Fix Me (part one)

Bumblebee stared up at the blue sky. Cloudless, clear, and the richest blue that could be found on the planet Earth. It was a beautiful day. If only the sun weren't so uncomfortably hot, if only he were able to get a comm. out, if only somebody knew he was here, if only his leg weren't so ruined, if only…

Bee rolled over onto his stomach, biting down hard on his lower lip to keep the scream of pain from bursting forth. He lay on his front for some time, breathing in short, pained gasps. His right leg had been twisted and crushed out of usable shape from his fall into the canyon. His right foot was completely gone, due to a shot in the last scuffle with the Decepticons. After being shot, Bee had tried to drop back and out of the fighting, but he'd misjudged, and fallen into the deep canyon he was now stuck in. The high rock walls had cut off any means of communication he had with the other Autobots, and when he'd landed, the pain that suddenly slammed through his senses had knocked him offline. He hadn't even been able to scream, such was the intensity of the pain.

Recovering, Bee began to slowly drag himself along the canyon floor, his leg trailing uselessly behind him. At this point, he was wishing anyone would find him. It didn't matter who! If they could either help him or put him out of his misery, he'd be grateful. True, he didn't really want to die but…the pain! It was nearly enough to drive a bot mad!

After pulling himself along for at least four hours, Bumblebee paused to give his weary arms a rest. Painfully, he rolled over onto his back, gazing up at the sky, empty but for the single, glaring eye of the sun.

Barricade cruised down a narrow, deep canyon. The stream that had carved it had long since dried up, leaving a slight depression in the rock to show where it had once been. This place sure is isolated. Barricade mused to himself, noticing immediately when his communications had been blocked out by the rock walls on either side. He wasn't worried by it, though. After all, he could handle himself if any Autobot were to cross his path.

No sooner had he thought that when he turned a lazy bend in the canyon and spotted a yellow form laying on the ground. There were only two Autobots that bright yellow color; Sunstreaker, the vain twin and…Bumblebee.

Barricade edged in a little closer, his engine growling as he crept up to whoever it was. He didn't miss the way the mech's right leg was damaged so badly it would have to be replaced entirely. As his gaze swept to see the mech's face, his Spark skipped a beat. It was Bee, and the poor minibot's face was etched with lines of…not just pain, but sheer agony!

Transforming to his bipedal form, Barricade knelt beside Bee, gently shaking the smaller bot's shoulder, trying to wake him.

"Nnnghh…" Bee groaned, and his optics onlined slowly, flickering a few times. When he saw who was shaking him, he let out a startled gasp and jerked away. He regretted it right away, as a wave of pain from his leg shot through him, turning the gasp to a weak cry of pain.

"What the Pit happened to you, little Autobot?" Barricade asked, his red optics fixed on Bumblebee's face.

"I…fell…" was the answer, the words uttered so softly it was a whisper, and so choked by pain, it was hard to understand.

"Understatement of the century, Mini." The Decepticon snorted.

"I fell." Bee repeated, just a tad more strongly this time.

"And your foot?" Barricade raised an optic ridge in question, having seen that the appendage was entirely gone.

"Does it matter?" Bee snapped.

"Guess not…to me." Cade shrugged, "To you…well…"

"Either shoot me and make the pain stop, or get me to a medic!" Bee's voice was tight with pain. He sounded like he was begging. Not really surprising, though, considering the condition he was in.

"A mercy kill?" the squad car 'Con seemed surprised at the idea.

"All I know is that I'm in enough pain I should have been a gibbering idiot yesterday…But I'm not." Bee tried to explain patiently. "So either kill me and be done with it, or fragging help me!"

Kid's got guts, Barricade thought, looking down at the little bot, And he's tough as slag, else he'd have lost his mind by now. Out loud, he said, "Why should I help you? I do see you as the enemy, after all."

"Putting me out of this pain is helping." Bee dead-panned, making Barricade simply gape at him. He met the 'Con's gaze levelly. He wasn't kidding, he meant every word he said. "Just help me, will you?" He asked in a desperate whisper, hoping to reach Barricade's spark. And he did.

