Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers.

However, the plot and OCs are mine. So no touchy.

And so it begins.

Please Read and Review.

Chapter 4

"Bubbles?"

"Check."

"A giant yellow rubber cyber-duck?"

"Check."

"Fluffy yellow wash rag?"

"Check."

"Bathtub full of warm cleaning fluid?"

"Check."

"Annoying, hissing, stupid idiotic robo-cat crouched in the corner?"

"Check."

"Youngling in need of a bath?"

"Che— Wait where did he go?" Sideswipe dropped the squeaky duck in the bubble filled fluid glancing around frantically for the youngling he and his brother were supposed to be cleaning.

"Damn it Sides!" Sunstreaker pushed himself away from the tub looking around the small washroom. "We're locked in the fraggin' showers! How did you lose him in here?"

"Crafty little glitch!" Sideswipe mumbled as he started throwing towels around the small closed off section of the showers where Ratchet had set up a tiny tub that could be used to bathe Bumblebee. "First time we get to watch him again in ten orns and I lose! What the frag?!"

"If you and Jazz hadn't got him covered in adhesive this wouldn't be happening!"

"Hey, no bot asked you."

"I had no part in this why the frag do I have to help you clean him!?"

"Because Jazz is in the med-bay trying to pick broken glass out of his frame!"

"You two and your damn pranks."

"You love 'em too you idiot! Admit it!"

"I will do no such thing!"

Bee poked his tiny yellow head up from behind Risk's two-tone frame trying to stop his giggles as the twins threw towels at each other trying to find him. The long, slender, sleek silver and blue robo-cat with glowing blue and silver spots covering almost all of his frame crouched lower to the floor so his master, whom he was so protective over, could huddle even further against him to watch the other mechs. His flicking spiked tail curled up to his frame as his tall, pointed, blue audio receptors folded down to his head when a towel bounced off his short muzzle. The robo-cat hissed wickedly making the twins finally stop throwing stuff at each other long enough to notice the little yellow antennas sticking up from behind the hissing feline.

They both groaned.

"Told ya we should have left him out in the hall." Sides sighed.

"Oh yeah," Sunny snorted. "You want to try and get the glitch away from Bee? He's been attached to his hip ever since he jumped out of the cake."

"Hide really needs to murder Wheeljack and Jazz for this." Sideswipe said lifting an optics ridge.

"I'll hold them down." Sun agreed.

"No!" Bee jumped up from behind Risk to dispute the statement only to realize to late it was a trick. Sides laughed springing forward to snatch the youngling up away from the robo-cat that hissed louder slicing its razor sharp claws at the red mech who plucked his master away from him. "Hey! Don't want bath!"

"To bad." Sunstreaker huffed. With a hiss of his own he kick away the snarling feline that paced the wall when the youngling was taken from him. "We're not gonna hurt him you glitchy fragger! Calm your aft down!"

"Will you stop cursing!?" Sides scolded as he dropped a wiggling Bumblebee into the warm fluid and began scrubbing him with the rag. Once Bee was in the bath he knew it was foolish to fight back against the massive red warrior who had put him there so he quit struggling to get away. Instead he reached for his squeaky duck pushing it around the pillows of bubbles while Sides began to scrub the layers of adhesive that were caked on his arms away as Sunny had a hissing contest with Bee's new pet.

When Sides had decided to employ the tiny mech in his little game of pay-back-on-Prowl-for-locking-the-twins-in-the-bri g-instead-of-letting-them-go-to-Bee's-party he hadn't planed on the fact that the youngling was going to think that super adhesive appeared to be fun. It had somehow though, and while Sideswipe and Jazz were busy trying to glue every data pad in Prowl's office to his ceiling and make them play show tunes on repeat they hadn't noticed until too late that Bee, who employed Risk in his adventure, had dumped the whole barrel of the stuff off Prowl's desk and onto himself along with the floor. How the tiny yellow mech managed that Sides still hadn't really figured out, but Bee did, and than he processed to think it was the most fun thing he'd come up with since he got Risk and started painting himself with it. Of course by then Jazz and Sides noticed causing Jazz to panic at the sight of Bee covered in super adhesive and very idea of explaining that to Ironhide and Optimus. That caused the silver saboteur to fall out of the chair he'd been standing in and crash into Prowl's desk covered in computer screens ending up with glass stabbed into pretty much every nook and cranny a mech had.

Unfortunately.

However, Bumblebee had thought that was pretty funny too.

