Disclaimer: I dont own Transformers or any of the characters, Hasbro & Paramount Pictures does.

I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this story and has stuck by it over the past two years. Thank you so much for your support! And I will be referencing Litahatchees wonderful idea of carrying from her story Night Fire, which I truly hope I do justice in this story. I would also like to recommend the story File Recovery by Xerios to anyone who has enjoyed my stories. It's excellent and a must read for anyone who may be interested in Megatron's past. And a huge thanks to MoonstarWorld for all of the help and inspiration she has given me for this story. Thank you.

Youngling - Chapter XXI - Epilogue

The sleek silver exterior of the titanic Autobot battleship, Artemis I, had shone brilliantly as the bright rays from the sun in the far-off distance reflected off of its smooth outer surface. Thousands of stars hung in the darkened expanse of outer space, their vivid light pouring through the bay windows of the immense ship and catching the attention of a Cybertronian youngling.

Bumblebee watched the expanse of space with unblinking optics, a thick tension hanging in the air of the soundless hallway. The young mech, now about the Cybertronian equivalent of a ten-year-old human child, sat upon one of the window ledges with his legs tucked underneath him. His small hands could be seen nervously wringing together as his optics consistently shifted to and from the doors on the far end of the hallway. Nervously, the youngling leaned his head against the glass and let out a loud sigh.

"What's taking them so long?" whispered Bumblebee.

With wary optics, the youngling glanced at the door again. He had not seen any of the older mechs for joors, forcibly left behind when the lower level alarms had sounded to signal a Decepticon attack. Ironhide had vehemently told him to stay put, threatening with much-finger-pointing to personally remove all of Bumblebee's newly installed espionage sensors if he moved from the window ledge. And to say the least, Bumblebee preferred to stay on his guardian's good side, especially after his last two escapades in the ventilation system.

"Stupid," grumbled the youngling whilst flicking a tiny piece of scrap metal off of the ledge, "Always leavin' me behind, not giving me a chance to do anything. I hope they don't come back at all."

A few more breems passed by and cold knots began to form in Bumblebees fuel tanks, his nervousness increasing tenfold when he heard the sound of explosions not even four levels down. The youngling warily glanced at the reinforced doorway on the far end of the hallway, intakes expelling extra air when he heard a series of loud sounds through the thick metal barrier. With silent feet and cautious movements that Mirage would have been extremely proud of, Bumblebee crept off of the window ledge and moved toward a small air vent on the opposite side of the hallway.

"Come on, come on," whispered the youngling, swiftly unscrewing the screws that lined the vent before pulling it off, "Alright, now I just have to—"

BANG!!!!

The youngling jumped in surprise when he saw a massive dent form in the thick doorway, the vent tightly clutched in his hands as he heard unfamiliar voices through the barrier. With a quick shake of his head, Bumblebee crawled backwards into the air duct so that he could reinsert the vent cover from the inside. Unsubspacing a small canister of super glue that he pilfered from Wheeljack's laboratory, Bumblebee hurriedly glued the inside of the vent, just finishing when he heard the door give way down the hall.

"Pit-slaggin' Autobots," snarled a rough voice, "Should all 'ave their fraggin' soft sparks ripped out."

"Calm yourself, Bonecrusher," said another voice, this one much smoother and silkier than the first, "There will be plenty of time for such things later."

Bumblebee slowly started crawling backwards, desperately wanting to get as far away from the vent opening as possible. Within a few moments, a large shadow cut off the light that had been filtering in through the vent cover and a thick leg could faintly be seen. As quietly as possible, Bumblebee backed up until he felt a wall behind his feet, a sign that he had come to an intersection.

"Wha' the slag're we supposed to be lookin' for, anyways?" snapped the rough voice known as Bonecrusher, "We should jus' raze the whole place an' be done with it."

"Lord Megatron wishes to investigate the laboratories on lower levels of the base, so it would be foolish to damage the upper beforehand," stated the other Decepticon. "I am sure that Lord Megatron has good reasoning for giving such indirect orders. No matter how frustrating they may be to yourself and others."

