Nightmare

by Beloved Shadow of Light

Bumblebee didn't think his teammates hated him so much, but was Starscream right? Was he really a worthless glitch not worth anybot's time? All he ever wanted was to prove himself and show them all. Why was a Decepticon the only one willing to tell him the truth? What was this strange sensation in his spark?

9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

Author's Note: Little down that no one reviewed the last chapter, but I'm determined to see this story finish. So first let's begin with the current rankings:

Prowl: 7

Starscream: 9

Optimus Prime: 2

Other: 3

And now in first place is Starscream! I am happy about this but I think that may change once you read this chapter so sorry in advance! As for other someone suggested Bulkhead (I can picture him being like super careful with a tiny sparkling and being one of those really protective/paranoid relatives ^^).

In this chapter will have more introductions between the femme called Psyche and hopefully, a favorite you G1 fans will remember and, hopefully, enjoy. I also have another question I want to ask everyone but I'll post it in the end. So, on with the show-er, story!

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

Previously…

Optimus and his team were forced to work with Sentinel in order to capture Wasp, who had been declared a Decepticon spy. Their chase led them to Dinobot Island where they were forced to fight against the territorial Dinobots as both Primes went to deal with techno-organic Blackarachnia. Bumblebee was kidnapped by newly created techno-organic Waspinator, who wanted revenge, only to be saved by a mysterious femme who called herself Psyche.

Now, onto our story…

(Just after Bumblebee was kidnapped by Waspinator…)

'I really hate organics!'

It didn't matter that this mutated freak used to be Elita-1, she went off-line over twelve vorns ago. This—thing, was not her and could never be her! "I never knew, never imagined that something this... unspeakable could have happened to you. How can you even live like that?! It's horrible! It's disgusting!"

"Okay, okay, I get it! It's bad, but it's not that bad, all right?!" Geez, was he always this much of an aft?

"No. It's worse. You should have gone offline." Bringing up his lance he held his shield before him as well, narrowing his optics at her. "Looks like I'll have to offline you myself."

"You really think you can stop me? If any good came from this, it's so I can get my revenge against you and Optimus!" she hissed. She didn't know why she thought she could get him to admit to leaving her behind, but now that he was here she was going to make them pay! Transforming she hissed and had the satisfaction of seeing the almighty Sentinel tremble like a frightened sparkling. "Time to die!"

Optics widen and he brought up the shield just in time, bracing himself behind it. He couldn't help but flinch as he watched the way the fangs tried to pierce his only line of defense. Pushing back he swung his lance up, giving her a hard smack into the side and knocking her off but he was taken back when his lance was yanked from his hand by a sticky, white substance. "Slag it!"

"Nice try but I remember all your little tricks," she hissed, flinging his lance far from him. Moving along the walls, shooting her sticky webbing at him, she could care less that the green bot had left as soon as his transformation was complete, but as she continued fighting the big-chinned Autobot realization struck her. She would use him to further her study on how to turn her back to normal! Having knocked him flat on his aft, shield sliding away, she struck and smirked as she sank her claws into him and absorbed his ability.

Optimus ran as fast as he could, fueled by the screams of Sentinel. Running into the laboratory he halted as he watched Blackarachnia drained Sentinels energy, leaving him a weak, moaning mess. "Elita, stop!"

"Optimus… looks like I just gained another subject to experiment on," she smirked. Slowly standing from the prone form of the blue bot. As he took a step forward she immediately held her servo out, the energy lance coming to hand and pointed the tip at the downed mech, optics narrowed. "One more step, and he gets a new hole in his helm," she warned.

"Let him go, Blackarachnia."

"Why should I?"

"Because… I'm the one who left you behind. Sentinel's not the one to blame for what you look like."

"What I look like is only half the story. What I am is a lot more complicated."

---

Grimlock roared as he unleashed another blast of fire, scorching the local plant life around them. The air was rapidly being filled with smoke, making their photocells irritated. Jetstorm was working hard on clearing the air to help the Autobots while Jetfire dealt with the flying Dinobot, but even with two against one the odds were not in their favor.

The pteranodon shrieked as he dove down and slashed at Jetstorm's wings from above, having used the night sky as coverage. The unfortunate jet never heard him coming and was completely unprepared as the sharp talons tore through the metal plating, ripping up wires and causing him to swerve uncontrollably. The Dinobot watched as the blue jet crashed down, crying out in triumph.

"Brother!" Jetfire knew the instant his brother was attacked, feeling the pain over their bond. He had to help him but he was taken back when a blast of fire hit him dead on. "Ngh!" It hurt, sensors alerting him to the danger but before he could try and absorb the fire he cried out in pain as he felt something sharp tearing into his wing.

"Let him go!" Bulkhead shouted, hurling his wrecking ball into the Dinobot leader, causing him to let the Elite Guard go. The large dino went down with a roar, struggling to get up but the green wrecker didn't give him a chance as he swung his wrecking ball once more, this time hitting the rocky wall and causing a small avalanche to fall on him. "And stay down!"

Ratchet struggled to remain online, but his processor was slightly damaged from the sudden tail slap. Every time he tried to get up he would crash to the ground, as though his peds and stabilizers refused to bear his own mass. He had tried bracing himself against the boulder he had been thrown into but it would appear that his equilibrium sensors had been damaged, making him so unstable even standing still he felt ready to crash to the ground. 'Fragging perfect, what else could go wrong?' he snapped angrily.

Prowl liked to think things through, he liked to be organized and precise, to think of his actions before doing. But he wanted to go after the giant bug that flew off with Bumblebee, he wanted to bring him back to Detroit, he wanted him safe and trusting them once more. And if these Dinobots were going to stop them, then he was done being one with nature. He tried to take the flying Dinobot down, throwing shuriken after shuriken at him, but the bot was quick to dart in and out the plumes of smoke. Around them the fire was still growing and he could feel his internal fans kicking on, attempting to cool down his heating frame.

"Hey mechs! We're getting beaten out here!" Bulkhead shouted, peering into the crackling flames and smoke but it was getting difficult to make out anything. Rubbing at his optics he peered out only to grunt in pain as he felt a heavy mass slam into him, his back plates shattered the trees as the large bot continued pushing him until he hit the rocky face of the crater. He was slammed into it two more times and everything went dark when he felt heavy rocks slam into his helm, knocking him off-line in the process.

Grimlock growled as he glared at the downed wrecker. "Now me Grimlock say you stay down!"

Things were not looking good for the team, beaten down and injured, the entire crater was going to be nothing but a massive blaze if they couldn't contain it. Prowl could feel parts of his system shutting down, unable to deal with the heat as the three Dinobots surrounded him. The look in their optics, no amount of talking would save him or his team this time. And he still didn't know where that giant bug had taken Bumblebee. He had failed so many times… he felt his stabilizers fold under him, dropping onto his knee joints.

'I'm sorry…' he whispered, waiting for the unenviable end.

A large plane swooped low, cargo door opening as it released hundreds of gallons of water. Flying in a maneuver no human pilot could manage it flew in circles over the crater, causing it to rain down on the forest fire down below. The fires sizzled but with the downpour they were slowly being smothered until finally, it was gone, leaving only blacked trees and scorch earth.

"Hmm? Why wet stuff falling from sky?" Grimlock asked, looking up at the sky for an answer.

"Me not know," the flying bot said, peering up at the sky along with his brothers. None of them hear something whizzing through the air until something struck him in the back of his helm, causing him to squawk as he crashed to the ground. An unknown electrical charge fried some of his system and he was off-line.

The Cyber Ninja was confused but as the human saying went "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth". He would only have one chance at this so he had to make it count. Silently moving to his peds in a crotched position, he jumped back and unleashed his shurikens at the slow moving triceratops. It had the desired effect of catching his attention, making him growl and charge at him but a large grappling claw came down and latching onto his back plates, hauled him high into the air.

"Me flying!" he shouted as he was pulled higher into the air until he couldn't be seen.

Grimlock was a simple mech, he didn't understand a lot, and he got upset over the tiniest thing. But watching one of his Dinobots getting struck from behind and another flying away, he was not happy. Turning to the small bot he growled and held his flaming sword up, optics narrowed. "Me Grimlock, destroy you!" he shouted.

"Incoming!"

"Huh?" The slow-processed Dinobot paused in his charge and looking up, did not like what he saw as the rapidly falling frame of his brother was heading straight for him. "Uh-oh." Needless to say the resulting crash was not only painful to hear, but watch as the triceratops crash landed on the tyrannosaurus rex, kicking up a cloud of dirt and ashes, blinding optics and clogging filters. Prowl was tense, waiting for the air to settle he saw that both Dinobots were off-line, due to the sudden and heavy impact. But that still left a question of who came to his rescue-

"Prowl!"

Wait, he knew that voice! Slowly standing he nearly fell backwards as a yellow blur raced at him from the shadow of the trees and attached itself to his frame; still beaten and completely unprepared, the cyber ninja fell back onto his aft but his servos came up and immediately wrapped themselves around the trembling frame of the scout. "B-Bumblebee?" He was alright! He was safe! He wanted to ask him if the bug did anything to him but the way he was trembling, clinging to him tightly, he held his glossia and tightened his servos around him.

There was the sound of leaves rustling and an aqua blue femme came out of the tree line as a large plane flew down, shocking everyone as he transformed at the last moment and landed with a heavy thud. They said nothing as the large mech went to remove the rocks and heavy stones that had buried the green wrecker and the femme went to assist Ratchet who was still trying to deal with his equilibrium.

"You got yourself in a fine mess," the femme vented, grabbing the medic's servos and holding him steady when his larger frame threaten to topple over. "Ratch, focus on me."

