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

[Bumblebee]

::--Uuuuuh. Yeah.--::

Busted! Then again it’d only been a teeny tiny little white lie. He hadn’t really wanted to call for help over the comm. Not only would he be in a world of trouble for leaving the Neutral Base, but the situation they’d gotten themselves into back there wasn’t exactly the best thing to even begin explaining. They’d gotten into a bit of a mess, both Breakdown and Bee had been injured in one way or another - and with the truce going on? Well, he didn’t want to cause trouble for either side.

That, and he’d wanted to solve the problem himself. Even if being flung out of the hole by the bigger mech hadn’t exactly been what he’d wanted, it’d worked - they’d managed to get themselves out of the situation without the need of bothering others.

::--You did fall pretty hard so that ain’t surprising. Least they’re easy to fix, right?--:: or at least, they were probably easier for the Decepticons, they had way more resources it seemed than the Autobots. Better tech, too. Granted he didn’t want to be Breakdown when he went back! Having to crawl back and explain what’d happened to someone like Megatron? No thanks! At least Bee’s injury had been rather minor - a simple scrape that his self-repair could deal with on their own. The fact it’d drawn Energon wasn’t a concern, he barely felt it anymore!

With Breakdown’s comment about him cutting in and out, Bee would make a point of driving a tad slower - just to stay in range. He knew the frustration of not being understood and having to repeat himself, and he didn’t want to make things harder on himself.

::--Oh no way, I ain’t telling anyone about this! As for the treasure I found, eh that’s easily explained away as being left behind in the DMZ by humans or somethin’! Last thing I want is for either of us to get in trouble!--:: he beepily laughed at that, but there was a certain seriousness to his tone. It’d be their weird little secret.

The comment about not being missed - it was a little odd that nobody had checked in, but they’d probably had no reason to. Bee wasn’t really the type to break the rules, so nobody would’ve assumed anything was amiss. As for the Decepticons… well, they probably didn’t care either way what their troops were doing. It was sad in a way. What if they really had gotten stuck in that hole? The Autobots would’ve noticed for sure when Bee didn’t come home and would’ve come to get him without a second thought. But would the Decepticons notice Breakdown was missing?

::--When we get back to the DMZ, ya gonna be okay at bridging back? The uuh.. Vehicon dudes, they should still be around right?--::

[Breakdown]

      :: Vehicon... dudes? Did you just use a bland organic term to describe the Vehicons?:: Breakdown was flat with his question, but then a chuckle hinted that he wasn't nearly as angry about it as it seemed have sounded. :: Dudes. Well. Okay. Yeah, they should still be around. If there's one thing to be said about them, they're pretty reliable. They're supposed to stick around and work, and when the work is done they'll just find other stuff to do. I think they enjoy being away from cooped up walls of the Nemesis whenever they can... without being shot at, at least.:: Breakdown vented some. :: This is like a Vacation for them. If nothing else, this little excursion of ours at least allowed them to enjoy it for a little longer than they would have otherwise. And they wouldn't risk spilling any word of this and risk trouble for me.::

     Breakdown continued to drive, going along as fast as he could. It was starting to get dark so he had to turn his headlights on in order to see the road ahead, less some ungrateful Earth animal decided to take a leap of fate and try to scurry across the road in a hurry just out of sight. Even if Breakdown didn't necessarily care for the humans of this planet, there was still some part of him ( deep, deep down ) that appreciated them because they WERE inhabitants of this lively little planet. As dysfunctional as they seemed to be, they made up part of the colorful, energetic world that he had grown to enjoy seeing. As such, so were the creatures, and it did bother him a bit when he saw an unfortunate failure at springing to the other side of the road towards 'greener grass' laying alongside the roads they traveled, their lives snuffed out as quickly as they had probably entered into it.

     Such a delicate balance made up this world. It was something just unheard of on Cybertron.

     :: At any rate, yeah... should be good to bridge back with little to no trouble. If anyone asks about my comm, I can come up with something that will keep us in the clear. Keep this little secret of ours just between us.::

     Breakdown was silent for a moment, then spoke again, his tone a little different from before.

