CHAPTER 9

Is it just me, or does every chapter start with Bee waking up? /:/ Meh. My bad. Hope this chappie is appetising enough, seeing as it is not much- but now the pieces are almost all set!

Bumblebee struggled awake, his internal clock abandoning reason and urging him awake due to the small but throbbing pains coming from his throat tubing, spark chamber and overheated processor. It was quite discomforting as his internal systems and nanite-servers sluggishly worked at repairing the minor damage from the past night. Their speed was slowed by the heavy energon he was not used to. Besides that, his throat tubing was a little burnt and his processor ached. And he had only had a few cubes.

Damn this.

He shook his whole body a little, ignoring the large arms wrapped around him, before rolling over and grimacing, optics still closed, at how uncomfortable the berth was today. Being the proud and somewhat snobbish Decepticon lord he was Megatron treated himself to the finest of everything. His berth was of the finest, smoothest steel. What he was laying on now was NOT smooth or comfortable, and defiantly not the berth he had resided upon for the past couple of days...

Dragging his optics online he shuttered them and unshuttered them, looking around the room slowly from Megatron's arms. They were in the gigantic Bridge on the floor, nestled between the two sloping levels of stations that were dominated by control consoles and vid screens. Megatron's command chair, high and mighty, was suited above them. It was the centre of the bridge, and in front of everything, at the prow of the ship, was the gigantic reinforced glass windshield.

Right now it was black, showing the distant rock of the inside cave. Behind the command chair was a large open space where the 'party' had taken place between the bridge and corridor exit.

Empty and broken cubes covered the floor, and the large glowing stack from last night had been decimated to a few full ones and a couple of half-empty spilled cubes. There were some new scuffle marks and dents added to the collection on the floor, although they didn't stand out, seeing as damaging the environments around them consciously or unconsciously was something Decepticons excelled at. Bumblebee even noticed the now beat-up and rusted security camera Blitzwing had taken a liking to near the exit to the common rooms and storage areas.

He was curled into Megatron's chassis, as usual. Megatron's arms were curled around him, as usual.

Seeking comfort, Bumblebee snuggled into them for the first time and felt his engine unwillingly start to purr as Megatron shifted and wrapped his huge battle-scarred body into him, resting his helm atop Bumblebee's. Bumblebee sunk into Megatron, enjoying the safe and fuzzy feeling of his body against his own (or, rather around his own) and the humming of the mighty lord's powerful spark.

He blinked, pulling back just a little so he didn't leave Megatron's heated side to admire Megatron's extremely well-built form with his seductive rugged armour and his handsome battle worn faceplate...

Bumblebee's head snapped up as he realised what he was thinking. He looked to the ground and frowned, the metal on his face burning red. This was getting scary now.

But still...

Bumblebee looked back to Megatron's peaceful recharging features and was struck with the sudden urge to touch. Bumblebee immediately squirmed his arm free and reached tentatively out, stalling slightly... before his fingers gently brushed Megatron's cheek and Bumblebee found himself stroking the smooth metal.

It was so much softer than he would have thought.

Captivated, Bee's servo slowly traced downwards until it lingered over Megatron's neck cable protectors in interest. As they did, Megatron's engine suddenly jumped to life, and Bumblebee jerked, thinking Megatron had awoken. When nothing happened and Megatron relaxed again, Bumblebee inched forward in his arms and reached out to his neck again, this time excitement and interest guiding him.

Softly starting to stroke, Bumblebee grinned in delight when Megatron's engine hitched and a slow, rumbling purr reverberated between the two bodies. Bumblebee trembled in delight when giddy, carefree feelings poured into his spark from Megatron's.

'You're really just a big old softspark, aren't you?' Bumblebee whispered fondly, laying back into his bonded's chassis and half-heartedly stroking. Megatron's engine quieted but settled into a small ongoing purr.

What HAD happened in the past few cycles? Bumblebee eagerly scanned his memory banks, wilting slightly when he found most of it was fuzzy.

Thinking hard for a few moments he recalled laughing hysterically as Megatron promptly fell backwards and clonked out without any warning or indication when he was trying to navigate through the consoles to get Bumblebee alone and away from the other loud party-goers his strict sense of morale still slightly intact, even under numerous cubes. It had been highly comical; he had swayed slightly before falling backwards, his optics offline before he hit the floor. Bumblebee had fallen with him where he had been clinging to his chassis, and had migrated back Blitzwing's lap when Megatron hadn't got back up to 'make sexy time' with him (as Blitzwing extravagantly pointed out).

After that his memories filled with static, but he recalled Lugnut fawning over Megatron, Rumble and Frenzy attempting to get a disinterested Ravage to drink using some very unorthodox methods (like yanking his tail and pulling his ears) before Swindle had promptly pulled him from Blitzwing's lap and started herding Bumblebee to his quarters, charming sales grin in place.

Bumblebee had followed through happily, thinking they had been playing tag. He liked that game. Used to play it with Sari all the time.

Blitzwing had immediately pounced to Bumblebee's rescue in true Hothead protective brother fashion and started trying to fight Swindle before collapsing on the purple arms dealer and, completely forgetting what was happening, started something else with Random. Icy was not amused, but he had no voice whatsoever when Blitzwing was overcharged.

Blitzwing ended up bunking with Swindle that night.

By then the Constructicons had retired already, and Soundwave had then started to round up a very beaten and scratched Rumble and Frenzy and miffed Ravage to send them off to berth. The motion failed when the sound Decepticon was unable to stop his own speakers from blaring various upbeat party songs as an after-affect of the high-grade, causing his twins to join in with their own dance rhythms. At this point, Bumblebee found himself with no buddy to hang out with, and with Megatron down for the count and Blitzwing, well, elsewheres, he tried to dance with Rumble and Frenzy.

Soundwave resorted to grabbing them by their scruffbars and dragging them out, ignoring Bumblebee completely ('Awwww, Dad! But, but we don't need any {yawn} recharrrrrge!' 'Designation: SOUNDWAVE.' 'Man, Frenzy, {YAWN} you're such a loser...'). Ravage followed with one last unsavoury glance at the chaos of the bridge.

Suddenly, Bumblebee was all alone in the Bridge with an unconscious Megatron and a loyal Lugnut, who was trying to drag Megatron's huge bulk all the way to the corridor. Slightly more sober now, Bumblebee had stood there, cheering Lugnut on. His cheers slowly faded into kind jeers and then silence before he started helping Lugnut; grabbing the Decepticon's shoulder guard and pulling with all his might.

