[ti]Ep 2[/ti]Ep 2- Dancing In The Ring of Fire [ Closed | Bumblebee ]

[Breakdown]

     Breakdown didn't need a step-by-step narration of what the bugbot was doing. Everything from when he was reaching and to hold still, then when he was going to attempt to pull himself out, to...

     THUD

     ... To the entire thing not working out. Well, with that fiasco over Breakdown just stood there and rolled his optic. CLEARLY it hadn't worked or else Bee would have been outside of this stupid hole and running off to help.

     Maybe.

     Okay, so in a way Breakdown was happy that this hadn't worked out for them. Somehow he didn't believe that the bot would actually go for help. He more expected that he would run off, get back to the neutral base and return to putting things away with 'no idea what happened to Breakdown'. No way the little bug would admit that this was his fault. He would turn the story around and make it seem like Breakdown had put a weapon to his helm and forced him from the base or something ridiculous like that. That had to be the case, or at least it had crossed his mind or else karma wouldn't have been reduced to the fate he currently was going through.

     Breakdown looked at him, noting the small bit of energon that was on the ground. Serves him right, really. This had to be some form of Primus smiling down on him or something.

     "Looks like ya sprung a leak. Let me take a look." No, Breakdown was not offering that because he was genuinely concerned. Joke was over. They were both damaged to some degree and it wouldn't do for the lighter of the two ( who, sadly, had the more likely chance of getting out and finding help somewhere ) to pass out because his wound was more severe than they thought.

     "If you're still able to function maybe we can see about... I don't know. Throwing you or something." Really, it could probably be done if Breakdown tossed him hard enough with a good bit of swing. Whack him with one of the hammers? Piece of cake.

[Bumblebee]

--A what? Oh!--

Bumblebee would swivel his top half slightly, twisting himself so he could try and get a better look at where he'd hurt himself. Thanks to him being smaller than Breakdown, he could see the wound no issue.

--Pff that ain't nothin'. Don't need ya looking at it. Just an annoying scratch.-- He scowled, poking at the wound while occasionally glancing back up to make sure Breakdown stayed where he was. While this was a 'nicer' Decepticon compared to some others, Bumblebee trusted him about as far as he could throw him. Which was to say? Not at all.

A few pokes later to show that he was fine – and that he could feel the damn thing, since Breakdown for whatever reason couldn't feel his own wound... He'd shift one servo to his hip, the other still clutching the metal pipe that'd betrayed him.

--I can function but I ain't letting ya throw me! No way!--

Surely Breakdown had to be joking? Although from the tone of his voice? He wasn't... What a stupid idea, though. He didn't trust Breakdown, he didn't trust him to be able to throw that far. What if he picked Bumblebee up and then smushed his hands together and crushed him? What if he missed and threw him into the wall at full force just as a joke?

--What about... We kick at the wall or something to get more dirt down and build our way out? Or build up a lil bit at least so we're higher and I can stand on your shoulders again? Waaaaaay more exciting and better for both of us than throwing me.--

It was the longer route, as it'd take a while to pack the soil to support both of their weight – but there was absolutely no way he was going to allow himself to be thrown upwards and out.

--See, look.--

He'd move over to one side of the hole and started to kick at the wall. The soft, crumbling dirt would begin to give almost instantly and would begin to pile at his feet. It was going to take forever doing it this way, and he hadn't thought to ask Breakdown to use his hammers – but hey, maybe he was smart enough to work that out himself.

[Breakdown]

     Breakdown just stood there staring at Bee as he kicked at the dirt to try and make a mound. If the bugbot thought for a split klik that would hold him, then he must of knocked his processor loose on the way down here. He could see that the smaller mech was already sinking into what he had made, which mean that Breakdown would be lucky if he didn't go right on through it.

     "What are you scared of, Bug? It's not hard. Unless you don't think you can handle the heights. Not scared of flying are ya?"

