, but he forbade
himself to say anything. It felt as
though he'd been immersed in a burning fluid and someone had stuck sharp, hot
points into every part of his body and was slowly twisting them. Bumblebee inwardly cursed himself for being
so small and weak - if he was stronger he could have fought against his
attackers and break out of these damn Energon bands - but even if he had been
stronger, he had a feeling this accursed machine, whatever it was doing to him
would compensate. He desperately tried
to pull one arm loose, then felt Megatron's hand on his arm. The touch was gentle, but Bumblebee sensed it
was mocking.
"Don't worry," the Decepticon Leader said to him, "pretty
soon, the pain won't bother you anymore."
He could see the pain and anger in the Autobot's eyes, but still
Bumblebee said nothing - no bribes, begging or grovelling. "This may not mean anything to you,
Bumblebee," Megatron said, "but you surprise me. You are small, pathetic and weak, you have
virtually no firepower, and yet your bravery is deserving of Megatron's
respect."
Bumblebee heard the sincerity in the words and
was surprised, and he knew something like that would not have been easy for
Megatron to say, but the pain and growing despair were his predominant
feelings. The pain seemed to stab into
him suddenly. Bumblebee and he gasped
with pain and instantly wished he hadn't, even though what he was going through
was unbearable.
"Come, Soundwave," Megatron said, as he turned to leave.
Soundwave left with him, both leaving Bumblebee
alone in the room, in agony, dying.
* * *
"Let me out here," Optimus Prime said to Skyfire, "make
yourself scarce, and stand by. Under no
circumstances, break radio silence."
"Got it."
Skyfire slid up a door. Optimus leapt out of him and activated the
jet pack of he'd strapped on previously.
The Valkyrie jet soared upward.
Optimus flew into the ocean. He
had with him, a recent invention of Wheeljack's, whom the inventor had called
"The Scrambler." It was
designed to mess up Decepticon radar and give them false computer readings.
"I
hope this works..." and the Autobot leader activated it.
"Megatron," Soundwave called, inside the headquarters. "The computer has located a large active
undersea volcano, five hundred miles from here.
Large energy supply."
Megatron's face brightened. "Excellent, Soundwave, gather the
force. It's ours for the
taking." He turned around when he
heard someone else enter the room.
"Ahh, Starscream, well rested I take it?"
"Yes thank you," came the curt reply to Megatron's
sarcasm. "I suppose you want me to
lead this operation?" Starscream
silently hoped Megatron wouldn't make him go - he had rested, but was still
quite low on energy, as there hadn't been too much to go around and he still
ached in places. Not as much as before,
but he definitely was not in the mood or shape to go gallivanting about the
Earth's oceans - or anywhere else for that matter.
"No," Megatron said, as if answering Starscream's
prayers. "I want you to stay
here. The base needs some protection
against possible intrusions, and to check up on the Autobot prisoner - and
after the very limited supply of energy you brought back from-"
Starscream bristled. "If we'd had stayed any longer, the
Autobots would've been all over us like Sharkticons - there was one there
already - I got us enough!"
Starscream scowled at his leader and Megatron smiled inwardly. He loved to provoke the Decepticon Air
Commander.
"Fine," Starscream said.
"I'm not in the mood for energy gathering anyway," and he
sauntered off, glowering. He knew
Megatron had provoked him on purpose, and couldn't help throwing the flak
back. He realized he enjoyed provoking
Megatron too - and arguing with him, even though they annoyed the hell out of
each other. Starscream smiled to himself
as he thought how boring it would be around here without himself. He waited until the other Decepticons had
left, and he was alone in the headquarters, bar the Autobot prisoner. This didn't happen often, but Starscream
quite liked being alone, when he wasn't in the mood for showing off or boasting
to all and sundry. Starscream decided to
check on Bumblebee and walked into the torture room, mildly annoyed that the
back of his legs were still a little sore, but knew they'd heal themselves
soon. He saw Bumblebee strapped to the
bed, with the Cyber-Warper going full bore.
Bumblebee sensed someone else in the room with him.
"What do you want?" he asked, his voice strained with pain.
"Nothing," was the reply.
"Starscream!" Bumblebee almost spat.
The Decepticon Seeker had calmed considerably
since he had encountered Bumblebee at
"I
don't regret my action," he said to Bumblebee, "or the outcome. I wasn't exactly in the best of moods out
there. Perhaps you understand, I don't
know ... I’m sorry, but there's nothing I can do for you."
