Ep. 2 - A Mute and a Deaf Guy walk into a Bar - [Closed]

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee could only whimper as Bolo's jaws clamped tighter and tighter on his doorwing as he was dragged further backwards by the canine. He'd given up resisting and just let himself be dragged. His upper body twisting as he tried desperately to elbow Bolo off, but due to him being on the ground and the position of the dog, it was very hard to maneuver himself. At one point he had the genius idea to flutter the doorwings in a futile attempt to shake the dog free, but that only made fresh pain screech through his systems like fire. Bad idea. Very bad idea. The fact that Bolo's grip seemed to be getting tighter made his processor go fuzzy and lose focus on things for the tiniest of moments. It really hurt and he was trying to block out the pain but it was oh so hard when every sensor was now screaming at him.

Let go please. Please. Let go!

Ghnn. He hadn't wanted to be a tattle-tale over this whole incident, but frag, the further and longer this went on? The harder and harder it would be to explain his injuries without both of them getting into trouble. The deep scratches on his chassis and back were one thing, but now he had bite marks and a chewed up, probably very mangled doorwing. This had gone beyond plausible excuses of 'roughhousing' and 'we were just messing around' - they'd both been attacking with intent to harm – and again the thought crossed his processor of calling somebody down here to help. It didn't last though, as Carbine began to move.

He scrambled back some as Carbine got to his feet, making no attempts to stand – he probably couldn't anyway with Bolo dragging him and weighing him down. He didn't want to risk the doorwing being ripped clean off with the dog hanging from it. His optics wide with fear, and the whiny pain filled beeps gave away much. He was done with this. He was beyond done with this. He hurt, and he was sure Carbine was too.

He wasn't sure how, or why.. But... Bolo suddenly let go. There was some instant relief, but everything still stung. Everything still hurt. His sensors still screamed.

--Thank you!-- He squawked, thinking that Carbine did it for Bee's benefit to be nice. To stop this stupid fight! Not because he didn't want Bolo to get into trouble as well, although it was too late for that should Bee decide to snitch – the evidence was obvious. He relaxed just slightly, thinking that was it. That it was over.

There was another half-beep, like he was about to say something else, when he saw a blur. Oh frag no! As Carbine's pede flew toward him he would quickly drop himself down lower, into an awkward laying down squat, resting on his forearms until the kick had cleared him. The mangled doorwing smashing into the concrete below him which made him beep-squawk out in surprise – but he would rather that than a kick to the head. So much for Carbine getting Bolo away to stop things. It clicked near instantly. Carbine wanted to fight for himself, and he was more determined than before, it seemed.

Too bad that Bumblebee was so very done. He hurt too much to continue; and didn't want to get in any more trouble than he probably would be already.

Build shelves. Simple order. Even simpler task. Too bad they'd done anything but. Yeah they were totally screwed, especially when Optimus came down to check on their progress. The Autobots actually needed to use the shelves, and all they'd managed to build was half a shelf.. Which had been reduced to a crushed pile of bent metal beams.

He took the tiny moment of downtime while Carbine no doubt had to recover from kicking sharply at the air to scramble backwards and up onto his feet. Fully alert now, he would quickly scan the room for a way to show Carbine that he was done. That he didn't want to fight. That Carbine won. Bee's words had no effect, so maybe if he just avoided everything or went on the defensive? It may calm the helicopter down.

Or so he hoped.

He was still wary of Bolo, and didn't trust Carbine not to unleash the canine on him once more – but he wanted to get back to the pallets, if only to provide himself some form of cover against the angry helicopter. He had no doubt he could dodge everything that Carbine threw at him, as he was smaller and much faster – but if Bolo joined in again? He was fragged.

He side-stepped one way, then quickly ducked to the other in a fake-out, sprinting to the other side of the room, back toward where the pallets were. He wasted no time, hoisting up one of the wooden pallets and holding it in front of himself like a shield.

His gaze fixed on Carbine, although he would quickly dart his attention to Bolo every couple of seconds. Two vs One, and all he had was a crappy wooden pallet and his reflexes. He could sense Carbine's field – at least the fear that seemed to radiate from beneath the anger. His own field showed that he was scared, and stressed. He didn't want to call for help. He wanted to try and resolve this somehow, and for right now? The only idea he had was to cower here and play passive.

--Bolo leave it. Stay. Bolo stay. Leave it.-- He beeped timidly, focusing on Bolo. The cassette hadn't listened to him before, but maybe the dog could pick up on the fact that Bee was no longer acting aggressive toward Carbine, maybe somehow he could tell his Master that Bee was done - if his posture, field and the fact he was hiding behind a wooden pallet didn't give it away already.

There was movement somewhere behind and to the right of Bumblebee, and he cast a wary, brief glance over his shoulder. Had Carbine used Bee's earlier trick against him and somehow made a noise to distract him? Nope it's just Smokescreen. He turned his attention back to Carbine and Bolo. Nice try.

Wait.

Smokescreen?

Frag. He did a double take. Yup, it was him. Well, it was bound to happen eventually. They were making enough noise down here that Bee wondered why someone hadn't come down earlier. Luckily for Bee? Things at first glance would look to be in his favor. He was scratched badly on his back and chassis, and one of his doorwings had been mangled by a certain canine cassette. Add the fact that he was cowering behind a wooden pallet? This sure looked bad for Carbine.