     Breakdown would walk over to Bee and press his servo to the wall where he'd just been kicking. This thing? No way would it work. Sure, it crossed his processor to use his hammers to make this go faster, but he really just wanted an excuse to hurl Bee. The goal was to get him high enough that he could grab onto the wall. If he HIT the wall? Minor misjudgment of distance- nothing serious.

     Then came movement. Breakdown reached for Bee around the waist and moved to take hold of him with his energon-stained servos. Bee could have kicked and fussed as much as he wanted, but truth was that this was a very confined space so even if he got away it would only be a matter of time until Breakdown got ahold of him.

     "Just shut up and let me do this."

     If successful in his handling, Breakdown would position the bot on one arm and draw it back before jerking it forward to literally launch the bug towards the opening of the hole above. Breakdown had swung Bulkhead around like he was a doll before, so this tiny bot? Piece of cake. If he was not successful he would walk after him in this tiny closed of space, waiting to wear him down until he would just give up and THEN Breakdown would launch him.

     Either way, he was going to see if Bee could fly like the little insects he was so endearingly nicknamed after.

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee would continue to kick at the dirt in some futile attempt to prove a point. This was going to work, he knew it was! It was basic physics! If they kicked enough dirt down here, eventually it'd refill the hole that'd been made, and they'd be able to climb out. Sure he was kinda sinking into the dirt that'd fallen, but that was just packing it down and making it stronger!

Breakdown's voice made him pause momentarily before he'd resume kicking at the wall.

--Scared of flying? No!-- He lied. Well, it was half a lie. As a grounder he knew that he didn't want to find himself falling out of the sky anytime soon, but if he were somewhere safe like a shuttle or inside one of those awesome planes that could carry cars? Then that wasn't too scary.

But being thrown upwards with the possibility of missing and being thrown face first into a wall? He'd pass on that. It wasn't like Breakdown could even judge him – he was a grounder too, and he'd already hurt himself after the little fall down here – imagine how much worse it'd be if he had to be thrown out of here!

He'd continue to kick as Breakdown walked over, not stopping as the Decepticon placed his servo against the wall. Only when Breakdown reached forward did Bumblebee stop his movements – and that was only out of shock, and a brief moment of panic. He was actually serious?!

The second Breakdown's servo made contact with Bumblebee's frame, he'd flinch and jump away – scrambling backward over the pile of dirt he'd just made.

--Whoa whoa! Whoa man! No!--

His arms would shift so they were held up defensively. This wasn't happening.

--Seriously! Just try the dirt thing! It's gonna work! Then we'll try our comms again and then if nothing else works, then we can try this! Till then? Stay over there and don't touch me.--

If Breakdown tried again with this idiotic plan? Bumblebee's comm just might have to 'magically' start working again – given it wasn't even broken to begin with.

[Breakdown]

     The way that Bee scrambled away from him made him snort in amusement. If it were this easy to scare the sorry excuse for a pager then he would have taken this route a long time ago! For the moment Breakdown actually forgot the situation they were in and lightly chuckled at what he had just seen. Granted, a 'light chuckle' from him sounded more like booming laughter given the mass of his frame and the way the sound carried around them.

     "What a coward. Ya act like your pedes haven't left the ground before! Does your Leader keep you safely covered and tucked in like a fearful little sparkling when it storms to? Or does he tend to you and read you stories when you have nightmares?" Breakdown was definitely getting his punches in while he could and, for once, they weren't the physical kind. In all the times he had faced Bee on the field he had never known him to run away in spite of the clear size difference and risk of some pretty severe damage should Breakdown land a clear shot on the smaller mech.

     The truth of it? Breakdown was the among the youngest on the Decepticon team- younger than even Knock Out- and Bee was probably the same. Sometimes it was hard to realize that this was the case for the two of them, but they were both sparked during the war so it was all they knew. The difference in the pair was that Bee had been provided support from his team and encouragement in spite of what had happened to him at the hands of Megatron. Breakdown? That support was only given to him by Knock Out. By the time the medic had shown up in his life Breakdown was already pretty much a hardened soldier with little care if he came back from the battlefield or not. Bee had the option to fail a mission and not have to face dire consequences from that. Breakdown? A failure from him was not an option since he was not indispensable. The more failures he had, the more his usefulness was put into question.