"Whatever," snarled Bonecrusher, his monstrous footsteps echoing throughout the surrounding walls as he moved further down the hallway, "I jus' don't get why we can't destroy everything an' be done with it."

"Lord Megatron realizes that there's no need to endorse destruction of valuable scientific breakthroughs unless absolutely necessary," snapped the other mech, his voice taking on a much more irritated tone. "You would do well to remember that as well."

"Mute your slaggin' vocalizers, Mixmaster, an' stop actin' like you're some kind of seraph," growled Bonecrusher, "You're jus' as violent an' reckless as the rest of us."

The sound of the two mechs arguing could be heard as they continued down the hallways, slowly fading into near silence as they disappeared around a corner. With a sigh of relief, Bumblebee turned to the right and continued through the ducts, easily moving in a southward direction. He had hacked the computer system of the base an orn ago and had downloaded the blueprints of the bases ventilation system into his processor. A devious smirk crossed the younglings faceplates, his small frame easily maneuvering through the complicated air ducts.

"Hmmm," murmured the youngling, glancing both ways down an intersection as he ran through the blueprints in his processor, "Should be down this way."

Unfortunately, Bumblebee failed to notice the air vent that was on the floor of the air duct to his right until he heard a loud creak and suddenly felt himself falling through the air. The youngling yelped when he hit a sharp, pointy object on his way down, bouncing off of the obstruction and onto an uneven surface. With a wobbly shake of his head and quiet groan of discomfort, Bumblebee slowly opened his optics and felt his spark quake at the sight before him.

"Uh oh."

Deep red optics glared down at the youngling, who was laying on his back in the palm of the much larger Decepticon's hand. The dark gray mech seemed just as startled as the youngling, simply staring with wide optics at the little creature who had suddenly fallen from the ceiling and onto his shoulder. Luckily, it seemed that his reflexes were as sharp as ever and catching the young mech had been easy enough.

"Blackout?"

The dark gray Decepticon turned to face his leader, maneuvering his hand out in front of him so that his lord could see what had caused the sudden distraction. With the arrogance and authority of a true dictator, Megatron ordered his subordinates to stop their worthless staring and put themselves to use by attempting to find other ways deeper into the Autobot base. The other Decepticons wasted no time in obeying their leader, none of them eager to insight his terrifying and violent wrath.

"We meet again, little one," drawled Megatron once his other followers had left his sensory range, "And at a most inopportune time as well."

The youngling dangled in Blackout's hand, watching as the Decepticon Lord strode over to inspect him. He did not move when Megatron bent over and narrowed his dark red optics, simply remaining still as the large 'Con silently inspected his frame with an astute and almost curious disposition. Bumblebee did not harbor any fear towards the massive Decepticon leader, instead viewing him much in the same way he viewed his more gruff and surly caretakers. True, he feared what Megatron was capable of, but he did not fear the mech himself. Then again, this was probably due to the fact that Megatron had never hurt him the last time he had—

"Owww!!" Bumblebee yelped, smacking away a sharp claw that had poked him in between his side panels. "What was that for?!"

"You have received a new frame," stated Megatron, taking note of the fact that the youngling was quite a bit bigger than the last time he had seen him all those vorns ago, "I am not at all surprised by the slightness of the frame though. It would appear that you are training to be an espionage agent."

Bumblebee did not respond, instead preferring to let Megatron know just how annoyed he was through their spark bond. Really, the 'Con had absolutely no couth of any kind. It was really quite pathetic. Didn't he know that it was rude to poke people that hard? If Bumblebee had just walked around Artemis I painfully poking people, Ironhide would have shocked his aft into the next galaxy.

"Now, being the smart little mech that you are," said Megatron in a smooth, conniving voice, "I am sure that you know how to get to the sub-level laboratories."

Bumblebee simply stared at the Decepticon rebelliously, not at all enthused by the direction in which the conversation seemed to be moving. "Sure I do," he responded in a proud voice, "But I don't think that you'll be able to make it through them without getting your aft stuck. The way I usually go is quite tight, even for me."