     :: For what it's worth, outside of the road trying to eat us alive, that little adventure was kinda cool. Not that I will ever admit it again and if you mention it to anyone I'll deny ever saying it.::

[Bumblebee]

::--Bland? I mean… Well, I’m sure they have actual names, right? Not that I’d know them, so I was just generalizing!--::

What else was he supposed to call them? Cannon fodder? That’s what they basically were, right? Even Bee had taken out his fair share of Vehicons. Of course he wouldn’t say that out loud, nor would he call them cannon fodder. Not here, anyway. The Truce was on, and when the Vehicons weren’t actively shooting at him and trying to kill him, they seemed sorta okay.

::--Aw well I’m glad we got to help them out then I guess! I got a neat box of marbles, the Vehicons got some vacation time and you got.. Uh… Well you probably got the short end of the stick here with your broken comm!--:: he couldn’t help but chuckle, his tone was lighthearted though and he didn’t mean any kind of offense by his words. He’d had fun though, and he hoped Breakdown had too.

He hadn’t noticed how dark it’d gotten, not until the lights from Breakdown illuminated from behind, and he’d follow suit and turn his own on. He wasn’t sure if there were any animals around here but even so, it’d be nice to see where they were going!

::--Could say a box fell and hit ya or something. I mean before we came out here, we were putting stuff away in a storage room. You saw how unorganized it was! Stuff piled everywhere!--:: he wasn’t sure if that excuse would fly, Bee did always have a problem with lying - in that he hated doing it, but hey, if it meant this little excursion stayed between the two of them, he’d back Breakdown up with whatever story he told.

The moment of quiet was nice, in a way. Just driving back, the sun setting in this part of the World. It didn’t last though, and Breakdown’s voice was heard once more. If Bee wasn’t in his alt-mode, he would’ve smiled at what was said, instead he’d give a happy trill before responding.

::--Aw, agreed! Then again even the being stuck part was neat! Meant we had to work together, and ain’t that what this truce is about? Teamwork and stuff?--::

He went quiet himself then, before quickly speaking once more.

::--And no worries, our little secret! I don’t plan on talking about this to anyone!--:: okay maybe he’d mention it to Raf, but Raf could keep a secret! ::--It was cool though, thank you!--::

He’d give thanks where thanks were due - he wouldn’t have been able to come out here if it weren’t for Breakdown agreeing to things back in Haven.

Speaking of, the abandoned mine was within sight now, and Bee would speed up just a little more.

[Breakdown]

     :: Yeah, they've got actual designations. I do my best to remember each of 'em, and whatever small imperfections they've got that distinguish them from each other. It's what they deserve. They're sentient, just like the rest of us. They aren't any less than you or me.:: Breakdown went quiet for a moment. He'd had this discussion with Knock Out before and even his partner seemed to regard them as little more than canon fodder as well, in spite of his protests against it. Sometimes there were things that the cherry red mech did that reminded him of just what different sides of the planet they were really from, and the entitlement that came with that. 

     There was a vent, then a grumble, and finally Breakdown returned to the conversation after having gotten lost in his own mind for a little while. 

     :: I'm sure I'll come up with something if I get asked, but I think Knock Out would be the only one to really be bothered to. But he'd more likely go on about me needing to be more careful and how dumb I was to do whatever it was that knocked my comm out. He likes to know where I am from time to time whenever I'm out without him since the incident with MECH. He gets a little fussy when he doesn't hear from me for a while.:: 

     Breakdown heard the scout speeding up some and did his best to do the same. There wasn't much, but hey, did did manage to push out a few extra MPH to keep up. 

     :: Yeah, teamwork. Not something that I'm really used to, but it was... different? Not that I'm complaining. Usually it's just Knock Out and I on own own with that whole 'working together' thing, so it's odd to get it from someone else. Always been a loner otherwise. It'll be kinda disappointing when the truce finally dies and we have to go back to shooting at each other again- but again, you didn't hear that from me and I'll deny it if you tell anyone I said that.::

[Bumblebee]

The Vehicons had designations? Huh, and here Bee was thinking they were just nameless cannon fodder. Then again even to most Decepticons, they probably were just that. Remembering the individual names of each and every Vehicon was probably way too much effort and work for most, given they were seen as disposable.