     The two just didn't have a cozy time curling up in safety as youngsters. Both had to grow fast for the every changing war-torn Cybertron and their personas were greatly shaped by the environments they were exposed to. Honestly, if the two had ended up knowing each other before faction changes had happened? They probably would have been able to be friends. They probably still could if being on opposing sides wasn't a contributing factor.

     Musings for another time. Now that Breakdown had gotten a good laugh in it was time to focus on the matter at hand. They were trapped in a giant hole in the ground and they needed to get out of it. Neither could really agree on what they wanted to do as a resolve but something had to happen fast.

     "Alright, we'll try the dirt thing idea first. Though I doubt that it's gonna be able to support me since I'm way heavier than you." Breakdown turned to the mound that had been started by the bot and shifted his servos into their trademark hammers and started to smash at the wall Bee had previously kicked at. Dirt was falling, that was for sure, but it was also making a ton of noise and... well.. probably causing more harm than good to be honest. The ground was still fragile around them and the sinkhole was hardly a stable structure, so as the dirt came down? The wall started to shake as well and soon enough the support of the remaining bits of road above them started to give. Any more of that and it would all come crashing down around them.

     Not that Breakdown would notice, since that would mean needing to have an optic focused overhead and he had to pay attention to what he was doing.

[Bumblebee]

It wasn't that Bumblebee was scared. It was more of a... Not trusting Breakdown as far as he could throw him... To throw him... Thing. There may have been a truce, but that didn't mean that Breakdown was above getting in a cheap shot of throwing Bee headfirst into a wall and calling it an 'accident'. Truce or not, Bee didn't trust him – at least not to the level of allowing himself to be thrown.

He was sure Breakdown would feel the same if it were Bumblebee who had offered to throw Breakdown up and out of this ridiculous hole. Well, if he was big enough to even do that, anyway. Point was, he wasn't scared. Just... Untrusting and overly wary.

But then Breakdown said something that made Bumblebee stop in his tracks. His arms fell limp to his sides, door-wings hiking up some in offense, and his servos curled into tight fists - and he stared fiercely across at Breakdown. Coward.

He called him a coward.

The rest of what Breakdown said, luckily for the bigger blue mech, was muddled with angry static as Bee focused on that one word that stung like hot knives stabbing into his joints. Didn't... Didn't Breakdown know what Bumblebee had been through? What he'd endured? The torture? The reason for his lack of voice?

He was anything but a coward!

--Pretty sure I ain't ever run away from a fight before, unlike you.-- He quipped quietly in response, referring of course to when Breakdown and Knock Out ran away in Greece. He wouldn't add more to this sentence, as he wasn't looking for a fight – especially not down here with someone much bigger than he was, but there was certainly one coward here – and it wasn't him.

He could've gone on. Mentioned MECH. But that wasn't like Bumblebee. He knew what it was like to have others keep making cruel jabs about things, and he wouldn't do it to anyone else – regardless of faction. Well, at least not while he was stuck in a place where he had no real means of escape.

--Whatever, though.-- He quickly added before things got awkward or tense, starting to make his way over to Breakdown since the bigger mech had finally agreed to do Bumblebee's plan. He watched as Breakdown's servos shifted, and stood well back as he began to pummel into the wall with his hammers. It was going well for all of two seconds, before Bumblebee realized this wasn't going to work.

And that if he kept going? This wouldn't end well.

--Hey hey!! Stop!-- He beeped frantically as he scrambled over, while being careful not to get struck with those hammers. He was confused as to why Breakdown hadn't noticed the impending collapse, and concerned as to why he hadn't stopped on his own. Hopefully, he could hear the beeps over the noise.

--HEY!!-- He'd beep louder that time. Just incase.

