Author's Note: Well, here's the first chapter of my new fic. It's mostly just set-up right now, but I've got a pretty good story planned for this fic (I hope). I decided to use Bumblebee as the main character (again) because he's just such a nice and positive little mech. Hope you guy.s stick around and enjoy the story :)

Chapter 1

The Visit

It was quiet in Autobot Headquarters that day. With no one in danger and no sign of the evil Decepticons the Autobots and their human friends were free to catch up on work, projects, and relaxation.

Perceptor, Sparkplug, Bumblebee, and Spike were cataloging water samples to check for impurities. Perceptor was working on a new molecular compound that could potentially clean the most common forms of water pollution if it worked the way he hoped it would. Sparkplug was a great help in keeping the sensors and monitors in working order, and Spike and Bumblebee were writing down which water samples were clean and which were not. It was dull work, but Perceptor was a good friend, so Bumblebee and Spike did their jobs without complaint.

"So far sample C appears to be the most promising," Perceptor said under his breath as he adjusted the microscope on his back, "Bumblebee, how does sample N-7 look to you?"

"It seems fine," Bumblebee replied; trying not to add that it looked exactly like the dozens of other samples to him, "I would call it good, but not great."

"Hm…" Perceptor nodded in a contemplative way.

Spike yawned a little and tried to focus on the samples. He had never wished for Decepticons to come crashing through the roof before, but at this point he was seriously hoping for it.

After a few more minutes of pure tedium, Jazz strolled into the lab and said "Hey, Bee. You got a message on Teletran I. Your not gonna believe this. It's from Cybertron!"

"Cybertron?" Bumblebee asked; confused, "Who on Cybertron would want to talk to me? They might want to talk to Optimus Prime maybe, but me?"

"The 'Bot says his name is Leodox. That name sound familiar?" Jazz asked.

"Father!" Bumblebee cried out excitedly, "He's still alive? Did he say anything about Mother? Where is he? Where are they? Wait! Have the Decepticons found them?"

Seeing that Bumblebee's excitement was turning to worry, Spike decided to ask "Hey, you never told me you have a father. I didn't know Cybertronians had parents."

"I'll explain it later," Bumblebee said hurriedly, "I have to talk to Father right now!"

"Fine, you are dismissed," Perceptor said uselessly, as Bumblebee was already out the door by the time he finished speaking.

Bumblebee stood at the monitor staring in relief and admiration as he took in the countenance of his creator, Leodox. He wasn't exactly as Bumblebee remembered him, but after over 4 million years Bumblebee supposed that was normal.

Bright shining blades surrounded the mech's squared off head like a lion's mane, and his kind blue optics shone with fondness for his only creation. Where the old mech had once been the same bright yellow as his son, now his paint was gone; revealing the steel blue metal and bare rivets. Still, despite the lack of paint, the red Autobot logo was proudly displayed on his chest.

"Bumblebee, my son!" Leodox exclaimed joyfully.

"Father!" Bumblebee was overwhelmed by the happiness of seeing his father alive, "How are you?"

"I am well, son," Leodox replied; his voice gravelly yet soft as he spoke, "I heard that you survived and were recently brought back online. I am so grateful to see you are well. Your mother and I thought the crash had killed you."

"Mother? She survives?" Bumblebee asked immediately.

"Yes. In fact, she and I would like very much to see you," Leodox explained, "I know we should have come the instant we discovered you alive, but many changes have been happening on Cybertron, and it has taken its toll on us all."

Bumblebee didn't need his father's words to see the toll it had taken. His father was once a strong Autobot soldier, but now he seemed tired and worn. He could only imagine what horrors his family had to suffer under the oppressive Decepticon regime. Now that Megatron was awake, their suffering had likely only gotten worse.

"We will be arriving on earth in two solar cycles," Leodox informed Bumblebee, "We ran into your friend Omega Supreme on his shore leave on Cybertron, and he has agreed to bring us to earth to see you."

"You're coming here?" Bumblebee asked; nonplussed, "This is amazing! I can't wait to see you! You're going to love my friends and this beautiful planet! I'll show you everything! You'll see! We're going to have the best time ever!"

Leodox smiled and chuckled softly at his son's exuberance. Still, behind the smile there was a sadness that never seemed to go away. It reminded Bumblebee so much of Optimus Prime. His parents would love meeting Optimus for the first time! They would get to see firsthand the humans, the Autobots, and everything they had been fighting for since the Decepticons first started desecrating their world!

When they ended the transmission Bumblebee's pump chamber was still going a mile a minute! He was so excited! In just two solar cycles he would see the creators he thought he would never see again!