[Deleted]

Smokescreen hadn't been down to the storage rooms before. He'd been fortunate enough to have kept clear of landing a job helping to get them set up. Though the downside of that meant that his schedule involved a great deal of patrolling.

With Zoom-Zoom.

He honestly wasn't sure if that was better or worse but having put up with the mech for the last few weeks, the Autobot was leaning on it being worse.

Nonetheless, he didn't have anything scheduled for the next few hours so Smokescreen had decided to make the most of it. He'd heard, through the Omega base grapevine, that Optimus Prime was doing something with the storage rooms today. So Smokescreen had wandered down looking for the big mech to offer his help and was totally not being a creepy fanboy stalker at all, thank you very much.

He'd been expecting to find the Prime somewhere down here. Smokescreen was not expecting to hear yells, pained cries, electronic beeps, muffled thumps and the screech of metal clashing against metal from one of the rooms up ahead.

Sounds like a fight…?

But who?

What had been a relaxed and peaceful meander around the floor turned into hurried footsteps as Smokescreen picked up his pace. His momentum carried him through the door that seemed to be the source of the noise and he came to a dead halt as he took in the situation before him with wide optics.

The room was a mess. Bits and pieces of unassembled shelves were strewn everywhere. Bumblebee -Bumblebee of all people- looked he'd gotten into a wrestling match with someone and had lost. His paint was chipped and scuffed, he had scratches down both his front and back and someone had mangled one of his doors. Deep, painful looking gouges had been torn into it and the bright yellow scout cowered behind a flimsy wooden pallet.

Beyond Bumblebee, looking angry, stood a helibot that Smokescreen wasn't all that familiar with. Carbine. Bolo, the cassette that was stood behind him, panels flared. Both had aggressive stances and Carbine had his riot armour up. But despite that, the helibot looked damaged too, his frame was less scuffed than Bee's but one of his rotors didn't look right and it hung at an odd angle.

...what the frag had been happening down here…

Why had they been fighting? Bee was one of the easiest going Bots Smokescreen knew, he couldn't imagine how anyone could get into a fight with him and let it go this far. Carbine, though, was an unknown factor. Except- for a brief moment, Smokescreen's quick mind flashed back to his encounter with Fortress Maximus and the whole reason why the tankformer was out in Blackrock in the first place. While Smokescreen wasn't clear on the exact details, there had been a fight between him, Thunder and the mech that stood opposite to Bumblebee. So he knew Carbine wasn't above violence against his fellow Autobot. Although his rotor was in terrible shape, damn, Smokescreen hadn't known Bee had it in him...

But why, what had set them off at each other? Smokescreen had no idea. He glanced between the two but whoever was at fault here, it wasn't obvious to him. No matter, two on one wasn't a fair fight, so he took a step into the room and drifted over to Bee's side. Hopefully his presence would deter this from going any further.

"Um. Guys? Anyone want to help me out here and tell me what's going on?" Smokescreen's tone was mild and deeply confused. There was also a disbelieving edge to it too, like he couldn't quite believe he was the one saying this.

[Carbine]

Carbine had intended to make contact, and didn't exactly plan to do anything but that. It is because of this when his leg cut through nothing but air it thrust his momentum forward a bit awkwardly. His limb crooked out sharply with a locking clank of the knee, and his frame was forced to twist because of it. Not wanting to plant his foot down and end up with his back facing Bumblebee for long, Carbine rammed his foot down in place and pivoted around in one quick fluid motion. While it was annoying, he had to commend the scout in moving as quickly as he had.

While he was now squared off with Bee, the cranking turn of his spin jostled his rotors, making them sway and swoop behind him in a lazy manor. The normal rotor was held up high, its plate of metal bobbing marginally before locking down into a ridged position. In contrast, the other was positioned much lower, and the slat wavered and trailed behind not unlike a ribbon. It swayed gently from its hinge, not having the same structure that the other one was relying on to hold steady.

The ex-cop watched Bumblebee with a critical eye, trying to calculate what he was going to do next, and what means would be the most effective of counters. He could technically exploit Bolo, but he really didn't wish for the dog to be involved more, and as such kept him where he was through the invisible commands of their link. It was while he was making sure Bolo stayed put, that Bumblebee began darting and making feign movements. Carbine lurched instantly to try to counter, only to be on the receiving end of one of the false actions, watching as the scout slipped past him.

He would have time to berate himself later for falling for such a simple trick, but for now Carbine wrenched about again and began to pursue, only to see Bee went on the defensive. This made him halt in place, rooting his limbs down so that he could try to process what was going on. If Bee still wanted to fight, chances are he would have grabbed a shorter pipe to use as a weapon, not a shield. That conveyed a good deal right there. Carbine would have used what was being said as further evidence of this, but he couldn't understand it, and just squinted his eyes a bit.

Bolo could however, and the canine watched Bumblebee curiously. He had already been ordered by Master to stay, so he would technically be obeying the yellow Cybertronian despite being upset at him. While he stood in place and only did as Bee asked due to a technicality, his jaw stretched open a bit to prime the hydraulic if it were needed again for a bite.