[Breakdown]

     Breakdown was used to things moving when his hammers were involved, so when the dirt around him started to fall he just assumed that it was coming lose from his strikes and thought little to nothing of it. He didn't hear Bee the first few times that he beeped, just going on with this stupid plan of his. But hey, if it worked? He'd never hear the end of it. He didn't even care about that just as long as they got themselves out of this stupid hole.

     The distraction for the other mech played a huge part in why he didn't take note to anything. To those on the outside ( and those who weren't Knock Out ), he would have just looked like a mindless fool, slamming away at the wall in front of him. They would probably pipe in with jokes about digging a hole to China or the center of the Earth or whatever, that he would have been too dumb to know otherwise. Breakdown wouldn't have cared. He would have just been thinking... and he would only become more immersed in them the longer he swung for.

     MECH. They still drove him into fits, most of the time pulling him out of recharge prematurely and leading him to lash out at his partner should Knock Out not be on his guard. They'd gotten better, but Breakdown never stopped thinking about them. About his revenge. About smashing each and every one of that group's members into the ground. To leave no trace behind. To remind the fleshlings just who was the superior race and how wrong they had been to mess with him...

     One final swing hit the wall and Breakdown heard the faint beep, which pulled him from what he was doing. "What NOW?" he asked, his tone annoyed. Why was the scout bothering him? Didn't he want to bring the wall down? What was-

     Breakdown heard the wall behind him giving in and he backed up, arms at his side as his servos returned. The dirt was coming down alright, but not in the way Bee had apparently expected it to, and certainly not in the quantity it was! As it started to fall, Breakdown turned and on instinct moved to grab for Bee and shoved him to the furthest space on the wall, then braced himself against it with servos just to the side of the yellow bot's helm. The dirt and debris struck him in the back, bouncing off his solid frame and settling to the floor at his pedes. It was merely instinctual for the big blue wall to cover the smaller mech, knowing he could take much more of a hit and wouldn't chance damage to the other.

     Of course... this was a different smaller mech, but it was all the same to his processor.

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee vented in frustration as Breakdown continued to smash away at the walls. Obviously the noise of his hammers thudding against the soft rock was drowning out Bumblebee's beeps of warning. If it weren't for the almost imminent collapse, it was quite fascinating to watch the big blue mech as he worked. He cut through the wall like it was nothing, and if it wasn't totally unstable? This plan would've totally worked.

--BREAKDOWN! YO!!-- He beeped louder that time, with a higher pitch than before so that hopefully Breakdown could hear it over the almost deafening noise.

That time it worked, and Bee flinched back just slightly as Breakdown snapped at him – knowing not to anger the bigger blue mech too much, especially with those hammers of his. He started to raise his servo to point at the wall in front of Breakdown, to show that it was about to collapse, but there was no time to do so. Luckily? Breakdown had finally noticed too.

Everything happened so fast. Breakdown's servos returned to normal but then he was hurtling toward Bumblebee – damn the big guy could move fast when he wanted to! It was a blink and you miss it moment as the smaller yellow scout was slammed into a space on the wall with a thud. A frantic beep of surprise left him as he wondered what the heck was going on. Had him yelling for Breakdown's attention made him snap and pushed him over the edge? Didn't he know about the truce?

Everything settled – or at least, it sort of did. Dirt and debris was falling around them – but not onto Bumblebee. The pings and clangs that sounded made Bee realize that it was all falling onto Breakdown. The Decepticon was... Protecting him?

Then again, it was probably because of the truce. If Bumblebee came back injured, everyone would blame Breakdown for it. Still, Bee was thankful – a second or two later and he would've been buried beneath the rubble of the collapsing wall.

After a few moments, everything settled and went still. They were lucky in that the entire wall didn't cave in, but it was evident now that building their way out of here wasn't going to work. It was all far too unstable. Once the dust and debris had settled, Bee would look up at Breakdown.

