Disclaimer: do not own Transformers.

Author note: We're reaching a point in the story where the "mirror (i.e. a barrier between the humans and the Autobots) begins to break," so to speak. So there's going to be funny stuff happening in the POVs. Hopefully this doesn't become confusing.

Also: Sorry, short chapter! G1 bunnies took my mind over at LJ and wouldn't give it back until I wrote some drabblish-oneshot things for them. Still trying to piece back together my writing psyche…

Other Side of the Mirror

8

The youth and his temporary companion walked tensely, weapons at the ready, pausing every now and again to listen for any incoming drones. Behind them, he could hear the faint sounds of raptors and even more advanced drones screeching and cawing. He could almost hear Cage's voice, smooth and poisonous, and it bore into his mind.

He saw his hand trembling, and he forced himself to stop.

He went on ahead, using the cover of fallen buildings, and looked behind him. The mini-giant that he found himself stuck with looked was looking carefully around, stepping carefully with movements—amazingly lithe and nimble for one of his kind—that surprised him. Even the youth's former tormentors made the earth shake underneath their feet, and they were smaller and lighter than Bumblebee was.

But though this reinforced the already obvious fact that Bumblebee meant him no harm, his fight or flight instincts screamed at the sight of him.

He was one of the smallest Autobots that the youth had seen, but to be fair, he hadn't seen many of them. His armour wasn't as thick as other mechs, suggesting that this was a scouting or spying unit rather than a frontline warrior. But still, sheer power radiated from the body, and though small, the youth was pretty sure that he was as deadly as full-sized mechs. At the minibot's disposal was weaponry that made his own charge weapons look like toys, a knife to a gunfight.

He had a moment of near-hysterical and inappropriately timed thought.

What are we going to do? These guys are…are living weaponry! And this happens to be one of the smallest of the friendly ones!

Even on the slim chance that peace could be attained, even if the Decepticons could be defeated, they'd have to continue with the implants just to keep up with their neighbours.

And he hated having him at his back. It felt too much like he was being snuck up on—again—and their current predicament which pretty much forced them to walk and crouch and pause wasn't doing much to ease the feeling.

So even though he should have been watching his surroundings and shouldn't have been worrying about his temporary ally, he found himself paying as much attention to Bumblebee at his back as he was to the potential danger ahead.

He turned around, and continued on. The earth trembled underneath him, but whether that was due to his own shaking or due to the Autobot that followed, he wasn't sure.

X x X

Bumblebee made his way through the rubble with difficulty. He had a lot of grief because he was amongst the smallest of the Autobots. However, next to his temporary companion, Bumblebee felt like a giant…a stumbling, hulking, noisy giant, and he tried not to wince at the sounds that each of his footsteps made.

The human had taken the lead, making his or her way nimbly through the debris. Watching the human, Bumblebee knew why some of his comrades had, at first, mistaken the humans for ghosts. Bumblebee, as undoubtedly the better equipped of the pair, felt uneasy with the human in front, where he or she would be the first one to face incoming danger, but felt that he or she was close enough that he could come quickly to his or her aide. Besides, better the human was in front, where Bumblebee could keep a better optic on him or her.

Bumblebee knew what humans, both implanted and non-implanted, looked like. The Decepticons had extensive health information on the humans in order to keep their pets aesthetically pleasing and exceedingly affectionate through the use of implants, armour, and drugs. The Autobots had managed to hack into this information and had taken what was useful. The humans that still remained free managed to do the same, and had taken information about the implants to survive.

Bumblebee had also seen humans before on his scouting rounds. They were the whispers in the air and the shadows in the corners of his optics. But this was the first time that Bumblebee had seen a human up-close.

The human was lightly armed. His or her armour was thin and light in comparison to Prime, whom Bumblebee had managed to catch a glimpse of a few times. It was built for speed and for avoiding detection rather than for a full-on battle. Besides the standard claws and spurs, the only other weapon that the human possessed were a pair of blades, coming out from the sides of either arm, one of them at the ready and the other retracted and sheathed for now. Deceivingly simple weaponry, as the human was a walking charge weapon.

