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Explosion. It demolished the cave and blocked the passage. But as a result of this, at the very top, which is still a ceiling, sunlight slips through.
Bee seems to wake up, but the optics are very blurred, and it was difficult to concentrate. The autobots' leader screwed up big this time. Left the team behind, chasing an enemy that led into a predictable trap. What nonsense.
“Oh, you've been so well flunked. How are you still functional?”
Bumblebee is scared. The blaster is still on his belt (or so he thought). He wants to get a weapon. But no. The pursued enemy with bestial force puffs the autobot by the forearms against the stone wall.
Bee screams short. Iron claws pierce the plating of his manipulators. With such vision, yellow and red dots glow in front of him. But that also makes him bounce back. There is no chance for protection. His opponent already outnumbers him in size and strength.
“I see you are also alive, but also injured.”
The gray chest panel shows cracks and dents with drops of blue liquid. Yellow and blue optics met very close.
Steeljaw can take and end Bumblebee's life right now. What is it to him? But instead, he brought the faceplate closer to Bee's face. Why is he looking at the exhausted autobot? The decepticon holds the grin of a wolf, which he is. As if about to tear the victim apart, which is likely.
“Let... go,” the yellow boat exhales with the last of his strength.
Steeljaw looks at the poor bot for a long time. But then he snorts and pulls away sharply, stepping aside. Bee now has a lot more energon pouring out. Good demise.
He can’t get up, his right leg is crushed by stones. Bee still with difficulty throws them off. But it isn’t add to his life. He wants to plunge into stasis and wake up at home in the Junkyard, next to friends.
The autobot leans his helmet against the wall, still running the exhaust pipes, and peers out of the optics at the second Cybertronian.
Steeljaw is darting from side to side trying to move the stone cobbles away but it's not enough. He's angry, roaring like a dragon. But then he also sits down on the ground, tortured.
“Why did you want to lure me here?” the yellow bot asks.
“To kill, of course, autobot.”
“But you didn't expect the cave to collapse that soon.”
“Yes,” growls the wolfbot.
Bumblebee tries to stand up, leaning against the wall. At first he's even glad that he has succeeded, but as soon as he take a step, he falls to the ground again, spraying drops of energon.
“Looks like you want to disactive sooner than I thought,” the decepticon smiles. Bee's literally lying in front of him. What a charm.
“You will not get it. I survived the war, Megatron, Starscream, and you,” he replies angrily.
“Of course, you are our Great War Hero, who killed so many decepticons, protecting the weak. How could I forget?!” snarls Steeljaw.
And he wants to attack Bee again, but he's not in great condition either. The pain from the dent in the chest panel sharpens. He falls forward, leaning his manipulators on the ground.
“Oh, let's see who dies first.” Bee kneels down and grabbs the other by the manipulator, lifting him back into place against the cobblestones. It’s difficult to lift a big bot, but Bee does it.
“You dare to help me too? What a noble you are, lieutenant,” the wolf-bot says, pulling his servo out of the other's.
During the war on Cybertron, every soldier had to be able to give first aid to the wounded and keep a small first aid kit with him, since field doctors might not be around. Bumblebee is still subject to this law, which has become a habit. He took out metal patches from the trunk. They are similar to plasters in humans, but stronger and larger.
“Calm down and let me help you at least this time,” Bee says. Steeljaw snarls and pulls away, making a hostile face. “I don't think you want to die here.”
The bot doesn’t wait for an answer and moves closer. The sharp claws are dangerously close to Bee's death. But the leader of the autobots is doing his job - he puts on a patch, gluing it tightly. He needs to protect the damaged area and stop the leakage of energon.
Wolfbot watches as the wounded autobot's trying to help him, the one with whom they had been enemies for a long time. The yellow bot is close enough that Steeljaw is again surprised at how much smaller it is. But that never seemed to get in the way of Bee.
It's so unusual to feel the touch of someone else's metal without the intent to harm. Bee finished. Well, decepticon hopes no one finds out about this, it hurt his pride too much.
“After the revival of Cybertron, a law was passed not to decrease each other and not to allow death,” Bee answers calmly, sitting down next to him. He winds up the lower manipulator for himself, ignoring the wounds on the manipulators and the helmet.
“How ironic, considering what happened before.”
“Do you know how it was before?”
“Thought I was one of the new generation of brats? I was on Cybertron even before the war started.”
Bee is really surprised. He didn't think that Steeljaw had the same lived time as he did.
“You immediately chose the side of the Decepticons, followed the example of Megatron?”
“No, I kept neutral for long cycles.”
“Unexpected.”
No, it's unexpected that the Decepticon and the Autobot, who were at odds from the first meeting, ready to tear each other apart, one for sure, are now just sitting and talking calmly. This is way too weird.
“Is it interesting for you to learn about my life, lieutenant?”
“Why not, I need to understand where your personality was created for the dream of a Decepticon's home.”
“You're mocking me?!”
“No.”
