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Here is chapter two.

Thanks to Gage39 , The Happy Rabbit , annea101 , Katea-Nui , Jessica, Kangarooney for their kind reviews. This chapter is for you guys!

Bubmlebee's spark twisted painfully as he rubbed his faceplate wearily.

He was gone.

The indestructible, unmoveable Ironhide. He was gone.

A keen escaped him, echoing around him in the darkness. He had never felt so alone, so out of place. Bumblebee couldn't help but feel that it was partially his fault. He had heard Sentinel's words, had seen him charge his acid rust gun, had seen him take aim at Ironhide's head, and he had done nothing. He should have shouted, he should have jumped to push his mentor from the path of fire. But he had stood, frozen, as the blast caught Ironhide in the back, knocking him to the ground.

Only when Sam had shouted his name had he moved and even then he had not done the right thing. He was grateful to Skids, but in that moment he had never hated that Twin so much. That shot had been for him. But then, it was selfish of him, not really trying to dodge the shot, to end his own life and suffering, to be safe with Ironhide and to leave his fellow Autobots in the wake of Sentinel's betrayal. To leave Sideswipe on his own.

Cybertronians did not cry. Never before had he felt the need to be so strong as it was now. He understood it, crying, a way to show the loss and pain, a means of letting it out. Bumblebee was not granted such release.

"Bumblebee."

The scout jumped, doorwings flaring as he was torn from his lament. Ratchet watched him, optics dull. The medic, for once, looked tired and worn. Ironhide had been close to him too, the yellow mech's processor told him.

"Kid, come back in with the rest of us, we," the older mech paused, brow furrowing. "We have a new mission. Lennox wants us all for debriefing."

Bumblebee, though aware that he might not be emotionally stable for an actual mission - processor too clouded and all over the place, emotions choking - he followed Ratchet in.

Sam was there, even before he saw he just knew that Sam was there. Carly too, never straying far from her boyfriend's side. Since Chicago they had made plans, plans that Bumblebee may have set in motion with his stunt of pulling out gears and rings. On Carly's finger, one such ring sat, dull and ugly but it meant the world to Carly. Sam had gone and bought her a real engagement ring but Carly, though thrilled, turned it down politely, the ring not the offer, and produced the small gear Bumblebee had given them from her pocket and placed that on her finger. Sam's only remark was "My Mom is gonna kill me." Carly had laughed, throwing her arms around him and smothering his mouth with a long kiss. Bumblebee felt his spark twist painfully again.

The hanger they stood in was large and just a little off the main hanger of NEST. Several screens lit up the walls at eye level to the Autobots and several of Earth's representatives watched them with awe from their respective screens. Lennox, Mearing, a still wheelchair bound Simmons and Dutch stood on a raised platform, a camera in front of them as well as a smaller screen. Bumblebee couldn't see exactly what was on it but it looked like another human, not one that he was familiar with at any rate.

Optimus Prime stood tall, his optics scanning over his subordinates with pride. Dino, standing beside Bumblebee, visibly puffed and Sideswipe, on Dino's far right, made a show of rolling his optics. Bumblebee smiled, the action forced as his leader's gaze rested on him for a second longer then the others but his felt his wings droop ever so slightly as the gaze moved on.

"Autobots," The mighty voice rang out, sending a thrill through Bumblebee. "We have finally won the war and you deserve rest and peace, however I am afraid that I cannot grant that which should be yours just yet." He stepped back, turning to Lennox and Mearing. "Megatron has kept his word and has left Earth. He has taken with him most of his soldiers. However, he has informed me that several of his men have turned against him and has also left me with coordinates to Starscream's current location."

Bumblebee frowned but Sam spoke up for him beating Lennox who had looked just as confused. "But Starscream's dead, I killed him."

Optimus nodded. "Or so you thought." He looked over at Ratchet to continue.

The medic snorted. "Cybertronians are very differant to humans. Most of our life resides in our spark. Our Memories, our personality, our being. Humans, I have noted, sometimes refer to their bodies as shells. This term would be more accurate for us. Our bodies are shells. Our sparks can be moved from one body to another," He titled his helm, thoughtful. "Of course, certain requirements have to be met and the body must be tailored to the spark."

"Ratchet." Prime said, stopping the medic from being carried away.