But with a youngling sticking himself to the floor, Jazz a walking disco ball, and Prowl's office pretty much destroyed Side's prank was kind of a bust. He was a little disappointed about it, but he had managed to hide the fact that he had allowed Bee to cover himself in super adhesive and no mech besides him and Jazz knew that Bee had even been at ground zero of Sideswipe's latest mess, well besides Sunny, but he always knew what foolish thing Sideswipe did now. So Sides had been saved from that lecture from Prowl and Prime, now he just had to get the youngling clean before he and Sunny had to take him back to Optimus because the red warrior and Jazz were going to have to go on double shift tonight in punishment for the wreck they had made of Prowl's office.

And of course the red twin called upon his golden brother to help clean up the hidden, covered in adhesive, youngling before he got caught on that as well.

Not something Sunstreaker was all that happy about, but like always he did anything his little brother needed even if he complained for most of it.

"This is your slagging fault you glitch!" Sunny growled at his brother. "And you! Get the Pit away from me you vile little pest!" He tossed another towel at Risk who snarled before letting out another annoyed hiss as he paced across the washroom.

"Sunstreaker, knock it off!" Sides pleaded as he scrubbed a giggling Bumblebee.

"I'll stop cursing when this glitch learns his place!"

"If you hurt that robo-cat Half Pint is gonna cry and Optimus is gonna feed you to Prowl."

"Prowler doesn't scare me." Sunstreaker huffed.

"Nothing scare Sunny!" Bee's enthusiastic little chirp rang out from where he was buried in the billowing bubbles.

"You are correct, Half Pint!" Sunstreaker laughed with a firm nod to Bumblebee as he joined his brother at the tub side. Sideswipe—never one to be upstaged—dunked the tiny yellow mech earning him a gurgling little protest. Once Bee gasped air again he glared up at the tall red mech who only shrugged with a smirk.

"And what about me?" Sides raised an optic ridge.

Bee rolled his bright optics before giving in. "Sides scared of nothin' too."

"That's right." He beamed. "Now hold still so we can get you clean. My filthy little Bumblebee."

Several breems of splashing and hissing later found Bumblebee wrapped up tight in a fluffy yellow blanket sitting in Sideswipe's lap in the rec room watching a fascinating TV show about organic creatures called honeybees. He giggled in delight every time the deep monotone voice of the show said 'bee' and clutched his fluffy toy, that he realized looked just like one of those honeybees on the screen, to his tiny chest. At the opposite end of the couch sat a rather annoyed Risk keeping a careful optic on Bee as he glared death threats to the red warrior that had possession of his master. The youngling knew that his much loved new pet didn't like his caretakers and that his twin caretakers didn't really like his new pet, but he made them at least try to act civilized toward each other.

It was working . . . sort of.

For the most part he was ignoring the daggers the twins and the robo-cat kept glaring back and forth to one another. He was sure they wouldn't try and hurt the other so he figured he could trust them to not try and offline each other while he was busy watching honeybees. He was enjoying the show far too much to worry about the issue anyway, and he watched with utter fascination as the small buzzing creatures danced in the air between bright color things called flowers. He'd never seen anything like it, but he was in love with whatever planet it was that they were from.

"Sides?" Bee questioned not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Sup, Half Pint?" The red mech answered wrapping his arm around the little youngling that sat in his lap rocking back and forth in his fluffy yellow blanket.

"Where are those?" Bumblebee pointed to the screen.

"I'm not sure." Sides admitted having realized he hadn't really been paying attention to the program he'd found to entertain Bee before he had to take him back to Optimus. Well at least he was paying more attention than his brother who was snoring next to him on the couch with his head unknowing resting on the red twin's shoulder. "Prowl would know though, or maybe . . . ." Sides turned from the TV glancing around the rec room. Cliffjumper and Blaster were across the room at the C-Ball tables knocking large stone balls back and forth with their sleek playing sticks. Blaster was mid-strike of the highest point ball into a pocket when Sides spoke up knocking him out of his concentration making him miss the shot. "Hey Blast!"

The ball slammed just short of the pocket before it rolled to a stop.

Blaster practically growled at the sight of his missed shot while Cliffjumper snorted his victory.

"And that's the game, Blasty." Cliff said. "You owe me seventy credits, dear friend."

"I'm gonna scrap you Sideswipe!" Blaster swore turning toward the red twin.

"Where are honeybees from?" Sides asked ignoring the threat.

"What in Pit is a honeybee?" Blaster threw his playing stick onto the round, black, table only to increase his glare.