Bumblebee accepted defeat a few minutes later when they had only moved him a few inches and left Lugnut alone, still fighting. Thankfully, the codes to Megatron's quarters had been unneeded and Bumblebee entered without a problem, crawling sluggishly onto the berth. He almost didn't make it in his dazed condition.

Lying there on the giant berth all alone, he felt small and vulnerable and cold. The berth was huge, and he was utterly overcome by it. He shivered in the dark night, curling into a small yellow ball, looking like a tiny sun dwarfed by all the darkness around it.

Longing for that familiar grey mountain of warmth and comforting arms, Bumblebee dragged himself off the berth (half in recharge), down the corridor and into the Bridge, right into Megatron's still unmoving arms. Snuggling in, Bumblebee had instantly fallen into a deep recharge.

Bumblebee's cheeks coloured slightly thinking about it. To think that a few weeks ago, Megatron had been the most feared mech in the universe, merciless and cruel, and Bumblebee could barely speak his name without shivering. Now he was Bumblebee's night light; his strange and sudden source of comfort and pleasure.

Bumblebee gulped, the realisation and the feelings that came with it threatening to overcome him. What would happen after this? What about the Autobots? Did he really (he flinched, unable to believe he was even thinking this word)... love...the... Decepticon lord?

With a jolt, Bumblebee snapped himself out of his self-induced trance and slapped himself on the head. There was no way he was thinking about that now! He had a chance to escape- he should take it! So what if he had feelings for the high and mighty Decepticon. He could hide it, suppress it, forget it, talk to Ratchet about it...

Oh well. No use thinking about that now.

Bumblebee heaved himself up, groaning against the weight of Megatron's arm, and wiggled out. Wobbling to his feet, he gently rubbed his helm to sooth his agitated processor, staring blandly around the room, not taking much in. There was no-one else in sight, as far as his optics could detail. His gaze passed over the entrance, high above, and he froze. It was still open, as always, to allow all the Decepticons entry. Maybe it could serve as his exit?

Snapping fully online, he looked around wildly and quickly hurried to collect as many undamaged cubes as he could find, worried he might actually start to think about what he was doing and come to sense. How successful had his escape plans been in the past? Not very. Whatever. About ten metres up there was a small ledge created from an uneven shift in the metal. He started stacking the cubes; if he could just reach it he might be able to grip all the uneven metal edges and make his way to the entrance. It was a tough barter, but how could he not try?

Pausing as he passed Megatron with the last cube in his hands, his strong conviction wavered. Edging closer just in case he woke Megatron up (although he doubted an explosion would wake up his bonded now- Megatron was offlined to everything right now- Just how many cubes did he HAVE?) he leant closer and gently brushed Megatron's helmet, feeling a deep heavy throb in his spark.

He looked uncertainly at the ceiling, then back at Megatron. Sighing heavily, Bumblebee dropped the cube and plopped down, leaning back into Megatron's chassis and limp arms. He studied Megatron's strangely peaceful face in awe while thinking rapidly. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea... How would Megatron survive without him? Something in his processor, not his spark, told him he wouldn't be able to live without the large Decepticon's powerful voice and strong arms, his commanding presence and undeniable security.

He jerked up, faceplate red. Why did he keep thinking about stuff like that? Bee pushed himself huffily to his feet and stomped off, muttering, with the cube. Megatron, no matter how he acted around him, was STILL the bad-tempered, power-hungry evil Decepticon lord.

Nevertheless, Bee paused and looked forlornly back at Megatron once more as he stretched himself up to clumsily chuck the last cube on his makeshift pile. Nodding in a quick congratulatory to himself and venting deeply, he used the wall as a lift off and pushed himself halfway up, wobbling on the small stack.

Pulling himself to the top, the tall stack shifted, and uttering a small grunt Bumblebee dived forward and grasped the very edge of the ledge. The stack slowly sopped wobbling as he steadied himself. 'Whhhew...' he breathed, forcing himself not to look down. Or at the quiet grey form somewhere behind him.

'I wouldn't do that if I were you,' a smooth, velvety voice suddenly sounded from below.

'Slag!' Bumblebee yelled as his fingers slipped and the pile disintegrated, taking him down with it. He crashed to the floor, cubes cluttering around him. 'Fragging stupid... Damn...' Bumblebee swore again as he sat up painfully, both hands holding his head. The fall had inflamed his processor-ache to a very painful degree.

'Oh... ow... oh yea? Waddya gonna do; stop me, pussycat?' Bumblebee spat, wincing, still rubbing his helmet as he turned around to glare at Ravage, who was sitting a few paces away, staring coolly at Bumblebee.

Ravage's tail twitched slightly and his ears tilted back as he hissed, lowering his head threateningly, sharp flint fangs exposed. Bumblebee inched back at the startling display, letting out a noise of discomfort. 'Yeeesh,' he groaned. 'Sensitive there, pussycat?'

Ravage tensed, and snarled again, but otherwise held control. 'I was just going to tell you that Blitzwing and Swindle are almost here, and I doubt Blitzwing would be pleased to find his almighty leaders only love slave,' Ravage sneered here, casting a stinging sideways glance at Bumblebee, who jerked up and clenched his fist angrily, 'attempting to take a runner while he was out meteorite-cold over-energised.'

'You—' Bumblebee gave a hiss of his own and jumped up, about to tackle the large feline machine when the numerous controls consoles surrounding Megatron let out a few whirring beeps and booted to the life, issuing the ship's Autotimed startup. The whole ship rumbled and shifted.

Bumblebee waved his arms about, trying to gain balance as the ship suddenly started to move forwards at a slow ambling pace. The sound of solid rock crumbling away and breaking vibrated throughout the tough little ship as it started to plow toughly through the kilometre of solid rock that separated it from the open sky and space it longed for.

Bumblebee fell on his aft and skidded, while Ravage remained seated easily, a small tensing of his armour the only visible evidence Ravage was doing anything to steady himself. It reminded Bumblebee of Prowl, and Bumblebee hated that.

The realisation suddenly hit Bumblebee as he staggered to his stabilisers and glanced at the wide vidscreen; it displayed the forward view of the prow of the ship, which was currently black with the rock that crumbled away before his optics. The ship was moving out of the mountain. They were getting ready to take off.

He... started to panic.

He ran around the room, jumping and screaming, staring at the hole in the ceiling, which had slowly gotten brighter until he could see the clear blue sky through it. The vidscreen lit up and bright light suddenly shone throughout the room, the sun greeting the ship for the first time.