Bumblebee knew that. If Starscream helped him, Megatron would go
off his nut and Starscream definitely wouldn't get off lightly and Bumblebee
knew the Decepticon Jet wasn't about to help him. Too much had happened between the Autobots
and Decepticons for him to even hope otherwise.
"I
know..." was all he said.
And Bumblebee was surprised, not to mention relieved
when he felt the pain subside, just a little.
Optimus Prime scanned Decepticon headquarters
and picked up two life signs, one Decepticon - one Autobot, extremely faint and
diminishing. Optimus breathed a sigh of
relief that Bumblebee was alive and knew he had to get to him fast. He used Wheeljack's Scrambler to disable the
Decepticons' security systems and made his way inside. Optimus placed the scanner inside the jet pack
compartment and held his laser rifle ready should the Decepticon inside the
base attack. Optimus sued his in-built
scanner to locate Bumblebee and found the room - the door was locked. He didn't
know the combination to the computerised lock and didn't have time to fiddle
with it, and so prepared himself and slammed his fist through it.
Optimus snapped the Energon bands around
Bumblebee. In pain, Bumblebee tried to
crawl away. Optimus breathed a sigh of
relief that his friend was still functional.
"It's all right, Bumblebee," he spoke softly.
Bumblebee let out an audible sigh of relief of
which he felt every bit. He tried not to
show the pain or the fear of the realization of how close he had been to death,
but Optimus saw his internal struggle.
"Don't fight it, Bumblebee.
It'll only make it worse."
Optimus picked him up and could feel him shivering. He also felt an intense anger toward the
Decepticon responsible.
Every part of Bumblebee ached and cried out and
he couldn't describe how grateful he felt to have Optimus here with him. He wanted to rest, but the pain wouldn't let
him.
Starscream paced around the headquarters, bored
and hungry, and of course there was nothing but trashy talk shows, sport and
soap operas on at this hour on Earth television broadcasts. He was sick of sitting around doing nothing
and his increasing hunger didn't make things any better, but he knew if he took
any more of the limited Energon supply, Megatron would go ballistic -
literally.
"I
wish they'd hurry up," he said to himself, impatiently, like an impudent
child wishing their parents would hurry up and bring the groceries home. In the meantime, however, he decided to pay
Bumblebee one last visit.
Bumblebee's pain wasn't subsiding.
"I'm going to the repair bay to get some acetonium," Optimus
said. Sensing Bumblebee didn't want to
be left alone, he said, "don't worry, I'll be back soon. It's not far from here." He snuck out of the room to his desired
destination.
He switched on the light, hoping the Decepticon
he scanned previously hadn't decided to come in his or Bumblebee's
direction. Optimus found what he was
looking for and made his way quickly, but cautiously back to Bumblebee.
"This
should ease the pain," he said quietly, as he administered a dose.
"Thanks," Bumblebee said, as he felt the pain subsiding, but
an unpleasant numbness took its place and he still felt dog tired and still
could not see a thing.
"I'll get you back home for repairs." Optimus gently and carefully picked up
Bumblebee in his arms and turned to leave when he heard footsteps
approaching. Not now ...
Optimus put down his little friend, readied his
laser rifle and took up position.
Starscream entered the room. A sudden burst of rage compelled the Autobot
leader to fire and blast Starscream in his stomach. The Decepticon, both shocked and surprised,
sent sprawling and crashed into the wall.
Optimus blasted him once again.
Bumblebee wanted to tell Optimus something, but he was too weak. All that escaped was a soft whimper. Prime
didn't hear him, and Bumblebee lost consciousness.
"Stop! Don't shoot! Please!" Starscream, exclaimed, holding
up one hand.
"Why not?" Optimus demanded, blasting a hole in the wall next
to the Decepticon’s head.
Starscream swallowed.
"Get up,” the Autobot leader demanded.
Starscream hesitated.
"STAND!"
Starscream obeyed, as fast as his newly sported
blast wounds would allow. Optimus
grabbed him, forced him into the room and pointed to Bumblebee.
"You
did that to him."
"I
did not. Megatron did. He ordered me to capture him."
"After you almost destroyed him."
Starscream was silent for a moment, then
spoke. "What do you expect,
Prime? Fine, at first - I let my temper
get the better of me - oh of course, you never lose your temper,
right?"