"What do ya think I'm doing?" he snapped, optics shuddering a few times. Everything felt terrible and he could almost taste the static. Cycling the air through his system he could feel his self-repair trying to assist with his balance but hopefully it would be enough until he was able to get back to the base. Looking at the bot next to him it took him a few nanokliks to focus and when he did he gave her a small and sincere smile. "So, you came after all."

The femme smiled, nodding to him. "You said you needed help, so here I am." She looked up as the large mech slowly walked over, gently setting the injured twin jets down. "Nice job taking care of the fire, Skyfire."

The mech was pretty damn big, both in height and width, his armor plating a gleaming white with bright red accent, as well as a bit of blue. "You know I do not believe in fighting, Psyche, but I do not believe in unnecessary damage, either," he said calmly. Without being asked or told he began to tend to Jetstorm's damages, his large servos moving with precise movement and grace, as though he had prior training.

Psyche helped Ratchet move closer to his team, setting him down. Making sure he was alright she moved over to where Bee was still clinging to Prowl and slowly reached out, brushing her digits over his arm, waiting until he looked at her before speaking. "You're safe now, Bee. We'll be back home soon, okay?" she said softly.

He nodded, not saying anything but he did loosen his hold on the black and gold mech, looking at his friend but his optics grew wide when he noticed two mechs missing. "Where's boss bot? And the other one?"

Psyche frowned but looked at the sitting mech in question. "You're missing two more members?"

"They went after Blackarachnia, in a secret laboratory here on the island," he said quickly. When the femme made to get up both he and Bee reached out and grabbed her servos to keep her from going after them. "Wait, Blackarachnia is not like us, she's a techno-organic."

"She's like Wasp-Waspinator," bee stuttered slightly. "She'll try to destroy you!"

She wanted to argue she didn't care but seeing the panicked look in the minibot's optics made her cycle air softly. "Then, let's get off this island as of one deca-cycle ago." With Bee's help they pulled Prowl to his peds. The large green wrecker was able to move on his own, some dings and dents marring his frame but at least he was able to transform. Moving to the medic she helped him up and turned to her friend. "Skyfire, we're leaving!"

"I'm almost done," he said, carefully welding the piece of scrap metal he had in his subspace for a temporarily hold on the blue jet. The orange jet had a damaged wing but he wasn't as bad at the other.

"Carry them if you have to, but we're leaving now!" she ordered and began moving. The large mech vented softly in the form of a sigh, quickly finishing the temporarily weld. The two were able to move, slowly, but he turned back to the downed Dinobots and realized, he could not leave them behind.

---

Optimus grunted as he nearly dragged Sentinel out of the laboratory, his system warning him of low energy but he had no time to rest. It was a sweet relief to see the local fauna; hopefully it would give them some better coverage.

"C'mon Sentinel, we have to keep moving," he grunted. Why did this mech have to weight so fragging much?

"S-S-Shut-t u-up," the blue and grey mech stuttered, trying to get his peds moving but his joints kept locking up on him. "I s-still can't be-be-lieve you did-did-didn't tell-l-l me, abo-bout her!"

"I wanted to, but I doubt you would have listened," he grunted. "You never listen…"

"W-W-What was th-that?"

"Nothing."

"No, th-that!"

The red, blue, and white mech looked up and his optics widened when he saw a very large flying insect in front of them. He knew this thing wasn't a native of the planet; for one thing it was roughly the size of a small vehicle! And there was an unnatural charge about it. As it transformed his optics widen even more and he could feel Sentinel stiffen next to him.

"W-W-Wasp-p?"

"It Wazzpinator now, sarg bot!" he buzzed angrily. When he awoke there was no sign of bumble bot and his helm hurt. But when he tried to go looking for the yellow bumbler he felt as though he couldn't control his system and ended up crashing into everything. Surely spider lady could help him! But now the big-chinned glitched that kicked him out of boot camp was here! "Wazzpinator make Bumble bot pay, but now make sarg bot pay!" he buzzed angrily.

"Bumblebee… what have you done to him?!" Optimus demanded. If he harmed the minibot, to the Pitt with what Sentinel said or did, he was going to exterminate this bug himself!

Waspinator ignored him and was prepared to strike but the charge caused him to twitch and the next thing he knew, he flew straight ahead and rammed helm first into the rock wall. That hurt, a lot! He tried to get his systems to listen to him but he crashed into the ground several yards away, transforming at eh last moment. "Zz-zzomething wrong, with-zz- Wazzpinator-zz," he buzzed weakly, now struggling to get up.

"That energy field…" Why was he projecting transwarp energy? He still wanted answers about Bumblebee but if he went after him he would be subjected to the mercy of him and Blackarachnia. And he had to help Sentinel, as much as he really disliked the mech right now. "We have to go, now."

"N-Not without-out Wasp-p-p," he hissed,

"For Primus' sake, move your aft, Sentinel!" he snapped and was ready to just transform and drag the mech behind him but froze when he heard a chilling, mocking laughter behind them. "Slag it!"

"I didn't think you knew how to curse, Optimus," the deadly fembot chuckled, slowly making her way out of the tunnel.

"What did you do to Wasp? His energy is completely unstable!" he hissed angrily.

"Not like it matters but might as well explain it to the two of you. I used your precious transwarp generator to turn him from into a techno-organic, just like me. And he was more than happy to help me with my little experimentation."

"S-So you can-can cre-ate your own ar-army?" sentinel stuttered. He could feel whatever she had done to him begin to wear off and managed to remain standing on his own peds even though his balance was still off.

"Yeah, right! Once I've dealt with you two I'm going to change him back into a pure Cybertronium mech. With any luck I'll finally be able to cure myself of this accursed organic body!"

"But, you'll be destroying Wasp in the process!" he shouldn't care about the bug, not if he hurt Bumblebee but he could not justify using him like that.

"You think I care about any of that?!" she snapped angrily. "So he doesn't survive, big deal! And with you two, I can keep experimenting until I find a cure and no one is going to stop me!"

"Zzpider bot… not friend?" came a confused buzzing. Everybot looked over to the side as Waspinator finally managed to stand. The crackling of transwarp energy was stronger than before and the look in his fuchsia-colored optics showed the hurt and betrayal he felt. "Zzpider lady lie to Wazzpinator. Never friend. Autobotzz alwayzz chazzing Wazzpinator, not believe what Wazzpinator zzaying, not zzpy!" He could feel the energy building, limbs failing about he glared at the assembled mechs and femme. "Wazzpinator make all botzz pay!"

"He's going to take out the entire island and everything on it!" Sentinel warned, optics wide. Frozen to the spot, he didn't realize Optimus had transformed until he yelped and clung to the red frame, holding on for dear spark's sake.

The femme fatale hissed but she wasted no time in grappling with the pissed off insect, spinning yard after yard of her sticky webbing until they were completely cocooned. It wouldn't do much in the way of protection, and even now she wondered why she didn't just bother to save her own aft, but there was no time to process the information as she felt the energy reach its critical peak and explode.

At the dock the Autobots clung to the railing of the cargo ship as a huge explosion rocked the very island, churning the waters and knocking more than one bot off their peds. Ratchet was one such mech, having finally gained some sort of balance and cursed when he hit the deck with enough force to jar some internal circuitry.

"Slag it all! Now what happened!?" he snapped.

"I believe part of the island just exploded," Skyfire said with narrowed optics. All the bots looked towards the island and sure enough, they were a very large cloud of smoke rising from the other side of the crater. Without being asked Skyfire jumped into the air, transforming as he flew to get a closer look.

Bumblebee watched out with a frighten expression in his optics. Optimus was still out there and while he still wasn't sure to trust his team or not, he didn't want them gone. He slowly moved away from Prowl and towards the railing, looking intently for any sight of their leader as well as the large jerk bot.

'Please… please be okay,' he thought fervently. Everything was tense for at least a long time, Psyche and Ratchet tending to the twins and the Dinobots who were warned to behave or they could just very well stay on their ruined island. It had been well into night when they chased Wasp here to the island and just as the sun was about to rise, the large seeker was heading towards them, carrying two bots from his grabbling hook. Bee was the first one to spot them and everybot waited as the plane flew closer, lowering and slowing down, Sure enough hanging from the rescue line were both Primes, and both looked a bit banged up with numerous dents and dings, as well as some scorch marks but they were both still functioning.

Optimus felt like he could recharge for a full deca-cycle, his system presenting a slew of error messages he just did not have the processor capacity to deal with right now. He did look at the bots on the ship, a bit surprised at eh quite forms of the Dinobots but before he could say anything he felt a small frame crash into him. Looking down he sighed in relief; Bumblebee was alright.

"Bumble-"

"Shut up," he muttered and clung to his commanding officer as tight as he could. "Just, s-shut up." The firetruck said nothing but wordlessly wrapped his servos around him, reaching up and gently stroked the back of his helm. Everyone was safe and Wasp—Waspinator, was gone. So why did he still have an unsettling feeling in his tank and spark?

---

"How come no one told me that there were gonna new Autobots coming?" Sari said with a slight pout. She had come over to visit the warehouse and was surprised to see that no one was there until the large group arrived a few breems after her own arrival. She had been ready to let them have it for leaving her behind, until she saw the sorry state they were in.

The femme, who introduced herself as Psyche, looked up with narrowed optics where she was working on the flying Dinobot's circuitry. "For the last time, Skyfire and are I are not Autobots. We're neutrals, always have been, always will be. So learn it, memorize it, or just shut it," she said coolly with a warning glare.

"Geez, sorry!" she snapped back, crossing her arms over her chest. "What's the big deal though? What's so bad about being an Autobot?"

Psyche looked ready to say something really nasty but gritted her denta together and went back to work. She did yell at the dino to stop fidgeting or else she was going to weld him to the table he was laying on.