He panicked some more, even attempting to scramble up the walls.

Ravage watched in an amused fashion, leaning his front paws forward to stretch luxuriously as Bumblebee completed his fifth lap of the room, surprisingly clearing the still silent Megatron in one impressive leap. Ravage got to his feet and padded to Megatron's huge and extremely comfortable command chair, leaping on it one smooth bound and curling up, ignoring everyone in the room.

Blitzwing appeared at the exit, and paused, his optics taking in the whole room and its few occupants while Swindle sauntered up behind him.

Blizwing grinned when he caught sight of Bumblebee's anxious dash, and Random dived for the camera, following Bumblebee's entertaining rounds of the room with the camera. Swindle chuckled, following and rubbing his large purple optics.

Once Bumblebee spotted Blitzwing he ran over to him, his optics wide and a pleading look planted firmly on his faceplate. 'Blitwing! You gotta help me!' he whimpered, his voice desperate. 'I've got ta get out of here before this thing takes off! Please! Megatron'll never know you did a thing!'

'Zo zu are villing zo leave poor, lonely lord Megazahtron wizout a caring mate, you useless pile of scrap!?' Blitzwing demanded accusingly, shoving the camera in Bumblebee's face as if he was guilty of a terrible crime, his red face glowering down at the worried minibot.

Bumblebee hit the camera away and glared at Blitzwing, crossing his arms and -although he resisted- pouted, even though he knew the inevitable was coming.

'AW, ZU LOOK ZU FRAGGING CUUUTZE VEN ZU DO ZAT!'

Bumblebee, already prepared, danced back when Blitzwing made a grab for him, dropping the forgotten camera. Blitzwing shook his head as he regained control and smiled coolly at Bumblebee. 'Zu enjoyed last night, yes?' Bumblebee grinned, unable to hide the burst of fun memories that filled him when he remembered his first overcharged party.

'Slag yeah! But...' Bumblebee smirked slyly, glancing at the smug, relaxed Swindle, '...did you have a fun night?'

Icy's face turned an uncharacteristic shade of red instantly, surprising the gleefully amused Bumblebee.

'YES! VE HAD LOTS OF FUN!' Random giggled, hopping around. 'I BET WE HAD MOAR FUN DAN YOU!' Hothead challenged, completely off-topic, glaring at Bumblebee. Bumblebee grinned and looked to Swindle.

'I've had worst, my dear friend,' Swindle answered casually, his usual cheery demeanour increased tenfold.

Random giggled some more at the saucy look Swindle gave him, clasping his servos near his face in a very femme-like manner before turning for the controls. He then let out a very femme-like shriek when Swindle slapped his aft as he passed.

Bumblebee started laughing. Mostly because he had no clue which face was dominant at the time of the shriek. Could've easily been Random, but he would have probably enjoyed it, and it sounded like neither Hothead or Icy. He started laughing harder, leaning on Swindle when he found he couldn't hold himself up.

'ZAT—!' Icy Blitzwing yelled before his face started switching rapidly, each personality fighting furiously for dominance. 'YOU- HOW DAREZZ—whiir-vas vun night-swhoosh!Do eet again! OH, let's have a threezome! Bee—No, vay—TRY ME AGAIN, ZU- AHAHAHA! ANUZZA ROUND! PLZZZZ!'

It was quite a spectacle.

Swindle watched this all, then slowly stretched his arms over his head and winked at Blitzwing. 'As a disgruntled customer I am willing to give you a complete refund. Which is extremely rare, I might add.'

Blitzwing paused, Icy finally regaining control, before curtly crossing his arms and staring tactfully at Swindle. There was a small silence. Bumblebee hovered behind them, servos clamping his mouth shut as he waited to hear what Blitzwing would say.

A small nod. 'Ve'll zee.'

He turned his heel and entered the working stations of the controls. Swindle turned and grinned at Bumblebee. 'Perfect sale. That is how it is done, my little friend.'

Bumblebee burst out laughing and grinned back at Swindle. 'Good work. Congrats. And here I thought you were a boring old spark.'

'I resent that,' Swindle sniffed, crossing his arms. 'I am quite a cracker on the berth.' He glanced sideways at the small yellow Autobot, happy-customer grin back in place. 'I can show you firsthand if you'd like. For a fee, of course.'

Bumblebee rolled his optics and went to respond when the ground under his pedes shifted again and his current dilemma came rushing back. What worried him more was how easily he had forgotten it as soon as Blitzwing and Swindle walked in. This only served to anger him more.

'Slag! Swindle, help me out! Can you even just possibly chuck me through that hole in the ceiling?' He hurriedly jabbed at the clear sky through the entrance, hopping up and down in his growing anxiety.

Swindle cocked his head at the entrance and looked back to the troubled Bee. 'What have you got?'

'Got?? I haven't got anything, you stupid clog!'

'Nonsense! There is a payment for everything, sunshine!'

'I'll do anything—wait...what did you just call me?!'

Swindle smiled at the now seething Bumblebee sweetly. 'Suits, don't you think?' He stated in a matter-of-fact voice.

'I fragging hate this!' Bumblebee ground out, stomping his pede much like a sparkling as he lost it in a very immature (and long awaited) tantrum. 'Let ME OUT!'

The ship shifted again, and slowed, hovering, now fully out of the cave. Blitzwing had taken a seat at the controls, and was pressing buttons and checking co-ordinates for the Auto-flight.

A loud and unimpressive groaning suddenly sounded from the large grey mountain, and Lord Megatron blearily opened his optics, pushing himself up slowly and shielding his face from the sunlight with his drooping arm.

'The ship is ready and the boosters are currently charging...?' Megatron rasped, slowly sitting up and glaring at Blitzwing for no apparent reason, one servo resting on his pained processor.

Blitzwing nodded in affirmation, still rapidly clicking at the boards around the control panels. 'Zee monitors are online, ze rotars are charging and will be ready zu go in less zan 'alf a cycle, zir,' Icy confirmed. 'In ze usual protocalls ve would hav charged zem last night, but I zink ve can pass last night as a one-time, zir.'

'...And my warriors?' Megatron asked sharply, still not having moved from his little perch on the floor, a few metres from Blitzwing's station.

'Ztill recharging afta ze affects of lazt night, but zey vill be ready zoon.'

Megatron blinked a few times as if he hadn't heard Blitzwing, his dull optics scanning the room out of habit but not taking much in. Hissing internally, he grudgingly moved forward and started to get up agonisingly slow, a servo never leaving his processor.