--Thanks, man... Guess that plan didn't work out after all, huh? Ya alright?-- He asked quietly. At least the damage, if any, would be superficial – some annoying little rocks between joints, dust in his systems... But it didn't look like there was any major damage at first glance.

--I suppose we'll have to do your plan after all.--

Ugh.

[Breakdown]

     The pings of falling debris from the collapsing wall was barely felt as most of it hit his upper chassis where he was heavily plated from his tires and spare kibble. He didn’t move, holding his ground until everything finally stilled around him. He lingered for a short time more just to make sure things hadn’t stopped temporarily, then finally pushed away when Bee spoke to him.

     Physically he was good- a couple bits and pieces in his joints that would be annoying but nothing that he wouldn’t be able to deal with ( a common thing for him since he usually waited until Knock Out forced him into the washracks to remove all the junk ). He rotated his shoulders, listening for anything that seemed out of place but nothing was achy and none of his systems warned him of any real damage. Some pieces did hit the open wound he had but that would have to be cleaned out by Knock Out later since he wasn’t able to do it on his own and he definitely wasn’t going to have Bumblebeep do it.

     “Yeah, I’m good. You?” He brushed his servos together to knock the soot from them. “Thanks for the warning. Guess I was too focused on what I was doing to notice.” Not that he really thought Bee had done it for his benefit. If the wall had collapsed it would have trapped both of them here, so he only assumed he warning was more geared towards self preservation. He reached a servo out to take Bee’s own to assist him from the awkward backward slump position he had been thrown into. Once he had he would pull him gently, recognizing that a hard yank would probably send the smaller mech flying somewhere, and really it had just been enough to stabilize him on his pedes. With that done he looked back at what they were dealing with now.

     The section of the wall that collapsed had made a decent pile, but it had carved out a section similar to a ‘C’ shape that hollowed out from the bottom halfway up and left the upper portion highly unstable. Breakdown didn’t think for a second that it would hold long, and then they both would be in trouble. He walked over to inspect it, pushing a servo against it as he felt around for anything else that may be loose but everything seemed packed pretty tight. At least they had some time.

     His attention went to Bee again and he nodded towards the opposite side- the wall Bee had been previously pinned against. “Looks like we’ll have to shoot for that side. If ya put any weight on that spot here it’ll come down for sure. Not that I think you would have a problem with that at all once you’re out.” Breakdown scoffed some but there was definitely a hint of a chuckle there. It was probably as friendly of a sound as would come out of the bulky Decepticon towards one he still considered an enemy. “I’ll stand on the pile that we made just to gain some extra ground. When you’re ready, we’ll get this rolling.”

[Bumblebee]

--Yeah, I'm good. Thanks man.--

He'd give thanks were thanks were due, even if it was to a Decepticon. Breakdown had put himself between Bee and the collapsing wall, when he didn't really have to – even if this whole mess was his fault to begin with. The warning hadn't just been for his own self preservation – although that did play a big part in it. If the wall had collapsed and Breakdown was somehow hurt, he'd have to comm for help – which would then lead to explaining why they'd both left the Neutral Base and were driving around.

--Focused is one word for it, I didn't think ya were going to stop.-- He'd comment as Breakdown reached out his servo, casting a wary glance down at it, before he'd take it with his own. At least Breakdown was one of the 'nicer' Decepticons, he could've just left Bumblebee where he was – but here he was, helping Bee out from the awkward position he'd been shoved into. Then again that was probably for his own gain, as without Bee? Breakdown was pretty much stuck down here.

Even if Bee hadn't quite worked out how he was going to get Breakdown out of here.

Once free, he'd quickly release his servo from Breakdown's and sidestep a few paces away. While deep down he knew Breakdown wasn't about to hurt him, he didn't want to be all buddy-buddy with him and stand too close. If it wasn't for the truce they would've come to blows by now, and at the end of the day he was still the enemy.

Like Breakdown, he'd look around at the damage done and the new shape of the wall. It... Wasn't as bad as it could've been. It was still far from ideal, however. He wouldn't move from where he was standing, watching as Breakdown moved to push against the wall with a servo – keeping an eye out incase it collapsed again.