Yet Breakdown took the time to not only learn them, but remember which one was which. Breakdown was probably one of the last Decepticons that Bee saw as being the type, but after their conversation and interaction today, he’d started to change his mind a little about the big blue brute.

::--I’m sure they appreciate that!--:: would it change anything for Bee when he was shooting them when the Truce was finally over? Probably not - just like they probably didn’t give a crap about his name, he wouldn’t dwell on the fact they had names, either. It’d be down to their lives or his.

The mention of Knock Out was weird in a way - while Ratchet cared about where each Autobot was, it wasn’t like he worried too much about it so long as they returned to the base, but Breakdown made it sound like the annoying cherry-red medic was on his back all the time about where he was and what he was doing. He had been taken by MECH, though, so maybe it was just protocol in case he was taken again. Neither side wanted that.

::--Ya ain't used to teamwork? I thought you guys were all about being united, with all kinds of rules and protocols. Way stricter than us Autobots that's for sure!--:: that wasn’t exactly a secret. ::--As for when the truce finally breaks, hopefully we don’t run into each other!--::

He may have been small but he liked to think he’d give Breakdown a run for his money.

It was kinda sad in a way that Breakdown saw the eventual end of the truce as disappointing. He seemed to be so unlike most other Decepticons though, so it wasn’t really surprising. Maybe the fact Bee had helped him out of the sinkhole meant his life would be spared should they ever meet on a battlefield, but he wouldn’t hold his breath.

Pulling into the abandoned mine, he’d shift forms, stretching his arms above his head before shaking them out.

--I guess this is where we part ways eh? I can call a bridge back no issue, you’ll probs have to tag along with the Vehicons. If Knock Out gets on ya back about your comm, blame me if ya want!-- he beepily chuckled at that, shrugging.

--Was fun though, thanks. Even if we didn’t find any Energon, it was neat.--

And with that, Bee would walk further into the base, a servo raising up to the side of his helm, no doubt calling over the comm for a bridge back to the Omega Base.

[Breakdown]

     Breakdown listened, silently thinking to himself as he considered the words Bee had said. United? It was more of a 'break the rules and you'll be dealt with'. How they were handled depended on how useful they were to the team. Breakdown had already caused his fair share of trouble in a short amount of time- his strength and partnership to Knock out were probably the only things that actually saved him from having been offlined by the Decepticons a long time ago.

     Only the fools or the ones who were close enough to Megatron to prove that things couldn't operate without them stepped out of place, merely because of their level of usefulness. This was something Breakdown was starting to learn the longer he hung around the main founders of the Decepticon forces. If you became a liability, you were no longer their problem.

     Everyone was in it for themselves. In a way, so was Knock Out, and that hurt Breakdown to have to admit. Maybe he was just a little too...

     "Right," Breakdown responded after he had transformed to his bipedal frame and stood upright within the mine. "They should be done with their stuff, so we'll probably be headed back soon."

     When the other started to walk away from him and raised his servo, Breakdown broke out a smirk and shook his helm. "At least your comm is working again. How fortunate for you." Though it was a sarcastic statement, there was still a joking tone to it, especially when it was followed by a light chuckle. "Whatever. It was fun, but don't expect any special treatment out there on the field. I'll still crush you like a bug!" A scoff, then he raised a servo to offer a half-sparked wave as he turned to walk opposite to be.

     "See ya'round, Bumblebee," he said, loud enough for the other to hear. He made his way towards where the Vehicons had started to gather so they could finally leave once everyone had completed their tasks. The moment they spotted Breakdown the chatter began, and he just offered them his full attention and conversation alike.

     Breakdown was different from the other cons- and he would definitely remember this day when that recollection would be in dire need.

-FIN