Megatron was about to respond when a large explosion blew a hole in the wall not too far down the hallway. A loud, gruff voice could be heard through the thick smoke and debris, spewing forth cuss words like they were going out of style. Bumblebee rolled his optics at the sound of the voice, not at all surprised by the reprimands that could be heard coming from behind it.

"What are you doing, Ironhide!?" shouted the familiar regal voice of the Autobot commander, "I told you not to—"

"Hey, you wanted to get through, so I got you through," rumbled the distinctive voice of the younglings guardian, "Stop complainin' and get your aft movin'. We gotta get to the labs before—"

"Looks like we've got company!!"

That was all Bumblebee heard before the massive hallway erupted into complete chaos as Autobots and Decepticons collided with one another. The youngling yelped in surprise when he was suddenly released, landing painfully on the floor as Blackout and Megatron retreated further down the hallway. The thick smoke and falling debris made his unprotected optics burn, effectively preventing young Bumblebee from seeing what was going on around him.

"Ahhh!!"

Bumblebee gasped in shock and fear when a massive foot smashed into the floor right beside his head, missing him by mere millimeters. The sound of missiles releasing echoed above his head, nearly causing his audio receptors to shatter from the deafening sound of the launchers discharging. Another foot soon smashed down on his other side, pinning the youngling to the spot as he looked up into a world of thick black smoke and unfamiliar sounds.

With a grunt of effort, Bumblebee rolled himself over and crawled out from in between the feet of the larger mech, escaping just in time before the mech moved one of his feet into the area where Bumblebee had just been laying. The youngling strained to see through the black smoke, anxiously looking for a familiar faceplate or leg panel. It was true that Bumblebee had recently received his third frame, but it was not nearly as large as most his comrades frames had been at his age.

Bumblebee was still a good deal smaller than Jazz, barely reaching the equivalent of three meters. And until he was a good deal older, Ratchet had said that he would not install the final height, weight, and weaponry additions to Bumblebee's third-frame for a good, long time. However, despite the independence that his third-frame had brought him, Bumblebee was still extremely dependent on the older Autobots for protection and could not possibly defend himself from most attacks or acts of violence.

Basically, if Bumblebee could not use his natural stealth and espionage abilities to escape from a situation, he was in serious danger.

A huge chunk of debris dropped down from the ceiling and slammed into his side, causing a pain-filled scream to rip through the hallway. Bumblebee gasped violently, his optics gazing down at the bright blue streams of energon that was running down his right side panels. The youngling cried out in pain when something else hit him, knocking him a few more meters down the hallway and into a hard wall.

"What the slag was that?!" questioned a voice.

"What was what?" asked another voice.

"I think I kicked somethin'."

"Probably just some debris from 'Hide's rampage."

"No, it felt different. An' I think it moved."

"Well, I don't know," said the other voice, this time closer to the shuddering youngling, "Maybe 'Hide hit one of the drones an' then stepped on it when he..."

Bumblebee curled as best he could into a tight little ball when he heard the voices coming closer, desperate to protect himself from another attack. He was in too much pain to pay attention to the voices, instead focusing on shielding his rapidly leaking side from his attackers' optical range.

"Oh Primus, it can't be..."

The youngling released a frightened cry when he felt a pair of hands grab him, the instinct to fight instantly taking over his entire processor. He started kicking, scratching, clawing, anything to get away from those who had caused him this horrible pain that was engulfing his whole right side.

"Calm down, Bee," said a deep voice with a sorrowful undertone to it, "It's just me. Smokescreen. Come 'ere, lil buddy, I gotta see your side."

"Ratchet!! Ratchet!! Go get Ratchet!! Now!!"

"Stop strugglin' so much, Bee," pleaded Smokescreen, gently trying to move his young protégé's arms so that he could get a better look at the little bot's right side, "I got to take a look at it." The diversionary tactician grunted in surprise when the youngling kicked him in the faceplates. "Well, don't just stand there, Streetwise! Help me out here!"

