Chapter Text
Bumblebee really should have been more careful, he used to be more careful, he knew what he should and should not do when scouting for energon, being bright yellow wasn’t the best for stealth so Bee had quickly learned what one had to do to stay hidden
He wasn’t sure why today was different, he’d been… off his game he supposes, it wasn’t much of an explanation but it was better than thinking he’d gotten lazy and slipped up
But it didn’t matter right now, it didn’t matter why he was here, all that mattered was he had been found by a seeker patrol and that he was locked up inside a Decepticon base and no matter how much he argued about it they just would not seem to get it through their processors that he was. not. an. Autobot.
Sure he’d stayed with them after whatever was left of Alpha Trion had decided to take up residence in his processor, but that was mostly so he could get rid of it, which they didn’t even end up doing so now he gets to have the honour of having a dead guy whispering things he didn’t fully understand in his processor
Primus he should have never gotten involved with the Autobots in the first place…
At least that’s what he wishes he thought, but a part of him enjoyed not always being on his own
Bee glared at the walls as he paced the cell
At least he had enjoyed it, while it lasted
Bumblebee couldn’t help but wonder if there was anyone even coming to find him, Optimus seemed like the kind of mech who’d try to save someone even if they weren’t on his team, but he could also imagine Elita’s voice arguing that Bee wasn’t even one of them, that it was too dangerous
Maybe it was a good thing he still had the Alpha Trion protocols… maybe that’s what would get him saved, maybe it would be enough to convince them to stage a rescue
Then again maybe they’d just wait for him to die and find the next ‘worthy’ sucker
Bee didn’t even realize he’d clenched his servo until he had thrown a punch against the wall, an action he quickly regretted as pain lanced through his frame
As he hissed out an ex-vent through his denta he sat down on the berth against the opposite wall, flexing his servo as the pain started to fade
The sound of a door broke the silence of the cells, Bee was fairly certain he was the only one currently being held captive, at least the only one in this section of the base, considering he hadn’t heard anything until now, pedesteps followed the noise, echoing through the space
Soon after, the energy field that served as the door to the cell deactivated, and Megatron himself stepped into the cell. He looked almost exactly as intimidating as he had the first time Bee had ended up face to face with the Decepticon leader though this time his attention was focused solely on Bee and he was pretty certain he did not like that change
Frantically Bumblebee tried to decide if he’d be fast enough to make a break for it while Megatron was just standing there but unfortunately as small as Bee was he was certain there was no getting through the exit and before he could even try to make a fear-fuelled attempt the sound of crackling electricity told him he was too late
Finally Bee turned his optics away from the exit to face Megatron, the warlord’s expression was unreadable as he stepped forwards, red optics narrowed, Bumblebee unconsciously stepping back as he did
“So Starscream was telling the truth, he really did manage to capture one of the Autobots”
“I’m not an Autobot” Bee responded automatically with a huff, not that he expected this to go differently than the other thousands of times he’d tried explaining that fact
Megatron paused a moment before with an unnerving glint in his optics he spoke again “Ah right, the coward, I remember you now”
Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut, trying to step back once more Bee found that he’d reached the back wall of the cell, gritting his denta Bee tried to force false confidence into his frame
“Yeah? And what’s it to you”
Megatron’s servo moved before Bee could realize what was about to happen and with a sharp twinge in his shoulder he was yanked up in the air, as if he weighed nothing, the Decepticon warlord gripping the plating on his arm harshly and Bee wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few new dents he’d have to fix later
If there was a later…
“Let’s be clear, I do not care whether you wear their badge or not, if you do not share what you know of the Allspark you will be disposed of no matter your allegiance”
“Who’s to say I even know anything in the first place”
There was a pause and Megatron turned his helm to face Bee, and unamused expression written on his face
“Fine, have it your way”
That was all the warning Bee had before he was being thrown to the ground, he didn’t even have a chance to try standing as there was suddenly a pede almost half his size pressed down on his chassis