Of course, Steeljaw takes it all too sharply and aggressively, but Bee knows this and remains completely impassive. He just slipps his knee joints towards him, it isn't hurt so much this way.
“Why do you always want to look too good, just like Prime?” thinks the gray bot.
“I was there…when you lost your voice.”
“What?!” Bee hits the wall with his helmet. But then he looks at Steeljaw with frightened optics. Steeljaw looks way too confidently and even proudly, smiling slightly, he likes to see such a reaction. The fact is that for Bee this is the most terrible and painful event. And even more so, no one from the autobots was a witness to this. “How?”
“You were sent to investigate, but Overload caught you and took you to Megatron. There was the spectacle. Public punishment. Your suffering was a joy to all. True Autobot. You did not betray your brethren until you were forever silent. I was surprised by the fact that you survived. How unfortunate.”
Steeljaw says this exactly as it happened. Rejoice or not? But this completely amazes Bee.
“But thanks to you, from that moment on I knew that I wanted to be a Decepticon.”
“And what, may I ask, did I inspire you to do so?”
“Your suffering. Decepticons bring pain and grief when you don't expect them. That is why they need a separate home.”
Is it Bumblebee, or do Steeljaw's words really contain good and common sense?
“Separate home? Wouldn't they just be bored? Some just love to annoy the Autobots,” a question Bee wants to ask for a long time.
“Yes, but most of them want to live in their own light of loneliness. And the rest I would manage, leading them to success.”
“Success of what?”
“Life ... And perfection, of course.”
And that is Steeljaw's whole philosophy of purpose. Bumblebee thought he had known it for a long time, but it turns out he isn't. He turns and looks ahead at the stones.
Bumblebee is a bot who did not want to be a leader but became one, Steeljaw is a con who longed to be a leader, but did not become one.
To be honest, they are similar in many ways, no matter how strange it sounds.
“Do you still want to fulfill your dream?” Bee asks.
“Of course. Do you still dare to doubt, lieutenant?”
“It's just… There aren't any more Decepticons left on Earth for you to control.”
"Thanks to you, Autobots,” mutters the wolfbot and looks at the bot.
“Isn't it pointless?”
“What?!” Steeljaw kicks up and grabs Bumblebee by the forearms again, pushing him against the wall. And again for the wounded places. The Autobot exhals painfully. “Don't forget, I still want to see you dead, Bumblebee.”
“Please, Steeljaw… come to your senses, there is no more… someone to rule… no home for the Decepticons.”
“Then where will my home be? I will not return to Cybertron!”
“The Earth and me can be your home...”
Bee says it without thinking. He didn't want to say that, but it just happened. And now he firmly stands on his decision. And the other Cybertronian is surprised, but still holds his position.
The decepticon grabs Bea's faceplate, covering his mouth, and approaches, saying:
“What stupid words, Bumblebee. You will regret them.”
The wolfbot holds the autobot tightly, claws about to pierce the hull. He licks dripping drops of energon from Bee's faceplate. The autobot is greatly agitated, he grabs the other's with his manipulators, and screws up his optics. Steeljaw likes it, even very much.
He loosens his grip and continues to move the gloss over Bee's face, collecting the blue liquid. Further down the chin. Moves to the neck bites sharply on the contact cords.
The yellow bot jumps up, his sensory system failing. Everything is too intense. But Bee doesn't resist at all, as if he himself wants it. The decepticon smiles triumphantly. He turns Bea's face, giving more access to the delicate wiring. Clicks can be said to be a grizzly posting, leaving fresh wounds. Bee exhales loudly.
“You… had so many chances to kill me, but you… didn’t use them,” Bumblebee whispers, slowly removing sharp claws from his face. The gray one looks at him, and then growls with anger and bites him on the new wound.
The Decepticon gets to Bee's audio receivers, they are very sensitive. As soon as the con walks over them with gloss, the autobot is already tense. Bee can already go into deactivation. What a pleasure to see such an autobot leader. And he's not ashamed?
Steeljaw's victorious exit. He presses Bee's hand against the wall, squeezing it with his claws. His tail curls around the lieutenant's waist. With a free manipulator, he lifts Bee's face, forcing him to open the optics. The wolf-bot dug into the metallic lips, immediately penetrating with a gloss, mixing the energon. The lieutenant is surprised and hums. It's the last drop. His optics gradually blur.
And only pleasure remained on his lips after going offline.
***
Wind. It walks on the yellow-black metal. And the bright moon makes Bumblebee open the optics. He is… laying on the ground.
The bot jumps up sharply, but this results in pain throughout the exoskeleton. He lies near the entrance to the cave.
Where is the decepticon? Or... Could Steeljaw have gotten out from under the rubble from the very beginning?! And he... carried the Autobot out of the cave?
The Autobot leader still lifts his hull and sits down. Lots of questions... But the link is coming back and maybe its signature is visible.
“Well, Steeljaw, you can kill me, but only at our next meeting.”