--Ya reckon?-- He beeped quietly, tilting his helm as he turned his attention to where Breakdown was indicating. He didn't really want to get thrown out of here but it really was proving to be the only solution, given his own idea had backfired horribly. If only he were a little bit taller... He didn't chuckle like Breakdown did, he was honestly sick of being down here and just wanted to get out.

With a roll of his shoulders and a nod, he'd finally resigned himself to the fact that this was happening, and would make his way over to the pile of debris and dirt that they'd just made.

--Aight lets get this over with. No funny stuff. Like throwing me into the wall.--

He still had too much pride to call for help, given his comm system was still working – but if this didn't work? Then he'd probably have no choice.

He just hoped Breakdown could throw that high, and that far.

[Breakdown]

     "No throwing you into the wall? Scrap, that was the first thought on my mind. Now that you caught me, looks like we'll just have to stick with the plan." Breakdown shook his helm some and made his way over to the pile of dirt. He was careful with his footing, stomping down with a pede here and there as he made his way up. Where he sunk he would pull back from and try a different place. At one point his entire pede was covered but he just yanked back and shook it off like it was nothing. Dirt and grime was part of his everyday, honestly, much to Knock Out's dismay.

     Knock Out. Primus, he didn't want to have to explain to him why the otherwise quick trip had taken so long to get done. He'd already be fussy the moment he saw how dirty he was and would probably order him right into the wash racks before he would be allowed to step foot into the medical bay. Breakdown never thought he'd be so happy to step foot on the Nemesis again, but here he was! Wishing he was there now. Most of it didn't even have to do with Knock Out- for once.

     Finally at the top, Breakdown would turn to look at Bee as he climbed up after him. The sooner this was done, the sooner they could get out and get back to their respectable posts. So when Bee climbed up- following his steps he had made to safely reach the top- Breakdown looked to the wall they were facing and braced himself for this. He didn't really care to give Bee the chance to warm up to everything ( or, rather, to change his mind about it ) and just yanked him up into one servo. It probably would have seemed odd how easily he was able to carry Bee in a seated position on his arm, but really it was nothing to him.

     "You'll need to jump when I tell ya to. Everythin' ya got. Ready?" No, no waiting. Breakdown started to rock from side to side then spun around, gathering momentum the same way he would when he was needing to strike hard with his hammers. His servo transformed then into said weapon, giving Bee more surface area to use to push off.

     "NOW!" With two full turns, Breakdown finally hauled and threw his arm forward, hoping that Bee had listened. He had all the confidence that his throw alone would be enough to at least get the bugbot to the ledge, but it didn't hurt to have that extra bit of push just to ensure they made the mark. So up, diagonally toward the ledge, Bee went!

     Fly, Bee, Fly!

[Bumblebee]

--Hilaaaarious.-- Came the long, drawn out unimpressed beep of a reply to Breakdown's comment about throwing him into the wall. This wasn't really the time for comments like that, even if they were jokes – they'd been gone for too long now, and their respective teams were probably starting to wonder what was going on. Or at least, the Autobots would be worried about Bee. They knew he was going to the Neutral base, but all they knew was that he was dropping off supplies.

It shouldn't take this long.

Did the Decepticons wonder where Breakdown was? Not that Bumblebee really gave it much of a thought, but he figured not – after all, when Breakdown had been taken by MECH, it was the Autobots that'd come to his aid. Which meant that if anyone was to get in trouble here for returning to base late? It'd be Bee. Which was even more reason to get back there as soon as possible.

At least he had an easier time of climbing up the pile of rubble than Breakdown. The slight ache in his hip aside, he climbed swiftly and didn't sink into any of the dirt like the bigger blue mech in front of him did. He did have the added benefit of going second, so he could watch where Breakdown stepped and make a point not to follow exactly.

He scrambled up to the top quickly and moved to brush himself down – before he felt Breakdown yank him up, not giving him much time to react to anything.

