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"There should be no problem with how slow the blades are moving!" Zaptrap claimed happily.
Optimus, Bumblebee, and Arcee watched the two flight frames from where they were hidden, crouched down behind some large rock formations.
The blades in question were a conveyor belt of sharpened metal pointing up that looked about chassis height to the flight frames.
While normally this wouldn't be a problem for them, there was a second parallel conveyor a few blocks above the one they were looking at.
It was at just the right height to stop either of them from daring to try flying between them.
"It could also be moving so fast it just looks slow." Starscream countered.
Optimus was too far away to get a good look at blades, so he wasn't sure.
"Well, there's only one way to check!" Zaptrap said happily before suddenly grabbing Starscream by his crown, ignoring the surprised squawk it caused, and pulled it back before quickly yanking it forward, (also ignoring the desperate plea to Wait-)shoving Starscream's faceplates against the conveyor.
Energon erupted from his faceplates, and Starscream screamed, quickly pushing off the blades and crumbling to a kneel, holding the side of his faceplates. The side that was leaking energon onto the ground.
Bumblebee looked horrified, and Arcee was stunned. Optimus was just disturbed. Zaptrap had barely reacted to the event he had caused.
"That bad, huh?" Zaptrap questioned, crouching down next to the likely very scared seeker.
Zaptrap had the audacity to look annoyed by the lack of response. "Hey, are you ignoring me?"
He grabbed Starscream by what was probably a sensor crown, drawing a strangled hiss.
"Ohhh, really bad." Zaptrap said in a strange tone, "Welp, I'm gonna go get something to stop the conveyor so my wings don't get shredded. You stay here, 'kay?" He patted the seeker on the helm as he stood up and walked away. Missing the way said seeker curled up into a ball on the ground. Shaking in pain.
Optimus barely blinked before Bumblebee was rushing over to the leaking seeker, and Optimus was moving to follow him before he could think.
Bumblebee reached his servo out to check the damage, but Starscream flinched away, curling tighter into his ball and looking up at him in a way that made it clear he wasn't seeing Bumblebee.
Optimus knelt down slowly in front of the seeker. "Hey there, it's just me. No one else. Just me." He placated, gently reaching out hold Starscream's lower servo, smiling, though he couldn't see it, when the seeker didn't flinch or shy away.
Optimus kept muttering soft reassurances as he lightly tugged on the servo in his grasp, pulling it away to see the damage.
It was bad. But Optimus just kept praising him for doing so well.
Most of his faceplates had been shredded off, barely hanging on in chunks that leaked heavily. Optimus could see his denta through his cheek plating.
Optimus just praised him for being so strong.
He gently pulled on the other servo that was covering the top of his face and his right optic.
It was worse. His optic was sparking dangerously, and Optimus was impressed at how calm he was being (and told him as much), he was likely in agony, yet he hadn't made a sound since Zaptrap had left.
Optimus then noticed that his wings had stopped shaking and was glad. That meant he was calming down.
Optimus looked back to his ruby optics, which were wide and surprisingly innocent for optics that had seen the horrors of war. Optimus would have mistaken him for a lost nymph if he hadn't known who this was.
A yellow servo gently petted a wing, and Optimus suddenly remembered he was not alone here.
Arcee and Bumblebee were on either side of Starscream, both petting his wings, and Arcee was praising him as well.
Optimus gently scratched the sensor crown on Starscream's helm, causing him to slump into Optimus' chassis.
Starscream muttered something as he nuzzled deeper, but it was too static filled for Optimus to understand. All the got was one word.
'Order.'