*****

Chapter 4

It remembered nothing. Nothing of the world around it, nothing of the people in it, and nothing of the form it was in. Something felt unnatural about its current condition, yet at the same time it didn't. Much like waking up to a life you've never lived and yet knew how to live it. Like having a dream that was so real you couldn't tell you wear asleep to begin with.

There was such confusion… It clouded him to no end. So many questions floated around in his thoughts… 'What are these strange creatures?' 'What do they want?' 'How did he came to be with them?' 'Why did the smallest of them looked at him so?' Fear… it all but suffocated him. 'Do they mean him harm?' 'Were they the reason he was injured?' He didn't like the not knowing… He didn't like fear… He longed desperately for some shred of familiarity…

******

The days that followed went by without much incident. Since Wasp was still loose somewhere in Detroit, Bumble Bee was kept under constant guard and wasn't allowed to leave the plant. It was learned that he was having sever difficulty getting his body to move and function properly. His movements were very stiff and jerked occasionally when he tried something as simple as walking. Ratchet prescribed and supervised a rehabilitation treatment for the small bot and was able to, at the least; get him to do basic motor skills. The old medical bot had never seen anything like the little bot's case. Believing it was a side effect of the missing parts; Ratchet made a habit of revisiting the chop shop and the police station to see if anymore pieces were found. Those that were he immediately reattached to Bumble Bee.

Bumble Bee didn't like being closed in the way he was. He felt horrible trapped and would often just sit in a corner hugging at his knees. Being around strangers wasn't comforting nor did he like how they kept watching him. They never did anything to hurt or upset him, so they didn't seem to be a threat. Yet, he couldn't truly consider them friends and wished he had something close by that was familiar. However, without any reason, other than the fact that he was still 'injured' and needed rest, the small bot couldn't really protest. He knew of no other place to go.

It wasn't easy for the other Autobots to be looked upon by their teammate with such quiet uncertainty and uneasiness in his wide ocular sensors. Each of the Autobot dealt with the situation in their own way. Optimus took it upon himself to scowl the entire city and its outer limits several times a day in a search for Wasp. He didn't want to risk the remainder of his team, but mostly, after seeing what the insane bot was truly capable of, couldn't bring himself to ask any of the others to do it. Prowl and Bulkhead volunteered to aid the police in their search for the car thieves and their leader. The police had given a statement to the media that a victim of a brutal assault had been found in the 'abandon warehouse'. A fact that all parties hoped would fool the thieves into a false sense of security.

Sari, on the other hand, made it a point to visit almost everyday and find out what was going on. Her insistency of getting close to the yellow Autobot was always met with disapproving reluctance since Bumble Bee was just as afraid of her as he was of the other bots. However, she was determine and would bring things with her, like pictures to try and help jog Bumble Bee's memory. This near daily attempt was heartbreaking for the others to watch, but they didn't stop her, believing she wouldn't understand the permanency of a wipe memory core. Unbeknownst to them, Sari reported what went on with the yellow Autobot to her father, knowing he was thinking of a way to help.

*****

Day 10

The Autobot base

'We're practically giving them away!!'The large flat screen TV could be heard through out the plant as Sari entered. She had taken care to look around in every direction and even up into the sky before even opening the door. Today was going to be the day. 'So come on down to Pete's RVs! Where Bigger is Better!!'There. She spotted her best friend sitting quietly on the huge concrete blocks that had been fashioned into a sofa. Though she couldn't see his face, he appeared to be bored with his head rested in his hands and his elbows where resting on his knee. Seemly watching the program in front of him, yet staring off into space at the same time. A quick survey of the room told the child that they were alone and would most likely be alone for quite some while. "Perfect."

"Hey Bumble Bee." Sari smile pleasantly as she made her way to concrete sofa. "How are you feeling today?"