Cybertonian hangovers were no where near as bad as human ones, and depended on the capabilities of the nanite-like self healers that were programmed to clean up and contain the straining affects of High-grade until it wore out. In most cases, the more experienced and older the bot was the quicker the "hang-over" was contained. Megatron had plenty of experience, and he was no youngling either. But he had never quite downed as many as he did the night before, he had no idea why. Perhaps it was due to his sated interfacing drives lately and content mood?

'You!' Bumblebee yelled, turning on Megatron and storming to tower over the Decepticon, the power of his hissy being turned full-force onto the helpless Megatron.

'Primusdamnit! You've had your fun, now let me go! I'll visit! I fraggin' promise! Is that good enough for you? Oh wait, it doesn't matter anyway; you can get into my head! The body not good enough for you, huh? Have to have my poor processor as well! Well, take it! I don't care! Just chuck me out the window as you take off, frag it!' He ranted, ending it with a spectacular kick, swinging his leg the way Megatron showed him right into a larger model's weak spot; his neck seams.

Megatron froze and a deathly silence fell after the resounding clang of Bumblebee's foot making dreadful contact with the side of Megatron's helmet. Bumblebee stood still for a minute before shrinking into his armour, once again embracing the all-too-familiar feeling of hopeless regret. Crap.

Megatron moved with his usual strength and agility, and Bumblebee found his pede in Megatron's unforgiving grip, tightly enclosed.

Bumblebee let out a small distressed squeak as Megatron yanked him roughly down to the floor, not pausing to drag him right underneath his grey chassis.

'Do not... do that... again,' he slowly grated out, optics glowing darker with anger. Bumblebee struggled not to shake, feeling the pure irritation and the full burnt of last night's energon coursing through Megatron. 'That… hurt…' And Megatron rubbed at his face with his free hand, allowing his optics to shutter off.

Bumblebee tensed at that and paused. Feeling guilt tug at him lightly, he reached gently out to Megatron, soothing his overworked systems a bit.

Megatron stilled cautiously at first, his face expressionless, before he slowly relaxed and leant forward, holding Bee's chin as his lips enclosed the smaller Autobot's under him in a gentle, riveting kiss that had Bumblebee breathing through his vents as they separated. Megatron smirked slightly through his foul mood, moving in for a second one.

'AWWWWW! Autobug and Mega-zah-tron facing' in sah-'

Smash.

Random Blitzwing had arrived at the two transformer's sides in record time with the anticipation of a sparkling, still lugging the camera in his servos excitedly. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) as soon as he opened his mouth to start his usual crackly tone-deaf vocals Megatron's bunched fist had swung out and smashed into the camera. The lens cracked, and Blitzwing stumbled back, howling in displeasure.

'EET MIGHT VE BROKZEN! ZU COULD AV' BROKZ- Oh, iz KK! Red light eez still flashing, zee? Zee!'

Smash.

Blitzwing stared at the broken camera in his servos for a few silent moments, and Bumblebee actually thought he was going to go hothead and take Megatron on, or worse, burst into oil tears. Looking at Random's frozen, almost clueless face made Bee want to jump up and hug him.

But then, gaining his self-control back, Blitzwing shifted to Icy and nodded to Megatron, dropping the camera on the floor. 'Zank you, Lord Megatron. I vas getting afraid Vandom was getting zu attached zu zat.'

'Just get lost and watch the ship,' Megatron snarled, pounding the camera-destroying fist into the floor, creating a large dent.

Bumblebee frowned; 'That wasn't very nice—'

Not paying any attention to the minibot's scolding, Megatron swooped down again and continued to kiss Bumblebee with feverish intensity. As much as Bumblebee melted into all the kisses and lack of groping, he still made sure Megatron got the message of how annoyed he was with him. It lost its intended affect when the soothing administrations calmed both of their sore processors, lulling the pain to take a backseat to pleasure. After a few minutes, Megatron slowed his assault and finished gently, slowly flicking his glossa over Bee's nose teasingly.

Apparently his self healing programs worked faster when under the influence of lust.

'Pity,' Ravage remarked in complete disinterest from his spot on the command chair as Megatron pushed himself to his feet and scooped Bumblebee up with him, cradling him to his chassis. 'I was waiting for oil to spill...' he grinned, slyly flashing a grin full of many pointed strips of metal at Bumblebee, '...or lubricant.'

Bumblebee threw a dirty look Ravage's way, and Megatron clenched an arm toward Ravage, not too conspicuously displaying his much-larger-than-normal fusion cannon to the much smaller feline. 'Don't you have two boltbags to baby-sit?' He growled venomously. 'Off my throne. NOW.'

'Ouch,' Ravage retorted coolly, grudgingly leaping off Megatron's chair. 'But you are right, Lord.' He inclined his head respectably and whirled around.

Megatron let a heave of air from his vents in exasperation, generating an angry searing whoosh that left Bumblebee's body tingling. Megatron hugged Bumblebee closer to his chassis almost desperately, as if Bee would suddenly disappear, before clumping over to his high set throne and plonking down, his movements still affected by last night. He grimaced, and gently touched his head again.

Bumblebee snickered, ignoring his own pain, which had faded into a passable little thorn.

On Ravage's way out, Soundwave passed him silently, sparing a warning glance for Ravage and motioning towards his room, where Frenzy and Rumble were still in recharge. Spitting quietly, Ravage quickened his paw steps, eager to escape his creator's quiet and scrutinising gaze. Lugnut bustled in after Soundwave, almost trampling over Ravage, who leapt out of the way, hissing.

As soon as the robotic cat's long tail had flicked around the corner Soundwave rapidly made his way to Megatron, urgency showing through his movements. Lugnut elbowed him out of the way and made it to Megatron first, bowing deeply.

'My lord, are you feeling alright? I hope sleeping on the hard floor has not impaired your brilliant—'

'Put a can in it, Lugnut. I am fine. Soundwave, report,' Megatron replied curtly, turning to Soundwave and rearranging Bumblebee on his lap. Lugnut sent a hard glare at Bumblebee, his five optics narrowing. Bumblebee frowned, and then poked his glossa out, screwing up his faceplate.

Lugnut glowered angrily and, unable to help himself, flashed an extremely rude Cybertronian frequency signal while sticking his glossa out too. Bumblebee replied with an extremely rude Human hand signal.

'Lugnut,' Megatron drawled. 'That sort of incompetence I expect from a young Autobot, especially this one ('HEY!'), but from you? Your impudence disgusts me.'