"What!? What's going on?!" shouted a familiar voice, "This had better be good. I need to get back to the—"

"It's Bumblebee! He's been hurt! Badly! Look at him!!"

The youngling suddenly felt his entire frame go cold, a deep blackness seeping into his processor. The loud voices and explosions that had been making his receptors hurt no longer seemed so bad as everything around him seemed to fade into nothingness.

Several orns later...

The world seemed all fuzzy and blurred when Bumblebee finally started to regain consciousness several orns later. The youngling's small frame was laying atop a medical table onboard Artemis I's infirmary, safe and protected from any further injury at the hands of Decepticons. Systems slowly booting up for the first time in orns, Bumblebee came online with a quiet groan and rolled his head to the side in discomfort as he attempted to not be blinded by the bright lights of the room.

With aching optics, Bumblebee was able to discern a large black shape to his left side and groggily whispered, "'Hide?"

The ancient mech stirred after a few astroseconds, coming online with a loud snort and dramatic sigh from his intake valves. Bumblebee watched as his guardian's one good optic locked onto him, blinking a few times before realization seemed to finally set into an infinitely thick head. It took less than an astrosecond for the black mech to close the space between himself and his youngling.

"Bumblebee!!" rumbled the older mech, instantly at his youngling's side when he saw those beautiful baby blue optics opened into groggy slits, "Oh, Primus! I thought I'd lost you!"

Ironhide's massive frame loomed over the little mech, effectively covering him in shadow as he leaned over and rested his head against his youngling's small forehead. The young bot did not protest the sudden contact, instead reveling in it as Ironhide wrapped a large hand around Bumblebee's small one and gave it a reassuring squeeze. With a deep sigh of relief, Ironhide kissed his youngling atop the head and reluctantly pulled away as he rested his optics upon the small being whom he had raised and cared for since creation.

"I could have killed you," the black mech whispered, his usually hard voice hoarse with emotion as he replayed the battle in his processor, "You were right below my feet in that hallway. I can remember feeling something crawl over my foot." His dark blue optics closed for a moment, his emotions overwhelming him at the mere thought of what he had almost done. "It was you. I almost stepped on you." He leaned over again, drawing the youngling close, as if to make sure that Bumblebee was really here and not lying amongst the rumble of the destroyed base. "I almost killed you."

Bumblebee tried his best to curl into his guardian, eager for the protective touch that Ironhide always bestowed upon him. He had been absolutely terrified in that hallway and had desperately wished for his guardian to take him away from all of the destruction. Instead, it turned out that the mech who had almost crushed him had in fact been the very mech whom Bumblebee had been yearning for. The irony was too horrible and terrifying for the youngling to swallow at the moment.

"I'm here, Bee," whispered Ironhide, maneuvering himself up onto the medical table whilst gently picking up the little mech. He was mindful of the soldered patchwork on Bumblebee's right side and the many wires that were attached to his youngling as he carefully placed the frightened mech into his lap. "I'm right here. Just let it out, let it all out."

With a quiet whimper, Bumblebee buried his head into his guardian's side and let out all of the emotions that had built up over the past few orns. At that moment, all of his recent, hard-earned independence meant little and Bumblebee simply reveled in the warm strength that radiated from Ironhide's frame like a blazing beacon.

"I'm sorry I didn't stay put, I'm really sorry," whimpered Bumblebee as he tried to explain to Ironhide why he had left the window ledge. "I didn't mean to disobey you."

The older mech merely tightened his grip on the youngling, reassuring him that he was not mad at the little mech's actions. After all, if Bumblebee had not snuck into those air ducts, the Decepticons would have surely killed him. Neither Bonecrusher nor Mixmaster had a sympathetic bolt in their frames, and Ironhide did not even want to think about what they would have done to Bumblebee had they captured him.

"It's alright," murmured Ironhide once his youngling was done telling him what had happened, "I'm not mad at you." He ran a tender hand over the little mech's head. "I'm just relieved that you're safe with us again."