Skyfire vented softly but continued working on his patient. "Psyche and I both have had unpleasant experiences with both fractions," he calmly explained; his focus was completely on repairing some circuitry that had become damaged on Grimlock; he offered to tend to the leader of the Dinobots and didn't seem to mind the way he growled at him. "Many bots see the war as black and white, one side good, the other evil, but no one seems to realize that there are shades of gray in-between." He paused and looked up at her, his light blue optics full of understanding and experience. "We chose to be neutrals to help those who want nothing to do with the war but have found themselves caught up in it regardless. We help those who need our help, regardless of what side they are on."

"Oh." She wanted to ask why he would be willing to help a Decepticon but something told her that was a question better left alone for now, one where not every bot could hear it. Looking at eh group she sighed in disappointment. "I wish…" she didn't bother to finish her sentence as she stared down at her feet.

The large seeker noticed this and could tell there was something weighing on the young organic's shoulders. "Is something wrong?"

"… I wish, I still had the AllSpark Key, I could have everyone fixed and repaired in a snap. But I used up all the energy to upgrade myself."

Psyche paused in her working, staring at nothing in particular for a few kliks before continuing. It was a few kliks after that did she speak up. "Perhaps it wasn't meant to be."

Sari blinked and looked at eh femme. "Huh?"

"Sari, right? Some of our best scientists have been researching the AllSpark since we were first aware of it. It's been… what, ten billion stellar cycles since Cybertron came to be and shortly after that the first Transformers were created. You'd think with so much time on our servos we'd have at least an answer or two but instead we just have more unanswered questions."

"Created? Who created you? I mean, them? The first transformers."

"No idea." Finishing the last set of wires she had the dino run through his system and report any errors. When he reported none (and she explained what she was talking about) she smiled and patted his shoulder. Reaching for the piece of hammered out plating she began the next task of attaching it as one of her digits folded back to become a mini blow torch. "All I do know is the AllSpark has been around for eons, and it's going to continue being around whether we like it or not. So, let's not question it, a'right?"

"Yeah… but, you think anyone will ever learn anything about it?"

"Maybe. Or maybe it just hasn't found the right being its wants to pass its secrets onto." Glancing at the human she smiled briefly and gave her a quick wink.

Sentinel was not happy. When he learned the femme and large seeker had been contact by Ratchet he was livid and was prepared to contact Ultra Magnus and report him. It was another slap to the faceplates when the grumpy medbot explained he had the Magnus' permission and he could call the High Council for all that he cared, the femme was here to assist with Bumblebee. In fact, he glanced around for the minibot but he was now where in the med bay.

"Where'd that Bumbler go?" he asked to no one in particular. "And when is somebot going to make sure I didn't upload an organic virus?"

"We'll deal with your phobia once we're done, slag it!" Ratchet snapped. He had been impressed with Skyfire's medical knowledge, seeing that the seeker had more than just the basics down and did not question it when he offered to look at the Dinobots. He had been iffy bringing them here but so far they were behaving and obeyed when spoke too. As long as it came from either the seeker or Psyche. Stepping back he nodded to Optimus. "Okay kid, you're good to go."

The Prime slowly sat up and running a quick diagnostic, sighed in relief. "Thanks Ratchet."

"Maybe next time you should watch your back plates." That had been tricky but they had managed. He looked over to see Psyche had finished with the Dinobot and let him go. Skyfire was nearly done with Grimlock which meant Sentinel was the only one remaining. Gesturing to the mech he sighed but didn't start on him right away. "Where's Bumblebee?"

"I sent him to his room to recharge," the femme explained as she cleaned her servos. "In fact, I need to talk with him for a bit. You need any help?"

"No. I can always weld Sentinel's mouth plates shut if he gives me any trouble."

"I heard that! I'll write you up for threatening a superior officer!"

"Why don't you do it now and save all of us the ringing in our audio receivers," she teased, ignoring the blue Prime's squawking. "Or better yet, have Grimlock sit on him."

The Dinobot looked up when he name was mentioned and looking at the loud bot, nodded. "Me Grimlock sit on loud bot. Me sit good!" he made to stand and do as told but was forced back down onto the table when Skyfire pulled him down. "but pretty bot tell Grimlock to sit!"

"She was joking and I'm not done," he scolded lightly. "So for now, sit here." The Dinobot let out a grumble but obeyed.

Psyche chuckled and headed out, accompanied with Sari who led her to Bee's room. Knocking on the door they were met with no answer but a quick peak inside showed him to be in recharge. They decided to let him be and went to see how the others in the main room were doing. As hey closed the door a breeze from the open window blew in, stirring the posters on the walls, some human-sized comic books on the floor, and the sheet on the berth. The breeze was strong enough to cause the sheet to lift to reveal the minibot was, in fact, not even there. A few pillows and bundles of cloth had been stuffed inside to make it seem like he was sleeping.

---

Bumblebee couldn't believe it but he knew his system better than anybot. He had even opened his chassis and examined his spark to the best of his ability but his optics did not lie to him. Orbiting his soft silver blue spark, was a much smaller white spark. He ran through countless diagnostics and each one came back with the same message.

He had been sparked, and he was currently carrying. He had a sparkling inside him.

He refused to believe it at first, almost going to Ratchet to make sure but he held that idea back with every bit of strength he possessed. If he was sparked and Ratchet confirmed it, then… not only would he know, he would want to know who the sire was.

'I have to tell Starscream.'

The video file Waspinator uploaded into his processor was still there but he refused to believe it. The seeker cared about him, he wanted him! He said so himself! And the glitch was glitching out anyway, probably fried a few circuits here and there in his processor. Pitt, maybe he had been dropped on his helm too many times when he was still a protoform! He sped along the streets when he realized he knew the seekers' location and didn't think to send him a ping that he was coming.

'He'd never expect me coming!' he thought and raced faster. For some reason this led him to what appeared to be a garage of the humans' planes. It made sense, no one would expect to find Decepticons among the regular planes but he couldn't go driving up the main gate. So he drove as close as he could before he found a part of the gate he could get through that didn't have security everywhere. Transforming he cut an opening big enough for him and sneak inside. He felt his tanks rumble quietly and he reached up to gently place his servo on his stomach plates, smiling faintly. That also explained the weird eating habits, how couldn't he have noticed before? Moving as quietly as he could he followed the signal that was the seeker and could hear him talking but something told him to be cautious and wait before he revealed himself. For once, he waited and listened.

"For the last time, I am the original Starscream!" the seeker yelled angrily.

"No, I am the original!" Thundercracker yelled back, refusing to allow this mere "copy" insult him.

"Silence, you glitch!"

"No, you!"

"No, you!"

"You!"

"You!"

The two seekers were so close to one another, their oil pressure escalating to such unbelievable levels, it was a miracle their fuel pumps didn't just give out already. Before the two could start shooting at one another they pulled away and turned their back plates to the other, crossing their servos over their chassis.

"Why the frag did I think this was such a good idea?" Starscream muttered to himself, trying to ignore the ache forming in his processor.

"Oh but all your ideas are nothing short of brilliant!" Sunstorm praised earnestly, getting rather close to Starscream. "You more than deserve to be the leader of the Decepticons, oh wise and powerful and brilliant Starscream!"

Thundercracker snarled and whirled at the yellow-orange seeker. "Don't call that miserable clone Starscream! I'm the true original!"

"Who else could you be? No one is as majestic as you are!" The original looked ready to destroy them both if to get a single nanoklik of silence!

Slipstream merely glanced up from where she had been examining her digits as she had seen a human femme do once. "So what now, oh fearless leader?" she asked sarcastically.

"Do not start with me, fembot!" he snapped at her.

"Oh somebot's got his wings up in a flurry," she sneered. Sure enough the wings of said seeker were so tense they were nearly vibrating, held high up on his back struts. "Why don't you call that minibot to relieve your stress?"

"Shut up! I'm not taking any advice from you!" he snapped. Why the Pitt didn't he think of that?

"I don't like that minibot! His color is too bright, his frame is too bulky, and he's not that attractive for a grounder!" Ramjet sneered. "Don't call him, I don't want to see him!"

"I heard there's a river in a place called Egypt you should really visit one of these solar cycles," the femme muttered to the white seeker, ignoring his huff of indifference.

"No don't call him! He'll lead the Autobots to us, or worse—the Elite Guards!" Skywarp said in a slightly panicked tone as he immediately tried to hide behind an irate Thundercracker. "They'll use stasis cuffs on me! Do you know that they'll lead to stasis lock? I don't wanna go into stasis lock!"

Starscream couldn't hear himself thinking, the ache in his processor was getting so bad he didn't realize the AllSpark fragment in embedded in his fore helm was glowing. There was a bright cackle of energy and the clones looked up with wide optics before a burst of energy arched out from the enraged seeker, hitting them all and knocking them flat on their afts.

"Now listen hear you miserable clones! I am the Original Starscream! I made you and by Unicron's will, I can unmake you as well!" he seethed as he rounded on Skywarp who led out a scream and quickly hid behind Slipstream, covering his helm with his servos in an attempt to hide.

"Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me!" he whimpered.

"I give the orders here, and you glitches will obey each and every one of them—or else," he seethed angrily. "Do I make myself clear!?" A murmur of "Yes" filled his audio receivers but he thought back to what Slipstream had said. The minibot was a good frag, but he was getting a bit tired of having to wait for him whenever he sent him a message. He could solve that easily just be chaining him to his berth, but he ignored the strange fluttering feeling in his chassis. Growling he turned from them listening to them get to his peds but a cruel idea flittered across his processor, making him smirk.

"Since you are all aware of the Autobot warming my birth, I've decided to give him to you, my loyal soldiers," he smirked as he turned to face them.

