And before I start, I would like to thank DreamStoryWeaver for the idea that inspired this and the upcoming chapters. Thanks a lot! You got me out of that bad writer's block!
Chapter Seven: Vanishing
Long after everyone had retired to their quarters, down the darkened hallways of the warehouse slinked a shadowed figure, carefully stepping so not to make a sound. At first glance, one would think that this was a burglar, trying to sneak his way to where the valuables were kept. But if one were paying attention, one would see that the figure wasn't breaking in, but breaking out. It was Bumblebee, creeping for the front exit, silently as a giant alien robot could creep. He had thought this idea over in his processor many, many times, thought not enough times to talk himself out of it. If his companions decided to treat him the way they were and make fun of him at every turn, it would serve them well if he suddenly went missing.
As he silently opened the front door and slinked out, he suddenly realized he didn't know where to go. His plan hadn't gone that far ahead. Oh well, there had to be somewhere that the other Autobots wouldn't think about. He transformed and decided to think of a hideout as he drove down the semi-deserted streets of New Detroit. He didn't care where he hid; only that it had to be far away from the warehouse. Somewhere that was completely out of the way and a place that seemed like somewhere he would never, ever go.
Upon passing thousands of skyscrapers, he noticed he made it to the shore of Lake Erie. Looking out over the waves, he remembered Dinobot Island. That was definitely not a place he would normally go, so far from civilization and inhabited by bumbling Dinobots. Prowl and Bulkhead had only recently told Optimus that the Dinobots were there, so Bumblebee didn't think that it would be a place Prime would want to return to so soon.
Hey, it was the perfect place! He just had to steer clear of the three monsters until he was ready to head back to the base. And staying hidden from a bunch of stupid dinos wouldn't be too hard, he figured. So heading to the docks, he kept an optic open for a raft or something he could use to get to the island. He didn't have need of one of the large barges at port, nor did he need the ferry. Someone would notice any one of those things missing, and he didn't want to get in trouble for stealing.
He finally found an old shack with the sign 'Boats for Rent' nailed up to the top of the doorway. He peered in through the smudged window, trying to see if there was something his size around. He was the smallest of the Autobots, but to humans and their equipment, he was still large. A fact he rather enjoyed, though right now, he was a little annoyed with it. But looking up the dock near the rental place, he noticed a few more boats docked there for the night. And what to his surprise, a raft which gave the occasional tours on Lake Erie for the tourists. Score!
Hopping on the raft, and zapping the mooring line with one of his stingers, he was on his way. Uh oh, the wrong way. He stuck his servo in the water and corrected his direction, and began laboriously paddling towards Dinobot Island.
Yep, the guys shouldn't have been teasing me. They'll learn. Ha! After thinking that, however, Bumblebee felt a pang of guilt. He had run off in the middle of the night, without telling, and only a note written on his white board, which he left in his room on his recharge berth. He knew everyone would be worried about him, well, at least Sari, Bulkhead, and possibly Optimus. Ratchet and Prowl would probably be glad to be rid of him!
Realizing that, his guilty conscience vanished, and he paddled on even more determinedly. He would reach the island by sunrise, and he would paddle the raft to the other side of the island to keep it hidden, just in case anyone came by the island, noticed the raft, and reported it.
But Bumblebee's arm started to drag after an hour out. The paddling was hard work, so pulling his servo out of the water and shaking off the droplets, he decided to rest for just a little while before attempting again. He settled more comfortably on the boat, when his foot hit the pile of line on the edge of the raft, near the human-sized seats. Hidden from view underneath the seats and only revealed now when he kicked the line, was a long paddle. Groaning to himself, he grabbed up the oar, and plunked it into the water, starting up the paddling again, this time, making better headway.
This raft is even against me. I won't be surprised if it springs a leak! Wait! Forget I said-err-thought that! I can't swim!
Just as Bumblebee had planned, he moored his raft on the sandy beach as the sun broke over the horizon, casting its red and orange beams over the sleeping world, caressing it to wakefulness. But of course, Bumblebee being the nature-hater he was, didn't notice the fresh, early morning beauty, and stepped into the shaded jungle on the island, which was busy with life, even this early in the morning. He expected the city was just getting busy as well. Man, how he missed the concrete and paved roads. He brushed some trampled terrain off his foot as he continued to stumble along, looking for a good place to hang out until he got ready to go home.
He didn't go too far on the island before he heard tremendous stomping and crashing. Stopping to figure out what the sound was and where it was, he suddenly realized it was heading in his direction, fast! Whatever it was, was huge, the crashing testified to that. And the only things on this island besides a few birds, small reptiles, and insects were…. Dinobots!
