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?

12. Chapter 12

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: Hello readers and reviewers! Have you ever had a story that started out pretty good, but halfway through you just don't like it and wanna start over? Yeah, I feel like that. Why? Well, I feel like I'm writing myself in a circle. But that's what I get for trying to follow the series word for word instead of following my plotline. I also have a habit of writing about scenes and the characters' feeling instead of actual dialogue. Whoops! But no, I will not be discontinuing this story. I will in fact, do my best to finish it. I have started then stopped then removed too many stories and I do not want this one to suffer like the others. So before we get to the story, let us have a tally of the polls so far!

Prowl: 12

Starscream: 10

Optimus Prime: 2

Other: 4 (Bulkhead, Skywarp)

Not much of a difference but Prowl is still in the lead. So to make up for the fact that Prowl is a fan favorite and he has been a saint with Bee, I have written something a bit special between the two. But then my angst side took over and it gets pretty dark near the end (rubs head) Oops? Please don't kill me! (hides in the closet)

"Comm link."

~Private comm link.~

:Seekers speaking.: Similar to panthers communicating via body language, seekers can communicate to each other by using their wings. In other words, think of it like the time Optimus told Jazz the plan on rounding up the Decepticons when they got loose on Sentinel's ship except he used the Autobot version of SOS.

Warning: This chapter contains mention of sexual abuse. If you do not want to read this, then I advise you not to continue. I would also like to say I do not condone acts of sexual violence, and to remind you—the reader—that this is purely fictional

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

Morning seemed to come too soon for the city of Detroit, but with it came the promise of a new day. In a large Autobot Elite Guard's ship one of the occupants was awake and had been awake for a short while. Skyfire was quietly processing data from the previous day and the consequences of his actions. He was prepared to accept any and all punishments but the well-being of the sparkling and its carrier came first. There was no denying the satisfaction he felt when that pompous Prime looked terrified of him.

A quiet murmur at his side made him look down and smile gently as Jetfire clung to the side of his broad chassis. On his other side Jetstorm heard the soft sound and reached out, gripping his twin's servo. His own large servos pulled the two as close as he could. The damage he had inflicted on them as Safeguard was nearly gone but he still remembered his claws as they had tried tearing their chassis open. His own self-repair was nearly done but a slight twinge of pain flickered across his sensors, reminding him of his still healing network. He vented air softly and leaned his helm back.

Protocol demand he protect the carrier and his unborn sparkling, to ensure they were safe and protected. Yes there were other seekers to protect them, but it was the actions of one seeker that caused this to happen to begin with. He had spoken to said seeker before coming to the ship, to warn him that any negative actions against the Autobot would be meet with very hostile results.

Starscream frowned as he looked the shuttle up and down. "You do realize we share the same programming, so why are you wasting your time telling me this?" he asked with a sneer.

"You nearly killed Bumblebee and his sparkling because he said no. Do I need another reason?" he answered coldly.

The SIC managed to keep from flinching but his wings gave a tense twitch, showing his words had hurt. "I can't undo the past, but I won't let anything happen to them," he said quietly after several tense astroseconds. "This sparkling, is a hope for a new future. It's a future I never thought would happen or live to see the day."

Skyfire was silent but he was reading his frame and could tell he was sad, upset, but also worried. But when he spoke about the sparkling, there was concern, a sense of pride, and affection. He cared about the tiny life form more than he was letting on. "And Bumblebee?"

"… I will protect him." His wings twitched but the neutral seeker understood what he was not saying: he would lay down his spark for him if the need arose, and never stop to think twice about it.

He didn't know what to think but he had a feeling, the former Decepticon would live up to his silent promise. So lost in his own thoughts he didn't realize the twins were awake until he felt gentle digits tracing the slight scaring on his chassis, making his wings twitch slightly. "Sorries, not meaning wake you," Jetfire said softly, digits pausing.

"It's alright," he said just as softly, smiling down at him. He felt the other bot shift and watched as Jetstorm sat up. "I trust the two of you recharged well?"

"Yes… recharge, good very," he said softly. He continued to move slowly, leaning up he hesitated before leaning down and pressing his lips components against those of the large seeker beneath him in a soft kiss. As he pulled back there was a large blush on his cheek plates. "Regretting not?" he asked softly, hesitantly, as though fearing an answer.

"Regretting?"

"Last night being, when we is telling feelings of you," the other young mech reminded him even as he leaned up and kissed him as well with less hesitation than his brother.

That's right… after "depositing" Sentinel Prime into his ship's own brig he was checking on the twins' injuries, the same injuries he had caused onto them, making certain they were alright before leaving to head back to the factory. They had turned the tables on him, asking about his own injuries and wanting to make sure he was alright. He was but he didn't stop them as they looked over his still burnt servos; they were far from medics but he knew they felt terrible about attacking him just as he did. It was in a quiet and vulnerable moment that the two admitted their growing attraction to him. When prompted for a response he froze, unsure what to say or do. For a moment, the twins had been hopeful but when he didn't answer they had become upset and embarrassed, stammering apologies until he had reached out, embracing them both and taking his time, kissed them each in turn.