--Hey, whoa dude!-- He seemed a little taken aback as he replied to Breakdown. He wanted to assess the distance from up here, gauge how and where he should aim – things like that! He wanted to actually have time to plan this out! What if it went wrong? It'd be Bee falling all the way back down here and getting hurt!

He didn't even get a chance to tell Breakdown he was ready or not, as the moment the big blue mech asked the question? He'd already begun to spin. Great. This was just great. He had no idea which way he was going to be thrown, he had no idea where he was going to land – if he was going to land at all. Breakdown, damnit!

He was alert and trying to remain focused, then again he'd be stupid not to be! He needed his wits about him if this was going to work out. Lucky he was adaptable and a quick thinker, because while he was spinning he found it very, very hard to get his bearings.

Somewhere amongst the wind wooshing through his audials and the blur that whizzed past his optics, he heard the barked yell. Now? Now?!

OH. NOW.

Bee pushed off – albeit somewhat awkwardly, given he wasn't expecting it – giving some awkward but helpful momentum to the throw. Fly he did, up... Up! This was actually going to work! It was actually go-

OOF.

Bee made it to the ledge alright. Well, sort of. He slammed into the edge, hard; servos scrambling to get a purchase so he didn't slip and tumble back downwards. He dangled for a moment, as if catching his breath and getting his bearings – before hauling himself up and over onto more solid ground.

He'd made it.

He scrambled up to his pedes, taking a cautious step or two back away from the edge incase it crumbled, and looked down at Breakdown below. His optics would whir, as he took a moment to take it in – before he held up one servo with a digit extended, as if saying wait a second.

Then Bumblebee would turn and run.

A minute passed. Then another. For Breakdown, they would probably drag on and feel like forever. Was.. Was Bumblebee coming back?

More time passed. It wasn't long, it really wasn't.

Then, after what felt like no doubt an eternity? Bumblebee would appear at the top of the hole.

--So there's some trees and stuff nearby!-- He beeped as loud as he could, hoping the sound would carry – unlike most Cybertronian, he couldn't really raise his voice any. --Should I drop them down or keep looking for something else?-- He could break the trees, easy. Maybe Breakdown could jam them into the sides of the wall and use them as some kind of stepping stones, or, failing that he could just stack the pile of rubble higher? Maybe?

This was going to be hard.

[Breakdown]

     If there was one thing that Breakdown had learned about Bee, it was that the bot was one of his word- similarly to his leader, so when he said he would be right back? Breakdown didn't doubt that he would. The other side of him, the one that liked to be a chatterbox and remind him of the fools around him? It had a different story to tell. The longer that bee was away, the louder it got.

     He's not coming back. He left you here to slowly offline. You have to find your own way out.

     Breakdown didn't give it the time of day.

     You'll be sorry for trusting him.

     More time. What was taking the Autobot so long?

     Told you you'd be sorry.

     He wouldn't be. When Breakdown finally saw him peek his head over the crevice above, Breakdown vented at what he had been told.

     Trees and 'stuff'? What sort of 'stuff'? 

     "A better idea of 'stuff' would be helpful!" he responded up to him. "I wouldn't throw the trees down here, though. See if you can find cables or something like that you can wrap around some trees and toss down here so I can pull myself up!" If it had been in reverse and Breakdown was the one in Bee's place, he could have just lowered something down and pulled the bugbot out with little effort, but the roles weren't reversed and Breakdown knew that Bee didn't have the strength required to lift the weight of his frame from this distance.

And frankly, he didn't want him getting caught up in this hole again and have to go through the same debacle of convincing the smaller mech to just let him THROW HIM. 

[Bumblebee]

--Ya know... Like, stuff? Uh. Rocks and things. Twigs. Dead trees. I think there's an old tire, too.-- He rubbed the back of his neck, frowning. Not that a twig or dead tree could withstand the weight of a huge mech like Breakdown, but they could possibly reinforce something – or be used to help build a way out. Somehow.

