The Prime And His Little Bug

A Broken Promise Part Two - A Vow Made

Bumblebee wakes up and is told his options. Optimus and Bumblebee have a conversation, a promise broken, a vow made.

Bumblebee felt dazed when he awoke again, that burning sensation had calmed down, but hadn't gone away, at least not yet. It took him forever to fully wake up and when he did, he began to look at his surroundings. He was in a sterile room with bright lights overhead and dividing curtains on either side of him. ' A Medbay. ' He noted. ' I must be back at base then. The 'Cons wouldn't have given me such a luxury. ' He sat in silence for a moment, still processing what had happened to him before the curtain swung open.

"Bumblebee," Ratchet greeted as he wrote something into his datapad before placing it down on the table beside the berth. "I've notified Optimus on your condition, he's on his way here." He started, making Bumblebee feel relieved as he attempted to sit up before Ratchet placed a servo against his chassis. "Until then, I'd suggest you rest your helm and relax. Your body was under a lot of stress." He explained, helping the young scout lean his head back down on the berth. He attempted to struggle for a moment, he felt fine, well, fine enough, but he knew he couldn't fight the scrappy Medic and gave in.

The two bots sat in silence until the Medbay doors slid open, the large Prime carefully making his way towards them.

"Hello, Bumblebee." Optimus greeted as he stood beside Ratchet. "I am glad to see that you are awake. You had me quite worried when you arrived." Optimus gave a weak smile as he placed a servo on his sparkling's, who squeezed it tightly.

"Now that the two of you are together, I must explain your condition to you, Bumblebee." Ratchet started as he opened up his datapad again. "For starters, your leg; it was in bad shape, but First Aid and I managed to fix it. You'll need to be off of it for a while so it'll heal, so that means no scouting missions." Ratchet explained as he showed Bumblebee his knee joint, which, as the medic had explained, was patched up and raised slightly. "The rest of your body has received minor injuries, except your throat." He was silent for a moment before he looked Bumblebee in the eye. "Do you have any recollection of what happened to you? Nod your head yes or no." Bumblebee nodded. How could he forget? Megatron held him up with ease... then the burning started. He shivered and nodded.

"Bumblebee, your throat has taken a lot of damage. We did our best to fix it and fixed most of it but... your voice box is beyond repair." Bumblebee looked confused before swiping the datapad from Ratchet's servos.

[So what does that mean for me, how bad is it? ] Bumblebee wrote on the datapad, aggressively pointing at his message.

"It means that you won't be able to speak again. I am... so sorry Bumblebee." Ratchet sighed.

[Is there anything you can do to fix it?] Bumblebee asked, his writing uneasy as he tried to find the right words.

"There is, Optimus and I spoke about it when you became stable." Ratchet started as he walked away from the berth for a moment, returning with something in his servos. "It's a voice modifier that we can use to replace your voice box. However, there is a downside; you'll only be able to speak in a sort of binary. It will be a bit difficult to get used to hearing while you're so used to your voice. But most species will be able to understand you perfectly."

[I'll do it. I still wanna be useful. Without my voice, I can't help. BTW... why does my face kinda hurt too? ] Bumblebee asked as he tried to touch a part of his cheek, before getting his servo swatted away by Ratchet.

"You are currently missing a part of your face mesh. We don't have the supplies to repair it, so it'll leave a scar."

[Can I see? ] Bumblebee asked, curious if the scar would make him look tougher. Ratchet snorted before opening a camera on the datapad. Bumblebee had a goofy grin on his face, lopsided because of his injury, and smiled. [Cool.] Optimus let out a huffed laugh and shook his head.

"Alright then. I'll write it down that we will do the surgery to add the voice modifier to your voice box when your body has recovered further. Anything else, Bumblebee?" Ratchet asked as he sat next to him holding out his servo for the datapad back.

[Two things; one, a datapad I can write on until then, and two, a cool mask to wear so I look kinda like Optimus. ] Bumblebee let out an airy attempt at a laugh as Ratchet rolls his eyes.

"Fine, fine." Ratchet grumbled as he removed another datapad from his subspace, hanging it to Bumblebee as he took his own and put it away. "I'll leave you to be for a cycle or so, I have to go speak with First Aid. After that, I want you to get some rest Bumblebee. Understood ?" Ratchet said in a stern voice. Bumblebee nodded and laid his head back again. "You two are free to talk if you'd like, you're welcome to leave at any time, Optimus." The leader nodded as Ratchet left the room.

The two mechs sat in silence for a moment before Optimus decides to speak up.

"Bumblebee, I must ask, do you remember who did this to you?" He asked as he placed his servo on Bumblebee's again. He sits for a moment before he begins to write.

[I do, why? ] He inquired as he looked at Optimus.

"I am only curious. Whoever may have done this to you must have done so for a reason, although an unreasonable one. I can not imagine someone being so cruel just to do so." Optimus explained. "If you are uncomfortable with this conversation, I shall stop here." He added.

[ It was Buckethead. ] Bumblebee explained, only making Optimus more curious, quietly keeping his anger to himself. [To him, it was justified. ]

"Megatron did this to you?" Optimus raised his voice slightly, which seemed to startle Bumblebee slightly. "I know my former brother has become corrupt... but I could have never imagined he'd do such a thing..."

[He did it because I laughed in his face. I teased him a little. ] Bumblebee quickly wrote before deleting it just as fast. [Buckethead told me that I talked too much. That and that you didn't need another martyr, so this would be my story, I'd live but never be able to tell the tale...] Bumblebee's servos shook as he wrote again. [I failed. I could've taken out that sparkless piece of scrap, but I got scared. ] Optimus shook his head and sighed before he spoke.

"I am so sorry Bumblebee. This war was never yours to be a part of, you have every right to have felt afraid, you are still young. You should not be responsible for something I should have done long ago. I broke my promise to protect you by letting you fight in this war, I should have never allowed someone so young to join something like this."

[ It was my choice to go out there and fight Optimus. I know the dangers, but I wanna help, even now. ] Bumblebee wrote, fidgeting with his servos as he watched Optiums read what he had written.

"I do not doubt that, Bumblebee, but I will apologize nonetheless. It is my responsibility as your caregiver to protect you, so I will do so by making a vow to you, to the Autobots, and all of those that we have lost to this war; that when I am given the chance, I will take down Megatron for good, no matter how long it may take."