So, this story is really sad. It's also part of my Starscream and His Baby Sister storyline.
Transformers Prime does not belong to me. Neither does Robots In Disguise.
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“Hey Raf…” Bee kneels in front of the grave marker, the roses in his hands. “I'm stationed back on Earth now, so maybe I can come visit more often.”
He chuckles sadly. “If you could answer back, you'd probably say something like 'you know I can't hear or see you, right?’” A tear slips down his cheek. “Primus kid… I feel so bad that I let you down.”
Bumblebee lays the bouquet gently down on the grave. “Seventeen is too young to offline. I miss you, Raf.”
“Don't blame yourself, Buzzer.” A young woman kneels next to him, putting her hand on his shoulder and placing a single daisy on the grave next to the roses. “He knew what he was signing up for.”
“I wasn't here to protect him , Sky!” Bee closes his eyes. “No kid should be in battle like that.”
Ratchet’s holoform walks up behind them. “Bumblebee, we all blame ourselves. Pit, I was in the same battle as he was.”
Skyfall sighs, “And I was on the opposite side.” The other two turn to stare at her. “Not fighting. First aid.”
Jack, Miko, Arcee, and Bulkhead join the group. “Hey Bee.” Miko wraps the mourning young man in a tight hug. “I'm sorry I didn't make it last year.”
He hugs her back, “It’s okay, Miko. I'm just glad we could all make it this year.”
Ratchet sighs, “All except one.” Everyone falls silent for a moment. “I often feel as if I let Optimus down as well as Raf on that day.”
Arcee takes a turn giving Bee a hug. “If there's one thing I've learned because of this Primus forsaken war, it's that we can't blame ourselves when people die unless we pulled the trigger.”
Jack smiles as Bee leans over to give him a hug. “Oh come on. Help me up to hug you properly!” Bumblebee complies, practically lifting the young soldier out of his wheelchair and steadying him on his feet. “So what's this about you being stationed on Earth now?”
“It's a long story.” Bee sighs. “Maybe over lunch.”
Jack smiles sadly. “Okay.” He grabs Arcee's arm gently and she helps him put his flowers on the grave. His left leg was paralyzed in a skirmish between a few remaining Decepticons a couple years ago. “Kinda hard to believe it's been so long, eh? He'd be twenty-nine today.”
Miko gasps, “Little Raf? That can't be right…”
Bumblebee bites his lower lip, a habit he's picked up from Skyfall. “No… that's exactly right. He was killed twelve years ago.”
Ratchet closes his eyes sadly. “I knew I shouldn't have let him fight that day.”
Skyfall shakes her head, “Nobody was expecting it to be that big of a fight. Starscream came home completely wrecked.”
The medic's eyes open suddenly. “Speaking of which, where is that Seeker?”
Bee smiles, holding back tears. “He took the kids right to the restaurant. Figured that he and Wave might be intruding here.”
Skyfall winces, “I even kind of feel intrusive.”
Bee wraps his arms around her. “I want you here, Flip.” She smiles slightly at the nickname. “You were close to Raf too.”
Ratchet places a wrench on the grave. It has an orange bow on it. “You taught me so much, Rafael.”
Miko puts down a small bouquet of lavender. “Why'd you have to go so soon?”
Bulkhead places some small metal roses next to the other tokens. “You went out like a champ, kiddo.”
Everyone stands silent for a minute, not just for Raf, but for Optimus. For everyone lost in this stupid war.
Miko breaks the silence. “Remember when we first came to the base, and Raf totally schooled Ratchet with his computer skills?”
They all laugh quietly, and Bumblebee shakes his head. “He was so… gentle. He talked me out of a few panic attacks.”
Sky smiles. “He also babysat Shell a couple times. He was so good with her.”
Bee closes his eyes. “He was so persistent.”
Ratchet sighs, “Remember when he talked me out of giving up after the Decepticons scattered our team?”
Bumblebee smiles, “He cried when we were driving to the Harbinger. Honestly, seeing you so depressed almost made me cry too.”
The medic shakes his head. “When I saw you die, my first thought was 'how am I going to tell Rafael?’”
Skyfall winces. “That was a really bad day.”
Bee rubs her back comfortingly. “It was hard enough when I told him. He had a really hard time letting me leave after that.”
Jack chuckles. “He was so strong inside. When that kid stared down Shockwave…”
Arcee smiles slightly. “Talk about bad days. That was the same day we found Airachnid and her army of Energon sucking Insecticons.”
Bulkhead shudders. “Those things were worse than scraplets.”
Bee agrees. “Way worse. At least there's a cure for scraplet bites.”
Ratchet stiffens, “I hate to cut this short, but I'm being called into emergency.”
Bee raises his eyebrows at him. “Okay Ratch. Thanks for coming.” The medic gives everyone a quick hug, and deactivates his holoform.
Soon, they hear sirens racing away from the graveyard. Miko rests a hand on the grave marker sadly. “Miss you, nerd.” Bulkhead wraps an arm around her in a comforting side hug.
Bumblebee closes his eyes, sending one last silent message to his dead friend. “Everyone ready to head to lunch?”
