Where Art Thou, Little Bee?
Prologue: Departure
In retrospect Optimus Prime really should have known better. Everyone said it was a bad idea; Ratchet said so, Prowl said so, even Bulkhead said so. Okay so maybe leaving Bumblebee alone on Earth for two weeks hadn't been the smartest thing Optimus had ever done. Okay it was the dumbest thing he had ever done…at least according to Ratchet that is.
"This is the dumbest thing you've ever done, Prime!" Ratchet yelled.
"I concur," Prowl didn't move from his position leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed.
"I gotta agree with Ratchet for once," Bulkhead said hesitantly.
"Hey who's side are you on, big guy?" Bumblebee complained.
"Sorry," Bulkhead apologized.
"Even I don't think that's a good idea," Sentinel Prime agreed.
"Well what else do you want me to do?" Optimus asked in exasperation. "Ultra Magnus wants me to give him a report of how we're doing, he needs Ratchet to give him an update on how Omega Supreme is, Bulkhead to explain more about the space bridge accident with Megatron and Jazz needs Prowl to help him teach a ninja class so that leaves Bumblebee."
"I told Ultra Magnus that leaving him," Sentinel inclined his head toward Bumblebee, "was a bad idea but he insisted. We do need to hurry up though. We have a three day journey ahead of us and I don't really want to be stuck on this backwater planet any longer than absolutely necessary."
"Are you sure you'll be right?" Optimus asked, turning to Bumblebee.
"Yes, I'm sure," Bumblebee said. "You're only going to be gone for two weeks; what could possibly go wrong?"
"On second thought maybe Ultra Magnus should come here instead," Optimus suggested.
Every bot in the room let out a loud groan and Sentinel muttered, "We're never going to leave."
"Okay, okay," Optimus sighed. "I guess we can go now. Contact us if you get into trouble," he ordered Bumblebee.
The yellow minibot rolled his optics and let out an exaggerated sigh, "Sure thing, boss-bot."
"Can we go now, please?" Sentinel begged.
Optimus nodded then he, Bulkhead, Prowl, and Ratchet gathered their things and followed Sentinel out the door. Bumblebee waved at them until he could no longer see them then looked around the empty living room. Suddenly it seemed a whole lot bigger and quieter. He hadn't realized just how much noise the other four bots had made; even Prowl had contributed a slight crack from the rafters when he hid there.
A beep from one of the consoles caught his attention. A squeak emitted from his vocal processor when he realized that it was Blitzwing. He raised his servo to com the others but lowered it instead. There was no need to call them; he could handle Blitzwing; couldn't he? With that he transformed and zoomed out of the building.
"Do you think Bumblebee's all right?" Bulkhead asked anxiously.
"I'm sure he's fine, Bulkhead," Optimus sighed, not opening his optics as he leaned back in his chair, having heard the question at least one hundred times already in the past two days.
"Are you sure?" the big green mech pressed.
"For the one hundredth and eighty-fifth times, yes we're sure," Prowl snapped, his servo tightening on the shuriken that he had been in the middle of polishing.
Bulkhead opened his mouth to say something else but closed it again as Ratchet turned and said, "If you say one more thing about Bumblebee I'm gonna deactivate you myself then melt you down for spare parts." Then he settled back in his chair, a smug look on his faceplate as Bulkhead also settled back looking rather pale.
"Will you all just shut up?" Sentinel groaned. "You're giving me a processor…" he was interrupted as one of the consoles began beeping. "Oh what is it now?' he rose and walked over to the console. Grumbling all the while he pressed several buttons as he tried to figure out what was wrong. His optics grew wider and wider as he read what was on the screen. "Optimus," he said in a slightly strangled voice. "We have an asteroid storm heading straight for us."
"What?" Optimus jumped to his pedes and moved to stand behind Sentinel, peering over the other bot's shoulder struts. "Slag," he cursed when he saw the objects moving straight towards them.
"Are we gonna die?" Bulkhead wanted to know as he, Prowl, and Ratchet came to stand behind Sentinel as well.
"Of course not," Prowl said. "More than likely we will just get a little…banged-up is all."
"Off-lined is more what I was thinking," Ratchet grumbled.
"Evasive maneuvers aren't working!" Sentinel announced. "Actually nothing's working."
"We're sitting ducks," Bulkhead moaned.
"Sitting ducks?" Sentinel questioned; a confused look on his faceplate.
"It's an Earth expression," Optimus explained.
They fell silent and watched as the asteroids moved closer and closer to them. All too soon the asteroids broke through the ship, crushing everything in their path. Optimus watched as his three teammates were taken down first and then it was his turn. As the asteroid hit him he could hear the sound of metal crunching; his last thought was Bumblebee… then everything went black as his frame shut down in emergency stasis.
A/N: In this universe Sari does not exist. Everything else happened like it did in the TV show but without her. I aplogize to any Sari fans out there but I just don't like her.
A/N/N: 5 reviews per chapter, please.
A/N/N/N: Anyone who feels like doing fanart or stories that go with any of my stories are more than welcome too. Just send me the link. Also, (and I know that this is asking a lot) does anyone feel like doing a fanart of chapter 9 of 'Mixed-Up' where Bumblebee and Sentinel Prime are fighting in front of the portal? You don't have to but if you do I would really appreciate it.
A/N/N/N/N: I hope you like this story; please let me know what you think.