"Seldom."
"Well excuuuuuuse me for not being oh-so-perfect ... But it wasn't
my idea to torture him."
Optimus knew he was pushing Starscream, but continued. "You didn't exactly do anything to
prevent it or help-"
"Idiot!" Starscream snapped.
"Do you have any idea what Megatron'd do to me if
he found out?! He’d put me in there, and
probably rip my innards out and eat them.
And besides, Prime, I'm hardly renowned for my generosity."
"You can say that again."
Optimus pushed Starscream onto the floor. "And what of the energy you stole from
the humans?"
"Oh, so excuse us, Prime!" Starscream snapped. "In case you didn't know, Decepticons
too, need energy to survive. Unlike you
Autobots, we don't always have Energon handy.
Fine, we usually pinch more than we need, but you already know that. This time we took only what we needed."
Optimus felt a pang of guilt. He knew the Decepticons were sentient beings,
but he’d never thought of their basic needs.
How little we know about each other, even after millions of years...
he thought and couldn't think of anything to say to Starscream, except,
"I'm sorry."
The Decepticon wasn’t expecting that. Not knowing what else to say, he changed the
subject. "How did you get in here,
anyway?" he asked, curious.
"That's for me to know and you not to find out."
Starscream humphed. He expected that answer and
stood slowly. Optimus lifted Bumblebee
from the machine and placed his sleeping friend on a nearby workbench. Then adjusted his laser rifle.
"Don't shoot, please ..." Starscream backed off.
"I
won't if you keep out of my way."
Optimus blasted the torture machine.
The controls exploded, then he picked up Bumblebee, keeping an eye on
Starscream. The Autobot leader turned to
leave. The Decepticon said and did
nothing.
"Aren't you even going to blast me goodbye?" Optimus asked.
Starscream gave a humourless smile and
held out his hands. "I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Weapons don't work."
Optimus swallowed, instantly contrite about
blasting an unarmed enemy. "I’m
sorry, Starscream. I hadn't realised you were-"
"Save it. Hell, I probably
deserved it anyway." Starscream did not let on how relieved, he was or how
touched – Prime did care after all.
"So you're not going to prevent me from escaping?"
"No," Starscream said, sounding haughty. "Off you go - You're armed, I'm not,
you’re at full strength, I’m tired ... and quite frankly I really don’t give a
damn, and I'm not in the mood." And
he walked off.
If Optimus Prime had eyebrows, they would have
shot off his head. "When you think
you know someone..." he muttered.
His attention immediately drawn back to his
little friend, and he left the way he had come.
He flew out of Decepticon headquarters and met Skyfire at the planned
rendezvous point.
"Maximum speed to Autobot headquarters," Optimus said, as he
laid Bumblebee down across a ledge inside Skyfire.
The Valkyrie jet increased speed to maximum,
then spoke to Optimus. "I was
getting worried about you in there."
"We had a run in with Starscream."
"You okay?"
"Yes. Starscream .... seemed
quite .... well helpful actually."
"What?!"
Optimus let out a short laugh. "Strange, but true."
"I'll say!"
Skyfire suddenly shook as he was blasted. "Hold on, Optimus, Bumble, we got bogies
at five o'clock!" He fired back at the returning Decepticons and managed
to manoeuvre away and escape without too many heat scratches.
"Megatron, you're back," Starscream said.
"What's that matter? You
look like you've been blasted by Optimus Prime."
Starscream grunted and half smiled. "I was."
"He escaped, obviously."
"Yeah."
"You pathetic, miserable ..."
"Can the put downs, Megatron.
What in the Cyber Hells did you expect me to do, low on energy, without
active weapons? Spank him? ... Better
still, appease him and bake him cookies?
And what the hell took you so long!?"
"The so called 'volcano' turned out to be a worthless hunk of
rock. The Autobots’ve obviously found a way to fool our scanners.
Soundwave's working on countering it. To compensate, we raided Sherman
Dam."
"Talk about a blast from the past."
"I'll
give you a blast in the present if you don't shut up!"
Starscream scowled. "Did you get much
energy?" he asked, unswayed by Megatron's threat.
"Yes, fortunately - before the Autobots attacked. Soundwave's also
working on a recharging program to give us enough energy when we need - any
excess will have to be obtained from the humans."
"Fine, fine, where's the energy?"
Megatron almost smiled. "My you're impatient today. It's in the Energon room."