Lugnut nodded, immediately lowering his head. 'I apologise, oh mighty Megatron! Please let me redeem myself in your magnificent optics-'

'Sir; Request: a word, please.' Soundwave's metallic voice cut through Lugnut coldly.

'What now?' Megatron asked evenly, starting to rub his digits over Bumblebee's stomach seams. Bumblebee sucked air in, squirming as Megatron traced circles on his navel.

Soundwave inclined his head towards the other end of the room, discreetly nodding towards Bumblebee.

Gritting his denta, Megatron stood and dropped Bumblebee onto Blitzwing's lap, trudging away and listening intently as Soundwave started to talk hurriedly, motioning wildly with his servos while Lugnut followed, motioning even wilder.

Bumblebee watched them with a hard optic for a few moments before losing interest, starting to study the large array of buttons and bleeping controls that was assessed in front of him. His vision turned to the open landscape through the ship's newly installed wide floor-to-floor window There was the forest, Lake Erie and in the distance, Detroit. Bumblebee felt a stabbing twinge of sadness as he gazed at the dark pointy shapes of the huge skyscrapers on the horizon. From here they looked like nothing more than breakable toys.

'Any chance of letting me jump ship now?' Bumblebee pleaded, figuring one last ditch attempt wouldn't hurt.

'But zu look zo cute togazzar!'

When all Blitzwing received from Bumblebee was a dead, slightly reprimanding stare, he backtracked, unclasping his servos.

He sighed as Icy, which usually wasn't such an unusual thing for the blue cool and collected mask of Blitzwing to be doing, but it was different this time. The triple-changer sounded so sad and genuinely sympathetic Bumblebee found it hard to be angry at Blitzwing for something he couldn't control. It wasn't Blitzwing's fault (well, it was that he was here, right now, technically) but Megatron's that he couldn't leave now.

Bumblebee smiled sadly and leant back into the Decepticon he had grown shockingly close in the amazingly short time he'd been here and patted Blitzwing's arm in thanks. Blitzwing swivelled to Hothead and chuckled deeply, rubbing Bumblebee's helmet and tickling him lightly. Bumblebee let out a surprised squeal at the ease and happiness of the odd moment and giggled, relaxing.

...Maybe... life wouldn't be so bad with the Decepticons.

Even so, he immediately felt guilty after that brief flash of code. About which side he didn't know.

'And you do know you two look so cute together. Almost worth as much as ten galleons of High-grade.'

Bumblebee started laughing as Swindle sidled over and picked up Blitzwing, sitting on the chair Blitzwing had just occupied and placing Blitzwing on his lap. They formed an odd multicoloured stack, Bumblebee cramped between Blitzwing's chassis and the console, while Blitzwing faced the same dilemma, but with Bumblebee at the front and Swindle pressed not very lightly into his back. It was literally a Blitzwing sandwich.

'Do zu mind?' Blitzwing asked, although he was smirking and his voice a touch strained. 'I am trying zu work.'

'Then work,' Swindle leant back, tracing his fingertips over Blitzwing's protruding shoulder. Blitzwing shivered and, for once, stayed silent.

Bumblebee craned his neck and watched, grinning. 'Are all Decepticons extremely horny interfacing machines? Cause that's all I've really seen of you guys so far. Are you sure you guys are the real Decepticons?'

A chuckle. 'On the contrary, we are, as you said so adequately, indeed "extremely horny interfacing machines."' Another grin, and Swindle's servo intensified its gentle strokes of Blitzwing's tender cannons while the other circled around Blitzwing and started fingering Bumblebee's waist. Bumblebee yelped, pulling away slightly, his face colouring. 'But only when those killjoy Autobots are not around, Sunshine. And you are a special exception. And besides, I heard the Autobot Elite Guard was worse. Have you not ever been involved in one of their famous sessions?'

Prowl growled for the fourth time that quarter-cycle, pacing restlessly, the action quite alien to his usually cool and level-headed ninja way of life.

Hope had come earlier in the form of a few bedraggled hikers and their knowledge of the mountains near Lake Erie, which, according to them, did not shake and rumbl, nor did it harbour dark flying shapes that entered and exited the mountain via a large unseen hole.

Onward went their rushed crusade, joined by a vengeful Sari, her hard crystal-blue eyes detirminately howling for blood.

It hadn't taken long to roughly locate where the Decepticons had been hiding, and to sneak into the mountainside through a small forgotten mine entrance. After travelling in the dark fro a few cycles (guided by Sumdac via comm) they entered a gigantic hollowed out cavern, the hole that allowed the Decepticons entry at the top shining dim sunlight into the room, highlighting a fully functional ship.

They boarded the ship unseen, (surprisingly easy because of the size of the impressive structure, the minor number of Decepticons and their inability for most of them to do anything at the current moment), and to attempting to navigate their way through the corridors in search of Bumblebee, they had no luck. Especially because their current "prisoners" were refusing to co-operate. Prowl would have happily done the good-cop-bad-cop, but Fanzone was not here to participate, and Prowl really didn't feel like being the good cop right now.

The purple and blue bot crouching the shiny floor with his black and red doppelganger gripping his arm tightly smirked at the aggressive ring the Autobots had formed around them, settling himself more comfortably into the other one, yawning rudely.

Prowl had found another small bot that he had wanted to offline right after first sight. Although the reason was NOT undiscovered affection.

'Alright, let's try this again.'

Optimus's normally patient voice had undergone a strenuous change through the short time they had encountered the two young Decepticons, and he now sounded downright furious and frustrated, although had still weakly managed to hold onto a more or less friendly tone.

'Just tell us where Bumblebee is and we'll leave immediately. Please, we just want to take him home,' Optimus said evenly, struggling not raise his voice. Time was short and if they couldn't get where Bee was out of them the Autobots would either have to knock them out so they wouldn't warn the other Decepticons or take them with them. Neither option was appealing to Optimus's soft spark, moreso softened at that moment because they were younglings, despite his frustration. He was especially confused as to why there were younglings- actual younglings- on a Decepticon warship. Who the frag could they belong to?

'Who, that opticfull of a lil' yellow bot?' Rumble grinned. 'Not sure where Ol' Megsy would'a stashed 'im. You could try Blitzy, though. Bee always hangs out with him.'

'"Hangs out with him?"' Bulkhead echoed in fear, exchanging a terrified look with Ratchet. He knew Blitzwing firsthand by a few impressive dents and scrapes, and shrivelled in fear at the though of Bumblebee alone with the crazy Decepticon. Sari growled from her spot next to Bulkhead, being uncharacteristically quiet in her full robot form. She was ready for anything.