"No bot watchin'?" Bee questioned, insulted that no one else found the show as wonderful as he did.

"I don't give a frag about your annoying organic program, Bumblebee." Blaster fumed taking his anger out on Bee.

"Stop being such a sore loser, Blast." Cliffjumper nudged him in the arm. "Bee didn't do anything."

"I swear if he wasn't in your lap I'd slug you." Blaster just went right on glaring at Sideswipe.

"Sure you would." Sides chuckled grinning over the back of the couch as Bee blinked around at all of them.

What had he done now? And why wouldn't anybot tell him where honeybees were from?

"Sides," The little mech poked his caretaker in the midsection. "Where honeybees? Want one. Can I have one?"

"Why do you want one?" Cliffjumper, abounding the game he'd won, strolled over to the couch and plopped down between Sideswipe and Risk. The two tone robo-cat didn't mind the short red bot so he did nothing but twitch his tail back and forth ever so slightly. "You're like twenty times cuter than those things."

Bee broke into a broad grin.

"Yeah, like his ego needs to get any bigger." Blaster rolled his optics as he stomped out of the rec room leaving Bee blinking in confusion in his wake.

"I do something?" He asked nervously.

"Nah," Cliff reassured the tiny bundle turning up the program so he'd get distracted. "Blast is just a really sore loser and he's been of shift all orn so he's kind of tired."

"He's worse than Sunny when he loses." Sides laughed. His brother snorted in his sleep making every bot chuckle as they relaxed against the soft couch watching the tiny yellow forms dance around colorful plants.

Bee sat to the side of Optimus's desk as the busy commander typed away at his reports humming quietly to himself. The little youngling was leaning against Risk's side as he stuck his small palm into the bucket of yellow paint that the robo-cat had his tail wrapped around. Squishing his fingers around in the sticky liquid Bee smiled as he placed his hand flat against the paper having the time of his life as he tried to make the smudges of yellow, black, blue, and purple he'd managed to pretty much cover himself and the floor around him in look like the organics he'd seen on the TV the night before. Hide was on shift again, with the twins this time, so Bee was getting to spend the orn with his Optimus again. Even if he was pretty sure Optimus had forgotten he was down there.

Bee didn't mind though.

He was too busy trying to make honeybees.

With a quiet giggle he leaned away from his paper again looking down at the splattered paint everywhere very proud of the image he'd come up with. There were four giant yellow blobs around the masterpiece with black smeared in here and there where he tired to give them stripes and antennas. The eyes he'd gotten closer with smudges of blue though his attempt at flowers he was the most proud of. The whole paper was covered in purple and blue where he'd tried to recreate the pretty plants that the monotone voice had called flowers. He was almost positive he'd made them look just like they were suppose to by mixing the blue in with the purple every now and again. He was also pretty sure that he and Risk had more paint on them than the paper did, not to mention how much he'd gotten on the floor, but Bee figured that if he should have quit than Optimus would have told him too. Then again Optimus hadn't looked up since he'd sat down behind his ten computer screens and started typing. Bee wasn't sure what he was doing, kind of figured he wouldn't understand if he asked, but still he had finished his picture and he wanted Optimus to see.

Twisting to look up at the desk that towered over him and the mech that wasn't paying him any attention he pouted. Tilting his little head Bee cast a glance over to Risk. The bright robo-cat blinked before he leaned forward to nudge Bumblebee toward the desk causing Bee reached for the wildfire like bond he and the robo-cat now shared. It was one of the reasons he loved the pet so much. The feral spark that burned so bright and welcomed Bee in like they were family fascinated the youngling. He wasn't sure if his family knew that he and Risk could call to each other like Bee could call to his caretakers. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be able to.

He could though.

He understood Risk like the feline like creature could speak just the same as any other bots around him, but at the same time it was different. Bee and Risk communicated in a more primitive way. Bee didn't need spoke words with his robo-cat. They spoke with their sparks.

"Up." Risk never spoke in full sentences, and Bee wasn't sure if he could. Most of the time they communicated though feelings and jesters, only every once in a while did the robo-cat try for words, and when he did it was broken and seemingly forced. Bumblebee didn't really think that his language came easy to the robo-cat.

Bee glanced back and forth between the desk and his pet. "He's busy."

"And?"

"Oh fine." Bee pushed himself up to his feet putting his picture behind his back as he peaked around the bottom of Optimus's desk. The mech was typing away as reports and words flashed across the multiple screens before him. Bee could feel how focus and stressed the commander was. The youngling was afraid of disturbing him with his little painting, but with the quiet hiss behind him Bee step on out. "Optimus?"