"Thank you," Starscream said, exasperated.
"And Starscream-"
Starscream spun around. "What?!"
"Don't drink it all at once.”
“Yes,
Mother.”
“Remember what happened last time you over
energized...?"
Starscream’s face flushed and became deathly
embarrassed. "I'd rather not,"
he growled. “Now I’m off, Leader. “ And he walked off.
Megatron grunted. Starscream was obviously in one of his moods.
"You should not let him get to you."
Megatron turned to his friend's familiar,
melodical voice.
"I
know, Soundwave. Can't help it
sometimes."
Soundwave nodded. "You need some rest," he said.
"I've re-energized," Megatron told him.
"That is not what I meant."
Megatron let out a small sigh and nodded. "You're right. Sometimes I think you're psychic."
Soundwave smiled.
"All right," Megatron said, "but you need some rest
too."
"I
have to finish working on the re-energisation-"
"Do it later," and
Megatron he smiled. "You need some
rest . That’s an order."
“As you
command, Megatron.”
They both smiled and left for their quarters
for some much needed R & R.
Starscream drank his share of two Energon cubes
and felt his stomach exclaim Thank you!
He'd forgotten how good and refreshing Energon tasted. He was about to go for another cube, but
definitely didn’t want to come on to Megatron like he did the last time he got
really, really drunk. Embarrassing as
the Cyber-Hells when he sobered up, he became furious and went totally
ballistic when anyone had mentioned it, but this time, he burst out laughing. As he returned to his quarters, he decided to
indulge for the first time in a hot water bath.
If anyone dared disturb him, he's blast them.
Starscream prepared the bath in his quarters,
slowly lowered himself into the welcoming warm-hot water and sighed a totally relieved
sigh of finally being able to relax comfortably. Ooh ... I can see why humans find this so
enjoyable! He thought to himself,
feeling the water against his metal skin, and he savoured the feeling, as he
didn't know when he would be able to do this again. The jet laid back, relaxed, closed his eyes
and smiled.
Ratchet sat in the repair bay, reading his
subscription copy of one of the humans' medical magazines Medicine Advance
- (All publications book or magazine if requested, were printed large for
Transformers to read easily.)
Skyfire landed outside Autobot headquarters
with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.
"Thanks, Sky," Optimus said.
"Don't mention it - it's a pleasure."
Optimus rushed Bumblebee to the repair bay and
Ratchet dropped his magazine.
"What happened?!"
"Megatron."
"The bastard..." Ratchet growled. "Quickly ... we gotta work fast."
Optimus Prime laid Bumblebee on the repair
bed. Ratchet immediately hooked him onto
the Cyber-Life Support System.
"He's lapsed into a coma ... Life signs weakening .... We don't
have much time."
Ratchet looked worried - as did Optimus.
Ratchet scanned Bumblebee. "Whatever they did to him altered the
energy frequency in his body and it's killing him - painfully. His systems are shutting down." Ratchet cared too much for his little friend
to let his anger of this injustice cloud his professional judgement - one wrong
move - one wrong decision could cost Bumblebee his life. "His body's fighting back with what
remaining 'normal' energy he has remaining.
Whatever the Decepticons used attacked every system, every nerve in his
body." Ratchet winced and swallowed.
"I couldn't imagine the pain..." He injected an anaesthetic
into Bumblebee's side. "There, he
won't feel anything."
Optimus reconfigured the repair device to
Bumblebee's correct energy signature.
"We have to do this slowly," Ratchet said. "Too fast and it'll kill him."
Optimus Prime nodded. "The Decepticon's machine wasn't up to
full power when I found him."
"Strange," Ratchet said.
"But that's good - and it's the only reason he's still alive."
Optimus breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm injecting some Cyberium into him," Ratchet said.
"It'll help rejuvenate his energies, nervous systems and pull his
automatic repair systems back on line, which should take care of his damaged
optical sensors - I daren't increase the power to the life support machine
yet. It'll be too much energy for his
body to handle.” Ratchet checked the monitor, then he frowned.
“What
is it?” Optimus asked, concerned.
“Very
strange, Prime ... according to this, the metal fatigue of Bumblebee’s body
clearly indicates the machine was at full strength for quite some time...”
“That
is strange. It was only half power when
I found him...”
“But
we’re not out of the Cyber-woods yet.
We’ve a long night ahead of us.