Carbine seemed to ease up then, his posture rolling back closer to an average stance, and his helm rising up a bit from behind his riot armor. While the armor did not go down, and his fists weren’t uncurling, he was trying to understand, giving Bumblebee a chance to explain himself... or... explain as best he could with field and tone. They were hopefully on the path to fixing all of this and communicating, but it was then he got a small notification from Bolo. It was a sort of feeling or tell, akin to a prod or a nudge of the shoulder to try to get his attention. Glancing over past Bumblebee, he saw Smokescreen.

Whoops.

Carbine took a step back then, knowing he had to play passive and make this look like he was the victim here, which... he totally was... To help convey this he slumped his shoulders to look more meek, and warily eyed the others, while Bolo maneuvered up to stand beside him defensively.

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee's field immediately shifted as Smokescreen moved further into the room. No longer did he feel quite so scared and stressed. The panic was still there, but he was showing definite relief in the fact another had come down here to see what was going on.

Not that it looked good in Bumblebee's favor, either. Carbine had his fair share of scrapes; the dislocated rotor blade and the dent in his helm showed that Bumblebee had given just as good as he'd got. Add to that the fact that Carbine was now trying to play passive himself, and slumped over somewhat to make himself look meek? It would be up to Bumblebee to actually explain what'd happened, since the helicopter couldn't exactly speak for himself right now.

--I can explain!--

He squawk-beeped, lowering the makeshift shield and gently setting it on the floor. Attention shifting from Carbine and Bolo to turn and look at Smokescreen fully. There was absolutely no way that the duo would launch another attack against him now, so Bee felt safe enough in lowering the only real defense he had.

That being said, the panic that was in his field seemed to radiate as he did. Not because he was scared that there would be more fighting, but because Bumblebee knew he would probably get into a lot of trouble. They both would. He prided himself on sticking to the rules, and doing above and beyond what was asked of him. So to have him fail to build a simple shelf, and then get involved in a fight? He expected better from himself, and he didn't even want to think of the lecture he'd no doubt get from Optimus Prime, the one he looked upto most.

--Soo uh. We had a bit of a.. Disagreement... about how to build the shelves, and...-- He'd wave a servo in the direction of the shelves, which'd been smashed and bent due to Carbine throwing Bee earlier. A disagreement clearly was an understatement.

The panic in his field would ease away and.. Change to something more energetic and enthusiastic as he spoke. He wanted to show things were okay now, and that there was absolutely no reason for Smokescreen to call anyone else, nor was there any reason this should be reported. He so didn't want to get into trouble, and as such, would act normal, almost hyper.

--But we're so totally good now. Got it outta our systems. We are A-okay. One hunnnndred percent fine.--

He'd give Carbine a thumbs up, a sad little gesture and sad little attempt to show that things were good between the pair, and that they weren't planning on attacking each other anymore. Well, at least Bee wasn't. He hoped Carbine would return the gesture as further evidence that things were okay. He'd then turn his attention back to Smokescreen. That probably wasn't enough to convince him, so he would further elaborate a little into what'd actually happened.

--Basically the instruction book got shredded when I snatched it and then Carbine tackled me 'cos he was mad.. 'cos I snatched it... Hence this.-- He'd tap the scratches on his chassis.

--Then he picked me up like some kinda' weird gun, and I was all upside down, and then he yelled at me to pick up a beam while he was holding me, which was when I elbowed him in the leg because.. Well.. Being held upside down aint cool.-- He'd glance to Carbine's leg as he spoke, the silver showed through clear as day against his paint, and backed up what Bee was saying; not that the young scout had any reason to lie.

He'd shift awkwardly, shaking out his arm and rubbing the back of his helm.

--Then things were alright but then Carbine suggested we get a spot welder. Which I thought was stupid but hey whatever! It'd get the job done! He made me use it. Probably 'cos like I said, terrible idea. Anyways it broke and I threw it, which was when I bent down to pick up a pipe on my own cos.. I mean.. A spot welder wasn't even on the instructions so we could be fine without one, right? Right! So I picked up this beam, which was real heavy, and uh. Clocked him one. On the helm. Really hard. Yeah. That happened. Not on purpose! I just swung and.. It hit him.--

He'd occasionally glance to Carbine, who he'd finally worked out couldn't understand him, given he'd all but ignored Bee's pleas earlier and insistence that he hadn't meant to do what he did with the beam. But he'd still chatter away hurriedly regardless, telling the story of what happened before Smokescreen called for more help from someone higher up.

--Aaaanyways.. It broke him. Messed him up I guess. He talks funny but now he talks more funny. Just static stuff. Cos I hit him. On the helm. Then his armor came out all woosh! I guess 'cos he thought I did it on purpose, which I didn't, and then he tackled me again. Hence these.-- His arm would awkwardly twist backwards to try and show the deep and painful looking scratches that covered his back.

--Then he threw me so I maybe.. Kinda.. Sorta distracted him while I pole vaulted toward him using a pole,-- He had excitement in his tone as he basically word-vomited and told the entire story; barely even pausing to vent - despite how serious and bad this situation looked, and actually was. The pole vaulting thing was amazing, if he did say so himself! --Then I hit him and knocked him forwards, an' well.. Yanked his rotor thingy. Then Bolo attacked me. Pretty sure Carbine made him. Not sure though. Anyways! That's why my doorwing is mangled, and why his rotor is mangled. But. Like I said! We are fine now. Yup! You came in just after I gave up because well. It hurts. Yeah. I had the shield because I don't think he knows what I'm saying, or even, what he's saying, since it's all squawk static stuff. Yup.--

He'd shift again, glancing to Carbine. He wasn't sure how they were going to get the helicopter's voice back to normal, but hopefully it wouldn't take much.

