[3rd Transformation // Anon Text // Optional Action with Bumblebee]

[proveyourmetal]

[When Bumblebee first emerges from the damaged apartment of 010 in his robot form, 16 feet of towering metal and living machine, Vanguard is filled with immeasurable awe an wonder.

In an hour, when he finds himself sitting in the car form of his partner, playing session after session of video game inside his cabin, that wonder becomes joy. In three hours, when Vanguard goes to tell off some insolent digimon on Bee's behalf but Bumblebee speaks up on his own first, gently resolving the situation with his own voicebox. All he feels is confusion. Six hours later, when Vanguard has to step outside and get his feet on steady ground after one of Bumblebee's races, it's irritation. The final straw happens when Vanguard finds himself held in the giant, protective metal hand of his robot partner, narrowly injured from a reckless Chosen. Saved. Protected. Lovingly guarded.

Then... it's just anger and resentment.

He leaves Bumblebee to talk with companions just beyond the hole in their apartment (hastily covered by the staff with a sheet of plastic). Bee doesn't need Vanguard to help translate his feelings to the friends he encounters outside. He laughs, and dances and transforms just fine on his own.

So the digimon retreats to their room just a few paces away. It takes ten minutes for it all to boil over. In the back of his mind, he knows he's going to calm down and regret this later but... he's not thinking about that at the time. He angrily jabs an anonymous message into the D-terminal.]

+ [Anonymous Text] +

All you Chosen. You think you're so impressive.

You could hardly take care of yourselves when you got here. You couldn't figure out how to eat, sleep or walk. Some of you couldn't even speak. We chased off digimon three times our size to keep you alive. We kept you safe on the journey down to HospiTown.

We did everything we were supposed to. We're your digimon. We were made to meet you and fix this world together.

So much for partners.

You can take your real forms and just

Just go home. We didn't need you either.

[The moment he presses send, he experiences a moment of hesitation. Of something beyond anger. Regret? He crosses his arms and tries not to think about it.]

[ooc: Vanguard (Coronamon) will respond to text anonymously while Bumblebee will react to action outside the hospital.]

Comments

[proveyourmetal]

[Incredulously and with a laugh:] An old sage?

That would be Optimus, not me.

While I was human, Sora, I wasn't much older than you.

[heartdive]

But you've lived a lot longer than me. Just 'cause you look young doesn't mean much.

[ and okay, the second half of that is just teasing. ]

And your Optimus guy... He's not like you guys.

[ Sora may or may not have tried to talk to him like twice. not much reaction to anything there! ]

[proveyourmetal]

No. He isn't anything like us.

He's our commanding officer, and our teammate. But he's also something called a Prime. I'm not sure if there's anything even remotely similar for humans. Raf and Jack tried once, and said that maybe he's... a cross between a 'Pope' and a 'President'. Only far more powerful, and with the wisdom that goes back millions and millions of years.

Optimus is our leader. He's our hope.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that Optimus' spark is worth a hundred of mine.

[heartdive]

I have no idea what a Pope is.

[ assuming DI is not a part of Earth here. so yeah... no idea if that is supposed to mean something but.... ]

But kind of sounds like someone I know. Maybe not millions of years, but then again...

[ Yen Sid, man. how long HAS that guy been around to know everything... ]

Wheeljack's mentioned him, I think. Not by name, but it sounds like you're talking about the same person - being your hope and all.

[proveyourmetal]

I'm... not sure what a Pope is either, though a Prime does hold some religious significance in some senses.

But yes. Wheeljack was probably speaking of Optimus. If you ever meet him, you can trust him with your life.

He cares about humans as much as I do.

[heartdive]

Religious what?

[ tell him more, Bee. he never gets this kind of thing from WJ. ]

[proveyourmetal]

[Looks like it's Sora's turn to be asking all the questions.]

Religious.

Hmm. How to put this.

Spiritual.

Believing in a higher power, or believing in something beyond just what we physically see.

It's faith.

[heartdive]

[ it is Sora's turn, but... not quite what he meant. so he laughs a little. ]

No, I kinda meant religious how.

[proveyourmetal]

You mean how does Prime have religious significance?

[heartdive]

Yes! Yes, that.

[ and should he mention what WJ had said about all that stuff... ]

[proveyourmetal]

I've heard some bots from the Ark and a few from Cybertron say as much.

I guess it just means people believe in him.

[You'll have to forgive him. He's never spoken about this to anyone and it's difficult to really describe in words how important Optimus is to the Autobots and many Cybertronians.

He should. Bee would probably like to hear.]

[heartdive]

Wheeljack might have said something about him being blessed by the planet. Your planet. Or at least that he kind of heard that.

[ there's a pause as Sora remembers that conversation. sounds to him that maybe then WJ kind of believed it to... just too shy to admit it. ]

[proveyourmetal]

[Primus and the matrix of leadership. The very source of limitless wisdom and power.]

Well he's right.

It's not just hearsay. It's fact.

[Bumblebee speaks with the certainty of someone who doesn't just believe, but someone who knows for sure.]

[heartdive]

I said it was possible. He asked if I really could believe in all that...

[ hold on. thinking of the way WJ phrased it... ]

Heart scrap, he said.

[proveyourmetal]

If he asked me the same, my answer would be yes, Sora.

I believe in it because I was there. I was with Optimus at the heart of our world.

[heartdive]

Sort of had a feeling that you would say yes, Bee.

[ and the thought of that makes him smile. ]

So what was it like? Bright and shiny?

[proveyourmetal]

[Bumblebee grows uncharacteristically quiet.]

... No. It wasn't.

[heartdive]

Oh... Right.

[ another thing WJ might have mentioned. ]

Sorry.

[proveyourmetal]

[He hopes he never has to see - or have to do what he did - like that again. Bee has been open and forthcoming with the details of his world, but some matters like the Core and Tyger Pax? It's hard to find his voice for those.]

Don't be, Sora. Not your fault.

[At least Sora will be getting a nice view as the right side road drops off into a sharp incline. It gives him quite the view of the forest below and the green hillsides surrounding it.]

[heartdive]

I know, but still. Some things still kind of hurt to talk about. Aaand I don't really want to make people hurt so I can be sorry for that.

[ there's still a few things he knows he doesn't feel okay talking about immediately. it's not like he's gone into full detail about Xehanort and all of the possession stuff anyway. Might have mentioned it lightly to WJ... but lightly and in passing at best.

and he most certainly hadn't explained everything else that would have happened because of it. ]

[proveyourmetal]

[They all have their secrets. Though truth be told, of all the people Bee has met in the digital world, Sora may be the closest to hearing a few of them. If the day comes he's ready to give them.]

Of course.

[That's just like you Sora. Though, he'll try and lighten the mood with a bit of teasing.]

If we were in a race, you'd probably feel sorry for passing anyone by too.

[heartdive]

Ha ha...

[ oh Bumblebee. ]

Nope. It'd be totally their fault for being slow. I didn't win all those tournaments by feeling sorry for people in a competition.

[proveyourmetal]

[Hmmmm? Competitions? Sora. You haven't told him about this bit yet.]

Oh. So the kid does have some fight in him.

[heartdive]

'Course I do. You don't really think I'm all sunshine and paopu fruit all the time, do you?

[ might be looking a little smug here. ]

[proveyourmetal]

Well no, firstly because I don't know what a paopu fruit is.

Secondly, I haven't had a chance to really see you fight, have I?

[Their digimon insisted on doing the fighting for the two of them.]