The commander hummed in response not looking up.

"Look." Bee produced the painting from behind his back offering it up to his present caretaker as if he was baring his soul for the universe to see. Optimus twisted in his office chair only half out of inner musing about the disturbing reports he and Magnus were messaging back and forth to each other at the moment, but the sight he found behind him defiantly snapped him into the present.

Bee grinned at the shock that registered in Optimus's optics as he stared down at the small youngling. Waving his painting in front of him it didn't even accrue to Bee that he was dripping in about four different colors of paint. Not that it bothered the youngling. Messy was half the fun of it.

"Honeybees!" Bee explained with glee. Optimus's optics softened to amusement as he chuckled quietly shaking his head. Leaning down he plucked his beloved—multiple shades of paint covered—Bumblebee from the floor bringing him up to rest in his lap. Bee smiled as he snuggled into Optimus's strong mid-section while the commander took the vibrant mess of splashes and youngling finger smudges to examine it.

"Yes, Bumblebee." Optimus praised. "And they are very pretty honeybees. Is this what has had you so quiet down there?"

"Yep!" Bee nodded quickly. Glancing away only a moment he pulled at Risk's spark asking him to come. He was granted a soft purr like vibration that silently rumbled between their bond before the robo-cat sprang up over the edge of Optimus's massive desk. The sight of the paint covered robo-cat didn't really surprise the Autobot leader at that point. He was just amused that the finicky, almost proud, feline like creature would allow himself to be splattered with paint. Though the leader had learned the last few orns that Risk had become Bee's new self-proclaimed protector, yielding to only Ironhide and Optimus himself. Every other bot on the ship was fair game to the razor like claws the four legged mech wielded when they tried to get between the pet and his new master. His long glittering grey fang-plates that poke out from under his short yet thick mussel were also well used weapons against any that crossed the robo-cat. His twitching wires along his nose plate that served as sort of whiskers were dripping in blue paint and his long pointed ear like audio-processors were splattered with yellow dots. Mostly though it was his two-tone blue spotted chassis that bared the most of the paint.

Optimus was almost positive he didn't want to know what his office floor looked like if even the robo-cat had that much paint on him.

"Risk helped." Bee said.

"I can see that." Optimus nodded. Turning his attention back to the art in his hand he was amused at how proud Bumblebee seemed of his work. "It's a very nice picture, Bumblebee."

"Saw on TV! Like it?"

"I do."

"Think Hide like it?"

"I'm sure he will."

"Prowl?"

Optimus raised an optic ridge tilting his head. "Prowl?"

"Wanna give to him." Bee nodded before a kind of nervous laugh left him as he shrugged his splattered shoulders. "I wanna say sorry."

"For what?"

"'Cuz. Helped Sides and Jazz prank him."

"You did what?"

"Sides and Jazz prank him, 'member? I helped." He admitted.

"You did?" Optimus had to hide his smile as the youngling fidgeted in his lap.

"Yeah," Bee nodded. "So thought maybe if painted him some honeybees he not be mad at me anymore."

"I doubt he is angry with you, Bumblebee." Optimus assured him. Risk let out a mew of agreement as he plopped down on the neat desk swishing his long tail back and forth. "See even Risk agrees."

"Still wanna give to him." Bee said. "Take me?"

Optimus glanced at the unfinished message on his screen before his optics returned to the youngling who gazed up at him with pleading optics.

He sighed.

How could he deny this creature anything?

He just didn't have the strength in his spark.

"Alright, Bumblebee." Optimus agreed. "Let's go find Prowl."

"What in the name of Primus did you do to yourself, Youngling?" Prowl almost dropped the data pad he was typing on when Risk sprang onto his desk with a paint covered youngling sitting on his back as Optimus chuckled in the doorway.

"Made you a picture!" Bee explained gleefully as he produced his masterpiece. Risk lowered himself to the desk so Bee could slide off his back and watched with careful optics as the youngling hurried across the once again perfectly spotless desk offering his drawing to Prowl. The all seriousness all the time white and black mech couldn't help his smile as he took the paper looking down at the smudges making them out to be the little earth creatures called honeybees. Once he had assessed his gift Prowl looked down to Bee who stood rocking back and forth on his little feet his hands clasp behind his back as he grinned up at the mech with a smile that could melt even the sparkless Megatron into a pile of goo.