--We are good though. It's over and done with!--

[Deleted]

Smokescreen wasn’t quite sure what to expect in response to his question. What he got was Carbine silently lowering his proverbial hackles, looking meek. He'd kinda expected the helibot to say something in his defence, to add to his innocence but strangely the mech was completely quiet.

Turned out that didn't matter because Bumblebee had enough words for them both.

Smokescreen listened to Bee's explanation with increasing levels of bemusement. This whole thing had started with a disagreement about building...shelves? Wait, that had caused this enormous mess? Smokescreen cocked an optic ridge dubiously at the yellow Bot's statement that things were good between him and Carbine. Because yes, they'd totally looked fine and A-okay when he'd walked in on them and totally not about to break into another fight.

The young Autobot's expression morphed into a disbelieving "Are you even listening to what is coming out of your vocaliser?" squint when Bee mentioned that Carbine had tackled Bee for tearing the instruction manual. Uh hello, overreaction much? Bee, what is wrong with you? The guy picked you up and hung you upside. And then yelled at you. That is not okay.

And Bee actually seemed contrite over hitting Carbine in the leg even though, in Smokescreen's opinion, it sounded like it was totally within Bee's rights to do so. Smokescreen was still searching for words to interrupt Bumblebee about how it sounded like Carbine was an absolute aft and really, Bee shouldn't feel bad at elbowing the guy, like, not at all, when Bumblebee moved on to the next part in this extremely long story. Next came something about a spot welder and Smokescreen was already resigned that whatever had involved the spot welder had no doubt caused more trouble between the two.

Oh wait, what was that? Bee had broke it and then thrown it? What the frag, Bee?

The worst though was yet to come.

…

Bumblebee had clocked Carbine in the head with a beam?

What.

The.

Frag.

And he had broken Carbine. Caused enough damage that all Carbine could do was spout static. No wonder the mech was silent. It sounded like Bee had exacerbated a pre-existing condition and while Smokescreen's medical knowledge was pitiful, it made him uncomfortable that the mech was standing here and not, say, seeing Ratchet about it. The helibot could have been injured with some serious processor damage.

Smokescreen was no longer squinting at Bumblebee, he was openly gawping at this point. And not in amazement like Bee was right now, getting all excited over pole vaulting. How had a simple job to put together a bunch of shelves degenerated so badly? And it wasn't even over, they'd picked up the fight again, and done some more damage to each other. Whhhhhhy.

And yet Bee was still insistent that things were good between them.

Pull the other one, buddy.

At the end of Bee's spiel, Smokescreen was left rubbing his forehead as he processed the whole story. He was torn honestly at who was at fault here. But, he supposed, it didn't really matter, it wasn't his job to sort out things like that. That was something for bots higher up in the chain of command than him. What he did care about was Bee and Carbine not continuing the fight again -something which he'd apparently sorted out already merely by walking into the room- and maybe getting Carbine down to the med-bay.

"I'll believe things are fine between the two of you when Carbine says it," Smokescreen said at last, wryly. "Which, by the sound of things, might take a while. I think...look, I think Carbine should probably go see a medic in regards to the whole not being able to talk properly possibly due to processor damage thing. Because honestly? I'm kinda concerned that you've reduce him to static."

Here, Smokescreen levelled a disappointed look at the yellow bot. It was a look that said, I can't believe you hit a mech only moments after you potentially crippled him.

Smokescreen nodded at Bee's own injuries. "Heck, you could do with seeing Ratchet as well."

[Carbine]

Carbine had no idea what was being said, and merely looked between the two with equal parts confusion, and extra confusion. To him, the entire start of the story was just static and noises, droning on in a way that made Bumblebee's typical Basic speech sound eloquent and sophisticated. Despite this obnoxious chatter however, he saw the scout's thumbs up.

Too confused and lost to really know what he was agreeing too, Carbine warily lifted up his hand, and pushed his thumb up to return the gesture. It was slow, gradual, as if unsure, but he did it, trying to play along to save his own hide. After he made the motion, his mind seemed to catch up to what was going on, and he re-did the thumbs up a bit more enthusiastically, the bottom edges of his optics hooking to make a sort of mock gleeful expression while the real story began.


Wow...

Bumblebee sure could talk a LOT.

Like, this was an insane amount of verbiage.

Carbine could only stare out in confusion as the smaller mech prattled on to explain the entire story. It left out very little details, and covered everything completely and to the letter, not that the helicopter mech could tell. Bolo however seemed interested, actually having the capability to piece together some of what was being said which... wasn't much of anything.

The black posts that had served as ears for the canine Cassette, eased up from their pinned back position, flicking occasionally when a word was said that he recognized. They were not straight up however, still slanted back in nervous wariness of the other two, but he didn't look like he was ready to chew someone's face off any longer. Granted... it was hard to tell anyway, since his face had no malleable features, and his eyes were just flat disks that could dim or brighten in illumination. All he really had where his ears, and body posture.