"Starscream is only in stasis. His spark is intact, you only damaged his shell." Ratchet shook his helm, obviously from some private thought. "You humans sometimes think that we are barbaric in the way we kill. Truth is, the effective way of killing a Transformer is ripping them apart, severing lines and effectively starving the spark. Starscream only lost his helm. He could still make a full circuit for energon and power so that his spark remains fed."

"It was funny though..." Dino said, his Italian accent thick.

Eyes and optics turned to him, some in mirth, others in disgust.

"Ah," Ratchet declared."That does bring up a very important topic though, Samuel James Whitwiky!"

The boy jumped as Ratchet's glare fixated on him. "Eh, yeah?"

Ratchet huffed and Bumblebee knew what he was going to scorn the boy over.

"If you ever do that again I will make sure you never go on the field again!"

Sam, for his part, didn't look at all intimidated by the considerably large being. He replied, "Do what exactly?"

Sideswipe muttered a barely audible "true" and several within hearing range sniggered, the yellow Camero included.

The medic considered this for a moment before saying. "Tackling any Decepticon really. But to that of which I mean is how you took down Starscream. Yes, it was effective but the outcome may have been disastrous. Seekers are a strange breed. They live to fly. The sky is all they care about. For flight one needs to be able to see. Taking out Starscream's optics was not so wise. A blinded seeker is a deadly seeker. They have been known to panic and slaughter anything around them, comrades included."

Sam nodded, absorbing the information. Lennox looked horrified. "You said that optics were a soft spot."

"And they are," Optimus answered quickly before Mearing, whose expression had gone sour, could intervene. "We told you this because there is only one seeker on Earth. The main body of the Decepticon force was made up of ground troops who do not have the same reaction as a seeker. Being in a situation where Starscream was close enough to take out his optics was likely never to materialise."

Simmons, who had been rather quiet, no doubt the painkillers were somewhat subduing him spoke up. "Well it did, big guy."

"Yes," Optimus said simply, "it did for Sam, who is not NEST personnel."

"So how's that differant from any of Lennox's guys?"

"Starscream would not come down if he thought that he would be peppered with shots, Sam had no guns on him and he had no back up."

At this, Epps pulled a face. "Yeah..." his eyes darkened, and Bumblebee suspected that he was currently cursing his comrade who had been given the task of looking after Sam and Carly. Bumblebee could sympathise with him though, sometimes Sam would literally be at one place one minute and be in a totally different the next. He wasn't about to tell Epps that though, Sideswipe would never let him live it down.

Lennox and Mearing gave the man identical looks before turning back to Optimus.

"It also means that we can bring Mirage back too. We are still looking for Wheeljack, but I believe that, from what we witnessed, the Decepticons ripped him apart. "Ratchet added, looking tired. Optimus's engine rumbled in soothing comfort.

"Look," Mearing started, "Although I am curious about your people and how things work, we do have a pressing matter. Not only have we to get Starscream back here, we have to deal with the renegades."

Several Autobots shifted their weight, still not over how the same title had been bestowed upon them by a leader they had once trusted. Bumblebee felt a spike of anger. Sentinel had been like a hero to Ironhide, to them all. Stories of his battles still echoed around their minds from when they were young. The Great Sentinel Prime! Bumblebee mentally spat.

Optimus nodded. "Indeed. The Xanthium has been destroyed but we have received word that a new wave are coming in, drawn in by the energy of the Space Bridge. Our comrades will be here in a weeks time. When they come, we shall hunt down the remaining Decepticons that are now in hiding."

Mearing nodded, though she didn't look overly fond of the current plan. Bumblebee briefly wondered why she was agreeing to Starscream coming back... Maybe they had already thought this through? He didn't get time to dwell as as Sideswipe moved, meeting apparently over, and grabbed Bumblebee's upper arm before he could protest.

"Come on 'Bee, a good sparing match is so on the cards right now."

Bumblebee, though not in the mood, followed the silver warrior without complaint. He was aware of Ratchet's worried gaze following him out the door and hoped that the medic wouldn't follow him.

Outside, the stars twinkled down at them, reflecting off the silver warrior's armour clearer then they did on Bumblebee's. He felt some comfort from the crunch of gravel underfoot, feeling the small stones scrapping against his peds. It didn't hurt and served to remind that he was indeed alive.

