Part 1 – Waking the Devil

"And the hound he met that came from Hell. Bloody he was on his breast before. At the father of magic he howled from afar."
-Baldrs draumar

Pressure exerted in the right places can break down barriers in minutes, seconds if necessary. But one must be careful in its application, for too much can end only in complete subject annihilation. Bend, break, but do not destroy the pieces. Something must remain. Something of the subject must still exist...

2011, Earth

It didn't happen on a dark night. There was no storm, no black clouds hung low in the sky. There was no rain, and little wind. It wasn't broad daylight, the sun was sinking in the west, but it was bright enough to read. Or for Rafael to read anyway.

He was sitting on Bumblebee's hood, doing his homework. They'd driven out beyond town and the base, as they often did. Bumblebee behaved as though he would drive forever if that's what Raf wanted. Sometimes Raf did his homework while Bee drove, sometimes they would stop.

On this particular afternoon, they'd found a little oasis. It was a hill beside the road among the canyons, just tall enough to offer up a fantastic view of the distant town nestled between the rimrocks. From this distance, it was easy to forget about the mean people who lived there, and the people who just didn't hear you even when you shouted.

Raf lived with his large family, and his voice often went unheard. Amidst all those people, every one of them just trying to get through the day and life itself, Raf felt very small and very alone. They were his relatives, but they didn't know him, and shared few of his interests. And not one of them had commented on how often Raf was away from home these days. It usually felt like they didn't care, but the real reason no one asked about it was that no one had noticed. That hurt just as bad.

Small and insignificant, Raf felt utterly alone in the world. Or he had. Until the day he'd met Bumblebee, whose words he mysteriously understood. In some ways, Bumblebee was very different from his fellow Autobots. He and Raf had a certain amount of common ground. Even among family (for the Autobots were every bit as close as family should be), sometimes they got left out.

Bee didn't let it get to him though. Raf admired many things about the Autobot.

He was brave to the point of being reckless, but he wasn't arrogant or vain. He was really gentle and actually seemed to be insecure about himself, as much as Raf often was. Raf couldn't imagine what Bee had to be insecure about. Raf was convinced that Bee was the fastest Autobot, the fiercest fighter and certainly the best friend. He listened when Raf talked, not just staying quiet out of politeness, but really listening to what Raf had to say, and responding intelligently, not just with some offhand remark like so many people did.

Most people didn't really listen to you. They caught a word here and there, thought they caught the gist of what you were saying and then remarked on it as though they had a clue.

But Bee was also good at just sitting. There weren't many people Raf could sit in companionable silence with. Not many people could just silently appreciate the view on this grassy hill, the shade beneath the lone tree they'd parked near. Bee could. He didn't have to say anything. And neither did Raf.

The first time they'd gone for a drive like this, Raf had been afraid Bee would get bored, or only be willing to do it once. But Bumblebee didn't appear to mind. In fact, sometimes he seemed genuinely curious about Raf's homework, baffled and surprised by human history, science, economics, whatever really. It was actually easier to learn knowing that Bee would have questions. It gave Raf an extra incentive to pay attention in school. Not that he'd ever had trouble with that.

It was better to do homework out here. Away from the noise of his family, and also away from Jack and Miko. It wasn't that he didn't like hanging out with them, he did. It was just that Miko could be so distracting and Jack, while well-meaning, could sometimes be patronizing rather than helpful.

Raf learned better when left alone, allowed to go at his own pace and figure things out in his own way. Bumblebee either understood or merely accepted. Either way, he never protested against a long drive.

Right now, Bee seemed to be dozing. It seemed to Raf that the Autobot enjoyed the warm sunlight as much as he himself did. It wouldn't be long before it started getting cold even during the day. The sun would seem paler and weaker, and sometimes it would be hidden behind clouds. There might even be snow. There would probably be snow. But not for a little while yet, unless winter came early this year.

Right now, Raf was determined to enjoy the sun while it lasted. To that end he hopped off the car hood and walked around a little. They'd been here for almost an hour, ever since school let out. Raf was actually pretty much finished with homework, but he didn't really want to leave just yet.

It was so peaceful out here, so isolated. He felt safe, and nowhere near as small as he usually seemed to be. With just him and Bumblebee out here, it seemed like they had the world to themselves.

Then he spotted the car. The bright green Urbana Viper roared up the road, kicking up clouds of dust, its black trim so polished that it gleamed. It was a sleeker design than Bumblebee, built for speed more than power, though Raf knew the vehicle had plenty of both. The hood wasn't smooth, it looked like a ribcage, the hood scoop was designed so that it almost resembled a devil's horns.

It was a beautiful machine. Raf stepped back from the road to make sure the speeding vehicle wouldn't hit him as it swept up the road at speeds far beyond what the speed limit would be if there was a sign out here. Raf didn't remember any sign. Maybe there'd been one once and it had been torn out or knocked down, then covered by the desert.

In any case, he couldn't imagine the point of owning such a car as the Viper if not to test its limits. It was a car built for speed, designed to appeal to those who craved it.

Raf didn't see the danger at first. The car accelerated at a phenomenal rate, until it was fairly skimming along the road, almost flying. It swept past Bee, who was still parked beneath the tree. And then its side view mirror on the driver's side twitched and the car angled towards the edge of the road. Towards Raf.

Bumblebee's engine roared to life as the green Viper drove onto the verge, its tires wallowing in the dirt for a moment. Of all the things it was, the Urbana Viper was not an off-road vehicle. Bumblebee's headlights flashed and he launched forward, his charge fueled by either fury or purest fear.

There was no hesitation on the part of the Autobot. The muscle car shot forward and slammed its front bumper into the detailed side of the Viper. Bee did not slow down on hitting the other vehicle. Even as his tires dug into the grass and dirt, he still managed to gain speed.