The only thing we can do now keep an eye on the life support machine,
and wait."
And they waited.
And waited.
"Come, on, Bumble, please," Ratchet urged gently.
Optimus shared his sentiments as he looked at
his little yellow friend, fighting for his life.
Ratchet studied the life support machine
readings and judged it safe to increase the power a little, and did so. He was thankful he didn't have anyone else to
attend to. Bumblebee required his full
attention.
Ratchet studied the reading again. "It's improving - a little."
"A
little's better than nothing, or worsening," Optimus said, as he held one
of Bumblebee's small black hands gently in his.
Ratchet opened a compartment and took out an
Energon cube.
"I'm going to start introducing some diluted Energon, configured to
his energy patterns, into his system.
It'll strengthen his energies."
Ratchet put the cube down, stuck a flexible
tube into it and began the dilution process.
The life support machine gave sudden series of
electronic beeps. Ratchet almost dropped
what he was doing and whirled around.
"The alien energy's fighting back!
It's absorbing the flow...."
Ratchet immediately turned off the energy flow and scanned
Bumblebee. "We're losing him..."
"No...
Can we reroute the energy flow? Keep the
alien energy back - trick it somehow?"
Ratchet thought for a second. "Yes ..." He ripped open a storage
compartment and grabbed tools while we was speaking and set them up. "We can reroute the energy flow through
his B-bypass. That'll buy us some
time." And he connected it to Bumblebee. "I'm also sending a false energy flow to
the alien energy. It'll weaken it and
eventually eradicate it, as there'll be nothing for it to manipulate. For now we'll have to let the energy flow
take its course."
Optimus nodded, relieved that there was still a
chance.
They waited for a while, both looking very
worried.
"It's working ...." Ratchet sighed after a while.
Optimus silently sent a prayer of heartfelt
gratitude to Primus.
"The alien energy's weaker.
I'm going to start him on the diluted Energon. It'll help, but Optimus, I ... I can't
guarantee he'll-"
"I
know, Ratchet, and if Bumblebee doesn't make it, however hard it is to accept,
you can't blame yourself - because you would have done everything you could ...
If only I'd gotten to him sooner."
"Prime, it's not your fault either."
The Autobot leader nodded and looked down at
Bumblebee and stroked his cheek.
"You'll make it, little one," he said gently. "You have to. You have the courage of a warrior and the
spirit of an angel - and don't worry - we're here with you."
"That's right, Bumble," Ratchet said. "Every step of the way."
After waiting patiently for another twenty-five
minutes, Ratchet saw the first signs of real improvement.
"Yee Haw!"
Optimus smiled, sharing the sentiment.
Ratchet increased the power and flow of energy
slightly.
"He's getting there, but as the humans say, don't count your
chickens before they hatch..."
After another two hours, Ratchet and Optimus
began to see a vast improvement.
"He's
gonna make it ..." Ratchet sighed, wiping a happy tear from his
cheek. "He's gonna make it!"
Optimus closed his eyes for a few moments and
said a silent thank you prayer to Primus.
"The alien energy's totally gone." Ratchet smiled and slowly fully recharged
Bumblebee.
The little yellow Autobot stirred, then turned
around on the bed. He blinked a few
tines and realized with relief that he could see and that he was alive and
there was very little pain.
"O....Optimus?..."
"I'm here, Bumblebee."
Bumblebee smiled. "Thank you, Optimus, Ratchet."
"Just doin' my job, Bumble," Ratchet smiled. "Of course it means a lot more than that
to me - you be careful now."
Bumblebee gave a small smile and nodded.
"Your strength should return in the next few days" Ratchet
promised. "Until then, no strenuous
activities, no transforming, no driving and definitely no
Decepticons."
"Definitely not, Doc," Bumblebee smiled as Optimus lifted him
off the repair bed.
"Here's some diluted
Energon." Ratchet said. "You'll need to drink this until your
strength returns. And I'm here if you need
anything. Anything at all."
"Thanks," Bumblebee said.
Ratchet smiled as Optimus carried Bumblebee to
his quarters.
The Autobot Leader put Bumblebee down inside
his quarters. Bumblebee still felt quite
weak, but knew the feeling would pass.
"Thanks, Optimus, for everything."
"It's a pleasure, Bumblebee, and you don't need to thank me."
"I
wanted to."
There was a long pause.
"Bumblebee..."