Sideswipe looked around, blue optics narrowed in fear Bumblebee had rarely seen in the front-liner. The yellow mech half heartedly copied him, made sure that no one had followed then out and that the Wreckers were nowhere near their location. Bee felt his spark skip in his chest, scared and pained. He knew what his comrade, his only comrade, wanted to talk about. It made him feel uneasy, like a traitor. He didn't want to betray the Autobot's, didn't want to be like Sentinel. He trusted Optimus, wanted to make him proud. Prime, though always speaking of freedom, would not grant him or Sideswipe freedom if he knew.

Sideswipe nodded, to himself, satisfied. "Bee, we can't stay. When that new batch come, we leave." He met Bumblebee's gaze, optics hard. "With no war they are bound to go snooping around for our kind. We are not safe here."

Bumblebee emit a burst of static. Processor not clear enough to find suitable lyrics or recording.

"I know Bee, I know, but what are we supposed to do? Take the chance?" The camero remained silent, letting his lack of response be his answer. "Bee, I am not forcing you to come but..."

No, Bumblebee understood, it was part of their programming to seek out another to have someone to lean on. They needed to stay together. He expressed this by mashing a multitude of recordings together. "No!...we have to stick together... safety in numbers...my friend...not going it alone!"

Sideswipe graced him with a stiff smile. "Bee, you have always been a good friend. I want to thank you for that."

Bumblebee frowned, unsure why the warrior was showing such emotion. Sideswipe was a tough character, rarely showing softer emotions. Bumblebee wasn't sure what is was, although Sideswipe and Mirage had been close, closer then Sideswipe normally allowed with normal mechs. But didn't Ratchet say they could bring him back? He felt his spark twist in jealous anger. They didn't even have a scrap of armour left of Ironhide. Nothing, just a pile of rusted flakes.

Sideswipe frowned, looking down at his peds and folding his arms, uncomfortable. "I... I though you were really dead." His voice wavered and Bumblebee felt a numbness take over. He wasn't sure if he had of minded. But Skids had ruined the first opportunity and the malfunctioning Decepticon battle ship the second. He felt a bitterness, directed at himself for being so selfish. "I really though, Sentinel and Soundwave, but Soundwave especially." He stopped optics lifting to the sky, denta grinding as he tried to gain control of himself, he actions only further serving to increase Bumblebee's guilt.

"I'm here... never gonna stray too far...always plan on being there..." His radio trailed into static. Grief and guilt effectively conquering his desire to ease his comrade's suffering and much to his dismay, Sideswipe looked at him with hopeful optics.

"Thanks, Bee."

Those two words nearly broke him.

O o O

Starscream's body had been easy to find, Sam remembered exactly where it was and they retrieved it with little problem. Mirage was harder. Sam had remembered Starscream ripping the mech's helm clean off but couldn't remember exactly at which point the attack had occurred. It was Carly who had remembered being helped down from the collapsed glass building by Mirage before the Seeker and dropped out of nowhere and had seized the smaller Autobot.

They found the body, but Mirage's helm had been thrown a good bit away. It had been Carly again who had found it. Wheeljack was dead. The 'Cons that had waited in the murky water had ripped him to shreds. And Que, Bumblebee cleared his processor as a memory of the older bot's death flashed before his optics. Que's spark chamber was ruined, non repairable.

Sideswipe stood beside him, watching as Ratchet walked around Starscream's motionless form. His reattached helm resting lightly on the berth as Ratchet ran scans over the new parts to make sure they had integrated properly. Mirage sat on the table beside him, optics flickering as he watched Ratchet work on the mech that had taken him out of the battle. Dino, his brother, stood beside him, glaring at the Seeker but wisely keeping his mouth shut.

"Prime," Ratchet called out without turning. "We're ready here."

Bumblebee moved to stand against the wall and powered up his cannon gently, though he never raised it. Dino moved to stand in front of his brother while Sideswipe rolled backwards a few meters. Optimus entered the room and nodded to the medic. Ratchet sighed through his vents.

"He is going to freak, be ready to grab him."

Everyone braced themselves as the medic entered the codes that would bring the Seeker online.