His stance was a bit ridged, but he wasn't hunched any longer, instead his chest pushed forward and helm held high with proud power and valiant defense. Bolo looked regal, if that was even a possibility for the weird little animal, but it all ended when Carbine reached down and grabbed onto his harness.

Bolo let out a short little noise, a sort of pop sound of surprise when he was grasped onto, only to be lifted lean off of the ground. Small paws hung down below him, and kicked momentarily, before Carbine wrenched the canine up, and swung him over his head to hatchet him towards his own spine. It looked like a brutal motion, like he was getting ready to slam the dog down, or hit himself with the Cassette's body, but Bolo twisted and began a transformation process, locking down into the two sockets on Carbines back, and sinking into the multiple latches that wove their frames together.

In just a moment, Bolo's frame meshed into his back, and Carbine was left solitary and alone, his hand pulling back to grasp at his lower back where the dog's own frame partly lay now.

Carbine had wanted to get Bolo out of the way, not in any mood for the dog to get in more trouble, but he also wanted to cover his back again. He felt vulnerable, exposed, and the injury to the vent back there made him even more painfully aware of his weakness. However, having Bolo docked was now putting pressure on the damaged spot, and he wasn't too thrilled by this. He would cope however, rubbing his lower back momentarily, before he dropped his limbs back to their side, seeing Smokescreen was chatting now to Bumblebee.

This was his opportunity.

Wanting to make as little sound as possible while the two were distracted and talking, Carbine lifted up one of his peds, and slowly transformed it into the wheeled state. His sharp ped folded down and back, disappearing within plates that flared open to admit it passage. With his foot now just the wheel that composed of his heel and later his tail rotor in alt-mode, he gingerly placed it back down, and put his weight upon it.

One gentle push, and Carbine was ohhhh so slowly gliding in the direction of the door, hoping they didn't notice him. Hoping they didn’t notice the massive black and white Cybertronian... just lazily rolling his way over...



He wasn't sneaky.

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee had noticed Smokescreen's expression change from a squint to flat out gawp, and yet found that he just couldn't stop talking. Like somehow he thought that if he told the entire story of what happened and drove in the point that things were fine, everything would work out. That if he showed that things were alright now, there would be zero issue and he wouldn't get into trouble for getting into a fight!

--Things are good! Look!-- He pointed at Carbine as the helicopter did the most enthusiastic thumbs up, and he even had the expression to match! Perfect yes. Good. Everything was fine. Sure, Carbine didn't talk, but actions spoke louder than words, haha!

--M..Medic?-- Well there went Bumblebee's enthusiasm and good mood. Visiting a medic would probably be a wise thing to do. His door wing did hurt, the scratches all over him hurt.. But.. Ratchet would for sure scold Bumblebee over what'd happened. He'd get a lecture, and quite possibly written up or something. There was nooo need for that. None at all. He could deal without seeing a medic. He'd just.. Find someone who wouldn't lecture him to try and fix up the wing or something! Yeah!

--Noo. No. Don't need a medic! I'm fine! See!--

He would flutter his wings as if proving yet another point, that things were fine and that he was fine. But the fact he visibly winced as he did, could barely move the damaged wing, and shuddered in pain? Yeah he wasn't fooling anyone but himself.

Ow okay that didn't work. Still, Bumblebee would find his enthusiasm once more as he kept pushing it.

--Carbine doesn't need one either! Look see he's..-- He stopped mid beep, watching Carbine curiously. What was Carbine doing? Bolo was docked again, that made sense. There wasn't any point in the canine being out now that the pair probably had to get back to work. Which was what they'd do.. Right? Right??

No.

Well, at least it didn't seem that way. Since Carbine was now wheeling toward them.. Or at least, toward the door which Smokescreen had just entered through. The only door in here. Carbine. Carbine...

--He's uh. Yeah he's fine! Aahah..--

He had the right idea. Running away was a good idea. Bumblebee would loop his arms behind his back, taking a step backwards himself. He was closer to the door, and could make a swifter and hopefully more successful retreat. He hoped that Smokescreen would be distracted enough by Carbine's lack of talking and the fact he was trying to escape to make his own little not-so-subtle-attempt at leaving.

[Deleted]

Today was a very weird day, Smokescreen decided.

His gaze swiveled between Bumblebee and Carbine's most enthusiastic, totally genuine thumbs up. Did Carbine even understand what they were talking about? Smokescreen wasn't sure. Not being able to speak didn't necessarily mean that he was deaf but it did feel like the mech was only pretending to understand what was going on.

--Noo. No. Don't need a medic! I'm fine! See!-- 

Smokescreen cocked a wry optic ridge at Bee's damaged wing and the wince that accompanied it. Come on buddy. You aren't fooling anyone here.

"Yeah, you're right Bee, that doesn't look painful at all," he replied drolly.

--Carbine doesn't need one either! Look see he's..--

Smokescreen looked. That wry look transferred over to the totally stealthy large helibot rolling towards him and the door. But movement in the corner of his optic caught Bumblebee's own incredibly sneaky play for the door.

Oookay then.

Come on guys, he was the closest mech to the door, how did they expect to make a break past him without him noticing? Smokescreen would have to be blind to fail to notice either one of them.

Deciding that one out of two of his goals was acceptable -stop the fight from going any further-, he stepped out of the way with a shrug to let them go past him. What exactly was he going to do to stop them?