Prowl clenched his fist and stared into Rumble's optics with a hard glare. To his credit, he looked deadly, poised to strike and ready to kill. But Rumble simply stuck his tongue and grinned infuriatingly at the Cyber-ninja.

'You seem mighty worried about Bee...' Rumble smirked, drawing out the mighty so it came out as a long, annoying mmmmmahiiiii-ty that had Prowl seething. '...But too bad. He's already taken!'

Rumble crackled with glee, while Frenzy shook his head tiredly from behind him. 'And too bad as well! I doubt such a stiff like Megatron could loosen up Bumblebee enough to fully enjoy him...'

There was a brief, disturbing silence before Ratchet gave a cry of raw anger and launched himself at the small bot while Sari leapt alongside Ratchet. Optimus dived for Sari and caught her before her fist could make contact with Rumble while Bulkhead gasped in horror and leapt for Ratchet, managing to restrain the livid old medibot a klik from the surprised and shocked Decepticon youngling. Prowl discreetly sighed, his optics narrowing slightly. He had been eagerly waiting for Sari's blow to hit home.

Optimus sighed. 'Everyone calm down,' he ordered stiffly, placing Sari gently on the ground, where she fumed at Rumble. He turned and surveyed his crew with a critical optic, waiting until Ratchet relaxed and Bulkhead had slowly unhanded him. 'Are we calm now?' he asked icily. He could not afford to let them lose control now; they were so close...

Sari inclined her head as Optimus looked at her, thinking, before she leapt forward and in one swift movement, clocked Rumble savagely in the jaw structure. Rumble's head cracked back and he fell to the floor, his face horrified and pained. Frenzy caught his brother and immediately cradled him gently, assessing the damage, while glancing around in astonishment at the gathered Autobots.

Unable to help himself, Prowl nodded to Sari and smirked, offering his hand, palm-up. Sari grinned evilly back at him, slapping her own onto his in a satisfying, understanding high-five.

'Fragging Autobots...' Rumble winced, delicately rubbing his jaw- a hefty dent was clearly visible and it glowed a dull red with pain. It didn't stand out that much though; it was among the many other small dents and scratches that littered both of their bodies. Such harsh conditions they were forced to live in; Prowl almost felt sorry for these Decepticon younglings...

'Crazy mutha slaggin fraggin—'

...Not quite.

'Oh, shut up, Rumble,' Frenzy ordered, shaking his head again. Rumble opened his mouth to protest, but was stopped as Frenzy slapped him accusingly on the spot Sari had just smashed. Rumble jerked back and growled incriminatingly but remained quiet.

Frenzy addressed Optimus, his faceplate neutral, with not a tinge of hate, fear or the biting sarcasm his brother had used within it (rather a badly hidden note of curiosity and excitement). 'We seriously don't know where Bumblebee is. I suggest you try the Bridge, although I can tell you for sure Lord Megatron will not be happy, especially since he's having a bit of a, as you humans say-' he transferred his gaze to Sari and smiled shyly '-a "Hangover."'

'Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ya mean ta tell us tha' jus as Megatron is about to get off this planet for better things he goes and gets himself drunk? Yer gotta be kiddin me. Megatron's a little more organised than that, kid.'

Frenzy smiled genuinely at Ratchet, many emotions flitting across his optics as he recalled all the memories he had of Megatron, and of Bumblebee and Megatron interacting. 'Then you don't know him very well, do you?' he cheekily countered.

Ratchet frowned and an optic twitched. 'Don't tell me what I know and don't know! Just tell us which way it is to the Bridge, you damn little sparkplug.'

Frenzy jerked his thumb down the hallway. 'Straight, right, straight at the end. Have fun!'

Prowl immediately took off with the others following in quick succession. Optimus paused long enough to nod at Frenzy with a hurried thank you.

Watching them go, Frenzy pushed himself to his pedes, yanking Rumble up with him and both of them took off after the Autobots.

Why the pit did ya tell 'em? Rumble accusingly asked through their bond.

Frenzy grinned, training his optics on the dashing form of Sari. C'mon! This is gonna be interesting! An' besides, do you really want this ship to take off with them on it?

...Guess you're right.

Do you think they're crazier than the Decepticons? Frenzy questioned.

Nah. Bumblebee's one of us now. That tips the scales, Rumble grinned.

You thinking what I'm thinking?

Gotcha!

Catching up to the pack of speeding Autobots, Frenzy pulled up alongside Sari at the back of the group and Rumble joined on her other side. She barely spared them an annoyed glance, not bothering to label them as a threat. Bulkhead and Ratchet glanced backwards too but dismissed the two young Decepticons as well. They seemed harmless enough and time was running short, so what did they have to worry? Just in case though, Bulkhead slowed a bit, a watchful optic on them, even though he knew Sari was more than capable of taking them down herself.

'So,' Frenzy stated, his voice quieter now and his usual shy but cheerful personality taking over. 'I'm Frenzy-' he happily told her, cocking his head cutely and watching her as they ran, '-and I'm Rumble,' Rumble finished, grinning at her while throwing a suggestive arm over her shoulders. 'How about going bad and joining our side, huh, blue eyes?'

Rumble ducked and leapt back at the swinging fist and darted to the side, keeping his distance, extravagant grin still in place. Sari leapt into the air and landed deftly on Bulkhead's shoulder, turning to turn and glare them down from his back. Ratchet snorted at the two, while Bulkhead snickered and discreetly 'awww'd.'

'Listen punks,' Ratchet growled, charging his magnets threateningly. 'Beat it or I'll be forced to make you.'

Rumble's own engine reved angrily in response, but Frenzy grabbed him and hurled him back, forcing his heated brother to slow. 'What'ya doin, Frenz? We're losin 'em!'

Franzy rolled his optics. 'Can it, cheese-grater ('what?!'). We know where the Bridge is. We'll just let them get out of sight then we'll head to the bridge. DUH.'

Rumble yanked his arm out of his black and red brother's grip, grouching some more as they slowed to a quickened walk, but Frenzy's optics were trained on the small techno-organic upon the large green mechs shoulder plate.

She was staring ahead but, sensing his gaze, she turned and caught his bright red optics in her giant blue ones for a few moments. The small metal mask covering her face suddenly coloured slightly, but the small moment of weakness was lost as Bulkhead rounded the corner and she was whisked away.

