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The high guard was tied up. On their knees. On the top of Sentinel’s tower. Bee and D-16 as well. At the very front. At least Bee could keep an eye on his friend, they were together. It was silent- Bee didn’t like the silence. He couldn’t- he hated silence. But he couldn’t talk. So we whispered.
“I don’t understand. Why are we still alive?” He asked D-16. Because someone had to ask. Why were they??? They had to figure out a way out of here.
D-16 didn’t look good. He looked pissed. He could see his body move with each vent. Bee was worried.
He heard Sentinel before he saw him.
“Look at this rowdy bunch. The high guard! You know you guys have been hard to find.” Bee heard each step he took, he looked back and watched him parade. “Every trip to the surface I've been searching for you…”
What were they going to do to them? What was Sentinel going to do to them? He had a feeling it would be worse than being sent to sub level 50.
Bee looked at Dee again when his vent got louder at each word Sentinel spoke. Bee was worried.
Arachnid chimed up “Tracking the bots in the cave led me right to them.”
Sentinel huffed out a laugh “Oh-oh Ho! You captured Starscream!”
“It was too easy.”
Starscream lashed out a series of incomprehensible insults towards Sentinel. His damaged voice box made his angry words distorted. Bee winced.
Sentinel laughed, “You sound ridiculous. It’s weird.” And then he was right beside them. He was talking to Dee. “Ah, D-16 what a tragic story you’ll be ” Bee didn’t like how he said his friend’s name, didn’t like him being so close “Atop your leaderboard in your sector, secretly a traitor.” Go away, go away, go away.
Sentinel moved again. Bee looked at him, looked at Dee.
Dee’s optics were straight on the ground “I’m not a traitor.” His optics shifted up “You’re the traitor.” Dee didn’t yell. His voice was low and harsh and full of venom.
Sentinel didn’t stop smiling as he stood tall. “Uh-uh, you, all of you, are traitors.” He gestures with his arms and walks in front of both of them, explaining their crimes “You’ve been working with the Quintessence to sabotage my expeditions.” He stood in front of Dee, arms moving and his tone smooth.
“You’re the reason why I haven’t found the matrix of leadership yet.” He explained simply, like it was true.
It was not. It was a lie.
“None of that is true!” B-127 told Sentinel. D-16 wasn’t a traitor. He was the traitor! Sentinel betrayed Cybetron! Betrayed all of them.
Sentinel casually waved his comment off, “Oh trust me it’ll be very true when I’m executing you in front of all of Iacon.” walking right in front of Bee as he spoke. Bee leaned back, horrified, looking up at Sentinel “because down here”
He suddenly bent down and spoke right into Bee’s auditory receptors, he wasn’t smiling anymore “The truth is what I make it.” He gritted out.
Bee saw him, heard his words and shinked onto himself. He feared the tall mech would rip his throat out if he said anything. He was terrified.
Then Dee stood up. Bee heard him step up- didn’t realize what he was doing until Sentinel, still way too close, looked to the left and finally stood back upright. Bee only took his optics off of him when he realized who he was looking at now. Dee.
Dee was standing up and Sentinel was smiling again. “Well, well.” He tilted his head “What’s this about?”
Dee looked forward, head straight “I’m not kneeling in front of you.” His voice was gravely. Sentinel leaned towards him as he spoke, amused. Dee did not flinch.
“Feeling confident, are we?”
Dee- Dee this is a dangerous maniac. Bee pleaded in his head ‘don’t provoke him, don’t provoke him, don’t provoke him’
Dee looked right at him. “I’m not scared of you.” his mouth twitched into a smirk “You want to know why?”
Shut up Dee. Bee’s own vents worked overdrive. He can’t lose Dee. Please Dee he can’t- Bee can’t lose you.
“Please” Sentinel was smiling brightly.
Dee smiled back. He was speaking so calmly, so quietly, Bee was sure if he wasn’t standing right beside him, he wouldn't hear him.
Dee tilted his helm “Because I don’t have anything left to lose.” He straightened up “You. Took it all.” He practically spat the words, frowning again.
Sentinel got closer to him. Too close. Way way too close.
Sentinel smiled, “I sure did.” and punched D-16, sending him to land on his back in the space Sentinel had just been walking earlier. Right beside Starscream. Sentinel didn’t even put that much power in that punch, barely tried. And Dee was down. Bee gasped, he saw many of the high guards look at Dee.
Sentinel gave Bee a look, like he enjoyed his distress. The glitch probably did. He prowled over to Dee.
‘Stay down Dee- please stay down. Maybe you don’t have anything left to lose but I do. I have you to lose- everything to lose’
“Ah- Megatronus Prime.” He swooped D-16’s sticker that was on his shoulder, looking at it as he took a knee above D “Of course you were a fan. Megatronus was the coolest prime! The biggest! The baddest, the toughest.” He gestured with his free hand. Then lowered his voice “That’s why after I killed him, “ he leaned forward, Bee couldn’t see but he heard shifting “I took his cog for myself.”
That made Dee speak up. “He was greater than you’ll ever be!” He shouted, Bee flinched.
Sentinel didn’t react to it. He was enjoying it. “I don’t know, I’m pretty great.” He looked around “But I can understand why you'd want to wear his face over mine.” He made eye contact with Arachnid who was bringing him something- a gun? “Here” He looked back down and put the sticker on Dee’s chest plate “ Let’s make sure it doesn’t come off.” He took the gun, the welder gun, put on a mask and went to work.
Then D-16 grunted- he didn’t scream. He wouldn’t give Sentinel that satisfaction. Bee could only watch, horrified about what was going on. He saw the sparks of metal fly off as Sentinel carved into his friend.
Bee hated the silence but he hated those sounds even more.
Make it stop. Make it stop. Please, Primus, make it stop. PLEASE
Sentinel worked fast- but it felt like an eternity to Bee. He couldn’t imagine what it felt like to D-16.
Smoke settled and Bee could just barely see the glow.
Sentinel stood above Dee. Looking down at his handy work with a smile. Then Dee moved. He grunted and slowly lifted himself up. Sentinel shook his head “Not a good idea.”
That’s one thing they could agree on. WHAT ARE YOU DOING DEE?!
“Dee- stay down.” Bee whispered, begging at Dee. He can’t lose a friend.
Dee ignored him. Bee gave a wary glance at Sentinel and Arachnid. Then looked back at Dee, he was standing up. He stood up. Head tall.
“Well, that’s a shame.” Sentinel turned his fist into a cannon- Nononononononononono “You really were a great miner.” He slowly pointed his gun at his face, slowly charging it. Dee didn’t look away.
Bee couldn’t look away.
Arachnid said something he didn’t hear. Sentinel didn’t shoot, a gold guard shoved Dee down again and he wasn’t in front of a cannon anymore and by Primus if they survived this he was going to hug Dee SO HARD. And maybe kill him.
Then a train crashed into the tower and it was chaos. Bee’s head was buzzing. He was so happy he couldn’t stop smiling. Orion and Elita were here. They could do this. They were going to win.
He tried staying close to Dee but there was so much happening and Arachnid and everything- Knife hands!
Everything was going too fast.
Then everything went wrong. So fast.
Orion- Megatron. Sentinel- a-all of it. Too much. Too fast.
What was going on? He- he couldn’t. Banishment? no. No no no no no-
“I’m going with him-”