Still thinking about it he smiled as he leaned down and kissed Jetfire first, feeling his engine purring at the surprised moan he let out before pulling back and kissing Jetstorm who was more than prepared and kissed him right back.

"I regret nothing," he whispered as he continued to hold the two of them close, his large digits stroking warm plating and listening as cooling fans kicked on, including his own. He was suppose to head back, to make certain that the minibot and his sparkling were safe, but as the two beautiful mechs began caressing him, digits slipping into gaps to stroke at tense wires, pressing their heated frames into his own, moaning his designation, he chose to lay back on the berth, moaning softly as he accepted their curious yet loving attention.

No one was expecting him anytime soon, he could spend some more time with his two newfound loves.

---

Starscream watched as the planet's sunlight came through the window, slowly brightening up the room. He had been awake since the bright star rose, arms wrapped around a warm, yellow frame, his servo resting just above the seam in the other mech's chassis. He would deny the rush of heat and energon rushing to his faceplates in the form of a blush, but he did hold the minibot closer, engines revving softly. The minibot moaned in response and pressed into him, soothed by the gentle vibrations. Wings flickered as they arched high on his backplates, making him smile ever so slightly.

"I hope our sparkling has your looks," he said quietly, letting his optics close. Surely it wouldn't be a terrible idea to recharge for a few more-

"What do you think you're doing?!" Thundercracker loudly demanded.

"I'm not preparing some warm oil for the carrier!" Ramjet snapped back as he clutched the barrel.

-kliks. Maybe if he ignored them he could just pretend it was quiet-

"Who said you could do that? Give it to me!"

"It's yours!" Sure enough, the white seeker let go just as his blue-violet brother gave a hard yank, only to throw said open barrel into the pile of other drums, sending them all scattering and creating quite the mess on the floor.

"Look at what you did!"

"I was nowhere near that when it happened!"

… Never mind.

"Hey, what's with the nooiiiiiisssseeeee!" Bulkhead made the mistake of running into the living room, concern over the loud noise he failed to notice the growing puddle of oil until his heavy ped stepped right into it and he was sliding into the wall where he crashed into the remaining oil drums, creating an even bigger mess. "… ow."

"Oh perfect! Just as I was going to clean that up!"

Starscream could feel his optic twitching in annoyance he wanted to growl. He spared a glance down as he felt the scout shift and rolled over in his recharge to face him, curling against his chassis and murmured something under his vents. No doubt the noise was bothering him and if it kept going it was going to force him to wake up earlier than intended.

A door opened and heavy ped steps rushed into the main living quarters only to stare in disbelief at the mess. "W-What the?!" Optimus could feel his own oil pressure steadily rising. It was much too early for this, not even a full solar cycle and these—seekers were tearing his base apart! "What is going on here?! Where are the others?!"

"Others? What others?" Ramjet asked as he was forced to clean up the mess his brother blamed on him. He did nothing wrong!

"I sent them to scout the area, to make sure there is nothing out there to harm the carrier," Thundercracker said smugly, wings arched high.

The Prime had to tell himself repeatedly not to yell at the seeker, he was here to help protect Bumblebee—they were all here to help Bumblebee. But he still wanted to wrap his servos around their neck cables and throttle the lifecycle out of them! "Clean up this mess!" he shouted angrily.

The blue-violet seeker gave a short vent as he began to gather the ruined drums in one place. "Who is he to tell me what I should be doing," he mumbled under his vents, stacking them together. "I give the orders here, not him!"

Bulkhead managed to sit up, his gyro-stabilizer trying to right itself. He moved slowly, carefully leaning forward on his servos he began slowly pushing himself up until he was standing. "Okay, so far so good-!" He spoke too soon as he attempted to take a step forward and his ped went skidding backwards, causing him to land faceplates first, making the ground shake and scattering the pile of heavily dented oil drums.

"Look at what you did! I have to start all over!"

"M-My bad."

Starscream was grumbling to himself angrily, vents cycling air rapidly. As much as he wanted to ignore everything and stay in the small berth with the carrier he was up and putting on the final piece of his armor plating. "I will not rip them apart. I will not tear their glossia from their helms nor will I weld their mouth plates shut. They are here to help."

CRASH! "S-Sorry! I got this!" SMASH! "I don't got this."

"Oh you're helping us so much! Now the oil is all over the floor!"

"I said clean up this mess not make it bigger!"

Bumblebee grumbled as his optics opened slightly, onlining. He slowly sat up, really wanting to recharge for a bit longer but it was just too loud and noisy. He tried grasping at the blanket as it fell, shivering slightly from the sudden chill but felt servos pulling the blanket around him and peered up at the sleek form. "Waz goin' on? Why e'erybot yellin'?" he asked sleepily.