"It is a wonderful gift, Youngling." Prowl nodded his thanks attaching the paper to the top of his desk over to the side where he could see it and yet it would not get in his way. "Thank you very much, but I must ask why am I getting it?"

"Wanted to say sorry." Bumblebee suddenly found the spotless desk beneath his dirty feet very interesting as he twisted a purple splattered toe around the surface. "Didn't mean to make mad by helping Sides and Jazzy. They said would be funny. I thought was funny, but you not think it was funny. Really, really, sorry. I won't do it again. I promise!"

Prowl sighed heavily at the pitiful little form before him only to glance to the mighty Prime in his office doorway that watched the youngling with such love it was tangible. Prowl had tried to keep his distance from the illogical attachment that would be befriending the youngling at first, in the end though he had failed miserably. The mech was very aware just how easily the little ones life could be snuffed out and the thought made the well seasoned warrior shiver. He didn't want to think about a life without Bumblebee. The youngling had become too important to every spark on Artemis 1 for the bots to ever go on without him.

"I am not angry with you, Bumblebee." Prowl said gently.

Bee's little head shot up his tiny antennas flicking with excitement.

"Really?"

"Really, Youngling." Prowl nodded running a careful digit over his head. Bee practically purred leaning into the touch of the mech that he didn't think he got to see enough. Prowl was always working. Always busy. And it always seemed to Bee that he would just be in the mech's way. So he tried to avoid being a nuance by just keeping his distance. That didn't mean he didn't like the serious bot though. Quite the opposite actually, he really liked Prowl.

"I told you he wasn't mad, Bumblebee." Optimus chuckled as he walked forward to sit in one of the chair across from Prowl's desk. The youngling only smiled between them before Risk let out a huff leaping from the tall metal desk and curling at the Prime's feet. The robo-cat didn't like being the center of attention and Optimus knew that the feline mech trusted him to take care of the master he was so protective over.

"I know," Bee nodded. "And Optimus always right."

The Prime laughed at the words. "Now I wouldn't say always."

"But you are." Bee tilted his tiny head his antennas flicking. "You always right."

"No bot is always right, Youngling." Prowl corrected him.

"Opt is!" Bee's voice slipped back to a much younger vocabulary something that often happened when he was getting tired or upset. In this instant the two mechs knew that it was portably both with the orn coming to a close.

"Well I'm flattered you feel that way, Bumblebee." Optimus relented taking the little mech into his hand and bringing him to rest against the thudding of his spark. Bee snuggled happily up against the leader's chest as he buried his head trying to hide his yawn. "I truly am."

Prowl watched the pair with a small smile for a moment, enjoying the simple sight of his friend so at ease. He was about to return to his unfinished shift schedule for the next few orns when the beeping of a communicator halted his actions. He glanced up as Optimus tensed in confusion as he reached his free hand up to touch the side of his head answering the comm link.

"Prime here."

"Prime? It's Magnus."

Optimus went on high alert his memory flashing back to the disturbing words that had been sent from this mech earlier. "What is wrong, Magnus?"

"There is something you desperately need to hear, old friend."Magnus answered, the tense worry evident in his voice. "And you're not going to like it."

The large meeting room was silent as the grave as the recording finished playing, but the air in the room was burning with so much anger in the sparks of the bots that sat around the massive table that Bee twisted in his sleep his little spark unconsciously reaching for the spark of his guardian who tightened his hold on the youngling that slept in his protective grip. The robo-cat who at first the massive black mech hadn't liked, but had proved his undying loyalty to his charge, paced angrily at Ironhide's feet as the creature sensed something was wrong and somehow had reasoned that it had something to do with his beloved master. Ironhide didn't bother to cast the robo-cat a reassuring glance. He was to fraggin' angry for it to do any good.

"So does this mean that glitch knows he's here?" Sunstreaker bit out his hands curling into fist as he fought with his fight response. He was currently imagining just how many ways he could brutally murder that pit spawned Shockwave while his only slightly more in control brother rested a hand on his shoulder trying to remind him via there sibling bond that the youngling was recharging a few chairs down.

"That has yet to be learned." Prowl answered, careful to try and keep the anger out of his voice. The intercepted message between a Decepticon scout, that Magnus's crew had captured, and Megatron describing an Autobot secret that the Decepticon Lord must know about at once had them all one edge. The scout had been smart enough to not name just what he'd learned only saying that Shockwave had sent him to investigate whatever it was. A couple of Magnus's frontlines had wound up offlineing the scout while they were trying to take him alive so no further questions could be asked. All Magnus's medic on medic, Quickfire, and his borrowed one, First Aid, could retrieve was the scout's last report back to base.