"What do you mean?" the blue-violet seeker demanded.

"I know some of you have been watching us interfacing, you are all part of me after all." He smirked when he saw some of them look away guiltily (Ramjet tried to glare his guilt away but was failing miserably). "And I know you all want to experience the tight valve of such an obedient pet. So, being the generous and giving leader that I am, I am willing to share my minibot with you."

"Wait—what?" Was he serious?

"just what I said. I assure you, for a lowly Autobot he's quite a submissive, little berth slave and he'll do anything you order him to do." His smirk grew as he saw he had their interest. "And I do mean anything."

From his hiding spot bumblebee could not believe what he was hearing. Was Starscream… was he… really just using him? Was he going to just give him to his clones? Didn't he care about him in the least? He shook his helm, wanting to stop out and confront him but he couldn't move his peds, he could only grip the tree he was hiding behind even tighter.

"I should get the yellow Autobot anyway since I'm clearly the best of all of you, being the original and all," Thundercracker scoffed but he stilled eyed the red-violet seeker warily.

"Then prove it."

"B-But you to-told him that you need-needed him," Skywarp quietly reminded him from his hiding spot behind Slipstream. "He-He won't… this won't work!" he flinched and once more covered his helm with his servos, wings dropping down, his entire frame trembling in fear. "I'm sorry! Please, don't hurt me!"

"I lied, you stupid glitch! I was going to use him to get their fragments but he was so desperate for attention he believed everything I told him! I even made him believe his own teammates hated him! The only good thing going for him was being sealed and I took that away from him. He's mine to use as I see fit!"

"Oh what a devious plan you have, oh cruel and evil Starscream! You used the little Autobot so wonderfully!" Sunstorm gushed joyfully.

Everything the scout knew just shattered around him. He didn't realize he was moving until he heard something snap under his ped. Snapping his helm up he heard the seekers moving and without thinking twice, turned and ran off as fast as he could. He wasn't sure how long he ran for or even what direction he was going in but once he reached a drivable path he quickly transformed and peeled out. He tried to stay under some form of shelter, praying to primus that the seeker never noticed him.

'He didn't mean it,' he sobbed to himself. 'He didn't mean it! He said he needed me! He said, no one else wanted me!' But the ugly truth kept repeating itself over and over in his processor, making his processor ache and his tanks churn. Feeling an unsettling feeling he skidded to a stop behind a large billboard along the road and as soon as he transformed, he dropped to his knee joints and servos, purging his tanks. He could not remember the last time he felt this bad, if ever, but he stayed there as he continued to purge, venting air deeply. After a breem or two he slowly sat up, ignoring the mess on the ground but he rested a shaking servo on his stomach plates.

He was carrying Starscream's sparkling… he went behind his team's back and saw the seeker, allowed himself to be used and abused… he was enjoying it each time, begging for more, for the seeker to frag him harder, faster… he keened in pain and nearly doubled over, servos wrapped around his frame tightly. What would the 'Con do if he found out he was carrying? Would he destroy him on the spot? Would he force him to delete the sparkling? Or, would he make him wait until it was ready and take it away?

'No! This-This is my sparkling! He can't have you!' The thoughts were so venomous he scared himself but he found a ring of truth in those words. Bracing himself up he opened his chassis and reached up to gently touch the protective casing where his spark lay; it was faint, but he could feel the smaller hum of the tiny spark orbiting his own, and despite the shattered feeling inside he had to smile and sent a feeling of love and acceptance to it. He couldn't feel anything from the sparkling but the hum grew. "I won't let anybot take you away from me. Not even your creator." He continued to caress the casing for a few more kliks before reluctantly pulling away, allowing his chassis to close. Making sure there were no other vehicles around, he transformed and drove into the city limits.

---

Stellar cycles passed and Bee tried to focus on being normal. He came to the realization that everything Starscream told him had been a lie from the beginning, that his team really did care about him. He was unsure at first, the hurtful words still lingering in the back of his processor but the more time he spent with them, the more he realized how wrong he had been. Soon it was as if he had never believed the seeker's lies. Spending time with his team he found himself teaming up with Sari against the jettwins when it came to video games, pulling pranks against Sentinel when the big-chinned bot was being a total aft, and helped keep an eye on the Dinobots just in case they got too bored in the factory. He also began talking with Psyche about half a mega-cycle a day in his room. She never pushed him for answers and he found her easy to speak to. She reminded him a lot of Ratchet during one of his moods, and she was certainly no push-over with her small energy hammers. They talked about whatever was on his processor and he found himself enjoying these sessions. He even found himself spending time with the large shuttle-class mech; Skyfire was a quiet mech and he was usually found meditating with Prowl in his room and he had taken quite an interest in the planet's culture and technology, constanting asking Sari questions. The only things he didn't enjoying were the nightly patrols Optimus had him do and he only went if the boss bot, Prowl, or Psyche went with him. He was terrified of running into the seekers but there had been no sign of them or techno-organics as well. Things were finally getting back to normal.

He also noticed that he was sneaking nuts and other items when he thought no one was looking, trying to satisfy his growing hunger. One morning he looked down at his frame and realized that he was beginning to show. If this kept up, everybot would know something was up and then he would have no choice but to allow Ratchet to examine and then he would know that he was carrying. "Borrowing" a data pad from the med bay he looked up some information and realized the materials he had been consuming were necessary in order for his system to create a viable protoform for the sparkling to survive in. As soon as he found out he spend a full deca-cycle looking at the small bump, stroking it and smiling gently, promising to eat enough so his sparkling would have a strong and healthy protoform. But the smile soon faded when he realized not only was his small "baby bump" going to get bigger, everybot would soon realize what was going on and piece everything together.

'What… what if they throw me in prison like Wasp? Or take you away once you're ready to come out? Or—or make me delete you?' he stumbled away from his mirror, nearly tripping over the items scattered along the floor and fell back onto his berth, both servos trying to hide his frame from sight. He didn't realize he was trembling as he pushed himself back until he hit the wall, his armor clanking noisily. 'No. I'm not letting anybot take you away from me. You're my sparkling, and even if it means being on the run for the rest of my life cycle I will always protect you.' Nothing mattered but the tiny spark growing inside him. He tried to act like everything was alright and made sure not to draw any attention to his slightly growing frame, and so far no one was the wiser. The same could not be said at night, though. That's when the nightmares came and he was powerless against them. He tried to ignore them, tried to be his normal loud, annoying, prankster self but the stress was beginning to weigh on him heavier and heavier and the nightmares were becoming more and more disturbing.

Everyone was worried about him and Psyche tried to talk to him, to find out what was going on but just when she thought she had gotten through to him he would get this look of utter fear in his optics and freeze, refusing to tell her anything. He would retreat to his room and refuse to come out no matter what, not even open the door when someone tried to bring him energon. It was making them all worry, especially his teammates. Then one night, Bumblebee had one of the worse nightmares ever. He dreamt that Waspinator had found him and ripped the barely forming protoform from his frame and killed it before his optics, and he had been powerless to stop him.

Prowl had been the only one to hear him whimpering in his sleep, calming him when the minibot turned to him for comfort and safety. He tried to get him to tell what his nightmare had been about, but Bee refused. He ended up falling into an unsteady recharge in the arms of the Cyber Ninja, terrified of being alone. The following morning came and with it Bumblebee slowly awoke. Prowl, who had been awake for a short amount of time, was patient as he heard his system online with a low hum, servos clutching at him for a few kliks, as though to assure himself that he was real and not part of a defrag his processor was showing him. He watched as optics opened and came online but didn't remove himself from him just yet.

"You stayed." He hadn't meant it as a statement but he needed some reassurance right now and by the Pitt he was going to take whatever he could.

"I did," Prowl said quietly, listening with half an audio as he heard the faint stirring of the others waking from their own recharge as well. His servos continued their gentle ministrations in stroking the warm metal, pausing when he felt him shift, thinking he was going to pull away but he continued to stay close to the other bot, this time resting his helm on a shoulder joint. "Was your recharge better this time?" he asked softly.

"… no," he admitted. He should have just lied by Prowl had the uncanny ability to tell when he was lying, and he was just too damn tired of this whole sneaking around. Speaking of which, he frowned slightly as he felt his tanks churning quietly. He was getting hungry but he didn't want to leave the safety of his room. "Prowl?"

"Yes?"

"… nevermind." Sure he could ask Prowl if he could get him some energon, he didn't think he would mind, but that would leave him alone and he didn't want to be alone. He was still afraid. Just thinking about his nightmare made him whimper in fear, optics closing and clinging to the sleek frame even tighter. 'Please, don't let go,' he whimpered softly.

Seeing this side of the yellow scout was highly unlike and he did not like it one little bit. Frowning slightly he held the minibot even closer than before, reaching up and gently stroking the back of his helm. "it's alright, Bumblebee. I'm here," he said softly. The scout just continued to cling to him, trying to get his frame to stop trembling. He looked up when he heard a soft knock on the door and felt Bee freeze in place. "Yes?"

"It's me," psyche said softly. She glanced up and down the hall to make sure it was empty. "I brought some energon. Can I come in?"

Prowl would have invited her in but this wasn't his room and he didn't want to make the scout lose his trust in him again. But the minibot slowly nodded, whispering that it was okay. Waiting a moment he told her to come in and watched as she opened the door just enough to enter then immediately closed it behind her. She was looking at them calmly, as though silently asking for permission. He felt Bee nod and slowly she began walking towards the berth, pausing when she reached the side before lifting her servos up and removed two cubes of energon from her subspace. Quietly she handed one to Prowl and offered the other to Bumblebee.