"If you guys want to leave, that's fine," he said, with an amused tone. "I'm not going to stop you."

Smokescreen would wait until Bumblebee had passed him before casually adding:

"I guess I'll drop by the med-bay later just to check with Ratchet that you all got patched up."

[Carbine]

Carbine didn't care if he was noticed; he just cared if he ESCAPED.

He was outnumbered now, and that wasn't a good thing. I mean... technically no, he had Bolo, and that meant there was two of him that could contend against two of them, but the canine really only counted as a half. He was a tool, a sentient utility that was maybe more akin to two thirds a person if you were being generous with it. Bolo could probably drag one of them down to the ground and try to hold them there, but... he was meant to help the dog at that point and proceed forward, not just assume he could deal with them indefinitely while he dealt with someone else.

All he needed was the opening in which to flee, and it had been offered to him, but the situation had conflicting emotions surging and contending with him at every given corner, making him feel like he wasn't acting true to his SELF. He knew he should stand his ground; he should stay strong and remain put. In Garrus you rooted your peds down and you had to bark back with the full violence and power you were capable of, less others learn they can push you around easily as a pawn or a tool to further their own plans. You only didn’t bark back to those that were obviously bigger, better, and stronger than you, and the two smaller Cybertronian didn't classify as big and bad enough in his eyes to count.

They were smaller, and while their skill had been untried and unchallenged, in Garrus first impressions were garnered by height alone, and how much mass you had to throw behind your attacks. The littler individuals had to prove themselves in combat, so their legacy would carry on and act as the deterrent to keep others from challenging them.

Bumblebee had some skill to him, that was certain. The fight had been short, and sloppy, not really zeroed in as a TRUE fight in which they were trying to SERIOUSLY hurt one another, but... he had shown why he was still alive in this war. In contrast, Smokescreen hadn't. He knew nothing of this mech other than the Elite Guard icon that was emblazoned on his Autobot insignia. Carbine hadn't missed that, and didn't know what to make of it, it possibly labeling him as a bigger threat than he seemed.

Alas... for all the will and all the want to stand his ground, he also just wanted out of here. He was hurt, and while it wasn't a BAD would, it was one landed in the unarmored portion of his back, and to the rotor which was... a new kind of pain he didn't like. But... did he want to look weak? Did he want to look feeble? Right now he had it set up perfectly to hide his distress behind humor, he had it perfect to roll on out of there and give the two individuals that were looking at him a thumbs up before gliding around the corner...

Then Bumblebee moved to block his path since he was nearer the door.

He was NOT going to be trapped here.

Instantaneously Carbine's own lax posture and field, rippled out and ruptured into a stance that was far more defensive and aggressive. His shoulders hunched down, and the rotor on his back that was still functional hiked up in alarm. Long slender panels draped from the post behind him, the components flaring apart with a warbled rattle. Paired with this, his forearms lifted up again with hands curled into fists, daring, CHALLENGING Bumblebee to actually try to stop his retreat.

He regretted the motion just as fast as it took to take it.

This was prison and trained instinct talking. This was FEAR talking. He didn't LET fear dictate him... he had to rule over it and be who HE was. But... this was rough, and he felt vulnerable not being able to understand anything. He didn't really know these other people.

Carbine stood there with his fists up, his stance broad and shoulders hunched, waiting to see what would happen next.

[Bumblebee]

Escape seemed to be the best course of option right now.

Even though in the long run it was a stupid idea. They'd both leave the room, the shelves unfinished... They would've failed to do their task, and they had a witness now to what they'd both done and not done. Which was to get into a huge fight over stupid slag, and not complete the most basic of tasks. Bee would be letting down his team. He'd be letting down the Prime. It was so unlike him to want to leave the room without doing his job through to the end! But sadly he was caught up in the moment. Carbine obviously thought it was a good idea to flee; and so Bee, easily swayed and influenced by others sometimes, did too.

He passed Smokescreen and took a couple of steps down the corridor. So far so good. For some reason it hadn't clicked that once he was out of the room he would just be making things a hundred times worse for himself.

That last thing that Smokescreen said, however, made it click.

Oh how it clicked.

Bumblebee froze mid-step, inadvertently blocking Carbine as he too tried to escape the room. Bee tensed up, staring down the corridor. Thinking. One could almost hear his processor as he began to weigh up the pros and cons of the situation, and... Well, there weren't many pros. Sure he'd get to leave, to escape.. But he'd feel guilty for doing so for the rest of the day. They'd have to apologize for not only leaving, but for also leaving things unfinished. They'd have to explain the fight. They'd have to explain why neither of them went to the Medical Bay. They'd probably have to come back down here to finish the shelves as they had been assigned to build them. Nobody else.

He couldn't think about it for long, as he sensed Carbine's field ripple with aggression behind him. Arrgh, what now!?

He'd swivel quickly on his heel, doing a 180; only to be met with the sight of Carbine with his arms up, servos curled into fists. His posture and stance showed he was on the offense, and Bumblebee was confused as to why. Things were good between them, weren't they? They'd both done a thumbs up and had stopped beating the slag out of each other! Why was he all of a sudden wanting to attack Bee again?