Mirage, when he had onlined, had nearly thrown himself across the room in fright. Ratchet had caught him and his brother had teased him and he was back to normal if not a little tired. Bumblebee had expected the same with Starscream only on a much bigger scale since it was Starscream who tended to host dramatic shows. There was the sound of whining and clicking as engines reignited and systems booted up. Ratchet let Optimus move closer and as he moved there was a loud spluttering sound as Seeker engines powered on and his body convulsed once.

Then everything went silent.

Bumblebee looked to Ratchet as the medics optics flashed in the Cybertronian equivalent of a blink, frowning in confusion. Had something gone wrong? There was a loud groan, then cursing in Cybertronian, then another groan and then Starscream lifted up his helm. His dazed gaze swept over all the Autobots present before resting on Ratchet. Then his optics narrowed.

"I despise you!" He hissed and Ratchet frowned.

"I just saved your sorry life!" The medic hissed.

The seeker looked confused then his optics brightened. He howled. "WHAT THE FRAG!" Then everything went as Bumblebee had originally thought. The Seeker tried to bolt, swinging an arm at Ratchet then spotting Prime last minute and switching targets. Bumblebee couldn't help but notice a fear he had never seen before in the Seeker as he thrashed wildly in Prime's grasp. "No! Get off! He flung his newly repaired helm back and caught Optimus square in the faceplate causing the Prime to grunt but not relinquish his grip.

Ratchet grabbed a needle like object and brandished it before the Seeker. "Calm down before I inject this directly into your energon lines." Starscream's panicked optics locked onto the small object and immediately he froze. Ratchet nodded, "Yeah, you know what it is, I ain't messing around here. Now you know it so please act with more restraint while in my medbay or I will use it!" He punctured the last few words with a stabbing motioned of his servo.

The Seeker shuddered and strangely, remained silent. Even when threatened Starscream would always try to weasel his way out of situations with words. This time he was either too confused or didn't believe his words would have much effect. Optimus fixed his grip, getting a hold of one wing and grabbing a shoulder with the other. Starscream went ramrod straight at the contact and froze again and Bumblebee knew he was holding his intakes as well.

Sideswipe rolled forward, optics scanning over the Seeker with some unreadable expression. Frowning, the silver warrior pulled back with a warning glance from Optimus.

"W-why am I here?" Starscream suddenly spluttered, "Why save me?" He puled away from the Autobot Leader slightly, talons coming between him and the Prime. "Why-"

"Your leader," Optimus answered, "Has declared a truce. We are at peace."

Starscream stared at him then took another step back. "But that, Prime, does not explain why you brought me back!" The Seeker spat.

"Jeesh, you help sombot out and what do they do? Spit it all back in your faceplate. Typical." Jolt snorted from the corner.

Helms whipped round and Bumblebee felt himself smile, really smile, for the first time in a while. Jolt smirked back at everyone. "That was some shit in Chicago, why wasn't I invited?"

Then another familiar voice pipped up, "Hey man! Thank fuckin' God we wern't anywhere near ground zero! I just got over my giant-alien-robot-kicking-the-shit-out-of-each-other trip back in Egypt! I don't need no more effin relapses, bro, no more! I am happy with my life as it is! I don't want hughe mother fucking alien weapons pointin' at my head. Uh-uh bro, no way!" Leo paused, arms held out in front of him after waving them around through out his rant. His eyes darted around the warehouse as if he were looking for something then he frowned, dropped his arms with a huff. "You mean I rehearsed all that for nothin'? Where are those bitches at?"

Optimus frowned, looking down at Leo while keeping his sensors on Starscream. "Leo, Jolt, welcome back."

Jolt nodded his respect and settled against the wall, crossing his arms over his chassies.

"Hey!" Leo shouted, jumping on his feet and pointing behind Optimus. "I know him! I know him! He's that dude from Egypt! That bastard plane that tried to kill us!"

Sideswipe chuckled. "He tried to kill everyone here Leo,"

"Hell yeah," Dino added in the background.

"He ain't gonna kill ya."

Leo nodded with a deadpan expression. "Yeah sure, am I supposed to believe that? I mean, the amount of shit that happened since I became involved with Samy-boy, you know how hard it is to keep quiet and not shit yourself every time you hear a planes engine overhead? Or when this asshole," Leo threw a hand up to point over his shoulder at the blue volt."appears outta fucking nowhere and just stands up and talks to ya. He can't even effin' drive, bro, and he is an effin' car. Tell me how that is supposed to work!"