Because their implants that kept their physical bodies youthful, it was nearly impossible to tell the real age of the humans. Because of their exterior armoury, it was often difficult to tell if the human was male or female. Vocal tone and depth was usually a good indication of sex, but so far, the human had remained relatively silent.

Going by the human's smallish height and slender build, Bumblebee thought that his temporary companion was either an adult female of medium build or a lightly built sub-adult male.

Bumblebee was suddenly hit with the thought that, if the humans did not allow the Autobots to come to their aid, these strange and proud creatures would very likely be wiped out.

What are we going to do? These guys…they seem so scared of us, Bumblebee thought morosely, keeping up with the still fairly skittish human. And this one seems to be one of the more trusting ones.

X x X

The journey went by more slowly than originally thought. They were forced to stop many times as drones threatened to catch up with them, and took an alternate route. The result was that they were forced right along the chasm, with very little cover. Though the bridge should have already been in sight, they were still hours away, and the sun had set a long time ago.

The youth only had the most basic of implants, having just started the process, and did not have the upgrades that the adults had. Though he was able to somewhat see in the dark, the incoming darkness significantly hindered his fighting ability.

Pretty soon, it was Bumblebee silently taking the lead.

Bumblebee stopped short suddenly, and the youth almost collided into him. Stepping to the side, he saw the glow of the Autobot's optics intensify, surveying the scene a few yards from them.

It was…clear. Strangely clear. There were ten yards of completely clear area between the rubble and the wreckage, where there was just asphalt and grass struggling through the cracks.

It was a completely open area.

If there were any enemies on the other side, they'd be completely vulnerable.

The youth was about to step forward, to try and see if there were any threats awaiting them, when Bumblebee placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched at the sudden contact, but didn't think that Bumblebee noticed.

"Stay here. I'll check it out and see if it's safe," he said softly. The youth nearly jumped. It was the first thing that Bumblebee had said since getting out of the basement.

The youth thought about their dilemma, and then nodded. There was a time to be proud, and a time to be prudent. In this situation, pride could be deadly.

He hung back, taking cover, watching as Bumblebee got as close as he could to the clear area without possibly giving his position away.

That was when he heard it.

A single cry. It sounded like a child.

He looked around uneasily, wondering if he was just imagining things. He looked at Bumblebee, who was still focused on the possibilities of threats just a few yards from them.

He heard it again, this time followed by a plaintive call.

"Mommy!"

He turned in the direction of the voice. A shadowed figure darted behind pieces of debris. It was about the size of a six year-old child.

He felt his heart skip a beat, and he was already starting to move towards the direction that the figure disappeared in. Was it a survivor? A child separated from the resistance? Such survivors outside of the main resistance were rare…but they were found.

He couldn't leave a child out here. That was like…like sending lambs to the slaughter.

He thought about calling Bumblebee back, but by now the Autobot was about a one inch tall yellow blob in the distance. Doing that would surely give away both of their positions, and then where would the kid be?

But he couldn't wait for the Autobot to return. Already, the figure had gone deeper into the tangled maze of rock and rubble, all the while calling for his or her mother.

Ah, screw it. He'd just grab the stupid kid, and haul his or her ass back here before Bumblebee came back and found him gone, cross the bridge with Bumblebee, and bring the kid back to the resistance.

He darted in the direction of the figure.

"Come on, kid," he hissed. The kid didn't seem to hear him, and instead darted deeper into the shadows.

He finally made it through the maze…and found himself surrounded by tall former buildings. The child—a little girl—was right in front of him. Strange. If he hadn't seen the kid, then—

The child flickered out of existence, and at the same time, a strange cackling filled the air.

A hologram?

