But we’ve gotta find the stuff that fixes everything! (Bee fast-scrolls through the pages, the otherworldly geometries of its glyphs immediately pinching his vision into something like a headache.) Maybe we can cross reference it with Smokescreen’s book- OH! Wait, I have my own magic! Here watch!
(Bee puts the Necronomicon on the floor and reaches for his own little book of magic, and a spell.)
Look, see? “Simplify instructions”! All we need to do is- Kendall!
(The spell hovers above the Necronomicon as if its mired in the tome’s foul energies… before bouncing back and striking Bumblebee with a blow hard enough to send him careening into the wall behind him, all of the rust blown off of his casting arm and scattering into the air. The Necronomicon is not unaffected, though: the screen scrolls to the deep enchantments and ritual words concerning the terror, and how its vile forces might be driven back to its dark planes.)
/Smokescreen doesn’t dare to move from his spot, keeping a tight hold on Bee, both to keep him from moving and out of fear of losing the bot./
Bee- no! Put that blaster down before you get hurt. You can have the book- uh. Never, but pretend you can have the book later. I’ll read something better with you later.
/A relieved sigh as Tinybee pulls out another spellbook- easy way out! Then grimaces as the book hits Tinybee right in the face./
You okay, Tinybee? What page did it just go to?
The growling and thrashing continues, words turning into animalistic snarls as his smaller alternate casts the spell. A shot pierces the air, sent careening into the ceiling of the habsuite. Thankfully, the blaster’s on a low setting due to lack of energon. He attempts to aim again, this time focused on Megatron, when the other Bumblebee hits the wall.
It’s as if a spell has been cast on Bee as well. Another thump and Bee slumps in Smokescreen’s grasp, optics flickering before holding steady, still dim. The first thing he notices is that he can’t move. The second is the strange scene in front of him: an old datapad, a book, and three mechs in his suite. And a massive processor ache. And the worst smell in the universe.
“Ow,” he mumbles, raising his helm to stare at Smokescreen. “What happened? It feels like I went a round with Predaking, faulty memory included. Oh, and why the frag is Megatron here?”
“No!” The Necronomicon is forgotten as Bumblebee is slammed into the wall hard enough to leave behind a cloud of rust. Megatron rushes to the wall, kneeling down to check the minibot’s frame for cracks and dents. The book’s resistance to other forms of magic was clear, and he left Bee’s side to see what other resistances it could have. With a growl and a twinge of pain in his chest, he fires several fusion blasts at the damned thing.
Of course, when the smoke clears, it has not a new scratch on it. Only now did he see that Bee’s spell had indeed effected it, that it was open to a different page… Against his own warning, he began to read it. The page was full of several incantations, for removing the ichor stains, for releasing the abomination’s hold over mechs, (these two were glowing, the light gently fading back to the dull font of the other spells) and for weakening and banishing the creature back to its terrible plane of existence. The spells themselves were unintelligible nonsense words, but the instructions were clearer: the first two spells would not work properly if the creature was still present, and the last had to be spoken in close proximity to it. Megatron glared at the footnote, which read “the invisible must unfortunately be found by touch”.
As he read, the rust stains on his chest and pedes spread.
“We need to take this to Tyger..” The larger Bumblebee was glaring at him now from Smokescreen’s grasp, the wild look in his optics gone. “Back to your senses, I see. Smokescreen, bring him. We must go to Tyger Pax and recite this entire sequence to remove everything.”
Never! Now that I know its power, I would never give it to anyone else.
Giving Optimus to Unicron would have only made him a more difficult enemy.
Yeah, but he wouldn’t take it knowing it was dark energon. Maybe you could trick him! Let him eat one and tell him its dark energon to see his reaction! And then joke and have fun. Yee. That’d be funny. The look on his face XD better than Ratchet’s faces!
… The joke would not be worth the sudden connection. No.
((Aaaaah thank you! This Halloween icon’s sticking around for a few more days and then I’ll switch back to my regular one. It’s been very fun to play with ❤
The sound is neither organic not mechanical, but it is unquestionably made by something that through unholy forces manages somehow to be alive. Terribly alive. Maddeningly alive, and on the prowl.
(Bee’s vision is filled with legs until they skid to a dead stop in Bumblebee’s room. The reek hits him hard enough to make him cover his vents and make him wail in disgust. His optics scan, catching Megatron’s line of sight and following it to Bumblebee’s rust patches and fevered gibberings.) Oh no they got him too!
– what?! He looks like this and you’re gonna politely ask for it?! Smokey, grab Big Bee!!!
(Energy shoots through his struts at a wall-shaking thunderclap against Metroplex’s exterior. Bee bolts forward and grabs the book, pulling it out of Bee’s hands with a hard yank- or at least attempting to.)
/Smokescreen doesn’t need to be told twice, he’s running over to Bee as soon as he sees him, trying to hold him. He’s rusting, and it smells so bad… Smokescreen’s holding Bee tight, fearing the worst./
Bee- Bee, what happened? Who did this to you? I’m sorry- everything will be okay, you don’t gotta worry about anything.
/A look back up at the smaller Bee and Megatron, biolights brightening up in worry./
What’s happening? Is he gonna be okay? Is this what that monster did? Did it multiply? What is Bee talking about?
Megatron is all but ignored, a slight twitch of the right doorwing the only indication that some part of Bumblebee registered the request. Bee shifts so Megatron can’t see the screen. He doesn’t notice the other two until his alternate grabs the datapad – his datapad – and Smokescreen tackles him.
The mumbling stops, Bumblebee going eerily quiet and still. Slowly, he raises his helm and locks optics with the other Bee. A sneer overtakes his features and he thrashes. Under normal circumstances and a clear processor, Bumblebee could find a way to shake Smokescreen off. But low on energon and working with a clouded processor, he stays put. However, Bumblebee’s tenacity is a force to be reckoned with. Wrenching an arm free, he wastes no time transforming a cannon and aiming it at Bee’s helm.
“Give it back!” he snarls, voice laced with static from the lowered pitch. “Hand it over or I shoot. The planet needs to be cleansed of us, don’t you understand?! I don’t care who I have to kill, give. It. Back.”
“Bumblebee-!” But there was no stopping the minibot. Getting the book away from Bee was imperative, but if he was going to be violent towards anyone, Megatron would prefer that it be him. At least Smokescreen had him restrained. Was he really so weakened?
The blaster whirring to life activated battle protocols that he dialed back. Both of them needn’t come to anymore harm. Megatron kicked at Bee’s arm to knock it up and away from his alternate, stepping between them.
“You will not be killing anyone! And you will not be laying a hand on that book again. That thing is poisoning your mind, and it and all things having to do with it will be purged from my planet, and when you’ve come to your senses you will be grateful! Be still!” He turned back towards the smaller Bumblebee.
“Do not read anything out of there. Look at what it’s done to him.”
Megatron's back up 