Bee's first instinct was to raise his own arms up in defense, servos curled into fists. If Carbine wanted to box? Bumblebee knew for sure he could kick the fraggers aft. But... Something stopped him and he'd quickly shake his head, uncurling his servos and holding them up where they could be seen; as a display of passiveness and complete submission. He didn't want to fight, not anymore. He hurt enough as it already was, and he didn't want to get into more trouble than he already would be.

--Heeey now. No. Nooo... Don't need to be doin' that. Calm down, Carbine, aight? We good, man. We good!--

It was pointless talking, he'd realized earlier that the helicopter couldn't understand him. But maybe it'd help. Somehow.

He'd quickly sidestep, standing with his back almost flush against the wall. He would've, if it weren't for his damaged wing – any pressure on that and he'd be yelping with pain again; but he hoped that by side-stepping and getting out of Carbine's way? That things would be okay. He'd remain tensed up, however. Nervousness in his field, just incase this was the wrong move and he should've accepted Carbine's silent challenge to the fight.

At least Smokescreen was seeing all this.

[Deleted]

Smokescreen...wasn't seeing this.

Not at first, at least.

Everyone else might have been heading out of the room but he'd moved further in, to get a better look at the mess Bee and Carbine had caused. His head was tilted towards the floor as his gaze drifted from discarded shelf piece to shelf piece. Surely not everything had been damaged and even though the instructions were lost...well, if he could find a piece of a box, then he could get some details about the shelf kit. Maybe the brand or an identification for the item itself.

And with that...wasn't the internet supposed to like some sort of infinite repository of everything to know about humans? Maybe he could find something like an instruction manual or a tutorial?

Smokescreen only became aware something was off when he heard the quiet rattle of Carbine's armour, then Bee suddenly telling Carbine to calm down.

He raised his head to look up at what they were doing. Surely just walking out of the room was a straightforward and painless task…

But no, there Carbine stood, in an aggressive stance in the doorway. Smokescreen couldn't see Bumblebee from where he was. What had set the helibot off? The young Autobot frowned, uncertain what the problem was.

He didn't move from where he was though, it was possible that getting close would make things worse with Carbine. But he could remind them that he was still here, watching and would step in if things escalated.

"Everything alright there?"

[Carbine]

Hearing Smokescreen speak was definitely a good reminder. It showed Carbine he was outnumbered, and the two of them could probably do some damage if they really put their mind to it. The runt yellow mech had to have lived this long for a reason, and the Elite Guard had to have some kind of training to back him up. If only Carbine was aware of just how 'green' Smokescreen truly was, then his words may not honestly have held as much force and impact. He was basing their skill level completely upon their badge, a badge that once upon a time held a lot of power and weight behind it. Something Carbine didn't know was watered down by now...

The ex-cop looked between the two of them, his hands lowering a bit from being ready to punch someone's helm off, to just being on the defensive, mirroring Bumblebee's own motions. He danced warily between his pride and what he wanted for the moment, not wanting to look like a coward, and not needing to be trapped in here. How could he 'flee' without looking like he really WAS fleeing because he had been cornered and didn't feel comfortable or secure in the moment? How could he get away without compromising the strength he tried to portray to others?

Seeing Bumblebee back off fully was really the last straw to cement to himself that he should probably leave, his rotors... or... one rotor... rising up to rattle in its socket a moment in agitation before smoothing flat down to settle and mirror the broken one. He reassured himself that retreating now wasn't a sign of weakness, as he was hurt, he was outnumbered, and he couldn't even understand them anyway. He wouldn't be of much use if they decided they DID want him to continue building the shelves, and... well... wait...

They did have a job, but... no...

Taking a few more steps at the door, Carbine kept his front angled at the two the best he could as he walked, striding at an angle so that his side and back was never facing either of them fully. It was while he did this, he started to make some broad gestures with his hands, trying to convey what he was thinking to them to the best of his abilities.

Carbine's right hand lifted pointer and middle finger extended and tapping down over the yellow glow of his eyes on his faceplate. There was a light clink as he tapped, before pointing out at Bee, scowling a bit as he did so. With his warning given, he then got a bit more complex. His hand transitioned to a thumbs up to gesture at his dislocated rotor, before he held up both pointer and middle fingers again, folding them over one another into a cross shape. Carbine tapped this gesture together a couple times with a clunk of the armor over his fingertips, only to then fold his middle fingers, extend his thumbs, and point at the door, swooping his hands a couple times in that general direction in tandem.

He was making his motions as clear as he could, raising a hand then to tap at the side of his helm before he cupped his hand under his jaw in a way to mimic clutching his throat. Pushing this grasping motion out to slide off the end of his jaw and project out, he paired the motion with a clicking sound from his damaged vocals, repeating the action a couple times. When this was conveyed... or was just confusing them more... he plunked the pointer and middle finger of his right hand down into the open palm of his left, and 'walked' the fingertips back into the direction of the room's center. To punctuate all this, he sharply jabbed in the direction of the shelves, making a snorting noise that didn't really add anything to translation.

Carbine stood there a moment, waiting to see and maybe figure out if they 'got' him.

[Bumblebee]

--Uuuhh... A hesitant yeeeeeah? I think so?--

He beeped quietly back at Smokescreen. That was a good question. Were things alright in here? Well... It was hard to tell. For right now? Sure. He hadn't been beaten into a pulp by Carbine, but he knew that could change in the blink of an optic should Carbine choose to take Bee's immediate reaction to his aggressive stance as more of a threat, despite him backing down near instant.