"Nothing, just a misunderstanding," the seeker said softly, pausing when he heard more yelling and release a low growl under his vents. "I'll handle this, you should recharge some more."

"But-" A large yawn punctured his words as he clutched the blanket tighter around himself; "-'m not tired."

"Of course you aren't." But he gently pushed at his shoulders until he was once more laying on the berth. As soon as his helm touched the pillow Bee was out, vents cycling air softly. The seeker watched him sleep before leaning down to kiss his helm. Grabbing another blanket he covered him and quietly left the room. He had to pause and stared at the very large puddle of oil and obvious trails where a certain mech had slipped in.

Bulkhead was trying to be very careful as he used a mop to try and clean up the oil, but he failed to realize that as he was moping he was making another trail of oil with his own ped prints. Ramjet obviously noticed yet didn't say a thing and Thundercracker was just standing there, refusing to do anything. Optimus Prime looked ready to lose it and looked ready to shout but that would wake up Bumblebee and he wasn't going to let that happen just yet.

"Thundercracker! Ramjet!" he snapped out and both seekers shifted and whirled to look at him. He didn't need to say anything but his wings were twitching up a storm, silently speaking to them in code and watching/hearing them respond. :Keep your vocalization down or else you'll wake up the carrier.:

:He started it!: Thundercracker said with a quick snap of his wings as he glared at eh white seeker.

:I did too! Not like the medic said I couldn't give the carrier warm oil!: Ramjet said, wings nearly vibrating.

:Where is the medic?: He would have thought at the first sound of this chaos he would have been out here, yelling obscenities and threatening frame-denting harm to the mechs responsible.

:I don't know.: A wing flap twitched before falling still. :The mean femme isn't with him, either.:

"Clean up this mess and keep your mouth plates shut," he hissed lowly, verbally and physically. The two jets thought to challenge him but seeing how his wings arched high and fanned out, the no-nonsense look in his optics they chose to obey his order and began cleaning the mess. Once in a while their wing tips twitched but that was it. Satisfied Starscream turned to the Autobots and blinked as both were staring at him like he had grown another helm. "What?"

Optimus wanted to ask what they were talking about, knowing they were speaking in some sort of secret dialect but vented softly. "Nothing. Where's Bumblebee?" he asked instead.

"Recharging. Where is the rest of your merry little team?"

"I should be asking you about your clones." He was trying very hard not to be snappy, but his processor was choosing the worse possible moment to remind him of what he heard last night. He chose to remain standing tall, EM field heavily charged, as though staking his claim that this was his territory and all who resided here obeyed his rules. It didn't go unnoticed as the large green wrecker froze and looked a bit nervous and unsure.

Crimson optics narrowed, wings arched high on his back plates; whether the Prime knew it or not, the seeker understood what he was not saying. Megatron usually did this, he believed that how you presented yourself before your troops spoke more than words ever could. Then again, mechs and femmes alike were terrified of the mere mention of his designation. He wanted to challenge him for leadership rights, but why on Cybertron would he want to be in charge of Autobots? "They commed me this morning to patrol your organic city to make sure there are no Decepticons lurking nearby. It wouldn't do it Bumblebee were to be botnapped once more should your words drive him away," he said calmly but not before reminding him of what happened the prior solar cycle. "I answered yours, so you answer mine."

Digits slowly curled into a fight, resisting the urge to pull his energy axe from his subspace but he did release air through his vents slowly, evenly. "Prowl, Ratchet, and Psyche went to Dinobot Island to begin constructions for Bumblebee's new home. As well as to explain the situation to the Dinobots and see if they are willing to help."

"What the slag are Dinobots?" Why did that sound so familiar? Had more Cybertroniums arrived here and he didn't notice? What fraction were they sided with? Why had he not see them yet?

"Professor Sumdac made them and Sari's key gave them sparks. They're not bad, but they're kinda slow," Bulkhead as he continued mopping up the oil. "Sari said she was gonna stop by later, maybe we can go to the island and you can meet them."

Optimus was prepared to say that it wasn't a good idea; the Dinobot hated all trespassers and they would sooner try to roast them on the spot than talk… maybe he should meet Grimlock after all. He was prepared to tell them he was more than welcome to go but the sound of jets overhead made him tense as he looked up. A large skylight in the roof was open and he watched as three colored jets flew overhead, transforming then dropping in, landing quietly thanks to their thrusters. He didn't think he was ever going to get used to them coming and going like this.

"This is a wonderful cityscape! So much to see, so many organics! So much nicer than the moon!" Sunstorm said immediately, wings twitching in obvious excitement.

"But this planet has gravity, what if we're attacked and my wings get damaged and I begin falling? I'll hit the ground too soon!" Skywarp quickly pointed out, wings tense and nervous twitching. "Have you felt the ground? It's hard! I don't want to crash and offline!"

"Maybe if you were a better fighter like moi you wouldn't be so paranoid about crashing!" Thundercracker sneered.