The whine of a canon charging was the only warning Bee got before searing pain turned his vision white, he felt like he was screaming but couldn’t tell if he was making any sound at all his audials temporarily malfunctioning
Venting heavily the world finally started to piece itself together again as the pain receded to only his shoulder, turning his helm he saw his left shoulder smoking, energon leaking from the chunk now blown off
“That was your first and only warning, the next shot goes through your spark” Megatron said, and as his servo closed around Bee’s left wrist he felt fear run through his frame
He tried to plead but no words left his intake, the warlord lifted him up again, weight shifting and shoulder screaming in agony as the wounded joint was forced to hold the rest of his body up
Megatron’s grip started to warp the plating on Bee’s arm and he couldn’t tell wether or not too be grateful that the pain in his shoulder was very much distracting from any other source of injury
“I don’t know anything” Bumblebee said again, hoping if he said it enough times the Decepticon leader would take it as truth
Bee hardly noticed as his arm was released, he landed on the ground with a shout, struggling. backwards and to his feet before his vision could even refocus
Megatron hadn’t moved forwards, he stood still at the other end of the cell and then arm lowered and Bee stiffened, optics locking onto the canon on the back of his arm, the canon he was told would be shot through his spark should he fail to give Megatron the information he was after
Bee didn’t want to be killed here in a cell, he didn’t want his life to end in a Decepticon base, he didn’t want to die
“Please-… please no” Bee felt himself say, voice weaker than he could recall it being for a very long time, he didn’t want to die
But the Decepticon leader didn’t charge the canon, Megatron instead moving towards Bee who tried his best to clench his servos into fists though the pain radiating through his left arm made it difficult
A servo reached out grasping Bee’s neck and he was pushed backwards by the force, he slammed his servos into the metal trying to dislodge the Decepticon’s grip confusion flashing through his processor as he was dragged further towards the wall
The confusion only lasted a moment before he was blinded by pain and crackling electricity, Bee didn’t know when but at some point he had ended up with his back to the energy field in the entrance of the cell, a fact his could only barely register as it continued to send jolts of pure agony through every inch of his frame, several warnings appeared in his HUD but Bumblebee could barely read the blurry red text through each shock of electricity
The servo was still clutched around his neck grip tightening further with every klik, it was only when he heard his screams turned to static he even realized he had been screaming at all
He wasn’t sure how long it was before the pressure holding him against the energy field left but as soon as it did Bee immediately collapsed to the ground
Static clawed it’s way through Bee’s intake as he tried to speak, he wasn’t even sure what he was trying to say, plead for mercy, deny knowing anything again, find some snarky remark that would absolutely get him killed
A heavy servo pressed against his chassis, above his spark, and Bee couldn’t suppress a shudder though the action only sent pain lancing through his frame
“Now tell me Autobot scum, where is the Allspark” Megatron growled
“I’m-m n-n-not an-n Aut-t-tob-bot” Bumblebee wheezed voice almost too overtaken by static screeching to be intelligible, but he figured he’d probably said it enough Megatron would get the gist
In the back of his processor he wondered why he was still so adamant about it, originally it was so he could stay out of the conflict but as dents and scrapes littered his frame, and pain, residual electric shocks and leaking energon made it hard to move, or talk, or breathe, Bee was starting to think that plan might not be going as successfully as he’d hoped it would
“That’s unfortunate” Megatron said, suddenly releasing the denting grip he’d kept on Bumblebee, letting the energon scavenger curl in on himself “I might’ve made this quicker if you were”
Before Bee could decipher what those cryptic words were meant to mean he felt something heavy collide with his helm, static screeching from his intake for only a moment before his damaged processor sent him into emergency stasis
The last sound he heard before his audials cut out was Megatron’s voice, low and condescending
“You will die alone, like a coward should”
Bee didn’t want to die
————
Optimus had finally gotten word from one of the Autobots who’d been keeping an eye on Decepticon bases in search of where they had taken Bumblebee that they had seen Megatron entering one of the bases out to the west