He balked some at Breakdown's suggestion, glancing over his shoulder, then back down to the hole.

--Cables? Here?-- Did Breakdown forget where they were? Then again, there were metal pipes sticking out of the walls of the hole – probably from back when this area had more human activity, and so a cable or two probably wasn't too far out of the question. Still, he hadn't seen anything like that – then again he hadn't really been looking.

--I will.. Uh.. Goooo... Look.-- He sounded unsure as he swiveled on his heel and walked off out of view once more, only to return a couple of seconds later. --Hang tight, yeah? I'll be back!-- He figured he should add that last part, just so Breakdown was aware – even if it was more than obvious that he wasn't exactly going to leave him down there. That'd just be silly, given the truce.

He'd keep his optics low as he walked, gaze drifting over the barren landscape. He was weighing up the pros and cons of calling the Omega Base for help. Even if he just had a Ground Bridge opened to his location, he could run in back to the base, grab some cables from his quarters.. And come back. Right? But then he'd have to explain where he was, what he was doing, and why he had left the Neutral base with a Decepticon. Even if their intentions – well, Breakdown's, anyway - had been good, it totally wouldn't fly.

Maybe he could ask for a bridge from his location back to the Neutral base... But then the same questions would be brought up. Ugh. That could be a last resort. They'd gotten themselves into this mess, they could get themselves out.

Only... Bee couldn't see any cables. He didn't want to stray too far – what if help somehow came because they'd been gone too long? It'd look like Bee had abandoned Breakdown! There was also the issue of humans. While they were in the middle of nowhere, that didn't really ever deter humans, and it'd be just Bee's luck if he ran into one in the middle of this desert.

He decided to walk in a straight line – he wasn't familiar with where he was, and that way he would know how to get back. He could be walking toward something useful, or he could be walking toward... A whole lot of nothing. That's what it looked like, and yet he would keep going regardless.

It must've felt like forever for Breakdown.

Especially when Bumblebee did not return.

[Breakdown]

     Bee had said he would be back, so Breakdown waited. And waited... and waited some more. It hadn't been that long before a familiar voice came creeping in, making itself known and reminding Breakdown that he was never really alone, even in a hole in the ground.

     He abandoned you.

     He ignored it and waited. More time passed without any sign of Bee or noise from above. What was taking him so long? Had it been that long?

     You're on your own.

     Where in the name of damn Primus was he?

     First he tried to sit down, just off to the side of the mound with his back against the wall to wait. That didn't last long, as he was back on his pedes again and was pacing around while looking up towards the opening every once in a while.

     Had he gotten lost? Was he coming back? He had to be, right?

     Fool.

     ... Waited...

     Or had the fragger left him here on purpose? Had he abandoned him to go back to Neutral base without him? Sit in the cozy storage room and play it off to the others that he had been there the entire time while Breakdown had left to who knew where? Without his comm working there was no way that he would be able to call out for help himself, and if some random organic decided to come past and happened to spot him? MECH could be notified. How would he be able to defend himself STUCK IN SOME DAMN HOLE?

     Oh, Breakdown was going to have it out with the bugbot if he could get out of here.

     You won't get out. He abandoned you. You'll rust here... if you're not found by the organics first.

     Knock Out would find him.

     Your medic hasn't even attempted to contact you. He's probably busy finding himself a new assistant. You'll be forgotten down here.

     Bumblebee wouldn't abandon me here. Autobots are scum, but they wouldn't leave a mech behind.

     You're not one of theirs.

     Breakdown couldn't argue with that logic, of course. He knew that Bots came for their own, but Bulk... he had come to help him back then. He had to believe that Bee carried that same spark. After all, the two heavyweights were sworn arch enemies, so if that could be put aside long enough to rescue him, then this? This should have been easy. This had to be. Bee probably had just gone to find something to get him out, or to find a way to contact someone to assist with getting him out of this hole.

     Or so he hoped that was the case. Though as the time passed? It was becoming less and less likely to be so.