The snarl of his living engine was deafening. Raf was buffeted by wind and grit spat up by the cars just a few feet away. The Viper was thrown off its course and Bee drove it with sheer force away from Raf, back towards the road. But whoever was driving the Viper either wasn't caught off guard or was quick to recover.

As soon as the rear tires hit pavement, he shifted into reverse and tore his car away from his adversary at the cost of a little paint and some minor dents. It suddenly dawned on Raf that there wasn't a human driver at the wheel at all. The car was almost intact in spite of the crushing blow which had struck it. It had to be a Cybertronian. A Decepticon. Who else would come after Raf like that?

Bumblebee had obviously had the same thought, for the grinding sound of transformation began about as soon as the Viper pulled away from him. The Decepticon did not give him time to transform. As soon as it had cleared the black and yellow car, it angled its front wheels slightly and launched forward.

The Viper's front bumper was lower than Bee's. It slammed into his right front fender, its bumper sliding beneath Bee's with a horrid screech of tortured metal. Bee's left tires dug into the dirt, his right ones were on the road. This contributed to the Viper's obvious intent. It was going to flip him.

Bee switched tactics, throwing himself into reverse, trying to tear free of the Viper. But the green Decepticon was too swift for him. Bee's left wheels stayed stuck in the dirt as the right front one was torn from it, and the unfortunate Autobot began to turn over. With a squealing of gears, Bee fought to right himself, and made as if to transform.

But the Viper knew what it was doing. It shifted, and partially launched into the air. Its front smashed into Bee's undercarriage, and its tires cut across as the Autobot landed upside down and it vaulted over him, hitting the ground with a crash and tearing up the earth with a flash of treads.

The Autobot tried in vain to alter its condition, but the Viper's attack had done its foul work. The damage to the underside of the Autobot was extensive, though in no way lethal. The precise location of the impact caused the various parts to be crushed together, effectively trapping Bee in vehicle form.

Like a turtle on its back, the Autobot was trapped. He flapped his doors and there was a terrible screeching noise which Raf realized was Bumblebee cursing. Raf had never heard him speak like that. He realized why as the Viper turned towards him a second time, gunning its engine eagerly.

{Run!} Bumblebee cried, when Raf stood gaping in horror at the green death bearing down on him.

Raf forced his legs to move. There was nowhere to go, the only shelter he might reach was the tree on the hill. And that was a pitifully small defense against a raging Decepticon. But it was all he had.

Raf ran around behind the overturned Autobot, making for the tree as fast as he could, painfully aware that the Decepticon had only to transform and reach out with one hand, snatching him up in its massive claws, crush the life from him. There was nothing Bee could do.

But then the Viper made a fatal error. It slammed into the back of the Autobot, shoving the other vehicle out of its path as it launched towards Raf like a hungry wolf towards easy prey. But its actions half-flipped the Autobot, who was then able to roll upright.

The Viper bore down on Raf, who darted behind the tree. It was pitiful cover. It wouldn't save him and he knew it. But Bumblebee, back in the game, was furious. He was severely disadvantaged, and knew the battle must be ended quickly and decisively.

With a snarl of his engine that echoed through the canyons, Bumblebee threw himself at the rear right side of the Viper. He smashed into it with enough force to make the rear tires leave the ground for a moment, preventing the Viper from making forward progress. On reflex, the Viper turned its front wheels, trying to swing around and face its attacker.

Bumblebee shoved hard, and the Viper edged toward the opposite side of the hill from the road. The tires dug deep into the hard Earth and the wheels squealed as the Viper tried to reverse. Raf knew all it had to do was realize it could switch to front-wheel drive and then it would be over. But it didn't.

Bee backed off for a split second and the rear tires of the Viper slammed into the ground. It shot forward, having been struggling to move while the tires were airborne. That carried it closer to the edge, even as it turned sharply away. Bumblebee hit it hard in the side, and the Viper went over the edge. It flipped onto its roof, then flipped again, rolling down the hill.

Crashing, screeching, tearing metal made Raf cover his ears even as he ran to see the result of what Bumblebee had done. The Viper continued downhill for what seemed like an eternity, being battered into an ever flatter shape. And then, quite suddenly, the driver's door popped open and something fell out. It looked like a rag doll the way it flopped bonelessly downhill alongside the vehicle.

When Raf recognized what it was, he felt sick. He turned away and threw up in the grass. Bumblebee let out an agonized wail as he realized what he'd just done.

The rag doll was actually a body. A human body, bloodied and battered almost beyond recognition. Bumblebee had just killed someone.

A/N:
As usual, I'm going to say this story is probably AU, though not especially intentionally so. As always, this story is completely written. As per usual, I will upload one chapter per day (Barring anything out of the ordinary. I will attempt to give readers a head's up via A/N). This was written for my entertainment, and is being published for yours. If you find yourself not enjoying it, then you should feel perfectly free to stop reading. Heap praise or criticism upon it, whichever may suit you best. Or say nothing about it at all, if you would prefer. Do feel free to point out typos, I check my stories before publishing, but I admit my imperfection and would welcome the opportunity to correct any mistakes I may have made.

It may or may not be worth noting that I hadn't watched Transformers: Prime in nearly a year at the time this story was written, and still have not seen any part of the new series. It may also be worth contemplating that I didn't like the original ending for this story, but attempts to rework it failed. I was sick for close to a month, so there's about a thirty day hiatus between the writing of part 2 and part 3 (the story originally ended in part 2), so any unevenness can be blamed on that. That's no excuse, merely something akin to a warning.

The original concept was horror, but it quickly became apparent that it was more of a thriller. I'm a little unclear myself on what the final genre heading should be.