Bumblebee shook his helm gently. Hasn't changed a bit, the yellow scout thought to himself before sending a look over at the Seeker, expecting him to have taken advantage of the distraction, only to find the seeker staring questioningly at him. The Camero, after a moment of surprise, revved his engine, snapping the Seeker out of his trance. Red optics lifted to meet his in a fleeting glance before they turned down to the floor again and the silver mech shifted uncomfortably on his bird-like peds.

That was when he realised something was wrong.

There was a strange tingling sensation in his spark, a heat travelling down his struts to pool in his lower abdomen. He stood frozen as the sensations confused his sensors until a line of code appeared on his hub. He watched as the flashing symbols turned from orange to green and then everything narrowed down to that tiny little bit of code that informed him of the... problem.

"Sideswipe? Are you alright?"

Bumblebee jumped and turned to the silver warrior who harboured an unsure expression and was shifting on his peds. Alarm coursed through him but confusion clouded his senses as he watched Sideswipe shake his helm.

"No, I-I just remembered something that I forgot to do. It's kinda important..." He trailed off and looked over at Bumblebee, blue optics expressing realisation of something before he turned and rolled out of the hanger.

Bumblebee stood fast and tried to remain calm as systems onlined without his permission. He turned back to the group, hoping that he could control himself and act normal. Ratchet was frowning after Sideswipe and so was Starscream, though the Seeker looked ill, an after-effect of getting one's helm blown off maybe?

Optimus narrowed his optics before turning back to the Seeker. "Megatron wants you to make your own way back. He and rest of the Decepticons are heading home."

"Home?" The Seeker asked, looking lost as if he hadn't been listening.

Prime paused. "Cybertron..."

The Seeker scoffed. "I know where home is, Prime, unlike you and your subordinates who seemed to have forgotten about it." The Seeker paused, "Megatron wanted me back online?" He asked, suddenly quiet.

Optimus nodded and Dino hissed. "Don't understand it, though he would be happy to get rid of you."

Starscream only lowered his optics to the floor and Bumblebee was sure he heard him mumble. "So did I..."

O o O

"Theses readings... are strange"

Optimus looked up, optics focussing on the hunched over form of the CMO. Ratchet tapped his chin and clicked his glossia as he took in the contents of the datapad held in front of him.

"How so?" The Prime asked.

"First of all, when I woke Starscream up, a code line that I don't recognise onlined which was the cause of the delayed reboot and then the same code line proceeded to enforce itself and..."

Optimus leaned forward in his chair, "And wait, Ratchet?"

"I... don't know." The medic said. "It doesn't make any sense. It caused an increase in temperature and also primed his repair systems, every single one of them. I have never seen anything like it."

Optimus pondered over the information and suggested "Is it possible that he is just so used to being beaten that his systems are preparing themselves for the inevitable?"

Ratchet, who had still yet to look away from the datapad in his servo, nodded. "That sounds... possible, especially when it concerns Starscream. He may have reprogrammed some of his systems in order to survive the war and Megatron. But that..." Ratchet huffed.

Optimus sighed, already predicting a long rant and no nights recharge if he didn't intervene and save the medic from his own obsessive nature. "Is it life threatening?"

Ratchet pouted, knowing what Prime's next words were going to be. "No." he sulked.

"Then rest now and ask Starscream himself about it tomorrow."

Optimus barely held in the small chuckle as the medic pursed his lips and gave a dramatic sigh.

So...still interested or should I just throw in the towel... this chapter was hard to write, Optimus wouldn't stay serious! Bad Optimus! Bad!

Review please?

Side notes:

Que was supposed to be Wheeljack and Dino is Supposed to be Mirage... I wanted Mirage but I kinda liked Dino, so I put them both in cause I wanted to. Wheeljack did die in the book and Que did die in the movie and either one I couldn't find a good excuse to bring them back so... I didn't bring them back.

ALSO I am setting up a new poll on my profile that you guys can vote on who you want to see arriving on earth with the new wave. I will only be bringing back five maybe, possibly six so you each have three options. Prowl however, has a very definite part and can not be included in the poll so... sorry prowl fans! But he won't be appearing till later on!