"I'm not hungry," he said softly. That was a lie, he knew he was hungry but it wasn't for the brightly colored liquid. Psyche just nodded and set it on the small table next to his berth and once more, asking permission, slowly sat down. Bee was watching her quietly, almost afraid to move but his optics widen when she faced them and smiling gently, opened her arms to him. It took him an astrosecond before he found himself clinging to her aqua blue frame tightly, closing his eyes as soft sobs escaped his frame. "I'm sorry *ktch*, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry *ktch*," he sobbed softly.

"You have nothing to apologize for, sweetspark," she said softly, gently rubbing his back plates and rocking him back and forth. Resting her chin atop his helm she looked at the ninja bot and nodded quietly. "Can you give us a breem or two?"

He was about to answer when bee spoke up, surprise the both of them. "I-I want Prowl *ktch* to stay." He trusted Psyche, but he felt better with the ninja bot here. The nightmare didn't come and he felt safe with him around. Saying nothing they continued to sit there, waiting for him to calm as he slowly pulled away from the femme but continued to sit between them. He murmured his thanks as he accepted the cube, taking a sip. "I, had a really bad nightmare… I mean defrag."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Psyche asked softly, watching him carefully.

"… W-Waspinator attacked me, when I was alone… he, he was destroying something—precious to me…"

"Last night, you told me not to let them take it, was that what you meant?" the Cyber Ninja asked softly to which the minibot nodded quietly. "What was it?" He didn't answer with words but he watched as his servo come up and protectively hold the slight swell of his stomach plating. He was confused but looked up sharply when the neutral whispered something he had not been expecting.

"You're sparked." He nodded. "The sire… it's not one your friends, is it." He shook his head. "Can you tell me who it is?" He froze and his digits tightened over the mostly full cube and his middle section. "Bee… I don't judge, but anything you tell me will never be said to anyone else. I will take it with me to the Well of AllSparks and after." Reaching out she gently touched his cheek ridge, turning his face plates to hers and smiled kindly at him. "Prowl and I just want to help him, you trust him or else you wouldn't have let him stay with you all night." That was true but looking over the bot he was afraid of him pushing him away, of calling him a traitor, a Decepticon whore.

"I promise not to tell anyone about this, upon my very spark," he vowed, lifting his servo and resting it against his chassis for emphasize.

"… it's Starscream," he whispered and once more stared in the brightly colored cube, fearing the reactions of the mech and femme sitting on either side of him. "Starscream's the sire of my sparkling."

---

An unhappy seeker was never a good thing. While not the strongest warrior they were known for their speed and agility, and few in numbers they dominated the air with their aerial skills. Megatron knew what he was doing when he brought Starscream into his ranks and made him second-in-command of his Decepticon forces; even in the air he proved that he was the superior warrior and was more than suitable to lead them in times of war. But for all their usefulness, seekers were known to be a somewhat temperamental bot, and an unhappy seeker usually spelled disastrous results.

But Starscream wasn't unhappy. Oh no, far from it! He was repressed and therefore, was more upset than unhappy. As of late his obedient pet had been ignoring his messages and he had not seen any sight of him in the pest-filled city. He had seen the other Autobots, including two seekers he had never seen before, poking their nosecones where they were clearly not wanted but there had been no sight of the yellow minibot.

Black, clawed digits dug themselves into the armrest of the throne. He had been silently fuming for several earth hours and he was aware that his army was wary of his moods. He did not care about them though, but after a smug-sounding comment from Slipstream nearly had her being blasted out of the gaping hole decorating the remains of the ship Nemesis. They all kept their comments to themselves, and tried to stay out of his way.

'Why am I tearing my processor apart over one measly little Autobot!?' He had been repeating that same question for the past deca-cycle and each time he had no answer for it. After the first ignored comm link he thought nothing of it, sooner or later the minibot would come seeking him out, he always did. But he never appeared, never responded back, and he knew he read the messages. He gritted his denta together as he felt his spark humming almost violently in his chassis. That was another thing, ever since the AllSpark granted him an artificial spark he had begun feeling these strange sensations he could not remember ever having. And they only happened when he thought about the minibot—he didn't like it. Closing his optics he resisted the urge to open his chassis and glare at the dark red-violet orb, to sooth the painful ache he was feeling. He was not longing for that annoying, brightly colored bot! he was not!

And yet, his servos itched to touch his yellow frame, to let digits slide between gaps of his bulky armor and tease the sensitive wires, to listen to the way his vocalization would moan his designation and the bursts of static when his system grew too hot, the sweet oily taste of his lubrication dancing on his glossia on the rare moments he sought to reward him, losing himself in the sensation of his hot, Wet lip components wrapped around his spike-

"ENOUGH!" he bellowed and in a fit of rage, blasted the already damaged control panel of the bridge. The circuity and power cells were already dead, the ship unfit to fly, but he felt a small sliver of satisfaction as the machines were blown apart. It was a bit annoying as the debris floated in front of him, making the fuse of his already short temper flare. But he still couldn't stop thinking about the Autobot; his spark hummed ever harder than before and he knew that it was not going to stop until he got some answers. Stalking away from his throne he made his way to the back of the ship only to realize all his clones were there. They all looked at him with wary gazes, no doubt having heard him destroyed the ship's computer and had been debating whether to abandon ship or stay. He moved past them and pushed the button, the launch bay door falling open with a groan of protest. "We're going to Earth." It was an order and as he transformed the others followed. He was going to find that annoying bot and he was going to punish him.

It didn't them long to enter the planet's atmosphere and even less time to arrive in the air space of the city. Although he was still boiling with rage he wasn't stupid and the last thing he wanted was for Megatron to be aware of his intentions. He ordered Ramjet and Thundercracker to scout along the city in case any of the Decepticons were around. Those were two less glitches to worry about and once more he sent out a comm to the yellow Autobot and once more it was ignored.

'I'll make him pay for disobeying me!' he ranted to himself, ordering the others to pair off and seek out the scout. It should take too long but he also warned them to stay out of sight; if they were discovered, he would gladly leave them behind.

---

As the seekers were scouting the city Bumblebee, was in fact, patrolling the city with Optimus. Ever since he had told the truth of what he suffered at the servos of Starscream, the Cyber Ninja promised to keep his secret until he was ready to tell everyone. Bee knew he was furious when he recounted the mental abuse the seeker forced him to endure and how he had him believing that his friends didn't care about what happened to him. He even apologized once more for lashing out at him verbally when he had been rescued. The only reason he wasn't patrolling the streets was he, Sari and Skyfire were escorting the Dinobots back to their island. The minibot wouldn't have mind if they stayed but it was getting harder to keep them in the factory when everything outside was much more interesting. Even now he knew his leader was worried about him but he didn't try to push for answers. By the Pitt, he was still struggling on how to tell them he was sparked by Starscream of all mechs! He also knew the firetruck was staring at him even in their alt modes.

"You're staring again."

"What?"

Bee chuckled softly, turning off to a side street he pulled into a parking lot of a small plaza and stopped in an empty slot far from the other cars. The firetruck silently parked next to him, neither of them saying anything as they watched the humans walking around, going from store to store or heading to their cars. "Optimus?"

"Yes?"

"… I'm sorry, for what I said. I didn't mean what I said I was just—confused and upset."

"I already forgave you, Bumblebee. I also know you'll tell me what you were forced to experience when you're ready, not before," he responded quietly. "When you went missing for those several solar cycles I kept imaging something terrible was happening to you. I was very worried about you—we were all worried."

"I know that now. Still can't believe I fell for such a stupid trap." He sagged on his tires, axles protesting slightly.

"You need to stop doubting yourself like this. We never would have thought Starscream was capable of executing something that ingenious, and that he's working by himself means he's another foe we have to keep an optic on along with Megatron."

"Yeah…" What would have happened if the seeker was still with the warlord? Would he have presented him with a captured Autobot like a trophy? Would the warlord have tortured him for the sheer sick joy? Would he have ripped his spark out of his chassis in front of his team and Sari? Or would he have done the same thing Starscream did? He couldn't stop the shiver that raced through his circuitry, resisting the urge to burn rubber and hide himself in his room. He was jolted from his anxiety when he felt something gently nudge his side, making him rock heavily on his axles.

"It's me, Bumblebee, it's just me," Optimus said quickly, backing up to give the minibot some room and watched as he calmed down, his frame no longer shaking. "I'm sorry, was it something I said?"

"No! No, no it wasn't you… I… my processor is just glitching on me," he said quietly and quickly erased the images, refusing to dwell on them for a single astrosecond. Now he really wanted to talk with Psyche and relieve himself of this mental burden. They lapsed into silence for several kliks before he spoke up once more. "Boss bot, thanks. Does that mean if I drop a paint bomb on Sentinel you won't get mad at me?"

The Prime chuckled softly; if he could he'd be shaking his helm right now but it really did feel good to have the scout back to his mischievous help. "I wouldn't go that far, Bumblebee. But maybe you shouldn't tell me your pranks beforehand."

"Oh, right! Not like I'm gonna drop a paint bomb on him!" he laughed, thinking of something more creative he could do to the arrogant Prime. He would be talking with Prowl about the sparkling, about possible designations or it would be a femme or a mech. He was really hoping for a femme though since he already had so much practice with taking care of Sari. Cycling air quickly he decided to just come out with it, to tell him he was carrying and see his reaction but froze his scanners picked up something. Several somethings. "We've got company!"

As soon as the seekers spotted the yellow vehicle they flew in. They knew it was him, his energy signature was proof but they were not pleased to see him with another Autobot. Alerting Starscream he gave them orders to capture him and destroy the other mech. It was chaos as they swooped in, opening firing on the firetruck, trying to drive it off but the mech was stubborn and refused to leave the minibot.