"Alright, kid. I'll get Hook to fix your leg as best he can before we get you back home." Barricade gave in. That pleading whisper did it! "Sorry but…this is gonna hurt." He picked Bee up as gently as he could. He couldn't avoid moving Bumblebee's ruined leg. The minibot screamed, then passed out from the pain of it. As Barricade balanced the small bot against his shoulder, he could hear Bee's cooling fans working overtime. No doubt because of the sun he thought, gazing up at the cloudless sky. The temperature had been around 90 F earlier. It was probably 110 F in the canyon! And there was no shade to speak of in there! "How are you still alive?" Barricade asked the unconscious form in his arms as he headed back to the Decepticon base. If Bee had been in this state since the last fight then…Barricade had to re-check his figures. The minibot had to have been damaged and in the canyon for eight days if he'd lost his foot and fallen at the last fight! How he was still alive was a mystery to Barricade. He shook his head, and picked up his pace. Bee had begged for help. And he wasn't about to say 'no', not when someone would ask their enemy for help, or ask to be killed.

As soon as he sensed his communications come back, Barricade sent Hook a comm. ::Barricade to Hook. I have a severely injured bot. I'm bringing him in. ::

:: Hook to Barricade. How bad are the wounds? ::

:: His right leg needs to be completely replaced. And his right foot is gone. ::

:: You're bringing in the missing Autobot? ::

Barricade hissed in annoyance at Hook's shocked question. :: It's a miracle the kid's alive. Even more so that he isn't mad with the pain. Just be ready…and maybe let the Autobots know he isn't dead. Barricade out. ::

In his Med Bay, Hook ended the conversation with Barricade, and immediately started readying the tools he'd need. Soundwave's twins, Frenzy and Rumble, watched him in confusion, both nursing minor wounds they'd sustained when they started wrestling with each other…and crashed into Ravage, who had snarled and attacked them both with his claws.

"Uh…Hook?" Rumble asked, his words distorted by the fact he had four nasty gouges through his face.

"Stay where you are. Someone a lot more injured than the two of you put together is being brought in."

"Who is it?" Frenzy asked. "Anyone we know?"

"You'll find out, and yes…in a sense." Hook answered the questions without even looking up from the task at hand.

Barricade carried the limp Bumblebee to the base, and then through the halls, ignoring the questioning looks from his fellow Decepticons. He had one destination in mind, and no one was going to stop him from getting there. Bee had to go to the Med Bay, and that was that. Of course, when the others saw Bee's ruined limb, they moved out of the way. It didn't matter that the yellow bot wasn't one of theirs…He was seriously hurt, and many suspected the Autobots would do the same if it was a 'Con in such bad shape.

When he entered Med Bay, he barely heard Rumble and Frenzy's twin yelps of shock. Whether it was because of Bee's leg, or the minibot himself, Barricade didn't need to know. He gently settled Bee on a he berth, then stepped to the side to let Hook scan him.

"What happened to him?" Hook asked, scanning Bee, while his optics fixed on the mess that had previously been a working limb.

"Said he fell." Barricade answered, gently touching Bumblebee's face, trying to smooth the expression of pain and worry from it. "I found him at the bottom of Drybed Canyon." He paused, then added, "The humans weren't too creative in naming that place."

"If he fell from the top…I have to agree when you say it's a miracle he's even alive today." Hook said, switching his attention to the scan results. "He's been stuck there for a little more than a week. He's one tough little bot, that's for sure."

"Can you fix him?"

The medic sighed, "Not entirely. I can't fix him as well as Ratchet would be able to, since I don't know how his leg was before this happened."

Barricade waited, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I can disconnect the relays, so he won't feel the pain, but he'll need to return home as soon as possible. It would be best to get some energon in him before taking him home, though." He frowned, still puzzling over how the minibot could be still functioning with such lack of nutrients and in his crippled state. Musing would have to wait, though.

"Barricade, if you could get the energon, I can tend to him."

Barricade nodded once, then went to the energon dispenser to fill a cube for Bee.

"I'm wondering how he hadn't been found." Hook said, finding the right wires and loosening them so the pain receded.

"That canyon cuts off any sort of communication. Even emergency signals." Barricade answered, setting the filled cube on the small table. "When I called you, I was already out of the canyon. Once you get about ten yards into that chute, you fall off the grid entirely."

Hook's optic ridges rose in surprise. "This minibot is very lucky, then. To be alive."

"It was either bring him here…or kill him."

The medic waited silently.

"I'm not about to kill a soldier while he's down…even if he is an enemy. Besides, if it was one of us like this, the Autobots would fix us up, I'm sure." Barricade added with a sigh. "Have you contacted the Autobots?" he changed the subject abruptly.

"No." Hook said simply. "I decided to leave that to you. You found him, after all."

Barricade growled in annoyance. Hook could have given them a heads-up, at the very least! But no. He left that all to Barricade.

He left the Med Bay, glancing at Bee once more before exiting. No one should have to go through what the minibot had gone through. Ever. Barricade hurried on to the Communications Room to contact the Autobots.