He had gotten used to her seemly 'popping' in and out of sight by now and had determined she meant him no harm. She was still strange though. "Umm, okay I guess." Honestly, now that she had gotten closer, he had been looking rather lonely. Seeing someone to talk too seemed of perked him up a little. "Umm…"

"Sari." She offered when she saw he still didn't know her name.

"For what?"

"No, my name is Sari." She explained and was instantly reminded of the first day they've met. "Sari Sumdac." She urged when his confused expression didn't change. "Your best friend?"

"Best Friend?" That seemed to have grabbed his attention. "What's that?"

Caught off guard the child had to think about it. "Umm, a best friend is someone very special." She thought about all the time they've spent together around the city. "You hang out and have fun with them. Share things like snacks and hobbies." She thought about how eager he and Bulkhead had been to help her when she had to move in with them. "It's someone you can always count on when things go bad. And one of the best things is that you can have more than one."

"Oh…" he had sat quietly through out the explanation like a kindergartener learning his fist lesson. "Are we like that?"

"Yeah, we did lots of stuff together." She decided to try name several misshapes they've shared together. "Like the time we upgraded you with turbo boosters, or the time we went camping or when it was up to us to save the day from Swindle." Each example was answered with a negative shake of his head. "C'mon Bumble Bee, there's got to be something you remember."

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

"What, 'Bumble Bee'?" She answered after his conformational nod. "It's your name."

"My name?" He tilted his had at this discovery. None of the other robots really called him anything. It would have been pointless. "Really?" He said it himself, as if testing it. "Hmm, it doesn't sound like it…" He thought about it more, like a puzzle. "But it is sort of familiar."

"It's familiar, because it's your name." This obviously wasn't going to work out the way she wanted. She had to get him out of the plant before any of the others got back. It was time to change tactics. "You know, I think you've been coop up in here for too long. Let's go out."

The suggestion was met with surprise and nervousness. "Umm, the red and white robot said I needed to stay here and rest." The young mech would really rather not anger any of the bigger robots. The 'so much bigger than him' robots.

'More like stay in quarantine' thought with a smile frown. "You've been 'resting' for almost two weeks." Since he didn't look like he was going to pick her up, she climbed her way up the concrete sofa. "What you need is some fresh air and a little exercise." She boldly went over to his right servo, got a hold of his digits and gave it a tug. "C'mon, we're going to hang around the city for a bit."

He timidly tried taking his fingers back; gently so as not to hurt the tiny being. "I don't know…" The idea was intriguing, he had felt closed in for the longest time, but the small bot still wasn't sure. As strange as everything and everyone was around him; he felt somewhat safe and secure where he was.

"Relax." She was pulling on his hand now with both of her arms. "You'll be with me." She urged as he tried lifting his hand to get her to let go. She only held on and hanged from his digits until she managed to pull her leg up and over his wrist. "You can trust this face. Can't you?"

All at once his eyes changed. They widen and glowed yellow. Sari watched awestruck as he just sat there like he was in a trance. 'You can trust this face. Can't you?' That statement. The voice echoed in his head. An image of the girl in that same position played in his mind. Then just as suddenly as it came; it was gone. His eyes were normal again. He blinked confusingly and looked around. Then he looked back at the girl. He then, turned his hand over and brought up the other so that she could sit in them, the yellow Autobot studied her for a minute.

His expression went from curious to thoughtful. "Hmm," Then out of no where, he smiled. "Okay."

Sari's own smile all but split her face in half. "Great!" She literally jumped for joy on his palms, making him chuckle. 'He remembered something.' That was all she could think of at the moment. "Let's go!" Something she said made him remember something about her; and she wasn't about to lose this chance. "We'll visit all our favorite places." She mentioned a few as he started walking for the exit while carrying her. Hoping something along the way will jar his memory more. "Then, after that we'll visit my dad." That she was going to make sure of.

"Okay." Seeing her so excited and happy felt right. Really right. "What's a dad?"

Morayma N. Rodriguez ©2008