"Well we need to be finding out don't you think?" Ironhide ground out quietly trying to keep his angry spark from waking his youngling whom he refused to put down even if he was in desperate need of bath with paint splattered all over his frame.

"What's to be done, Prime?" Ratchet questioned darkly.

"We've been dancing around this for long enough." Optimus leaned back in his chair tapping a nervous finger on the table before him. "It's time we found out just what Megatron knows."

"In doing that we might be spilling our own secret." Prowl warned.

"If we do nothing we'll be blindsided." Jazz argued.

"And how do you suggest we go about finding out what the Decepticon Lord knows about the youngling, Jazz?" Prowl asked in curiosity.

"Let me go." Jazz turned his light optics to Optimus as he pushed himself to his feet leaning against the table. "Let me sneak in and find out."

"We're in!" Sideswipe and Sunstreaker spoke up in unison. They weren't about to sit around and wonder when the Decepticons were going to come and try to take their Half Pint. If Megatron was up to something they were going to find out what it was and make sure it blew up in his ugly faceplate.

Optimus glanced between his loyal warriors and one of his oldest friends knowing that the bots were very serious about what they were offering to do. Knowing that it was probably going to have to be done. Yet he also knew the dangers of sending the trio to try and find his older brother's hidden base and whatever he might be planning inside it.

Nodding slowly with a feeling that he was going to hate himself for it for a long time to come Optimus agreed. "Very well, but this is to be a stealth mission. There will be no shooting missiles at Megatron the nano-klick you find him." His gaze narrowed at the twins who rolled their optics, but nodded nonetheless. "Get in. Find out what he knows. Then get out and get your afts back here. I don't know how you'll go about doing it, Soundwave will probably be the best place to start, but find out if he knows about Bumblebee. Find out if that idiot Skywarp and that merciless Shockwave told Megatron about him. If they did, if he knows, find out what he's planning to do. If he knows nothing than get out without getting caught and don't blow anything up on the way out. We don't need him having any more reasons to storm this ship."

"With all do respect, Prime." Sideswipe started.

"If it is a threat to Half Pint then we will blow it up." Sunstreaker finished.

"We don't know what we're up against yet." Optimus held the twins in a stern glare. "I could be letting you walk into a trap."

"We can handle it, Optimus." Jazz assured his friend with his trademark smirk. "That fool won't know who punked him."

"It's for Bee." Sides held his leaders gaze. "We're not going to mess up."

"Something tells me we're going to regret this." Ratchet leaned heavily on the table his optics glancing from the volunteers, to Prime, and finally to the youngling deep in recharge in his guardians tight hold. Ironhide had yet to voice an opinion on the matter and Prowl was very obviously mentally running the odds the trio had.

"If it is a trick we could be conforming to him that we are hiding something." Ironhide put in. "Not to mention the fact that you three just might get your stupid afts offlined."

"Well now," Sideswipe leaned around his brother to smirk at Ironhide. "Would that be compassion, maybe, dare I say it, worry in your voice, Ironhide? For the likes of us?"

The black mech narrowed his optics, but could do nothing to truly hurt the warrior with Bee recharging in his arms. So he cast his gaze over to Ratchet.

"Would you mind?"

The medic grinned. "Not one bit." A loud clang followed that, but surprisingly didn't wake the youngling as he snuggled into Ironhide while Sides yelped in protest when the wrench bounced off his head.

"Oww what the Pit was that for?!"

"Because you don't know when to shut you damn vocal processor off." Sunny rolled his optics.

"It had absolutely nothing to do with worry about the likes of the three of you." Ironhide ground out carefully even if every mech in the room knew he was lying. "It's Bee I'm worried about."

The three volunteers went very still at that.

"He's lost enough already." Ironhide's optics drifted down to the tiny little mech curled up in the crook of his arm. "He doesn't need to lose anymore. And to be quite honest I don't want to have to explain to him why one or all of you didn't come back. He cares too much about you all to take it very well."

"Ironhide," Jazz spoke carefully his optics dancing around to more than just his lifelong friend. "This is hardly our first stealth mission. We'll be fine."

"No," Prowl crossed his arms over his chest. "You will be angry, and anger clouds judgment. Which in my opinion is what is happening right now. There are many secrets we hide that a scout would think his Lord should know. We have no proof it has anything to do with Bumblebee."

"I think we can handle it." Sunstreaker huffed. "Besides whether it is Half Pint the scout was talking about or not we still need to know just what that fool has been up too. He's been a little too quiet for my taste lately."

