A/N: Whoo! Another update! Okay, I felt really bad when I wrote this chapter, read on and you'll see why.
Thank you thedinoknowsall for reviewing.
Thank you Jessie07 for reviewing, faving, and alerting.
Thanks to everyone who's still reading this story.
Disclaimer: *holding up sign*
Sign: Help me! Someone call Optimus Prime! Or Sunstreaker and Sideswipe!
Starscream: *takes sign away* Where the frag are you getting these signs? 9aza owns nothing.
The Early Stages of War
Chapter 14
In this next part of our tale we will welcome two new recruits for the Decepticon cause, but unfortunately we will say goodbye to one Decepticon as well…
Bumblebee loved his adopted creator, he always gave the yellow sparkling lots of attention, make him laugh when he would have arguments with himself (his adopted creator would even change his voice so he could tell who was arguing with who. Bumblebee even named the voices he would use: First, Second, and Third.), and protected him from all the other mechs in their base.
Right now Bumblebee was in a room filled with the mechs that didn't like him, but he was busy chirping happily while his adopted creator bounced him on his lap to notice them.
"And then Onslaught's group will-"
"Chirp!"
"Will go in-"
"Chirp!"
"In from the southern-"
"Chirp!"
"Grunt, this is an important meeting! Stop playing with your sparkling and start taking notes!," ordered Megatron.
Grunt lowered his helm in submission and replied, "My apologies, Lord Megatron, it is time for his feeding anyway." Grunt then un-subspaced Bumblebee's bottle and began to feed the sparkling.
Now with Bumblebee finally silent, Megatron could now finish telling the others his strategy for the upcoming battle. "As I was saying, Onslaught's group will go in from the southern-"
"Lord Megatron," interrupted a monotonous voice.
"Soundwave, what is it that you found so important that you were forced to interrupt me?," asked Megatron angrily.
"I am in labor," answered Soundwave.
Megatron's jaw dropped. "You're carrying again?! Why didn't you tell me?!"
"But he did, Lord Megatron," spoke up Skywarp, "I was there."
"Why else did you think he wasn't present at any recent battles?," asked Grunt.
Megatron ignored Grunt's question and called the Constructicons.
XXX
Soundwave watched silently as Hook removed his sparkling from his spark chamber. The Constructicon then handed the sparkling to Scrapper, who could place the sparkling in the protoform so Hook can be free to close Soundwave's spark chamber.
As Hook began to close the spark chamber, he noticed something out of the corner of his optic. Hook stopped when he realized what it was and called out, "Scavenger, get another protoform ready!"
Soundwave was shocked, he was having twins. Oh no…Ravage is not going to be happy about this.
After Scavenger found another protoform, Hook removed the second sparkling and placed it inside its new body.
"Query: Are both sparklings functional?," asked Soundwave.
"Don't worry," said Scrapper, "both are fine. Do want to hold them now?"
Soundwave nodded.
Scrapper reached for one and picked it up. Well, more like struggled to pick it up. "For the love of Primus, this one's heavy!," he complained as he managed to pick up the sparkling and was now walking slowly to Soundwave.
"Here, it's a mech," Scrapper panted and dropped the sparkling onto Soundwave's servos.
Soundwave, unlike Scrapper, didn't struggle with the sparkling's weight since he was used to carrying heavy objects (Ahem, his old toy, Boulder). The sparkling was blue and looked a lot like Soundwave and he was currently squirming around, a lot.
Soundwave tried to soothe the sparkling, but nothing worked; it wasn't until he heard the sparkling's tanks rumbling that Soundwave realized what the problem was. He ordered Mixmaster to get him a bottle and asked Scrapper if he could bring his other sparkling.
Scrapper groaned but he did it anyway. Surprisingly, the second sparkling, identical to his brother in appearance except for his color, was very light. In fact, the sparkling was so light he started to float as soon as Scrapper had let go of him.
Luckily, Soundwave caught the sparkling and used a piece of string to tie him to his brother so he wouldn't float to the ceiling. But the sparkling didn't like having a piece of string tied around his waist and doing everything he could to take if off. It wasn't working.
"So…What are you going to call them?," asked Scapper.
"Designation: RUMBLE," stated Soundwave as he gestured to the blue sparkling. He pointed at the floating red sparkling and said, "Designation: FRENZY."
xxx
Soundwave placed the sleeping twins in their crib while Ravage watched from on top of a desk.
"Their designations are Rumble and Frenzy," said Soundwave.
"You said there was only going to be one," said Ravage.
"Frenzy was a surprise. I did not know I was carrying twins."
"I don't like them," stated Ravage.
"Ravage: Be nice. They are your little brothers and need you to protect them."
The eldest said nothing but inside he was thinking, Oh, I'll protect them…in my fuel tanks when I eat them!
XXX
Now, dear readers, it is time for another time skip. Bumblebee, Rumble, and Frenzy are now the equivalent of human toddlers and now something bad is about to happen…
"Decepticons: Prepare for our assault on the city of Polyhelix!," bellowed Megatron. He turned to Grunt, who was holding Bumblebee. "Grunt, put that sparkling down and get ready."