"If you glitches don't be quiet, I'll offline you all myself!" Starscream hissed angrily, sorely tempted to yell at them but the less yelling the better. "Report, now!"

"Bossy mech," Slipstream muttered, wingtips twitching in annoyance as she crossed her servos over her chassis. "No sign of the 'Cons we fought the other day. But I wouldn't put it past them to be hiding out there waiting for the time to attack then run like the cowards they are." Looking around she glared at the mess of oil that was slowly being cleaned up and turned to her "creator" with a side-long glance. :What happened here?:

:A mess. But keep quiet, Bumblebee is still recharging.: That got the attention of the others as their wings began twitching in response.

:Still? Is it normal for a carrier to recharge for so long?: Skywarp asked, optics darting to the hall where their rooms were located.

:It varies, but I give him another joor.: While recharging was essential too much would cause the joints and gears to lock up, and ultimately lead to transformation problems.

:So what do we do in the meantime?: Sunstorm asked. The red-violet seeker looked around, seeing that the oil was finally being cleaned up and the area was secure, but he wanted to check out the island and make sure it was suitable for the carrier and the future sparkling. Venting deeply he looked unsure and his wings dropped a bit.

:For now, we wait.: None of them liked the idea but at least they would be here for the carrier if he needed assistance.

---

Prowl considered himself a calm, quiet mech who didn't need a lot to keep himself entertained, but right now he was struggling not to laugh as the two medics were growing increasing frustrated by explaining the concept of the reproduction to the Dinobots.

"Okay, let's go over this one last time!" Ratchet vented heavily, rubbing his tired optics with his servo. "Bumblebee is currently carrying, which means he is housing a sparkling within himself, understand?"

"Yesss…?"

Another heavy vent as he allowed his servo to drop. "A sparkling is just what it sounds like, only much smaller." Hearing a smothered snicker he glared at the Cyber Ninja.

Psyche was going through the data pads she had brought and finally showed the large Dinobot what they were talking about. "Okay Grimlock, you see this big shiny ball?" He nodded. "That's a spark, it what we all have that lets us walk, talk, and in your case smash stuff."

"Me have that? Where?" he looked down at his chassis where the femme pointed then gestured to the other Dinobots. "Them have shiny ball?"

"We all have it. Now, a sparkling is like the shiny ball, only much much smaller." Swiping through the datapad once more she pulled up the image she had taken of Bumblebee's spark and pointed out the tiny spark close to his. "This is the sparkling."

The large mechanical t-rex peered down at the screen but he didn't seem impressed. "Why yellow car have two shiny things? Me want puny shiny thing!"

"Primus help me," she muttered but turned to the other Dinobots to show them what she was talking about. "You see the sparkling, right?"

Swoop, the only flier of the trio, nodded slowly. "Sparkling, like tiny organics?"

"That's right, Swoop. A sparkling is similar to the smaller organics here on your island," Prowl said with a proud smile. Each time he came to visit them he tried to explain everything he had learned to them: Swoop seemed eager to learn; Grimlock was stubborn and refused to learn; and the triceratops who called himself Snarl, seemed to vary between sessions. "Do you remember the bird's nest you found?"

"Yes! You say, me no touch, no touch tiny white rocks inside."

"Yes but I also told you those weren't rocks, they were eggs. Those are baby birds that have yet to hatch."

"Me Grimlock no like birds! They always throwing white stuff at me Grimlock!"

"Don't ask," Ratchet mumbled to the femme when she looked at him questioningly. "So you finally understand what a sparkling is?" The Dinobots slowly nodded so he decided not to push it. "So that brings us to why we're here. The kid needs a place to stay and your island is the safest spot for it-"

"No!" Without warning Grimlock transformed and immediately unleashed a flash of fire at the Autobots, making them scrambled or end up getting roasted alive. "Dinobot Island for Dinobots only! No cars!"

"So much for him agreeing with us," the medic mumbled.

"Grimlock, please understand. Bumblebee and his sparkling need a safe place to stay and there is nowhere safer than your island," Psyche spoke slowly, holding her servos out to show she meant no harm. "Isn't Bumblebee your friend?"

"Yellow car friend… he no call us Dinobots names," he rumbled.

"And you like him, right?" There was a low growl but he wasn't saying no. "He's not going to take over your island and he doesn't want to be your new leader, he just wants a safe place to live. Is that okay?"

Grimlock wasn't sure, yellow car was his friend, he was nice and showed him how to play game on big screen. He never called them names and didn't yell at him when he smashed something he wasn't supposed to. But, cars were bad. Cars eat Dinobots! Growling he felt the fire fill his mouth, ready to unleash it but froze when one of the other Dinobots spoke up.

"Snarl say we help yellow car and tiny spark," Snarl said quietly as he looked at the datapad that was still showing the tiny sparkling. He managed to zoom in and was looking at the image with what appeared to be affection on his faceplates. "Yellow car friend, ninja bot say friends help friends."