The youth turned around, but his only exit was quickly cut off by a dark humanoid shape.

Drones…that could cast holograms.

Ten of the new models surrounded him, and the cackling grew to what he felt was deafening proportions.

A million thoughts raced through his head as he watched the drones come closer, but the two ridiculous thoughts that burst through his panicked mind were: Wow, that's new, followed quickly by Great, just great. They even programmed them to laugh manically.

He unsheathed his weapons.

X x X

The journey went by more slowly than originally thought. They were forced to stop many times as drones threatened to catch up with them, and took an alternate route. The result was that they were forced right along the chasm, with very little cover. Though the bridge should have already been in sight, they were still hours away, and the sun had set a long time ago.

Bumblebee's optics had built-in night vision, but he doubted that the human was thus endowed. Pretty soon, it was Bumblebee silently taking the lead, and he found himself looking back every so often to make sure that the human was keeping up with him. He shouldn't have worried; the human was following him like his shadow, and was just as silent.

Bumblebee stopped in his trek, taking his visual processors to the maximum. The ground in front of them was…clear. Strangely clear. There were ten yards of completely clear area between the rubble and the wreckage, where there was just asphalt and grass struggling through the cracks.

It was a completely open area.

If there were any enemies on the other side, they'd be completely vulnerable.

The human—who had suddenly appeared at Bumblebee's side—moved forward, as if to investigate the possibility of a threat. Bumblebee placed a hand on his or her shoulder, withdrawing it quickly when the human flinched at the contact. He remembered belatedly that the humans didn't have good experiences with physical contact from the Decepticons and even from some Autobots, and tried not to feel disappointed.

"Stay here. I'll check it out and see if it's safe," he said softly. After what seemed like a long while, the human nodded. He was relieved. The humans were known for their pride, but in this situation, pride could be deadly.

He stepped forward, and the human disappeared into the other shadows.

Crouched, and using the sparse cover as best as he could, he made his way to the too-innocent looking area. Maxing out his visual processors once again, he tried scanning for threats.

Then he heard a terrible cackling from behind him, and he whirled around.

Only to be immediately rammed by a dark shape from the side.

He grabbed his assailant, and instinctively squeezed. He was rewarded with a sickening crunch of metal and wires, a sudden burst of processed energon, and an enraged scream that cut off as soon as he blasted the thing.

No sooner was he done with that one than another came to take its place.

Then another.

Then another.

The debris and rubble were becoming a hindrance now. He was forced into the clearing, and then onto the edge of the chasm.

A million thoughts raced through his processor as he and his assailant came closer and closer to the edge and to the murky darkness below, but the two ridiculous thoughts that burst through his panicked processor were: Wow, that's new, followed quickly by Scrap! I thought we were further away from this thing than that!

He and the drone fell, twisting, the drone still trying to get another chunk of wires out of him. Bumblebee's blaster was knocked out of his hand, but at the last possible moment, he shoved the drone underneath him, cushioning himself as they impacted the ground.

The drone was still, but he had been through enough skirmishes and saw enough horror-vids to know better. After finding his blaster a short distance from where he had "landed," he shot the drone in the processor, just to be sure.

He took a precious moment to examine the wreckage. Lithe and humanoid in shape, this…this new drone was the most human-looking model that the Decepticons had come up with, and had a human's agility. The armour type was new, and was superior to the humans' in terms of avoiding detection.

For now. Bumblebee had the thought that the humans would probably make use of this armour, should they ever have the opportunity.

He checked himself for injuries, but even before the scan was completed, he could feel several energon leaks throughout his body. The most problematic one was located near his spark-chamber, where the processed energon trickled steadily. He fervently thanked Primus that the blow wasn't an inch or two to the right, or else his spark itself might have been damaged. Damaged parts were relatively easy to fix; a damaged spark was permanent.

Now, a more pressing question: Was the human alright?

Bumblebee began his long climb upwards.