Story [Transformers] "Cold Truce" (AU; Bumblebee, Ravage, snark/backstory)

Author's Note: This is mostly G1-influenced, with some nods to the current IDW continuity, written for a friend a while back.

It's also in the same continuity as this: http://boards.theforce.net/threads/...-an-engine-pg-13ish-concluded-10-25.50004495/

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Bumblebee finished getting his survival gear from the small shuttle, then gauged his pace as he bounced across the comet.

It wasn't the most ideal place to hide from a scraplet outbreak - but it had its anemities.

Extremely low metal content, so no bait for the little monsters; really low temperatures, so it's not hospitable for them, either; and the hydrocarbons in the snow can be used by my internal fuel converter for an energon substitute. No Grid signal, but can't have it all, the espionage agent thought, finding a stable-looking cave to shelter in.

The comet was at the edge of the planetesimal cloud surrounding Cybertron's stars; the homeworld itself, already war-ravaged, was poorly-equipped to handle such a massive outbreak of scraplets. 'Bee blamed the Decepticons' refusal to shore up infrastructure in those polities outside Kaon which they'd conquered - poor hygiene was conducive to scraplet nests.

If it weren't for the 'Cons getting hit so hard by the outbreak, I'd almost say they deserved it ... except that no one deserves scraplets, Bumblebee thought, repressing a shudder as he started to set up camp.

The flicker of his emergency light caught - a distortion, maybe a reflection of the icy stalactites of the cave ceiling.

But Bumblebee wasn't fresh from the Well of All Sparks anymore. His blaster found his hand as he called, "Hello?"

"Figures you'd be the one to find the one decent cave on this wretched snowball," an all-too-familiar voice snarled back - cattily.

Bumblebee rolled his optics as one of his least-favorite Decepticons strode from around a bend in a side tunnel, then sat down and crossed his paws to regard the Autobot. "Ravage. Great. What, you run out of empties to stalk?" "Bee taunted.

The feline cassetiCon wrinkled his snout and replied, "Airachnid's gotten most of the easy ones. No, this ... is to prevent infection."

"I was being sarcastic before ... but really? Kaon's got scraplets too?" Bumblebee asked, lowering his blaster a bit.

Ravage tilted his head in an almost-amusing expression. "What, you think one of the oldest polities on the homeworld doesn't have corners where those filthy pests can fission off? It's not a betrayal of my oaths to admit that much. I don't suppose we can declare a temporary truce - just you and I, of course - and share this place until the all-clear signal comes across?" he suggested.

Bumblebee sat down, pleasantly (if warily) surprised. "I ... could do that. Thank you," he said, setting down his gun.

"You're welcome. My reputation's deserved, but I can be politic. When I want to be," Ravage purred.

He licked some of the hydrocarbon snow, and Bumblebee fought a desire to laugh - Ravage was really catlike.

The Decepticon cast a disparaging eye at 'Bee as the Autobot scooped up some snow and let it warm in his hands. "Go ahead and laugh, bug. At least I'm honest to my form. You never cease to amaze me at how stealthy a bright yellow and black miniBot can sneak into so many secure installations and cause so much damage," Ravage said with back-handed respect.

"Hard-earned skill. I could get a darker paint job, but this is how I emerged from the Well - well, close, I didn't have the Autobrand when I first emerged. Point is, I figure I was given these colors for a reason, so I'd better keep them," Bumblebee pointed out.

Ravage nodded, finishing his meal before yawning and leaning against an ice wall. "Fair enough. Maybe you're more honest than I'd thought. At least you're not smug like some of your friends. You might be annoyingly cheerful, but you're a hard worker," the cassetiCon said.

"And you're incredibly talented, even without your emission shield. Why ... why'd you join the Decepticons?" Bumblebee asked, figuring he had little to lose.

Ravage sniffed, opening one optic as he said, "A data cassette that turns into a beast-form? The Functionalists thought I was among the lowest of the low. My stealth power didn't endear me to hardly any of them. I met Laserbeak and Buzzsaw after I fled into the wilderness - they only look like cybercondors, they're actually ensparked like me. We found Soundwave ... through circumstances I'm not at liberty to discuss ... and he took us in. Rumble and Frenzy came along later, and we became something of an odd little family."

He smirked at Bumblebee and added, "Rather like Prime and his menagerie adopted you as the team cheerleader."

"Hey, Optimus and Ratchet were there when I emerged from the Well. I might be all rah-rah, go Autobots, but I believe in it, because I know my family has my back. You might trust Soundwave, but Megatron?" Bumblebee pointed out.

Ravage growled a little, shaking his head. "You don't know Megatron half as well as you might think you do - ironic, since he and the Prime used to be fairly good friends. Where you 'Bots don't get it is that the old system couldn't be saved - we had to reboot it. Megatron was the first Decepticon leader in recent times to see that and follow through," the Decepticon insisted.

Bumblebee decided not to press the point, instead taking out a dark-colored foil blanket. "Just as long as you promise not to try and bite my fuel lines in the night, I'll stay on this side of the cave. Deal?" he half-joked, half-offered.

"Deal. Besides, those stories about me devouring Autobots are entirely propaganda. You taste bad," Ravage sneered, rolling over.

"... I'm not going to ask how you know that," Bumblebee muttered, curling up with the blanket.

"Hey, at least I'm not a Predacon. You think I'm dangerous? Razorclaw's crew make your pal Grimlock look sane," Ravage chuckled.

"Good night, Ravage."

"Good night, Bumblebee."

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Mira_Jade: Thanks. I'll make a note of the naming convention.