As soon as she disappeared Rumble whistled loudly, turning and slapping Frenzy on the arm. 'What a live wire!' he gloated. 'I can't wait to see her try to tackle Megatron! Hah! I'd pay to see that.'

Frenzy coked his head curiously as he started at spot he had last seen the strong-willed techno-organic, his inexperienced thoughts turning from embarrassing to sad and thoughtful. 'She must be really close to Bumblebee,' he said softly.

There was a brief silence, one of the ones that Frenzy was only able to generate with his (sometimes) quiet manner before Rumble jumped to attention and started pulling Frenzy quickly down the hallway after the Autobots.

10 credits says ol' Megsy will kick their sorry afts! He offered aggressively, optics glittering in challenge.

You're on. The Autobots sure are determined, and just as crazy.

...

Bumblebee was trying to press all the shiny buttons he could reach while Blitzwing actively tried to stop him. He growled continuously as Hothead, his movements slowed from the cramped positions they were all in. Swindle watched lazily, holding both of them, one optic trained upon Soundwave, Lugnut and Megatron behind the Bridge. He was probably gonna get his aft kicked for even touching Megatron's mate, but he couldn't help it. The appeal the small yellow Autobot had was astounding.

All of them froze and jerked up when sudden hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor and five Autobots and one techno-organic burst into view, weapons at the ready and optics darkened with determination.

Everyone in the area froze for a few sharp kliks, the Autobot's scanning the room. Their focus was immediately drawn to Megatron. Megatron turned and slowly took them in, both sides studying each other.

Megatron looked on with clouded optics. He wanted nothing more than to take off, make sure everything was running properly then retire into his quarters for the remainder of the trip with Bumblebee and catch up on lost time. And, once they arrived at the Nemsis II, make sure Shockwave was running everything smoothly, then continue in his private quarters, a much more comfortable setting (one that thankfully hosted a private wash racks... Megatron could not wait to make full use of those). He could feel his helm sensors pounding already, and struggled not to rub at his faceplate tiredly.

Blitzwing squirmed out of the pile and dumped Bumblebee in Swindle's lap, dashing to Megatron's side and switching to Hothead. In true Hothead fashion, he started to hurl insults and obscenities at the approaching Autobots.

'Where's Bumblebee?' Optimus demanded, ignoring Blitzwing and griping his axe tightly, optics fixed stonily on Megatron, who gazed back with disinterest.

Megatron snorted, crossing his arms. 'You Autobots are so pathetic. Have you even bothered to look around you?' He waved his hand toward Bumblebee while sneering at Optimus.

'You know guys, its really sad that I have to agree with the big bad decepticon leader...' Bumblebee grinned, basking the surprised and overjoyed looks of his teammates. He went for a leap, suddenly desperate to get close to them, but was grabbed by Swindle before he could get far.

'Bumblebee!'

Bumblebee glowed in happiness at their familiar comforting voices, squirming and struggling in Swindle's hold, trying to get closer to them like a sparkling to its creator. He grinned uncontrollably, his optics slightly tearing up. 'So... how... how, hows it going, guys?' he spluttered, now struggling furiously.

'Bumblebee!' Bulkhead called, his shoulders sagging in relief as he sighted his long time little buddy carried toward them by... Swindle? 'Are you alright?'

'What did they do to you?' Prowl growled.

'It's alright, Bumblebee! We're here!' Optimus yelled.

'You guy are getting your tailpipes flattened!' Sari screamed.

'If they touched you-!' Ratchet threatened.

'Put him down!' Optimus ordered (sounding quite threatening, to his credit).

Bumblebee just grinned at them all, the sounds of their mixed voices enough for him. The small sad knowing feeling at his tanks was pushed aside even though its small knowing voice assured him everything was not alright. They were here... he was going home... so why didn't he feel weightlessly free?

'—Swindle? Aren't you supposed to be offline?' Optimus started out angrily, only to stop when he realised who was carrying Bumblebee. Upon further inspection, he found Bumblebee was completely unharmed and undented. What the...?

Swindle smiled at the whole scene, completely nonplussed as usual. 'Of course, my dear Autobots, how could you forget? I was, but my most valued customer here, Megatron, faithfully rescued me from that blasted prison you were so kind to bestow upon me.'

Megatron raised an optic brow and scoffed. 'Don't be a fool,' he snarled. 'I needed your equipment, so I located you. You are too modest on your pathetic hide.'

Swindle laughed cheerfully. 'Always so pleasant, Megatron! Now, where were we?' Swindle turned to the staring Autobots. 'You wanted Bumblebee, yes? How much are you willing to pay?'

'Shut it, Swindle. You are not going to get him.' Megatron bluntly stated, his optics narrowing dangerously at Optimus. Smug indifference lined his tone as he shifted forward and unsheathed his swords, stepping forward.

'I am in a rather good mood today Autobots, so consider yourselves lucky I am going to give you a generous choice. A slow, painful offline by my swords, or a quick blast from my cannon.' Megatron allowed a gleeful smirk to come to his faceplate, his features becoming handsomely dangerous. 'Your choice, Autobots.' Bumblebee felt a small shiver down his main structural cord.

'Megatron!' He hissed. 'If you go near them, I'll-'

Megatron turned to Bumblebee slowly, a lazy, sexy smile naturally falling into place out of habit when he looked at Bumblebee. 'Or you'll what?' He counted, amused. 'Threaten me? Attack me with those puny stingers of yours? Offline me?'

Bumblebee opened his mouth in anger, sputtering at Megatron as he watched smugly, drinking in the sight of the angrily confused, and completely gorgeous Bumblebee.

'I'll—I will...' Bumblebee paused before suddenly grinning evilly. 'I'll rip your cord out while you recharge and have a nice carjack with as many Decepticons as I can!'

There was silence before Meagtron froze just a teensy bit and his face hardened. Bulkhead's mouth fell open and Prowl hurriedly tried to block Sari's ears, his usual scowl in place at Bumblebee's language.

Ratchet barked out laughter at Megatron, who whipped his head around to seethe at the old Medibot. 'He got ya' there, you spikey ol' bastard!' Ratchet grinned. 'I'd watch out. He's a devious little one, our lil' Bee.'

Prowl nodded to Megatron. 'I'll agree to that,' he knowingly added, sparing a quick glare at Bumblebee. Bumblebee stuck his tongue at Prowl arrogantly.

Deep, heavy music started pouring from Soundwave's speakers, a song Megatron was unfamiliar with. Bumblebee and Sari were though. Both of them groaned systematically.