"No! Me Grimlock leader and me say no cars!" he snapped and was about to charge at the cars, to chase them off his island he failed to notice Snarl charging at him, slamming into him with enough force to knock him over. He was stunned but as he scrambled to his peds, ready to unleash the blast of fire at his other comrade large servos reached out and forcefully held his mouth plates together. The fire began building and the growing heat was warping metal, overheating circuits, and activating his sensory network. It was hurting, a lot! His processor, although limited in intelligence, halted the fire and struggled to deal with the overheating.

Snarl was growling back at his leader, either not noticing or caring that his servos were badly burned but he continued to hold the large mouth shut. "Grimlock glitch," he growled lowly, surprising everybot. "Yellow car friend to Dinobots, Snarl like yellow car. We help, yellow car stay on Dinobot Island, protect tiny sparkling. Grimlock say yes, or me Snarl not let go." Said mech tried to pull free but Snarl would have none of it. Snarling like his namesake he twisted his heavy frame and pulled the large mech to the ground, all the while keeping a vice like grip on the scorched mouth plates. "We help yellow car! No like, then Grimlock leave island!"

The Autobots were afraid to move, even Prowl. Oh all the time he visited the Dinobots he had never seen Snarl act this way! It was, well, it was a bit frightening! He saw movement from the corner of his optic and turned only to see Psyche slowly, calmly, making her way towards them. "Psyche! Get away from them!" he tried to warn her but she kept moving.

"Snarl?" Said Dinobot growled lowly but didn't look up at the femme. "Snarl, you need to let Grimlock go." Another growl and servos clenched the brittle metal even tighter. Psyche winced at eh painful sound of metal ripping and she could tell that the larger Dinobot was in some serious pain. Slowly she reached out, touching the growling mech's arm but she froze as she realized something very important, something that was making perfect sense right now. "Snarl… you're, not like Grimlock or Swoop, are you."

"…" The vice grip loosened but not entirely. "Snarl—different. Not know why," he admitted quietly.

"It's okay to be different, but hurting Grimlock is not the answer." Slowly, gently, she trailed her servo down the arm and over the clenched servo, still looking at eh growling faceplates. She waited until he looked at her and smiled gently. "I can help you, I want to help you. I want to be your friend."

He blinked rapidly, optics shuddering. "You, want be Snarl friend?"

"Yes. Call me Psyche." Still smiling she waited until finally, Snarl released Grimlock who immediately backed away, whimpering at the pain in his faceplates. Psyche slowly reached out and inspected the burned servos. "First, I fix your servos, then we talk."

"Talk, good." Now that the Dinobots had calmed Psyche began tending to the delicate circuits and wires on the burnt servos. The two were a bit away from the others and were speaking quietly but Ratchet had enlisted the help of both Prowl and Swoop to deal with Grimlock's singed mouth plates.

Said mech let out an insanely loud roar as he jerked his helm back. "It hurts!" he growled loudly.

"Oh course it hurts!" the medbot snapped at him, resisting the urge to smack him with his favorite wrench. "Now open up and don't move!" fixing him with a glare Ratchet moved forward and began to numb the sensors inside so he could begin tending to the fried wires and circuitry. "Who's brilliant idea was it to give them the ability to breathe fire?"

"I believe when Sari's key granted them a spark of their own, their frames adapted and gave them said abilities. Including that which enables them to transform," he explained and stiffened when he received a comm. Lifting a servo he touched his audio receiver. "Prowl here."

"Prowl, this is Optimus Prime. Have you and the others searched for a suitable home for Bumblebee yet?"

Optics shuddered as he blinked. "Not exactly…" he said slowly, wincing as he heard Ratchet's wrench connect with metal plating.

"I said don't move!"

"It hurts!"

"It's gonna hurt more if you continue moving!"

The Cyber Ninja vented softly, turning away from the group so he could focus on the call instead. "We had a situation concerning the Dinobots, but they have agreed to let Bumblebee stay. We haven't had a chance to scout what could be used as a temporary shelter. Over the comm link he could hear muttering and air being cycled heavily. "Optimus?"

"… I'll have the seekers join you-" CRASH! "-so they can explain what-" Yelling could barely be heard followed by another crash. "-they're looking for—will you stop yelling at each other?!"

"What'd I do?"

Prowl winced as his team leader forgot to turn off his side of the comm link as he began yelling and verbally berating one of the seekers. See how he wasn't going to be getting a word in edge wise he closed off his side of the link. 'I had better warn them about the seekers coming to help,' he thought and turned to his comrades. In the back of his processor he was wondering how Bumblebee was doing.

---

The minibot carrier was trying to recharge, he really was, but it was too loud. He even tried offlining his audio receivers but it would last several breems before onlining again, making him incredibly irritable. A particularly loud crash made him groan softly and slowly sit up, clutching the blankets around his bare frame.