"We have to get that annoying mech away from the minibot!" Slipstream snapped angrily. The other clones were useless but she had an idea as she sent a private comm to Skywarp, who naturally, freaked out thinking someone hacked him. "It's me, you glitch!"

"Who!? Slipstream?"

"No, it's Megatron, nuts for processor!"

"Noo! S-Stay away!" The warlord was much more terrifying than Starscream! He trembled where he was hiding when the femme seeker once more snapped at him to listen. He didn't want to hurt the minibot, but he agreed to the plan. All he had to do was wait for the signal.

Bumblebee was trying hard not to panic, looking around for the original but there was no sign of the red-violet seeker. He already alerted everyone that the clones were attacking him and Optimus Prime and they needed back-up when he heard screaming and looked towards the plaza. With all the gun fire going on the stores were getting hit, causing the humans to go running in different directions. But he looked because a woman was screaming for someone to help her.

"My daughter!" the woman screamed. Sitting on the ground in front of a toy store was a little girl, crying in fear as the adults around her ran past her, scared for their own lives. Above her a piece of the building was crumbling and it looked ready to fall and crush her.

"M-Mommy!" she cried, too scared to move.

Something struck the scout's spark and without thinking twice, raced to the child. He didn't care that he could get horribly hurt, he just knew he had to save the tiny human, he had to save the child! He skidded to a halt, trying not to scare her as he knelt and gently cradled her in his servos. "It's okay, you're safe now," he said softly. She was smaller than when he first meet Sari, and her large blue eyes were so wet with tears, he could feel something tugging at his spark but when she screamed in fear he looked up just in time to see the building collapse.

"BUMBLEBEE!" the red and blue Prime shouted, watching in horror as the building fall apart, burying the yellow mech in the rumble. He was dimly aware of the human woman screaming, fearing that her child had been killed. His battle with the clones had been momentarily forgotten, rushing forward to the pile of broken cement but the smirking form of Sunstorm landed before him, the others surrounding him. "Let me through!"

"Such a valiant effort, oh noble Prime! But this is the end for you. I'll be sure to tell your team about how you almost defeated us." the yellow-colored seeker said, aiming his rifle at him but he was distracted when there was a loud roar of an engine and a dented yellow compact emerged from the debris, tires squealing it nearly slammed into the stabilizers of a surprised Slipstream, causing her to yelp as she fall back, landing heavily on her aft. "G-Get him-!" Sunstorm ordered but shouted in pain when the energy axe sliced through his arm right at the joint, serving it.

The small car raced around the parking lot before skidding to a halt in front of the sobbing woman. The door opened and sitting in the passenger seat was the little girl, several seatbelts wrapped around her, perfectly safe. "Julie!" the woman cried, happy tears streaming down her face.

"Mommy!" The seatbelts unbuckled themselves, releasing the little girl into the waiting arms of her mother. She was fine, save for a skinned knee where she had fallen earlier. "Mommy, the robot saved me."

"I see that, baby," she smiled, hugging her tightly she watched as the car changed to that of the robot she had seen earlier and smiled up at him. "thank you, you saved my baby girl. Thank you."

The minibot smiled, glad that the child was safe and told them to get away from here when he felt something hit him in the back of his helm, hard enough to cause his processor to crash. The last thing he saw was the terrified faces of the mother and daughter. His fears went to them, and his unborn sparkling.

Slipstream smirked as she watched the small bot fall, completely off-line but she wasn't done yet. "Now!" she shouted. A ripple in the air and Skywarp was there, looking scared out of his frame but he wordlessly reached down and picked up the minibot. "Well, get going!" Yelping in fear he teleported from the area, the yellow scout in his arms. Looking at the other mechs fighting she sneered and transforming, took off. Let the idiots deal with the Autobot, she was done with this so-called "ingenious plan".

---

Starscream had lost any remaining patience he had the second he entered the planet's atmosphere. He did not like being ignored, and he did not like being made a fool. Rather than join his clones in looking the miserable waste of scrap metal he went back to the abandoned industry district. A few warehouses and factories were still standing and he took to one of them, angrily firing at broken down pieces of machinery, not caring if the human authorities came around. They were such tiny pests, he might even enjoy using them as target practice! He whirled when he felt a displacement in the air, watching as the cowardly seeker appeared, holding an off-lined minibot in his arms.

"What took you so fragging long?!" he shouted at him angrily, advancing on him.

Okay scratch that, Starscream was much scarier than Megatron! Trembling in fear the seeker took a few steps back, clutching the minibot tightly to his chassis as though he was a shield. "S-Sorry! But, h-he wasn't alone. The fi=firetruck-k was with him and-and he didn't look ha-happy," he stuttered slightly.

"What makes you think I gave a slag what that glitch thinks!? If it weren't for your ability to teleport, I would have destroyed you the moment you came online!" Ramjet and Thundercracker, who had returned upon Starscream's orders from their own scouting mission, winced as their "brother" was berated. But the shouting stopped when a soft groan was heard from the captured Autobot.

Bumblebee slowly lifted a servo, touching the back of his helm he winced as he felt a small dent that was still sensitive and radiating a lot of pain. "What hit me?" he asked quietly, taking a klik to register what happened but he froze when he realized he was being held by some bot. His curiosity turned to fear and panic when he realized the servos holding him were clawed and the chassis was intimately familiar. His optics immediately opened and onlined, staring at terrified (and guilty?) faceplates of the purplish seeker he had heard called Skywarp, but it was the red-violet that he was the most afraid of and he unconsciously pressed himself into the chassis of the mech holding him, as though thinking he would protect him.

"S-Starscream! Wha-What the slag do you want? Where am I? Where's Optimus?!"

The seeker smirked, knowing that he was afraid but he didn't like the way he was getting comfort with the pathetic clone in front of him. Stalking forward he grabbed the Autobot by the arm and yanked him from the other's grasp. Bee yelped as he was pulled and fell to the ground, landing heavily on a knee joint kept him from landing on his aft but he didn't like the crack he heard. He pulled him up to his peds and stared at him, his artificial spark humming at the mixed look of fear and anger in those baby blue optics.

"You've been ignoring me, Bumblebee," he hissed lowly, ignoring the other mechs. "I don't like being ignored. You haven't responded to a single message or comm link I've sent you."

"I-I haven't gotten anythi-" He cried out in pain as a servo came up and slapped him hard enough to make his helm ring, as well as make it snap to the side. He would have fallen on his aft if the servo gripping his arm hadn't dug in deeper, clawing piercing through protoflesh.

"Don't lie to me!" he said angrily, wrapping the servo he just used to slap him around his neck, gripping the cables tightly. "I know you received them, but you have been purposely ignoring me. So tell me, my sweet little Bee," he purred, pulling him close as his digits caressed the cables, feeling the rush of energon flowing; "Tell me why you're been neglecting our secret encounters?"

With a surge of disgust he could feel the urge to submit to him, to let him frag him to his spark's content. He was sick of being this slagger's toy! "L-Let go!" he shouted as loud as he could, gripping the arm holding him he kicked his ped out as hard as he could and felt it connect with the seeker's cod piece. A tiny smirk of satisfaction cross his lip components as the fragger let go, clutching the dented armor but he wasn't done as he struck with a charged up stinger in the center of his chassis. The seeker went down with a scream, smoking from where he had struck but when he tried to run his joint gave out and he hit the floor with a grimace. He scowled as Thundercracker and Ramjet each grabbed a servo tightly, so he couldn't attack them or run. He tried not to show his fear as Starscream slowly got to his peds and the look in his optics was nothing short of pure rage.

"What, was that?" he hissed behind clenched denta.

"You lied to me!" he snapped, his stingers charging up. "Everything you told me, it was a lie! My team does care about me! They're my friends, and I was a glitch for believing you over them!" The seeker didn't say anything but he didn't give him a chance to try and lie his way out of this, either. "You never wanted me to join you, you just want all our fragments and were going to use me to find the rest for you. Well, it's not happening! And I also know Wasp confronted you and you sold me out!"

Red optics blinked. "Who the Pitt is Wasp?" Did he know a mech by that designation?

"Wasp! The green mech with my similar frame!" he shouted, struggling to get free from the two seekers. "He showed me a video, he saw us together and he thought I was the spy. You… You told him, I was your personal berth warmer. You said… he could have me when you were done. Well, I got news for you, I don't belong to anybot and I sure as Pitt don't belong to a slag-eating glitch like you! So you can take all your lies and shove them up your exhaust port!"

For several long nanokliks all was quiet save for the quiet hum of the minibot's system as he calmed from his outburst, the tension slowly mounting in the air but as the two clones watched their creator he did nothing, standing there with a expressionless look on his face plates. Wasn't he going to say anything? Try and lie his way out of this? Or was he going to destroy the minibot on the spot and leave his remains here for his team to find?

"You surprise me, Bumblebee. Just when I think I've gotten to know you, break you, you continue to fight me each step of the way," he finally spoke up. He slowly walked up to him and lifted a servo; Bee couldn't stop the flinch as he tried to pull away from him, ignoring the crushing grip on his servos; he did keep the cry of pain to himself as digits painfully gripped his helm, scratching none-to-gently across one of his sensory horns, forcing it back. "true, I could have easily gotten the same pleasure from a pleasure drone, but there is something about you that continues to occupy my processor…" Slowly kneeling down, he looked him over, not giving it a second thought as his gaze roamed his form. Had he changed something since the last time he saw him? No matter. "I have a deal for you, little Bee."

"Don't call me little," he seethed, wincing as a claw scrapped over his horn, ignoring the flash of pain/pleasure as it coursed through his system. Starscream just smirked, leaning in closer.