The next day, Spike and Carly were helping Bumblebee clean up a guest room for his parents to stay in. He wanted to make sure their quarters were perfect and that he was ready for anything.

"So, Bumblebee, you never answered my question from yesterday," Spike said as he ran a cleaning rag over the baseboards.

"What question?" Bumblebee asked absentmindedly as he scoured rust off of an old berth.

"I asked you yesterday how Autobots have children, but you never answered me," Spike reminded him, "I've never heard of Autobots having parents until now."

"We don't really call them parents. We call them creators," Bumblebee explained, "Also, not every Cybertronian has a specific creator or creators. Maybe I should start from the beginning. There are two ways to create a new Cybertronian. The first way is the Vector Sigma. This is the most common form of creation. A Cybertronian or group of Cybertronians goes to the Vector Sigma and brings an empty protoform, and then Vector Sigma gives it a spark, and therefore it becomes a living mech."

"You mean like what Optimus did with the Aerialbots?" Spike asked.

"Exactly," Bumblebee replied, "It is also what Megatron did with the Stunticons. Both Megatron and Optimus could be seen as the creators of those mechs because they were the ones who built the protoforms and encoded the personalities they wanted for their offspring. It's more complicated than that though, because the Aerialbots were built by several of us, and therefore anyone who helped build them could claim them as their sparklings. Of course, no one did, because they are being raised by all of us. During the Golden Age of Cybertron, the council used the Vector Sigma to create workforces assigned from birth for various tasks. Those sparklings would not have one specific creator, because they were products of the council."

"Whoa, that is complicated!" Carly commented, "So what's the other way to create?"

"Ah, this would be what is known as a spark-bonded creation," Bumblebee replied, "This is what Femme frame types were used for during the Golden Age. They are the only ones that can merge with all other frame types to make new sparks. You see, there are many frame types. Minibots, Seekers, Racers, Cargo Types, etc. These frame types can merge with each other, but not with other types. Femmes, however, can merge with anything, and retain the coding of every merger they've ever had and pass it on to their new sparks. This is also why many consider them to be the best frame type to, um...bond with. Of course, that was before the war. Most Autobot Femmes were killed by Megatron's forces long ago. It was genocide, and only the few that were programmed as Warriors were believed to have survived."

"Is that why you were so worried, Bumblebee?" Carly asked, "Did you think your mother was killed because she's a Femme?"

"Yes," Bumblebee admitted, "She and Father have been spark mates for 7 million years. The war has been going on for as long as I've been alive, but I can still remember that our home in Iacon had peace. I can still remember playing in the yard with my father or hearing my mother's soft singing voice as she prepared my energon before school. Both of my parents are Triple Changers. I know that's weird because I'm a minibot, but they never made me feel bad about it."

"Wait, how can your mother be a Femme if she's a Triple Changer?" Spike asked skeptically.

"Because the term Femme doesn't apply to the frame's capabilities but rather the ability they have to connect with all types of mechs for spark-bonding," Bumblebee explained, "Perhaps we should stop talking about this. It's a little awkward. Especially after mentioning the massacre. You see, the only types of Femmes Megatron would keep alive were Decepticons and Femmes made for...pleasure purposes. Even neutrals were considered targets for termination. It was awful, and I thought Mother was…"

"It's okay, Bee," Carly said soothingly, "We don't have to talk about this anymore. Your creators are both alive, they're coming to see you, and everything's just fine…"

"Wait a minute," Spike suddenly piped up, "If you parents are both Triple Changers, then they must be huge!"

"Not really," Bumblebee shrugged, "Father is about the same height as Ironhide. I suppose Mother is quite tall for a Femme. She's almost the height of Optimus. She is probably about the same height as a Seeker."

"So your mother is taller than your father?" Spike asked and Bumblebee nodded, "That considered kind of weird on earth. Most guys don't want to date a girl that's taller than them."

"That's silly, Spike!" Carly reprimanded him, "I know you're a couple inches taller than me, but I wouldn't care if you were short, so why should you care if I'm tall?"

"I don't care!" Spike exclaimed; realizing he stuck his foot in his metaphorical mouth, "I just...Weren't we talking about Bumblebee's parents?"

Bumblebee smiled at his friends and continued cleaning the guest room. He hoped he could convince his parents to stay and help them fight the Decepticons. His father had been a great warrior once, and Bumblebee had always wanted the chance to fight by his side. Both of his parents were Triple Changers, and with the right alt modes that could be a great advantage for the Autobots. More than that though, he just wanted to keep them close by so he could know they were safe with him.