His gaze never left the ex-cop, watching warily as he lowered his servos. He was all for feigning passiveness and then lunging into an attack, so he wasn't sure if this was a fake-out or not. His field showed as much, and he was cautiously alert. He kept his own servos up, watching as he awkwardly shifted forwards. He noticed how Carbine moved, and tilted his head curiously.

Then came the gestures with his servos.

Bee's attention immediately shifted to watch the other mech's servos. While Carbine couldn't communicate out loud, at least he could still communicate with his hands. Or at least, he probably hoped so – whether Bee and Smokescreen understood what he was trying to convey was another story altogether, but Bee would try his best.

He watched.

The first part was simple enough. He'd seen people make that gesture on TV... Where they'd point to their eyes and then point and glare at the person in question. Bee was being watched or... Targeted? Fair enough. He wasn't sure why. Carbine had started this whole thing. He wasn't scared.

He lowered his servos fully as he continued to watch, trying to make sense of what Carbine was trying to say through the limited hand gestures.

Rotor... Okay.. Cross shape... Medic? He was going to see Ratchet? Or at least get his rotor repaired?

Then Carbine tapped his helm, then a servo shifted to his throat. At first Bumblebee was confused. Was that a threat? A dig at the fact Bumblebee couldn't speak? WAIT. The accidental helm injury was why Carbine couldn't speak! Well duh, that much was obvious. Bee had worked that out near instantly. He was talking fine before it happened, and then WHOOPS. Static nonsense. Alright.

The aperture lenses of his optics would whir as they adjusted to watch Carbine 'walk' his digits across his palm, then he'd glance up as a sharp jab was thrown back in the direction of the shelves.

--I... Uh... I thiiiink he's trying to say that he's goin' to go get his rotor fixed.. And thaaat the smack to the helm is why he can't talk right now. But he'll be... Baaaack? To fix the shelves when he's repaired...?--

He sounded so very unsure, his own helm tilted like a puppy who didn't quite understand what was being said to him. He curled his digits into his palm and held his servo up, doing the most hesitant, confused thumbs up at Carbine, as if giving him the 'okay' for this – or at least, the 'okay' for what Bee interpreted it as. Because he sure as hell wasn't going to build these shelves alone. This was a two person job, and he would for sure go and find Carbine if he chose to run away and avoid his duties for too long.

–...Please tell me that's what ya got from that, too, Smokescreen?--

[Deleted]

Smokescreen kept wary watch over Carbine, waiting to see what the helibot's next action would be. It apparently was...bewildering the frag outta Smokescreen.

His gaze focused on Carbine's hands, trying to make sense of the elaborate gestures. The pointing at his optics then in Bee's general direction…Carbine was watching Bumblebee…? The scowl he gave added animosity….some sort of threat then - at Bee.

With that deciphered, the next bit got way more confusing. Something about his rotor and the door...leaving to do something about his rotor? Whatever it was, Smokescreen hoped it was to do with getting it fixed. It looked painful.

…

Okay, now he had no idea what Carbine was on about. Head...throat...weird clicks from Carbine's vocaliser…. Something to do with why he couldn't speak…? Going away and then back for the shelves…?

While Smokescreen was still pondering over what Carbine was trying to convey, he was glad that Bumblebee seemed to have put it together faster than he had. As Bee hesitantly went over his interpretation, things began to come together for Smokescreen and he could see now what Bumblebee meant where previously he'd been confused.

"Sounds right to me," he said more confidently. He flashed Carbine a thumbs up that was more bold and assured than Bumblebee's, not that Smokescreen could see what Bee was doing.

[Carbine]

Right or wrong, Carbine wouldn't be able to tell them. Their muttered replies and comments, trying to piecemeal together what he had implied, were just a low hum with rise and pitches woven within to signify it was indeed words and not just a noise they were making. There were a few warbles that sounded kind of like words, close enough to make him want to have them repeat themselves, a sure sign that his auto repair was angrily trying to fix the connection, but he knew it'd be some time yet before he would KNOW know what was being said.

Either way, they seemed confused, that much was a given. The looks on their features, the squinted gaze of someone trying to piece together a puzzle, it screamed they were puzzled, but they didn’t give up. The bewilderment didn't lead to a hike of the shoulders or a motion of the hands to try to urge Carbine to try again or repeat what he had said. Instead, they conversed, and then gave him thumbs ups! They had to have understood it well enough right?

Sure...

Close enough.

Giving up as well, Carbine swung both his hands down at once while rolling his helm around in a sarcastic roll of his eyes. This situation was wrapped up, they seemed happy, and he wanted to get out of here about ten minutes before he even stepped foot in the room to begin with. Because of this, he kicked off the ground lazily once move, causing himself to roll and skate backwards and out of the doorway. He made sure to keep his front facing them, in case they were going to try to do something questionable... but it appeared he was in the clear!

Once as safe as he could be out in the hallway, Carbine's right hand pulled back to rub at his lower back, grimacing in pain at the soreness he felt there. Bolo shifted marginally in his dock from this, but otherwise remained in place, latching down into the connective points to splay out and try to protect his owners back even further. After this motion, the ex-cop would push off and lazily skate down the hall, looking to seek the assistance he had said he would track down before.