'Why am I cold?' Looking down he blinked tiredly as he realized his protective plating had been removed. He looked around for it only to see it off to the side, stacked neatly for him. 'When—oh, right.' Now he remembered every last intimate detail of being with the former Decepticon seeker last night, especially how gentle and almost loving nature. He felt his faceplates heat up in response, clinging to the blankets currently wrapped around his frame. He had somewhat fuzzy memories of waking up earlier only for the seeker to gently push him back to the berth to recharge some more. He acted as though—as though he cared. 'Does he?' he shouldn't be thinking about it but as his servo gently trailed along his chassis the protective plates opened and the light of his spark filled the room.

His spark was pulsing strongly and steadily, a gentle silver-blue light and the tiny sparkling continued to orbit his larger one, a pure white color. It was orbiting his closely in a steady pulse, as though content and happy. It also appeared bigger, was it because she received spark energy from her sire last night? He just smiled and gently pressed his digits against the casting and sent thoughts of love and joy to it. Sitting on his berth he was completely unaware of the tiny pocket bot that had recorded everything and even now was transmitting a live feed back to the leader of the Decepticons.

The concept of love was seen as nothing more than a weak emotion, one that overruled one's spark and left them vulnerable to attacks. There was no love in his forces, there was loyalty, respect, and fear, of course, but no love. Although, on some occasion there was lust and desire. Megatron's desire was strong, the desire to have Cybertron and its bots under his command would never change, he would never falter, but seeing the way the carrier interfaced with his traitorous SIC had sparked a longing of lust in his cold system. It had been such a very long time since he had indulged in such primitive pleasure, forcing one to submit to his will. It had gotten tiring quickly as the ones he tended to take to his berth broke so easily for his taste. But he had never taken a minibot before and he could see he still had some fight in him.

'Perhaps, I should think of a different approach to bringing him over to my side,' he thought to himself as he continued to watch the live feed. Being of such a large frame himself, he never bothered to notice other mechs or femmes around him. Yet here he was, watching and studying the Autobot's lithe frame as he closed his chassis and slipped out of the berth, going over to where his armor plating lay and bent over to retrieve pieces, slowly slipping them on one at a time. He took in the fact that beneath the unsightly plating his protoform was sleek, lithe, with smooth curves. He had the ideal framework to become a seeker, but he was a bit small and did not have the necessary components to bear wings of his own. 'Such a shame. I wonder how different things would have been if he had been created as a seeker instead.'

Bumblebee sighed once he snapped the final piece in place and gave himself a good once over. It did feel good to have it back on but as he looked down at his mid-section he frowned. The bottom part of his armor plating was feeling a bit tight and it was uncomfortable. He pressed his servos against the "bump" where the protoform was slowly being build and vented softly. He was told it was going to get bigger, but so far no one mentioned anything about his plating. if this kept up he wasn't going to fit into it anymore. He went over to a large piece of glass and studied his frame intently. He had witnessed humans doing similar things, trying to appear smaller as they tried to put on clothing that seemed too small. He felt like he was doing that now but he wasn't vain about his appearance. After all, he was going to have a sparkling of his very own in a few orbital cycles.

'I wonder who you'll take after more, sweetspark,' he smiled as he affectionate stroked his swollen middle; he had completely tuned out the sound of yelling outside so he never noticed as his door opened a crack and a tiny figure darted in.

"Bumblebee!"

Jumping slightly the scout turned, servos immediately clutching his chassis protectively but he looked down and broke into a beaming smile. "Sari!" Dropping to his knee joints he quickly gathered the techno-organic to his chassis and hugged her close. It felt too long since he had last seen his best friend and he was beginning to miss her. "Where ya been? I haven't seen ya in forever!"

"Well I tried visiting you the other day but you had already taken off," she explained and felt like kicking herself when he lost his smile, looking away. "S-Sorry! I didn't mean to bring it up, honest!"

"No, it's alight. I'm just glad they didn't succeed whatever they had planned," he said softly. Still holding her close he moved to his berth and sat down, now cradling her in his servos.

"Yeah, Optimus told me everything. Bee… are you sure you can trust Starscream?"

"I do. He's changed, he even apologized for what he did to me… I mean, I haven't forgotten everything, but he's really trying. And if it wasn't for Skywarp and Slipstream, I'd probably be in Megatron's servos right now." It was something he hoped would never come to pass.

The young teenager didn't seem sure but sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Okay… but I'm gonna keep an extra close eye on him, that's for sure!" Seeing her best friend smile even slightly made her mood much better. "So Ratchet told me you're gonna have a baby, that's so cool! I have so many questions like what's it gonna look like? Is it gonna be a boy or a girl? Are you gonna raise it here in Detroit? Oh puleaze say yes! I always wanted to be a big sister!"

"H-hey slow down! You sound Blurr for an astrosecond!" he laughed and thought about it before answering. "I'm not sure how I know, but lately I've been dreaming of a seeker. I don't know how I know but it's not Starscream or the others. She's beautiful, as though she was created to fly. I can't make out much but I just know deep down in my spark it's gonna be a femme. And I wanna raise it here, let her know there's some pretty cool things about organics…" At this he trailed off, unsure how to tell her.