"Yes Lord Megatron, as soon as I find a sparkling sitter. Sir, who isn't participating in this assault?"
"Only one mech, Skywarp," said Megatron. The violet Seeker would've been joining them if he hadn't bent his wing while trying to escape the wrath of the Combaticons (Skywarp unleashed a swarm of glitch-mice into their room while they were recharging and when they woke up almost everything they owned was covered in bite marks).
Grunt shuddered. As much as he loved his trinemate, there was absolutely no way he was trusting Bumblebee with the resident nymphomaniac. "Wait, what's Soundwave going to do with his sparklings?"
"He's taking them with him," said Megatron.
"Is he crazy?! They could get killed!"
"Would you rather he left them with Skywarp?," asked Megatron.
Grunt fell silent. "Come on Bumblebee, Mama's going to take you flying."
XXX
Slaggit!, thought Grunt as he took another hit from an Autobot sniper. Another hit like that and he was going to fall out of the sky.
Bumblebee whimpered inside his adopted creator's cockpit. He usually loved it when his adopted creator took him out flying, but this time there were too many scary noises and it was too shaky for him to enjoy the flight.
"It's going to be okay, Bumblebee," said Grunt soothingly.
You should have left him at the base, commented First.
And have him scarred for life by Skywarp?! I don't think so!, cried out Second.
But he could be scarred for life by being here as well, you idiot, muttered First.
Well he can't see outside the cockpit, said Third.
You're agreeing with them?!, asked First angrily, And I thought you were the one with a sense of reason.
Skywarp is a bad influence…, Third said quietly.
Will you all shut up?!, shouted Grunt mentally, I can't concentrate with all your arguing!
Starscream, watch out!, all three voices warned.
Huh?
It was too late. Grunt was shot once again and was now falling.
PULL UP!, the voices shouted.
I can't…
Then protect Bumblebee!
Bumblebee was shaking in fear when he felt the safety harness tighten its grip on him.
"Bumblebee, listen to me, things are going to get really rough and scary but I need you to be brave. Can you do that for me?"
Bumblebee nodded.
Then they crashed and everything became dark for Grunt.
xxx
"Mama? Mama, wake up," begged Bumblebee after the crash. His adopted creator didn't respond.
Bumblebee wanted to cry, but he knew he shouldn't. His adopted creator needed help and he wasn't going to just sit here and cry his optics out. No, he was going to get help. Luckily for Bumblebee, the harness became limp after the crash and the glass of the cockpit shattered on impact, so it was easy for him to get out.
After an hour of wandering the ruins of the city, Bumblebee began to lose hope of finding another mech when he noticed a large black mech emerge from one of the more intact buildings. The yellow sparkling chirped happily and ran to the black mech.
Ironhide had been searching for survivors of the assault but had found none when he felt something attach itself to his leg. He looked down and saw a yellow sparkling. He picked up the sparkling and murmured, "Odd, I thought all the civilians escaped before the assault…"
"Help!," cried out the sparkling. "Mama need help! Got hurt, won't get up! Fell out of sky!"
Ironhide thought for a moment about the sparkling's comments. From what he could tell, the sparkling was a ground mech, meaning his creator couldn't have been a flyer…Then how did she fell out of the sky? Unless one of the Decepticons caught her and dropped her from high up. Primus, the sparkling just said that she won't get up! It was obvious now, the sparkling's creator was dead.
Ironhide gave the yellow sparkling a look of pity before saying, "I don't think your mama's getting up."
"Why?"
"Because she's going to see Primus now."
Primus? Bumblebee didn't know who Primus was, but he assumed that he must be a medic if Mama was going to see him first.
"I'm going to take care of you now, okay?"
Bumblebee nodded. He didn't mind that he was staying with the black mech, as long as his adopted creator was seeing Primus.
XXX
Grunt sat up as soon as he woke, never noticing that he wasn't in his alt-mode anymore. Grunt opened his cockpit and saw nothing inside. "No…," he whispered.
He jumped off the berth he was on and began to take the medbay apart, trying to find Bumblebee.
Hook entered the medbay after getting his morning rations and saw the mess Grunt was making. "Grunt, what is wrong with you?! Get back on your berth, you're in no condition to be walking around."
Grunt stopped and asked Hook frantically, "Where's Bumblebee?! Where's my sparkling?! Tell me where he is!"
"Grunt, I'm sorry, but our scouts have reported that Bumblebee has been taken by the Autobots."
"I'm going after him."
"You can't, Megatron has ordered that you are to be confined to the base until further notice."
Grunt broke down and began to sob.
A few weeks later…
Grunt had never stopped sobbing and it was driving everyone crazy. His sobbing was so loud that a mech could hear it from the other side of the base. Everyone tried talking to the grief-stricken Seeker, but nothing helped.