Against Elita’s suggestions he had decided it was best if he went to go rescue Bee himself, send too big a group and they were sure to be spotted, and Optimus had become rather fond of the scout, worry eating away at him ever since he’d gone missing, he didn’t want to mess this up lest something happen to Bee
Though after she had relented she’d insisted Ratchet come along, whether for Bumblebee or Optimus he wasn’t sure but he couldn’t argue with that
Though they had been waiting for a while now, he was starting to grow more and more worried this wasn’t the right location and Megatron happened to be at this base for an entirely different reason
He knew entering the building while Megatron was still inside would be far more risky than he should be attempting at the moment, Elita would probably kill him once he got back if Megatron didn’t get the honour himself
Ratchet shifted beside him and Optimus tried to think of something to say to break the unease in the air, both of them knew there was a chance they could end up risking their sparks only for Bumblebee to not be inside
As Optimus opened his intake to speak there was the distinct sound of jets, Ratchet and Optimus both pressed themselves further against the structure they were hiding behind, the partially collapsed tower giving them cover from above, the whine of the jets got close and Optimus barely made out the form of Starscream flying overhead, but what caught his optic more than the seeker was the frame of yellow metal he was carrying
“Ratchet, he’s got Bumblebee”
The Medic turned his helm, glancing at Optimus who nodded, both of them transforming and taking off after the Seeker
The two Autobots followed Starscream a fair distance, staying far enough behind that the Seeker wouldn’t spot them, but enough that they didn’t lose him, Optimus couldn’t help but notice splotches of energon on the ground as he drove, his worry mounting further
Suddenly the seeker stopped, tossing the mech in his arms uncaringly onto the ground below, Optimus felt his tires jerk slightly as Bumblebee’s form hit the ground hard but didn’t have a chance to see if the energon scavenger was okay before he had to veer off into the nearest form of shelter as Starscream transformed and flew back the way he had just come
As soon as the sound of jet engines faded Optimus and Ratchet transformed rushing over to where Bee had been dumped
As Optimus grew closer his spark sank further, Bee’s frame was dented and warped, there was a hole blasted through his shoulder and burns all across his plating, beside him he heard Ratchet’s sharp vent, the sound sending dread through his frame
As soon as they reached the downed scout Ratchet pulled a repair kit from his subspace and set to work, immediately taking note of which injuries were critical and which could be left until they were sure the scout wasn’t in danger of offlining
Optimus’s servos hovered as he found himself uncertain what to do, if he tried to help he was certain he’d only get in the Medic’s way, something he very much did not want to do, instead he sat down on Bumblebee’s right
As he looked down at Bumblebee’s face the scout’s optics flickered and as they finally glowed a dim blue Optimus wished he was still in stasis, the moment he seemed conscious enough to feel it the energon scout’s face warped with pain, optics tight and denta grit
Optimus laid a servo on Bee’s uninjured shoulder, concern growing as Bumblebee took far too long to actually look at him the yellow mech seemed to be dazed
“Bumblebee, you are safe now, Ratchet’s going to get you fixed up”
The scout finally managed to focus his optics on Optimus and as he opened his intake to speak most of the words were accompanied by static “O-optimu-u-us,… I-I… do-o-on’-… wan-nt t-to die alon-n-ne”
Optimus’s optics went wide and he turned to face Ratchet, the Medic’s expression was tight, refusing to look up from where he was working on stabilizing Bumblebee
“Don’t… Don’t worry about that, we’re not planning on going anywhere until you’re fixed up” Optimus said, and he could feel his grip on Bumblebee’s shoulder tighten unconsciously as worry gripped his spark
“I promise, we’re not going to leave”
Bumblebee’s expression relaxed slightly and Optimus hoped he was helping in some way, a few moments later the scout’s optics began to flicker and the tension in his frame went limp, Optimus immediately looked over to Ratchet intake open to speak
“Don’t worry, the kid’s in stasis again, he’s going to be okay”
Optimus couldn’t find a reply simply nodding and turning his attention back to Bumblebee, glad the scout’s face was no longer tight with pain and he spoke quietly to the unconscious scout the promise heavy in his intake
“We’re not going to let you die, alone or otherwise"