Little Gladiator

Chapter 2: Goodnight

Note: I changed my mind. I'm so bored, Imma just keep posting until I have to go. Bon appetit!

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M

egatron waited until midnight to sneak out of his quarters with Bumblebee curled up in his arms. He took the crate with him just in case, but he saw no one else on the way to Hook's medbay.

The medbay could hardly be called such as it was just a large room with multiple energon-stained berths, an assortment of medical tools cleaned as best as possible without proper sterilizing solution; and one medic, Hook himself. Hook never left the medbay, even at night, in case of an emergency, choosing to sleep on one of the berths. However, this served Megatron well tonight.

"Hook." No response. He raised his voice as much as he dared. "Wake up, Hook!"

Hook jerked upright and took a few nanokliks to process the sight in front of him. "I thought your reproductive protocols were offline."

Megatron smacked him and snarled, "Pitbull gave him to me to train, but this scraplet won't last a day if he's hurt."

Hook scrambled off the berth and gathered his tools. While he scanned the sparkling he asked, "So, did Pitbull grace the little one with a name? Or did he leave that honor to you?"

"I named him Bumblebee. Like the cyberbees in the Crystal Gardens," Megatron answered.

Hook smiled and said, "Certainly suits the little bugger." His scanner beeped to tell him it was done and he looked at the results. "Dents, cuts, rust, a touch of malnutrition, and a stressed spark. I'd say he was born here by a breeder, but he's mostly Iaconian-Praxian with those doorwings."

Megatron looked at Bumblebee. The bitlet just nervously looked at his surroundings while he squirmed under Hook's care.

"Be still, Bumblebee. I need to fix your boo-boos." No matter how the medic held him, the newspark just wouldn't keep still. Getting a little annoyed, Megatron grabbed him by his doorwings and shook him with gentle force.

"When I bring you here, you are too keep still for Hook! Do you understand?!" Megatron growled. Bumblebee curled in on himself, but stayed still and quiet until Hook was done.

"Well, that's him patched up. Bring him here every other cycle so I can make sure he grows up right. Otherwise you have a healthy, if slightly malnourished, little newspark," Hook said with a quick smile for the bitlet.

"Yeah. One I have to train to kill by the time he turns 50 vorns old. I don't know why Pitbull thought I was the best choice to mentor him."

"Because Pitbull wants you to take him under your wing, not into your berth," Hook explained as he handed Bumblebee to Megatron, who held the newspark at arms length while he fidgeted nervously.

"I don't want anything to do with the scraplet!"

"You named him, didn't you?"

"I did."

The medic gently pushed the newspark closer to Megatron. "Then raise him! Be harsh when you're being watched, but make sure he knows someone has his back in private. The kid needs you."

Megatron sighed as he looked at the tiny mech in his arms. Bumblebee shivered occasionally. From cold or from fear, Megatron didn't know, but he held him more securely anyway. The newspark calmed immediately at the reassuring beat of the gladiator's spark and fell into recharge soon after.

"I suppose you're right," Megatron conceded.

"I know I'm right," Hook said. "Now, get back to your room before someone notices you're missing."

After a nod from both, Megatron made his way back to his room, pet carrier in one hand, Bumblebee in the other. Once again, he met no one on the way there and returned with none the wiser about his leaving. Looking between his berth and the pet carrier, he took a spare blanket and lined the bottom of the crate with it before placing Bumblebee inside. He mewled quietly at the loss of warmth.

"I apologize, little one, but if anyone were to know that we are close, we could both be killed." Bumblebee blinked slowly, as if in understanding. Megatron closed the door of the crate and put the lock in without actually locking it. 'After all, it's not like a newspark is smart enough to figure out how to open it,' he figured.
"Goodnight, Bumblebee," Megatron whispered.

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Note: These might differ slightly from what I've put on FF.net. Just really small things like typos and one or two extra words. No biggie.