"Bumblebee? What's wrong? Was it something I said?" She wasn't used to seeing him quiet like this, it wasn't natural but as she looked up at him realization donned on her. "You're going back to Cybertron?"

"I can't. I don't know what Ultra Magnus will do, but if the High Council finds out I got sparked by a Decepticon-" He froze and couldn't stop the almost violent shiver racing through his system, making him clutch at his chassis. "I-I can't take that risk. I don't care if I spend a lifecycle in hiding, I won't let anyone harm my sparkling."

"Neither will I. I'm an Autobot too and if anyone thinks to mess with you or my future little sister, they're gonna have to answer to me!"

"This coming from an organic that has to make sure somebot doesn't accidentally step on her," came an annoyed vocalizer. Slipstream stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with her servos crossed over her chassis and watching the duo. "Starscream said you woke up, he's already yelling at everyone for being so loud."

"It wasn't them, I just didn't feel like recharging anymore," Bee said with a slight shrug but stood from his berth, lifting Sari up so she was sitting atop his shoulder. "Maybe I should make sure no one gets dismantled."

"Would be an improvement, that's for sure," the femme muttered but stepped aside to let him out. As he walked towards the living room she took note of his frame and how part of his plating was fitting tighter than the last time she looked at him. She didn't like it and she already had a feeling what Starscream was going to say when he noticed. After a klik she followed after him.

The mess the oil had caused was finally cleaned up and Bulkhead was attempting to paint to clear his processor, but each time he put a can of paint down it was taken away. So now he was arguing with Ramjet who kept lying about taking them and Sunstorm who would not stop complimenting whatever he did, even when he tried cleaning his brushes.

"Give me back my paint! I'm not done!" he snapped at the white jet.

"I didn't take them! Whatever would give you that idea?" he vented only to have the wrecker point at the can of canary yellow in his servo. "This isn't paint, it's my energon."

"Oh such a lovely color! On you it would really make you stand out even more!" the yellow jet complimented only to have said can thrust into his own servos. "Oh your generosity knows no bounds!"

"For the last time, I'm giving the orders here and you will participate in patrols!" Optimus yelled at the other seekers, feeling his optic twitch.

"B-But it's scary out there!" Skywarp whimpered as he hid behind Thundercracker who sneered at him. "What if we run into Megatron? What if my thrusters stop working? Or worse, what if I catch some organic virus? I don't wanna die!"

"Why should we help you help those weak organics? We should be looking for more AllSpark fragments! Or better yet, proving who can be the most helpful to the carrier! Namely that would be me!" the blue-violet jet said smugly.

"Why, why did I think it would be a good idea to create you glitches?" Starscream swore under his vents, once more regretting his decision and resisting the urge to start yelling. A tug at his spark made him snap his helm up and stare at the doorway as Bumblebee slowly walked in. It didn't go unnoticed as the other clones noticed and soon five pairs of red optics were staring at him.

Bee froze in mid-step, lowering his ped down he couldn't help but be just a tad nervous. "Um, hi?" No one moved, even vents stalled but luckily the silence was broken as his large green pal ran up to him and immediately drew him into a crushing hug, knocking Sari off her perch where she luckily had her jet pack to keep her from hitting the ground.

"Little buddy, you're alright!" Bulkhead said happily as he hugged him tightly, even swinging him in a circle. "I was really worried about you! How ya feeling? You need anything? Just name it and I'll get it for you! Oh! Wanna see my newest painting?"

"I-" Before he could even ask there was a ripple in the air as a sleek form appeared behind the trapped scout, and in another ripple he was gone from the crushing servos. Bee blinked, his gyro-stabilizer trying to adjust itself but he was aware of the servos holding him rather protectively and a very familiar hissing sound. "What…?"

"Are you out of your processor?!" Sunstorm snapped angrily as he and his brother stood protectively before the carrier, wings arched high on their backplates, clawed digits tense, protocols coming online and overriding their processors.

"Huh? What'd I do?" he asked, confusion clear on his broad faceplates.

"You were trying to crush the carrier!" Ramjet accused even as he stole the scout from his brother's servos and hold him close to his own chassis, purposely holding his helm where his spark was pulsing. "Are you trying to offline him?!"

"What? T-That's a hug! It's how friends greet each other!" seriously? Didn't they know what a hug was? Then again, maybe not. "I wasn't hurting him!"

"Oh really? This coming from the same mech who couldn't take a single step without slipping in the same patch of oil more than once," Thundercracker accused. "What if you fell and landed on top of the carrier!"

"I would never!" But, what if he did? "… y-you have a point… I guess…"

"H-Hey waitaklik! Bulkie's—my best—friend!" Bumblebee said even as he tried getting out of the seeker's grip but he was refusing to let go. "Lemme go-o!"