'Soundwave, seriously? The JAWS theme?' Bumblebee raised an optic ridge.

'Are you serious?' Sari ventured at the same time, cocking her head in disbelief. Optimus gave a confused glance at Soundwave while Bulkhead snorted.

'Music; deemed necessary,' Soundwave answered with a smug nod.

'You...' Megatron ground out to Ratchet. 'You will die first, you ancient piece of scrap. And you will be next, accursed ninjabot. And you—' Megatron rounded on Soundwave. 'SHUT UP.'

'Order: acknowledged.' The music stopped, and Bumblebee groaned in disappointment.

'Are you seri—' Optimus asked, after the whole exchange, his mouth open.

Blitzwing suddenly gave a thundering bellow as Hothead, pointed at Sari and let out a gleeful cackle, zipping quickly to Random.

'Zu didzen't tells me zu had a pet!' He scolded Bumblebee excitedly, clapping his hands. 'I vunt vu too!'

Sari's mouth fell open, all pleasantness gone. 'What!?' she screamed, pointing at him. 'Did he just call me a pet?!'

Bumblebee clapped his servos over his mouth, unable to stop his laughter at Sari. 'You're my "pet!"' He snickered, pointing at Sari, who turned slightly red.

'Bumblebee! This is not the time!' She hissed, placing her hands on her hips and cocking her head angrily.

Rumble and Frenzy peeked around the corner then, taking in the sight of the Autobots facing off against Megatron, Lugnut, Soundwave, Swindle and Blitzwing. Oh, and Bumblebee. 'Let's go!' Rumble hissed. 'I dibs taking out the green one—'

'Shut up! And stay quiet!' Frenzy hissed. 'We're only gonna go out there if they need help fighting! Remember what dad told us; that and what Megatron told us.' Rumble cocked his head. 'You mean what he threatened us. Stupid old tank,' Rumble grumbled. He remembered well what Megatron had sternly outlined to them if they were to join his fraction. No inexperienced younglings on the battlefield; it was dangerous to everyone and the chances of victory, and they got in the way. Until Soundwave thoroughly taught them how to handle themselves rushing out was a no-no. But who said they were going to listen for long?

'I vunt vun!' Blitzwing repeated childishly, waving his arms.

'Don't worry.' Swindle soothed. 'I'll get you one, free of charge.' Rumble snickered into his hand behind all of them as Swindle looked to the Autobots. 'How much you want for her?'

Bumblebee started laughing harder, beads forming at the corner of his optics as he went slightly hysterical due to the situation. Megatron growled half-heartedly before giving himself a classic facepalm, sighing heavily, momentarily choosing to block out the amount of complete glitchheads he had to deal with.

'Don't worry, my lord! I-' Lugnut told Megatron reassuringly in his usually extravagant way.

'SHUT UP.' Megatron groused, crossing his arms. 'Just, SHUT UP.'

'Vait!' Blitzwing Icy snapped his fingers and nodded, before switching back to Random and grabbing Bee from Swindle, holding him in the air. Bumblebee stopped laughing, squawking as he was suddenly flourished in the air by Blitzwing. A second later Blitzwing was hugging him madly. 'Zis iz my pet!' He trilled, pointing at the enstraged Bumblebee in his arms.

'Oh, HA. HA. Very funny,' Bumblebee grumbled, squirming uncomfortably. 'Blitzwing!' When nothing happened for a few moments and Blitzwing started to tap his feet, Bumblebee grew panicked. 'A little help!' He called to Optimus, Prowl, Ratchet Bulkhead and Sari, his optics wide. 'He's gonna start singing soon!'

Sari found herself unable to stop herself; she started laughing.

'This is not funny!'

Prowl smirked lightly, his insides slowly unclenching. Bumblebee seemed generally unharmed, and unnaturally relaxed about residing in the arms of the crazy triple personality clad Decepticon. And if he was already cracking lame jokes, he was completely fine. But Prowl couldn't shake the feeling that Bumblebee was too comfortable with being in Decepticon servos...

Deciding to be merciful, Swindle stepped in and confiscated Bumblebee from Blitzwing's deadly hold, promising himself he would corner Blitzwing as soon as they were safely aboard the Nemsis II.

Bumblebee relaxed slightly in Swindle's hold, his wires untangling themselves even more when Megatron glanced his way and his whole body started tinging with warmth. Bumblebee felt himself slipping into a happy daze before he realised where he was and the precocious position he was currently in. His snapped up and he glared at Megatron.

Fragging Tease.

Megatron spared a glance and a haughty smirk for Bumblebee, suddenly starting when he realised who was holding his mate.

'THAT is ENOUGH,' Megatron stated venomously, stepping forward and swiping Bee from Swindle's servos, punching the surprised dealer in the face. Swindle hit the ground gagging as Blitzwing burst out laughing and pointing.

'Shut UP!' Megatron shouted, finally losing it. Holding Bumblebee as usual with one arm he dived for Blitzwing, swinging his sword with the intent to kill. Blitzwing dropped to the floor and rolled, coming up to giggle from a safe distance at the seething lord. Swindle groaned as he pulled himself up, nursing a new dent in his left cheekplate. 'Always so cheerful, our Lord,' He winced, still managing to grin.

Optimus watched in a mixture of absolute shock, interest and amusement. Prowl's mouth fell open and he struggled not to dive for Megatron and start ripping him to pieces. Bulkhead had both servos over his mouth, having no idea what to make of it all. Ratchet's optic twitched. Sari just stared, a her inner angel wondering if boys were ever going to fight over her like that and her devil side screaming for Megatron's head.

Megatron took in the scene, sensing his Decepticons behind him, ready to battle, and his sparkmate securely in his right arm, the small body radiating warmth and happiness unintentionally through him due to Bumblebee's elation at seeing the Autobots again. Megatron happily soaked it all up, relishing in Bumblebee's sweet contagious moods.

He grinned at the Autobots.

'This ends now.'

Yes, I know it cuts right off-and I hate that! I hate cliffies! But my chapters are long enough already, geez.

Ah, yes. Blitzwing and Swindle. Now THAT was unexpected. Even to me! It seriously just popped up and I didn't realise it was happening, really. Not even sure if I like it now... so it'll probs become a threesome soon XD. And Blitzwing fighting with himself: So waiting to happen! That's one of my favorite scenes: 'Jet.' 'TANK!' 'Jet.' 'TANK!' 'Je-AHAHAHA! LETS GET ZEM BOTH!' I reckon it would be quite funny to see something like this happen on a much bigger scale.