"Leave the Autobots, give yourself to me completely: your frame, your processor, your spark, join me and not only will we be able to overthrown Megatron, once we have all the fragments we can recreate the AllSpark and take over Cybertron together. Never will anybot hurt you, we will rule together. What do you say, my second-in-command?"

"… I don't have to think about it," the yellow mech answered quietly, looking him straight in the optic he frowned and moving quickly, head-butted the seeker as hard as he could. It wasn't his best idea as his processor ached and his horns throbbed in pain but hearing the seeker squealing in pain, servos coming up to grab at the slight dent he created was worth it. "Frag you! I'll never accept you!"

Starscream was so mad he was ready to rip the spark out of the Autobot's chassis as he glared at him over his digits, he ignored the painful lurch in his spark as he pointed his gun at him and shot him at close range right in the chassis, sending him sprawling so his back strut hit the ground at the peds of a frozen Skywarp. "Fine! If you won't accept my deal, then I'll make you beg for my help!" Turning his still furious gaze at the clones he snapped at them. "Do whatever you want, just don't kill him."

The dark lavender seeker knew what he meant but he could not find it in his spark to rape the minibot. But he wasn't brave enough to go against the enraged seeker. Slowly kneeling he looked over the scorch marks on the yellow mech's chassis; the shot created a deep hole, damaging circuits and wiring beneath it. At such a close range the armor just about shattered, unable to protect against the heated firepower. he reached out to gently touch it, watching as the plates shifted as though opening but managed not to yelp in fear as a servo grabbed his own.

"P-Pl-leas-se… do-don't…" the mech begged, struggling to try and sit up.

"I-I'm sorry, but I can't…" he said softly, carefully pulling him up so he was leaning against him. He chanced a look up; the white and blue-violet mechs were yelling at each other, claiming the right to frag the Autobot first. He didn't want to but he felt his own spark lurch and looked down, watching as the chest plates opened to reveal a cracked spark casting, but his optics were drawn to the tiny spark orbiting the larger spark irregularly. He didn't fight the minibot as he forced the damaged plates close; holding a servo over the hole in his chassis, the fear evident in his blue optics as he looked up at him. "Y-You're—sparked?"

"Pl-Please… don't hurt, my-my sparkling-ng-ng," he begged. The seeker was silent, a look of shock and confusion evident in his optics but he was dimly aware as the servos helping him sit up slowly drew him close, pressing him into his chassis. Bee didn't stop the whimper of fear, shutting his optics tightly, bracing himself for the impending rape. He shook as he heard a low growl steadily increase but it took him a klik to realize it wasn't being directed at him. No, the cowardly clone was growling at the other two clones while holding him protectively.

"Don't you growl at me, you pathetic clone!" Thundercracker snapped and took another step closer but was forced back when Skywarp openly fired at him, narrowly missing his stabilizer. "How dare you fire at me!"

The seeker continued growling lowly, optics glowing brightly he shot at eh two of them some more, forcing them farther back. Keeping a servo tightly around the minibot he slowly stood, holding him protectively. This mech was a carrier, and he was sparked. Seekers never harmed a sparked bot, even during times of war. He couldn't explain it, but protocols were demanding he protect this mech with his own spark, even against his own trine. He had to get him some place safe, where he would be protected and the sparkling cared for. Taking several steps back he growled louder when the seekers tried to come at him, firing at the ground this time angrily.

"Stay away!" he snarled, holding the bot tighter.

Starscream did not understand what came over the other mech but he narrowed his gaze at him. "Stop this foolishness, Skywarp." He was meet with a pissed off growl but he continued to move forward, stopping only when a shot nearly hit him in his helm. "… you want the Autobot so badly, fine. Frag him all you want but don't come crying to me when he calls out my designation instead of yours!" he taunted.

The idea of taking the minibot did sound pleasing, and he somehow knew the sparkling was a seeker-to-be, but the way he clung to him, trembling in his hold, hearing him whisper "please don't" made his protective instincts surge once more. "Noo!" he shouted loudly, thrusters activating he took to the air and opened fire on not only Starscream but everybot else. He was going to protect Bumblebee no matter what, even if it meant going against his own.

"S-Skywarp?" The seeker didn't turn at his designation, but the arm holding him tightened. He shivered as he growled at him to hold on and he did, shutting his optics tightly as he flew like a rocket out of a hole in the roof. He really didn't understand why he was saving him but right now his top priority was his sparkling's safety. "Don't die, please don't die," he whispered desperately even as the arms around him tightened.

---

Men and women alike just about threw themselves to the side walk as several vehicles raced the streets of Detroit, sirens blaring loudly. More than one person shook their fist at them, calling them careless drivers but had they noticed they would have seen these particular vehicles held no drivers.

Optimus Prime wasn't made; no, he was furious. Once Skywarp had teleported away with Bumblebee the others took off, scattering so it was impossible to chase them all down. He immediately reported what happened to the others and without waiting for an order, every bot took off themselves. Sentinel had refused at first but it was either track down one of the seeker clones and find out where they had taken the canary yellow speedster, or stay at the warehouse and deal with a pair of anxious medics. Naturally he chose the option that didn't pose an immediate risk to his faceplates.

"Autobots, report," he ordered, ignoring the honking of the humans' vehicles as he raced down the streets, sirens blaring loudly.

"This is ridiculous, that yellow bumbler could be anywhere in this organic filth!" Sentinel complained, his own engines rumbling as he drove up and down the same street, refusing to admit that he was lost.

"No sign of the kid," Ratchet replied back. "Not so much as a blip."

"I is not finding Bumblebee, Optimus sir," Jetstorm reported in as his scans ran on repeated loops. "Is not finding Starscreams, either."

"Slag it! Where could they have taken him?!" he was so mad he could feel his oil pressure ready to explode!

"Continue to keep your line open, one of you are bound to find him," Psyche said firmly, looking at the monitors along with Ratchet. "I'm still trying to contact Skyfire so he can help."

"Keep me post-" A sudden a high-pitch noise over their comm link, making them swerve on their wheels. "What was-"

"I is found Bumblebee!" Jetfire exclaimed loudly. "But I is needing back-up also!"

"What's going on?"

"Starscreams chasing me! Brother and I is separated, cannot make Safeguard!"

"I is on way, brother!" Jetstorm immediately responded, firing up his thrusters as he headed for his brother's signal. They didn't need to ask as the other Autobots immediately picked up their signal and began heading to their location as fast as their engines could take them. They would not fail their scout/friend like last time.

Jetfire was glad his comm managed to get through, but he still had to deal with the seekers. Narrowly dodging a series of shots from his side he performed a barrel roll while decreasing his speed, biding his time he transformed and landed heavily on the flying form of Ramjet. "Surprising!"

"What do you think you're doing?!" the pathological liar demanded only to wince when he felt the smaller bot begin pulling at one of his wings. "Don't stop pulling my wing!"

"Okey dokey!" the yellow-orange mech grinned and pulled the flap harder. He would only get one chance at this and he was determined to make it count.

"I'll prove I'm the original Starscream!" Thundercracker shouted, powering up his guns as he aimed his sites at the traitor below, ignoring everything around him he failed to notice the Elite Guard flier forcefully piloting the white jet in his direction. Just as he was about to open fire the Autobot jumped off and ramjet, quite literally, rammed himself into the back plates of his blue-violet brother. With a shout the both of them crashed into the ground, badly damaged. "You slag-sucking glitch! You are useless!"

"Shut the frag up! I wanted to crash into you and send both of us into the ground!" he snapped angrily.

Down in the cover line of the trees Bumblebee couldn't help but grin. Two seekers were down and two were remaining but he had yet to see Starscream. He was surprised he hadn't followed after them as the clones had, but he wouldn't put it past him to do something sneaky to get back at him. He winced as his spark gave a painful lurch but didn't dare open his chassis to inspect the crack. He was afraid of anybot else seeing the sparkling and he didn't want to risk its safety.

'I gotta get back to the factory. We'll be safe there,' he thought but his damage was so bad he couldn't transform. He cursed as he saw another slew of errors over his display; yes he knew he was low on fuel, his tanks running on empty, yes he knew he needed a medic as of several breems ago, yes he knew he was a sitting dynametal duck out here, but at least he could help. Sitting out from behind a tree he moved forward and opened fire at an unsuspecting Sunstorm only to curse as he absorbed the energy. "Oh, slag it!"

"A valiant effort, sweet little Bumblebee, but this is the end for you," he praised, rising his rifle to shoot him but Skywarp teleported behind him and slashed at his wings, causing him to cry out in pain and immediately plummet to the ground. He was prepared to turn his attention to his sister but a blast of fire enveloping the two of them made him turn his optics to Jetfire.

Starscream was watching everything from a safe distance, once more disappointed in his so-called army but they had found the Autobot and he was alone. Frowning he swooped in low, ignoring everything and headed straight to Bumblebee. Growling he caught the minibot and flew high into the air, above the fliers who were still fighting. He ignored the frantic strikes of the yellow mech as he tore at the broken armor on his chassis, ignoring his please to stop. "You should have just accepted my proposal!" he snarled, digging his servo into the transformation seam and trying to force it open.

"Starscream, please! Stop!" he didn't know what he was going to do but if he continued he was going to found out. He didn't bother to stop the cry as he forced the plates open, gears grinding painfully against one another as he tried to keep it close. "Please, no!"

"Shut up!" he shrieked and forced the plates open, ready to reach in and rip his spark out but he froze when he saw something he had never expected in vorns to happen. Certainly, not with his current state. Digits reached in, passing over the heavy cracks in the chamber and traced where the tiny spark was struggling to remain in orbit, the Autobot's soft white-blue spark flickering erratically. "You're…!?"