Megatron was getting annoyed by this; with Grunt locked in his room, Megatron had no one to do all this slagging paperwork. So he decided it was time for action and called Soundwave.
xxx
Grunt was sobbing when he heard a knock on his door. "Go away!," he shouted.
"Grunt: Megatron has given us a new mission," said Soundwave.
"I don't care!"
"It is Operation: Retrieve Bumblebee."
Then for the first time in weeks, the Seeker was silent.
XXX
Soundwave, Grunt, Thundercracker and Skywarp all hid behind the boulders surrounding the Autobot base.
"How are we getting in?," asked Grunt, "There are guards everywhere."
Everyone was in deep thought when Skywarp spoke up, "Guys, I have a plan and it's foolproof."
"I know I'm going to regret asking, but what is it?," asked Thundercracker.
Skywarp smirked, "Just follow my lead."
xxx
"Skywarp, this is stupid!," hissed Thundercracker, "It's never going to work!"
"Trust me, it will," assured Skywarp.
Grunt and Soundwave remained silent. Grunt was willing to try anything to get Bumblebee back at this point, so he wasn't exactly thinking clearly, and Soundwave agreed with Thundercracker but made no attempt to leave because he knew that if he tried, Grunt would hunt him down and drag him back. And Soundwave preferred to keep his dignity, thank you very much.
xxx
Cliffjumper and Brawn were currently guarding the front entrance to the base when they saw three mechs and a femme walking up to them.
"Stop right there, Decepticons!," shouted Cliffjumper, aiming his blaster at the group.
"Wait!," called out the black and violet mech, "We're not Decepticons!"
"But you're wearing Decepticon insignias," pointed out Brawn.
"But I'm an Autobot, see," said Skywarp, who was wearing a paper bag over his helm with the word 'Autobot' written on it.
Thundercracker, Soundwave, and Grunt were all tense.
"Oh, okay then. Go right in," said Cliffjumper as he and Brawn stepped aside from the entrance.
The Decepticons, except Grunt, were all thinking the same thing: Holy slag, it actually worked!
The four decided to split up in order to cover more ground and agreed to meet back at the front entrance in a few hours.
XXX
Grunt wandered through the halls of the Autobot base when he heard a familiar giggle. Bumblebee! He ran inside the room and there was Bumblebee, who at the moment was being held by the Autobots' weapons specialist, Ironhide.
"A Decepticon!"
Slag! Of all the Autobots to find Bumblebee with, he had to be with the one Autobot who wasn't stupid.
Ironhide aimed one of his cannons at Grunt and was about to shoot when Bumblebee cried out, "Stop! 'Hide no hurt Mama!"
"Wait, that's your creator?," asked Ironhide with disbelief.
Bumblebee nodded.
Grunt took a step forward and said, "Please, give him back."
Ironhide growled and asked, "Why did you leave him on the battlefield?"
Grunt winced. "I didn't mean to. I was shot down and the crash forced me into stasis mode."
"And you brought him to a battle in the first place why?"
"It was either that or leave him with a nymphomaniac."
Ironhide shuddered. "Never mind. I would have done the same thing." He looked down at Bumblebee and asked, "Do you want to go back?"
Bumblebee nodded.
"Okay then." But as Ironhide was about to hand out Bumblebee, a shot was heard and Grunt collapsed.
There in the doorway stood Optimus Prime, his blaster still smoking. "Ironhide, are you and the sparkling okay?"
Bumblebee was crying and Ironhide looked pissed off. "Optimus, that was Bumblebee's creator! She was just trying to get him back!"
"Oops."
XXX
"Well, that was a failure," muttered Thundercracker as he removed an oily rag from his wing.
He, Skywarp, and Soundwave had been found and were tossed into the dumpster outside the base. There was still no sign of Grunt, but they suspected that he would end up in the dumpster eventually.
And what do you know? There he was now.
Grunt was unconscious and he didn't have Bumblebee.
"He's going to start crying as soon as wakes up," murmured Thundercracker.
Skywarp thought for a moment, then he grabbed his paper bag and ran back toward the entrance.
He came back ten seconds later with holes in his wings. "The Autobots got smarter. I guess we can't get back Bumblebee."
Soundwave twitched. There was no way he was going through that torture again!
As Grunt started to wake up, Soundwave wrapped his tentacles around Grunt's helm.
"What are you doing?!," cried out Skywarp and Thundercracker in horror.
"Erasing all memories of Bumblebee," stated Soundwave.
"You can't do that!," shouted Thundercracker.
"Yeah, Bumblebee made him so happy, don't take his memories of him away!," begged Skywarp.
"Query: Do you want to hear his constant crying again?," asked Soundwave. "It is too late. All memories are gone."
Skywarp and Thundercracker glared at Soundwave the whole trip back.
A/N: And that's why Bumblebee's an Autobot and why Starscream didn't give a damn when he shot his legs off. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask and I'll try my best to answer them.
Also, Jesus Luvs Everyone wrote a 'what if' side story to New Recruits: Infiltration. In case you want to check it out.
Next chapter: Cotton Balls.
Please R&R and see you next time. :)