"If it were up to your taste there would never be an orn some bot wasn't in my med bay." Ratchet pointed out.

"So we fight?" Sideswipe shrugged. "It's what we do."

"Always has been." Sunstreaker added with a dark tone that, since his past was now common knowledge in this room, didn't go unnoticed.

"Always will be." Sides finished.

"Look," Jazz spoke up before the medic and the twins could start at each other again. "I'll keep these two in line and online. We'll find out what is going on and then will be back. Lil' Bee won't even know we left."

"Just be careful." Optimus warned with the implied threat of there being Pit to pay if they weren't. He wasn't found of losing any of his soldiers, but especially not any of these three.

Sides saluted with a laugh. "Got it boss bot, you can count on us."

Jazz dropped down from his hiding place over the arched grey steel door into a silent crouch, his dimed blue optics flashing down each end of the hall in wary. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker dropped down behind him as he pushed himself to his feet springing to the large key code box to the right of the door as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker hung back to his left the red mech's dual blades drawn out at the ready as he stared down one way the golden twin with his own blades drawn did the same to Jazz's right.

The short silver saboteur hissed quietly to himself as he tried a few number sets in the code lock coming up with nothing.

"We haven't got all orn, Jazz." Sunstreaker warned through comm link his frame quivering with adrenaline. His radar was on high alert as the dark, eerie, base swarmed with red optics that belonged to bots that would love to take each of them apart. The golden mech didn't fear the 'Cons that milled around oblivious to the spies that had snuck into Nemesis with ease. The murky blackness of twisting labyrinths of tunnels and underground caves that was the entrance to the Decepticon base hadn't been that hard for the trio to sneak their way into. They simply followed some idiotic drone until they found the hidden room they'd been looking for.

All they needed now was for Jazz to figure out how to get Soundwave's lab open.

"Mute it!" Jazz snapped shooting a glare before he turned his attention back to the code. Come on Jazz think! The ninja chanted to himself. It's just a code lock. Focus!

Bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep.

Nothing.

Slag.

Bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep.

Zilch.

Frag!

Bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep.

Door still closed.

Pit, fraggin', idiot door!

"Not tryin' to rush ya mech, but come on!" Sides rushed as a dot appeared on his radar. "We got incoming!"

Bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep.

Swish!

"Yes!" Jazz fist pumped the air before he grabbed both mechs by the scruff bar yanking them into the dark lab. Only to stumble to a stop at what he found on the other side.

He gasped once trying to catch a breath, but it wouldn't come.

Sides and Sunny sucked in a terrified gasp as he released them and their optics found the image blinking on the screen before them. None of the rest of the freak show of a lab even processed to the trio as they stared in horror at the sight.

"Bee?" Sides whispered to the picture of his adorable little Half Pint that shown very clearly on one of Shockwave's monitors. The little youngling was laughing, playing with his stuffed bee, and appeared to be toddling his way down a hallway somewhere on the Autobot ship.

"Frag!" Sunstreaker hissed under his breath his fist clenching and starting to shake as it sank in.

They knew.

They fraggin' knew!

Jazz's hands clenched into fist trying to rein in his anger as he stared at the screen before him. Every program in him wanted to race out of the room, find that Pit-spawned Megatron, and tear his fraggin' optics out for daring to even think he could see his Lil' Bee.

However, he couldn't.

Prowl's warning echoed in his audio processors making him shake his head clear. Attacking the Decepticon Lord was not the wises path to take. He had to get back to Prime with this information. Megatron could wait.

Grabbing a few data pads that were laying around Shockwave's cluttered lab he hissed to the twins.

"Grab anything that might tell us what they're planning. We're getting out of here!"

The twins didn't budge for a moment, both trying to get a grip on their own anger roaring like an inferno in their sparks, but they finally took a shared breath and starting grabbing. Stuffed subspaces and a few nano-kliks later the three slipped back out of Shockwave's lab vanishing back into the shadows of the halls of Nemesis heading back the way they came. Nothing got in the trios way as they followed their own hidden signatures to find their way out of the twisting maze that was Megatron's fortress. All three were too focused on getting home and finding a way to keep Bee safe that it didn't even register to any of them to wonder if that had all been far too easy.

Harsh red optics glowing with centuries of anger and hate, dark with deeds that most would shutter to even think about, were almost joyful as a towering grey mech leaned back in his metal thrown in the center of his hall bathed in darkness.