Spinning around to face the sound, and then ducking away as a tree came crashing to the ground, Bumblebee caught sight of three huge, metallic, and angry beasts. Oh slag!
The Dinobots surrounded him, the Pterodactyl alighting on a tree on the right above his head, the Triceratops pawing the ground to his left, and the biggest, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, roaring in his face.
The T-rex transformed to his robot mode, holding his flaming sword before him, and growling at the hapless Bumblebee.
"Intruder! Dinobots squash puny, yellow bot!" Grimlock raised the sword above his head and began the swing downward to split Bee in two.
Sari awoke in her borrowed room at the Autobot base. This was her usual habitat when she came over to stay with them. And over the course of her time with them, she had filled it with many of the things she loved; her toys, some jars of candy, and the room also held her sleeping bag and pillow. After spending the whole night on the floor however, she was wishing she had stayed home in her own nice, comfy bed. Crawling out and not bothering to change out of her pajamas, Sari left the spacious room to go to the even larger living room of the base. She had expected Bumblebee to have the TV on already, but it was off, and the yellow Autobot wasn't there. Thinking it odd only slightly, Sari shrugged away the feeling and sat down on the concrete couch herself, picking up the remote, and turning the TV on to the cartoon channel. Most of what came on was junk anyway, but there was always a chance something good would happen along.
Just as her stomach began to grumble for something to fill it, Bulkhead and Prime came into the room. Sari stood up on the couch and looked over the back.
"Good morning!" she sang out, a cheesy grin on her face. Both Autobots returned the smile.
"Morning, Sari. Sleep well?" Bulkhead asked as he came to see what Sari was watching on TV.
"Well, yes and no." Sari giggled at the puzzled look Bulkhead turned to her upon hearing her odd answer. "It took me forever to get to sleep, but once I did, I didn't wake up once! So, yes and no!" she explained.
"Oh, ok then. I get it."
"So, where's Bumblebee?" Prime asked, taking a step closer to the two. "He's always up by now, playing a video game or watching TV."
"I don't know. Haven't seen him yet." Sari answered, shaking her head.
"Maybe he's still sore about last night. He was really looking forward to getting that part in." Bulkhead suggested, picking up the remote and changing the channel to anything but kid's cartoons. Sari may like them, or some of them, but he could stand any of what was on early in the mornings.
"Maybe I should go talk to him about that, and apologize for laughing at him." Optimus said.
Bulkhead laughed, "Well, you know he's been asking for it. He's always teasing us or playing pranks. I think he's just getting what's coming to him."
"Maybe so, but we all should still apologize." Optimus said, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, ok. I guess so."
"I'm not! I meant what I said, and I'm not sorry for it!" Ratchet announced as he came in, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Sari figured it was another day that he got up on the wrong side of the bed.
"Everyone is going to apologize, Ratchet. Now, I'm going to go get him." Optimus turned to go back down the hallway where Bumblebee's quarters were located, but stopped seeing Prowl, coming up the same hallway, carrying something in his servos.
"There will be no need for that." he said, "I was just there, and found this." The cyber-ninja handed Optimus Bumblebee's dry erase board, a message was scribbled on it. Optimus glanced over it, and then groaned.
"What was he thinking?" he asked. Prowl shrugged and shook his head.
"What? What does it say?" Sari asked. She jumped off the couch and came to stand at Prime's feet. Optimus looked back down at the message, and then read it aloud.
"'Guys, I'm leaving. You obviously don't care about me, so why stay? I'm striking out on my own, and won't come back unless I get some respect.'"
"What?"
"He didn't!"
"How could he?"
The room exploded; each bot and Sari expressing their disbelief and ruing Bumblebee's stupidity on the matter loudly and verbally. They knew he had been upset, but this wasn't something they thought Bumblebee would pull. What were they supposed to do? Just let him roam Detroit, or wherever he was now, alone? How would they find him anyway?
"Did he leave any clues to where he would be?" Optimus asked Prowl.
"None, after reading that, I looked around. Everything in his room is as messy as ever."
"We're going to go look for him, right, Prime?" Sari tapped Optimus' leg. "What if he got in trouble? We'd never know!"
Optimus nodded. "Yes, we're going to go look for him!"
"When I get my servos on him, I'm going to melt him down for spare parts myself!" Ratchet growled, pounding his fists together.
"Only after I finish with him!" Bulkhead butted in.
"We can think up punishments for him while we look." Prowl said. "I'm already thinking up a few of my own."
"Let's try contacting him first. See if he answers."
"He's mute, Prime. He won't answer!" the medic grumbled.
"It's worth a try. Maybe he'll come back once he realizes we're worried about him." Optimus said, switching his comm. to Bumblebee's frequency.
Chapter seven! Wow, I really didn't think this story would last so long. But hey, who am I to complain?
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