Bumblebee was lost in thought and barely heard
Optimus.
"Bumblebee..."
The yellow Autobot jumped. "Uh ... sorry .... Yes, Optimus?"
"It's not going to help you to bottle it up like that. They hurt you bad and you have to let it go,
otherwise it will haunt you for a long time to come."
Bumblebee sighed. "You can tell ... I know it's bad to
keep it locked away, Optimus..."
There was another pause.
"Do you want someone to talk to?" Optimus Prime asked
understanding, "or would you rather be alone?"
Bumblebee hesitated, then nodded. "Part of me wants to be alone ... but
part of me needs-" He cut himself off.
"I'm
here, Bumblebee," Optimus said. He
lifted up his little friend and sat him down on the resting ledge, then sat
next to him. "Let it out,
Bumblebee," he said gently.
Bumblebee let out a large breath.
"I
know it's hard for you," Optimus consoled.
Bumblebee nodded, struggling to keep back
tears. Optimus put his hand on his
friend's shoulder and could feel him shivering.
"Bumblebee, it's all right to be afraid. Don't confuse being afraid with being a
coward, It's not the same. Brave people get scared - I get scared."
There was a short pause.
"When was the last time you were afraid, Optimus?" Bumblebee
asked.
"When I almost lost you.
Bumblebee, I was terrified."
Bumblebee’s eyes filled with tears. "Thank you, Optimus."
The big and blue red Autobot nodded. "Being afraid doesn't mean you're a
coward or a wimp - it's natural – at times it's essential."
A tear rolled down Bumblebee's cheek, then
another, then another.
"I
was so scared, Optimus ..." he sobbed.
"I couldn't fight it ... It hurt so much ... I didn't want to die
..." Bumblebee wiped his tears away.
“I felt so weak ... so useless...”
"I
know, Bumblebee, I would have been scared too."
Optimus gently put his arms around his little
friend and Bumblebee returned the comforting embrace.
"It's good that you are able to acknowledge your fear. That takes courage too. Such experiences strengthen us, make us who
we are, but we cannot let them rule or control us. You'll need some time to yourself to go
within and deal with your feelings."
Bumblebee smiled. "Thanks, Optimus. Without your help. I wouldn't've known
how."
Optimus gave a comforting smile. "We learn more everyday, Bumblebee,
myself included."
The little yellow Autobot nodded. "How was Starscream when you left? I heard you shoot him."
"If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't have been tortured."
"True, but if I wasn't, I wouldn't've learned anything, about what
you just told me, would I?"
Optimus nodded.
"Indeed ... The Universe works in mysterious ways. I admit I acted with bias with
Starscream."
"I
tried to tell you not to attack him."
"You don't hold him responsible for what happened?"
"No. It wasn't
personal. He acted on an impulsive rage
for the defeat and pain he suffered in the last battle. I just happened to be the one he took it out
on. Megatron's the one who hurt me, but
again, it could have been anyone. He
tried to force me to tell Autobot plans, then our new security system, and when
I refused, he tortured me. He ... he
told me he respected my courage."
Optimus eyes widened in surprise. "Megatron's respect does not come
easily, even less his admittance. You
must've made quite an impression on him."
Bumblebee nodded. "Didn't stop him, though. A while after he and Soundwave left,
Starscream came into the room."
Bumblebee told Optimus of their conversation. "I couldn't see him, but immediately
afterward, I felt the pain ease. He
turned the torture machine’s power down."
Optimus swallowed. "He did?"
Bumblebee smiled. "He did.
It still hurt, but not as much. I
couldn't expect anything more - hell, I didn't even expect that."
"Bumblebee ...” Optimus spoke slowly, “Ratchet told me that the
only reason you survived was because the machine was not at full power...”
Bumblebee’s mouth opened. “You mean Starscream...”
“Saved
your life..."
The little yellow Autobot swallowed.
“And I
blasted him...”
“You
weren’t to know, Optimus ... none of us are perfect. Not even me.”
The Autobot leader chuckled and gently held his
friend.
"You
would have died if I hadn't found you, but Starscream delayed that... Even if he hadn’t realised ...”
"Well, you yourself said, Optimus that the Universe works in
mysterious ways..."
"It does indeed ...
“Do you
need me to stay with you any more, Bumblebee?"
Bumblebee shook his head. "No, Optimus. I need some time alone to think and
rest. Thank you.”"
