Chapter Text
"Where is Optimus?" Megatron tightened his grip around Bumblebee's throat, pressing into his energon cabling and vocaliser.
Bee didn't respond, couldn't actually, not with the way Megatron's hand was pressing against his vocaliser. It would have been amusing if his pain circuitry wasn't screaming and the error messages weren't piling up.
Megatron released his grip and Bee fell to the floor.
"Where's the allspark?"
This time Bumblebee's silence was entirely deliberate. It earned him a kick to the chassis. The force of it sent his body sliding across the floor.
His helm clamps had been broken earlier in the interrogation, and now his helmet went skidding across the floor, his helm petals fanning put around his head.
Frag, they were far too sensitive to be out like this. It was bad enough when someone just touched the carelessly. He didn't know what he would choose between betraying the Autobot cause, giving up Optimus and the allspark's location, and having the delicate sensors crushed one by one.
He tensed, expecting at any moment the overwhelming pain of one of the delicate petals being stepped on, but the pain never came. Instead there was only the sound of the door closing.
It took a while, but eventually he managed to sit up. He was alone in the cell. It didn't make any sense.
It was Starscream that re-entered the room. Starscream sneered at him, and Bumblebee shrunk back. His petals were still fanned out around his head.
"Who were your kindlers?"
The question caught Bee completely off guard; he answered before he had time to realise he probably shouldn't. "I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know? Everyone knows who their kindlers are, or at least their Originator. So who was it?"
"No."
"Really, you want to go back to torture?" He raised his hand, claws out as he reached for one of the petals. This was going to hurt a lot.
Then Starscream dropped his hand, clearly talking on an internal com channel.
Bee focused; since his sensor panels were out anyway he might as well make use of them.
::But Megatron he's not going to tell us anything if he's not afraid of me.::
::I don't care. You won't harm him at all till we know for certain one way or the other.::
::You wanted me to take over this interrogation for a reason.::
::Starscream: correct, Megatron: too close.::
::Whose side are you on?::
::Soundwave also desires truth.::
::Fine, but Starscream- keep in mind that if you can't fix him afterwards I will be replicating the damage on you.::
::Fine.::
Starscream turned his attention back to Bumblebee. "Now, where were we?"
Bee shrunk back, trying to act like he hadn't just heard Megatron order Starscream not to hurt him. "I told you I don't know."
Starscream curled his claws around one of the petals. "That's right. I was going to tear these delicate things off one by one until you tell me who your originator was."
Bee froze. He wouldn't… he couldn't, Megatron had ordered him not to hurt him.
Starscream smirked. "Oh I know you can use them to eavesdrop on com calls, But I also know how very sensitive they are. I lived through the fall of Vos, do you really think you can out last me? Even if Megatron rips my wings off, it won’t be the worst punishment I’ve suffered through. Now, who is your Originator?"
"I don't know who my originator was! I really don't! Things were really bad when I was sparked, I didn't get to defrag for ages so my first memories after sparking are unrecoverable."
Starscream hissed in annoyance "Well, what do you remember?"
“First thing I really remember was Optimus giving me to Chromia and Ironhide. I think it was just after Iacon was bombed. Everything was really busted up, he must have found me in the wreckage. He made this big speech about how he was Prime now and he couldn’t take on the responsibility of raising a sparkling.”
“You didn’t think it was strange that he thought he should raise you himself?”
“Not really no, Optimus is just kind of like that, he’ll adopt human children if Prowl doesn’t stop him.”
Starscream sneered. "You didn't think it was possible that Optimus Prime was your originator?"
"Not really, no."
Starscream groaned. "Great, just great."
He stormed out of the room leaving Bumblebee confused and alone with his thoughts. His kindlers were both no doubt dead along with most of the rest of the Cybertronian population. Why did it matter who they had been?