Bumblebee didn't give him a chance to finish and he knew this was a stupid idea, he was running on pure instincts and Unicron be damned he was not letting this seeker hurt his sparkling! Charging his stingers he drove them into the seeker's chassis as hard as he could. There was a scream of pain, some of the electricity backlashing into him, making his system fluctuate but it had the desired results as he was let go and the both of them began falling. From this height, it was likely they would not survive. The last thing he saw was his system warning him of a forced stasis until his energy levels were at operational conditions. He could feel his plates shifting close with a painful whine of gears and motors but his optics went off-line, silently praying for Primus to save his sparkling, his "baby".

Even with his system in forced stasis, once in a while his system would flicker online and he would catch glimpses of his surroundings. Not enough to process but they were backed up so he could review them later but he remembered the way Skywarp held her protectively, growling/hissing as anyone got close, he could hear the worried and concerned voices of his friends, he felt servos working on his system, removing the broken armor on his chassis and tending to his badly cracked spark chamber. His system came online and he grabbed at the servos there were deep in his chest, thinking they were removing the sparkling but another part of servos grabbed his own, telling him to calm down.

"It's okay, Bee, you're safe," Psyche said softly as she forced him to lay back, stroking his helm gently she plugged into him, forcing him into a recharge.

"My b-b-baby…" he stuttered, hating the way his frame was slowly slipping into a forced recharge once more.

"Sshhh sweetspark, we're gonna save you both," she said softly, her digits stroking his helm even as he slipped into full recharge.

After that he didn't wake up for a long time though his processor was a jumble of images and no doubt memory playbacks. He was still confused as to why Skywarp of all mechs had betrayed his own family and took him away. He had tried protecting him and not once tried to harm him or the sparkling. But fear once more gripped him as he realized Starscream got a good look at his spark and found out what he had been trying to hide. He was no longer safe here, he had to run away and hide, hide in a place where no bot would ever think to find him. He couldn't go back to Cybertron, and he couldn't stay here on Earth. He didn't know what to do but he was prepared to give up everything for his sparkling, his baby.

Ratchet waited until the minibot was completely under before continuing with the repairs. The spark casting was badly cracked and even now it was delicate work but as long as the kid continued to stay off-line he should be able to fix the cracks. "Lotus, did you know?" he asked the fembot, purposely using her real designation.

Psyche paused in her stroking for several kliks before her digits began she pressed a soft kiss to the top of the helm. "He told me in so many words. Hadn't you noticed anything lately?" she asked as she continued repairing circuits and wires, refusing to look up at him.

The veteran was quiet but to be honest, he hadn't really noticed. The kid usually locked himself in his room and even since the outburst he had respected his wishes not to be examined, but he should have put the pieces together. Carefully applying the nanite repair gel along the cracks he knew it would take at least a solar cycle before the gel hardened and sealed the cracks. He monitored the sparks and could see that Bee's spark was once more steady is slow but there was no danger of it fading. The tiny spark was still orbiting the larger spark and it seemed to pulse in sync with the larger one. "I'm done."

"Then help me with these wires." The two worked quietly, fixing the damage as they pulled back the repaired plates slowly closed together. All that was left was the armor but that would have to remain off until it could be properly repaired. "You said you had some spare pieces for cases like this?"

"Yeah, though I'm glad I never tossed them out."

"Good." Unplugging herself from the minibot she picked up the damaged armor, sighing and made to leave before pausing, walked back, and standing before the medic reached out and promptly smacked him on the back of his helm hard enough to make him stumble.

"What the frag was that for?"

"I told you, don't ever call me by that designation. I stopped being referred by that name vorns ago, I won't even let my creator call me that," she said calmly but her optics were hard, cold. "I'm Psyche now, so get used to it." With that she left, letting the door close behind her.

The medic rubbed the back of his helm, feeling a slight dent but he should've known better. After all, he knew her way back before this war started and he knew her creator very well. Shaking his helm he moved to the side and similar to wait Lotus—Psyche did earlier, but this time it was to download his list on injuries he sustained, including while in the servos of the demented Starscream. Plugging in he picked up the data pad and felt his optics widening as it began to compile a list. "Oh kid… what the Pitt did he do to you?" He didn't want to, but he had to have a good at his interface equipment and he was afraid of confirming his findings. He looked at her, muttering to himself what he had to do when the minibot suddenly onlined and tried to attack him. He dodged the stingers but before he could try and strap him to the examination table he was off, looking unsteady on his peds.

"Kid-"

"No!" he shouted at him, optics wide and glitching repeatedly.

Unicron damn it, the kid looked like he was ready to have a spark attack. "Calm down-!"

"You can't make me! I don't want this!" he continued to shout, sounding increasing panicked.

"Listen to me!" Where the Pitt was Psyche?

"NO!"A large burst of electricity was aimed at him but he quickly moved to the side, wincing as some of his equipment was destroyed. By the time he looked up Bumblebee had sped out of the room. He made to chase after him when Psyche chose that moment to run into the room, the two nearly knocking the other down. "Frag!" he cursed.

"What's going on?" she immediately demanded, looking into the med bay but tried not to panic where she saw that Bumblebee was gone. "What happened?"

"Kid woke up and he attacked me. I think his processor is glitched, he didn't seem to recognize me."

The femme release a slew of curses that woulda made the veteran blushed as the two ran out of the med bay in time to see the minibot speeding down the hall, into the living room. The jettwins were looking confused but were quick to follow the medics. They could only watch as the minibot raced around the factory, screaming at his team to leave him alone, dodging servos as they tried grabbing him. Ratchet yelled at them to be careful even as he reached into his subspace for a sedative. He waited and watched as Bee was heading for the door only to get caught by the large shuttle form of Skyfire.

"Now Ratchet!" the mech shouted, trying not to hurt the smaller mech but he winced when the medic came close and kicked him hard in the shoulder joint, dislocating it. He was finding it more difficult to hold the struggling mech even as his Prime and the green wrecked ran forward and grabbed his peds, keeping from trying to kick out as the medic injected the needle into his neck cables. He didn't listen as the mechs were talking, trying to ignore the terrified whine.

"Let him go," psyche called out, her optics focused on the scout.

"Are you certain?" Skyfire asked but she slowly nodded. Frowning he gently set the yellow med onto his peds, releasing him but stayed in front of the door in case he tried running off. He and the others watched as his friend came up and held him close, talking to him in low tones, before seeing him go limp as the sedative finally took full effect. He also looked around and frowned at the damage of the factory, the command center, as well as the slightly injured mechs, including Prowl's broken optic.

Optimus move silently towards the neutral, glancing at her before turning his attention to the scout. Moving slowly, almost hesitantly, he lifted the yellow mech into his arms, only now noticing his chassis was bared of its armor and the surgery was being repaired by his system. "Bumblebee…" he whispered softly. Why did he have to continue suffering like this?

"I think he should be taken to his room, being in a familiar setting will hopefully calm him," psyche said softly, reaching out and gently trailing her servo over his helm.

"I agree, but I would like to stay with him, just in case he wakes up early," he offered quietly. Psyche looked up at him before slowly nodding and watched as he walked off. The Prime was silent as he moved to the hall, pausing to look at the damage in the med bay before moving on. Stopping before the scout's room the door opened and he stepped inside.

Everything about the room spoke of the scout's personality as well as showed his increasing interest in the planet's culture. He was surprised to see how organized it was but didn't dwell on it as he moved to the berth and silently laid him down. Grabbing the blanket he covered him, reaching for a seat to push close and sat at his side. Why, why was his scout forced to suffer like this? First being captured by Starscream, no doubt suffering from processor abuse, hiding in his room for cycles at a time, and just as he thought they were seeing the old bumblebee come out of hiding he was being hunted down by the seeker clones. And here he was, having failed him as a team leader and a friend. Cycling air he reached out, digits gently caressing the cheek ridges but he froze when the smaller mech flinched, whimpering in his recharge.

Optimus pulled back as though he had been stung and wordlessly sat back in his seat. He had failed as a leader, and as a friend. He couldn't begin to know what Bumblebee suffered at the servos of the Decepticon but he knew that right now, he felt nothing like a hero.

He felt like a complete and utter failure.

~ To be continued. ~

Author's Notes: And this chapter is done! About freakin' time! (sits back in chair) Goddamn… this was such a pain, I think I rewrote this chapter 3 times! Then I had to omit some parts only to rewrite them, then I kept changing one paragraph only to have to change everything else! (rubs face roughly) Gah… okay, not originally Starscream wasn't suppose to find out Bee's been sparked until later but the cat's outta the bag.

Now before anyone asks about Skywarp's sudden descent into madness, let me just say I was inspired by reading a fic where Skywarp, was pushed into a situation of no escape, completely does a 180 and reverts into a raged-filled berserker. I've also read fics where seekers have a ingrain protocol when it comes to sparklings and carriers to which they will lay down their sparks and give unwavering loyalty to them. My original idea was for the clones to overhear or sense Bee was sparked but that didn't make sense, and then the writing got away from me and Starscream had to be a major jackass and shoot Bee. So why did I chose Skywarp? (shrugs) Just seemed like a mech who's been underappreciated. So I turned him into Bee's hero.

From this point on the story will be moving at my story's pace. I may end up pulling one or two episodes from the show but now the story will be focusing on Bee, his team/friends, and the development of Bee's sparkling and eventual birth. Which reminds me, I need some help! Where should Bee have his sparkling? Meaning, he won't be safe at eh factory since he's afraid of the 'Cons finding out so I narrowed it to two locations: Dinobot Island or the Sumdac family farm in Paw Paw?

(Quick note: Paw Paw, a small town, is where Isaac Sumdac is from and where his laboratory/barn is locating in the first episode to TF:A.)

Alright peeps, I will talk to you later as now I need to work on a chapter for my newest fic 'Slutty Bee'. Bye!