"All right, Bumble, but remember, I'm just around the corner if you
need me."
Bumblebee embraced his leader.
Optimus Prime stood and left Bumblebee's
quarters, glad to have helped his friend, and silently thanked Starscream.
Bumblebee stayed in his quarters, grateful to
have released his emotional pain. His
thoughts were now with Starscream. Did
he realize he'd saved his life? If he
knew would he be angry, ashamed? Would
he have acted differently? Did he know
at the time he was saving Bumblebee's life?
Would he care? At all?
Bumblebee lay on his resting ledge and
smiled. Whatever the case, he said a
silent thank you to Starscream.
*
*
*
Starscream, now dry after his wonderfully
relaxing hot water bath, sat in front of his computer in his quarters. He was finishing a long story he'd been
writing for quite a few years. Writing
was a hobby he'd picked up on Earth - one which he'd been extremely particular
to keep strictly private and entirely to himself.
He stopped typing for a moment as a thought
flashed through his head, about Bumblebee.
Starscream recalled turning the power down. He felt half grateful, half guilty. He didn't regret what he'd done - he would if
Megatron found out about it, but thankfully there was no one to tell him. Starscream knew that the Autobots would have
repaired Bumblebee by now and that ... in retrospect he realised that if the
machine had been on full strength, the Autobot would have been dead when
Optimus arrived ... In effect, he’d saved an Autobot’s life ... and he felt
surprised that he didn't feel angry about that at all.
He felt something he'd never felt, well ... in
this way - he felt happy. Perhaps everyone's supposed to do
something nice once in a while, he typed as he thought to himself, then
stopped abruptly. But we bad guys
aren't supposed to feel that way, are we? - Hey, you're not getting soft, are
you?
Starscream smiled to himself as he'd given
himself an idea to expand on his long story, with a great ending sentence and a
title which had eluded him since he started.
Starscream smiled and said a silent thank you to Bumblebee and continued
to perfect his story which he intended to submit for publication on Earth,
under his Writer's name.
Starscream completed his story about month
later and secretly submitted it to a publisher - Karlog & Co. The publisher had no idea who he was, but as
far as he was concerned, he had a best seller and didn't care.
As the publisher predicted, the book became a
best seller practically overnight and hit the shelves in hardback. It had been
met with awesome reviews from critics.
Sensational .... touching ... shocking .... and
Starscream smiled as his publisher received fan
mail and secretly forwarded it on to him.
Starscream delighted in one letter from a little girl called Hamble,
telling him that she loved to read, and that her favorite character was
Christopher and that he should shoot Alexander and have him beg
for mercy. Starscream laughed out loud.
But despite the ego trip he received from the fan mail, Starscream was grateful
to have finally put his feelings in words, at no risk to him, for others to
share.
* * *
"I
wonder what this is, Optimus," Bumblebee said, holding a parcel,
addressed:
TO: OPTIMUS PRIME AND BUMBLEBEE
AUTOBOT
HEADQUARTERS
MOUNT
SAINT HELENS
THE
It did not contain a reverse address.
"I
detect no explosive devices inside," Optimus Prime said.
The Decepticons sometimes liked to send the
Autobots surprises.
Bumblebee tore open the package and took out
two hard cover books. "There's one
for each of us," he said.
Optimus read the title of the book, opened it and
found it autographed by the author with a message.
~ Optimus Prime
You’ve taught me a great deal, as much as I
hate to admit it.
Thanks.
The message in Bumblebee’s copy read, “Fate can
often bring enemies closer. Thank you
for the inspiration to finish my book.”
"I
wonder what this means, Optimus?"
"I
suggest we'd better read the book and find out."
They retreated to their separate quarters and
opened the book and began to read If
I Knew My Enemy By C. L. Collins.
As the two Autobots read the book, they knew
exactly who it had come from and wrote a thank you note.
* * *
After a while, the fan mail died down somewhat,
but Starscream didn't mind. Late one
night, he received a letter secretly delivered from his publisher and read it
in his private quarters.
Dear
Chris,
Thank you for your
book. It is, profound, thoughtful,
deeply insightful. It needed to
be written.
Warm Regards
Dani Bee
PS - We won't tell
Alexander a thing.
Starscream re read the letter, touched, then
sat back in his chair and roared with laughter at the last part.
* * *
'
*
Back to Autobot & Decepticon Fanfic Page