"They took the bait, my Lord." A mechanical, almost static like, voice rose up from the blackness as the stealthy silver mech stepped to his master's side his calculating red optics never meeting the commander.

"You have done well, Soundwave." Megatron's dark voice almost chuckled as he shifted in his jagged metal throne. A tiny flickering data chip in his hand displayed the very image he'd planted. Deceiver, the fallen scout, had done his job well. The foolish soldiers of his little brother came rushing in just as Soundwave predicted. Sneaking in and heading straight for the strange mech's lab they found the very thing they feared above all else. That precious little youngling of theirs flashing on the screen.

"Thank you, my Lord." Soundwave bowed slightly as he watched his master stare down at the image he had captured of the tiny mech. It spiked the bots curiosity, but he knew better than to question his lord. He was not as foolish as that power hungry Starscream, nor was he vile enough to think that he could somehow overthrow the Decepticon lord with 'logic'. Shockwave would pay for his foolishness one orn along with Starscream.

Soundwave was certain of that.

And Soundwave was never wrong.

However, even Soundwave had to speak about this.

"Though my lord. Not to question your judgment, but if you plan to follow the course of action you are currently taking I'm not certain it will be worth the cost."

"It will be worth it." Megatron assured his trusted right hand.

"The little mech will be a drain on resources. He will not be worth the trouble it will be to keep him alive. Not to mention the trouble of re-youngling knapping him."

Megatron chuckled darkly. "Ah that is where you are wrong my loyal Soundwave."

"My Lord?"

"He will be worth it."

Soundwave still wasn't completely sure what his dark master had planned, but he knew in the end it would not be for nothing. "It is not my place to question. I will return to my lab to see what Ravage and Laserbeak have learned."

However, Megatron spoke up stopping the Communications Officer.

"My brother truly is a fool." He snorted. "To get close to a creature so fragile and defenseless. Pathetic. But fret not," He smiled harshly to the image. "I have plans for the youngling. With him I could reach out and break Prime whenever I wanted. Though that would never do. No. Offlineing the runt would only make him a martyr to my dear little brother. What I've got planed for that tiny mech is much grander than that. He will be my greatest victory. I'll take Prime's precious hope and I'll tint it until all that he can recognize is the shell of what he once treasured! No, Soundwave, what I have planned for that youngling will be well worth the cost it will take to acquire and keep him. That much I assure you."

"The idea amongst the ranks will make your plan difficult to complete and keep the runt alive."

Megatron chuckled. "Oh fear not, Soundwave. Shockwave and Starscream will pay for keeping their little secret and they will watch in agony as their plan fails."

The emotionless officer snorted, his faceplate showing the tiniest hint of a smile even if it was for the briefest of nano-klicks as he nodded. Turning away from his master he spoke over his shoulder disappearing into the shadows. "This shall be quite entertaining to watch."

Snapping the picture screen shut Megatron curled his fist tight around it his harsh red optics glittering with vengeance. "Quite entertaining indeed."

*Dramatic music fades out*

Dun, Dun, Duuuuuuuunnn!

I've been waiting one whole story and four chapters for this moment! And here it is!

Hopefully I didn't destroy Soundwave and Megatron too much. Evil beyond comprehension is kind of difficult to write. Yet it was surprisingly fun. Who knew? Then there is Soundwave . . . he actually talks kind of a lot in my story . . . he just does. Roll with it.

Oh, and who else thought Bee was adorable in this chapter? Than again I might be a little bias.

Anyway,

What did you think? A whole lot happens in chapter 4. It was originally two because so much goes on, but I realized that split up they were just two short. So I combined them, and I think I like it better this way. Hope you guys do too.

Thanks again for the reviews, though I'll admit I was a little disappointed that there wasn't that much feedback on the last chapter. It was one of my favorites and it received the least reviews. No worries though, I'm just happy you guys are sticking with me. . . hopefully.

Because . . . .

The nasty truth has come out. Megatron knows about Bumblebee, the Autobots have fallen for his trap, and his evil plan is now in motion. Will he take our beloved Autobots' youngling? What did he mean when he said Shockwave and Starscream will pay for their secret? And what will become of Bee in the mix of all the chaos?

Well you're gonna have to stick around to find out.

The real action begins now. The past is about to come back and bite our valiant Autobots in the aft. Hard. Not to mention the truth is closing in on little Bumblebee and I seriously doubt even Ironhide and Optimus are going to be able to keep it at bay for much longer.

Until next time, please review it makes me write faster.

Chat with ya later.

-Jay