"And that is how we feel as well."

Bumblebee turned his teary optics toward the far side of the room, instantly aware in his spark of Optimus's close proximity. Standing on either side of the Autobot leader was Ratchet and Jazz, both of their frames relaxing when they saw that the youngling had come online.

"How are you feeling, little one?" asked Optimus.

"Better," whispered Bumblebee, not yet willing to emerge from the safe haven that was Ironhide's protective embrace, "But the wires are annoying."

"I know they are, but you lost a large amount of energon," stated Ratchet, easily scanning the youngling from afar whilst looking over the wall-mounted monitors, "And I will not remove them until I am sure that your vital signs have returned to normal levels."

Bumblebee groaned in displeasure, eagerly burrowing into his guardian and really not caring if he seemed needy or clingy. All he wanted right now was a nice long recharge and Bumblebee dared anyone to try to take him from his current warm location. Ironhide had always made a very comfy pillow and Bumblebee wholly intended to use the gruff, old mech's plasma cannons to the fullest of his abilities. Unfortunately, Ratchet seemed to have other agendas planned for the exhausted youngling.

It was nearly a joor later by the time Ratchet had finished running all of the scans and tests that Wheeljack, Hoist, and himself had considered necessary. Ironhide had been less than happy about all of the testing, especially when Bumblebee started to complain about how his side was hurting. Optimus had promptly calmed the trigger-happy mech down, ordering the scans to come to a quick close. He could feel in his spark how tired the youngling was and did not like the feelings of pain that were coming from the little bot's weary spark.

"Sorry, little buddy," murmured Wheeljack, tenderly rubbing the youngling's left side as he prepared to hand him over to Optimus, "But we had to replace those patches."

Bumblebee merely whimpered in reply, eagerly leaning into Optimus when he felt the towering commander's brilliant spark embrace his own and bathe it in warmth. He did not care if such spark interaction had become rarer and rarer as the vorns passed. At that moment in time all Bumblebee really wanted was to be warm and pain-free, and Optimus always radiated warmth like a supernova.

"You have been very brave, little one," murmured Optimus, cradling the little bot close as he returned to the medical table, "I am very proud of you."

Bumblebee clicked in reply, something he had not done in many vorns, and buried his head beneath Optimus's sturdy chinplates. The older mech did not object and held the youngling tightly against him, carefully moving towards a far berth that lay beside a small window. Optimus soon settled down into the berth, adjusting the youngling and his many wires into a comfortable position. He gazed at the stars as he heard his comrades' voices in the background, conversing and bickering about various subjects.

With tender fingers and soft touches, Optimus lulled the youngling into a sound recharge, quietly humming as he heard Ratchet throw something at Ironhide yet again. It was not long before Jazz joined in the fun, earning the wrath of the weapons specialist as he poked fun here and there. However, before things could get too out of control, Ratchet stepped in and chucked a wrench into the back of both their heads.

Warm optics gazed down at the youngling, the stars shining lightly over the little mech's soft yellow frame. Optimus placed a tender kiss atop the youngling's head, leaning back with a content smile as he cradled his most precious treasure against him...

His precious youngling.

I am finally done!!!! Wooohooo!! It took me nearly two years, but I'm finally done!! And man, does it feel great!! And wow, I've gotten over 105,000 hits on this story. Never ever expected it to be such a hit. I really hope I did not butcher the characters too much. But now I cannot wait to see Revenge of the Fallen. It looks so damned good. This will most likely be the longest story I'll ever write on here due to how busy I'm going to be over the next couple years. However, now I can focus all of my energy on Sparkling, so expect to see that updated until completion. If there are any last thoughts or suggestions anyone would like to give, I am always willing to listen. Thanks for reading and I hope this last chapter lived up to everyone's expectations!!

P.S. - I've had couple people request to do fanart of my stories. I have no problem with anyone using any of my ideas as long as they give me or my story credit & do not place minors (namely Bumblebee) in inappropriate situations. With that said, draw to your heart's content.