Optimus now had both servos to his helm, trying to quell the processor ache that was rapidly growing worse. Repeating that the seekers were here to help was also not helping. He made to demand Starscream do something about them but was startled when he saw the seeker heading to the clones. He watched as the red-violet seeker took Bumblebee from the other seeker's grip, hissing lowly as his wings fanned out to their full-width.

:Will you glitches stop fighting this instant? You are embarrassing yourselves and the carrier!: he hissed at them.

:But that wrecker could have hurt him!: Ramjet protested.

:He would never hurt him intentionally! He is his friend and you will apologize to him.:

:What?! No!: Thundercracker said, wings trembling a megamile a klik.

:Yes you will or Primus help me I will reformate you all myself!: he threaten.

Their wings twitched but they were clearly not happy about this. :Do we really have to listen to that Autobot Prime?: Skywarp asked, glancing at Optimus.

:He's right, each time we're away means there's no one around to take care of the carrier,: Sunstorm pointed out, crossing his servos over his chassis. :I won't do it.:

:And make a bigger mess than you did this morning?: Slipstream pointed out, wings flickering. Noticing how the yellow mech looked rather uncomfortable she cocked an optic ridge at her creator and trine leader. "I don't think he's like being held like that."

"What?" Blinking he looked down to see Bee struggling to get down and failing miserably.

"Put me down!" Bee yelled once more, pushing at the servos holding onto him. He could walk on his own for Primus' sake!

Frowning Starscream saw the truth in her words but he also didn't want to upset Bee. "…" he moved slowly, hesitantly, and placed him down on his peds.

"Finally!" the minibot muttered, glaring slightly at the seekers he pushed past them and this time hugged his friend. "I'm sorry I worried you, Bulkie. I promise not to scare you or anyone else like that again."

The wrecker seemed unsure but smiling he wrapped his massive servos around him and hugged him with much less force than before. "So right, just glad you're back," he smiled. It was a sweet moment thought everyone looked up when they heard a ping at the communication hub. Optimus wordlessly made his way over but he was surprised to see the faceplates of a concerned Psyche on the screen. "Optimus Prime, here."

"Optimus, this is Psyche. First, things are going fine here. The Dinobots agree to let Bee stay here and are more than happy to even help protect him and the sparkling. Also, how did you glitches not realize Snarl is a femme?"

At this everyone couldn't help but blink. One of the Dinobots was a femme? And who was Snarl?

"Snarl is the triceratops and Swoop is the pteranodon," Bumblebee said, shrugging slightly as he made his way to the communication center. "They came up with the names when they were here, and I knew Snarl was a femme."

"Wait, onna them's a fembot? How come you didn't say anything?" Bulkhead asked, clearly confused.

"And how did you know?" Sari asked after flying up to perch herself on Bulkhead's shoulder.

"I dunno, I just know she was different from Grimlock and Swoop." For one thing she didn't share Grimlock's short-temper and she gave off an EM field that reminded him a lot of Psyche. "And she didn't say anything cuz she was confused."

"Alright, so one of the Dinobots is a femme. Have you and the others found a place where Bumblebee will be safe?" Optimus asked as he rubbed at his forehelm.

"We were, but then something happened." Venting softly she uploaded a video feed to show them what was going on. Grimlock and Snarl were currently going at it like they were the worse of enemies, with a frustrated Prowl trying to stop them. Behind Psyche was Ratchet who was cursing up a storm and trying to fix his ripped-off arm with one servo, an unsure Swoop trying to help. The screen went back to Psyche who looked exhausted and frustrated. "We've been at this for several joors. I've tried coming Skyfire but that giant glitch turned off his comm link.

:I can think of two reasons why he did that,: Thundercracker smirked, wings twitching. His brothers smirked, wings twitching in response only to stop when Starscream glared at them.

"Just, do what you can. We'll send help shortly."

"Fine, Psyche ou—Grimlock! Don't you dare-" Whatever the fembot was going to say was cut off and the screen turned to black. As the acting Prime tried to figure out what to the tiny pocket bot that had hitched a ride on the carrier was listening intently to everything going on.

'So, the carrier will be under the protection of those dimbulbed Dinobots. Things will seem to finally be working in my favor,' he smirked. Leaning his communication hub Megatron walked out of his quarters to the main area where his Decepticon forces were at. Needless to say he was not surprised to see the Constructicons were drinking more than their mass in oil, Mindwipe was currently hanging from the roof of base upside down, and Cyclonus was sharpening his swords. There was no sign of Lugnut, Blitzwing, or Oil Slick but that didn't matter right now. As soon as he entered the mysterious 'Cons looked up and immediately stood as he walked over to him.

"Lord Megatron, was there something you needed?" he asked as he subspaced his swords away.

"Yes, I have news about the Autobot carrier. He will be moved to a new location in an attempt to protect him and his sparkling."

"Then I shall head there immediately and bring them both to you at once." He would not fail the warlord again but before he could take off he was stopped.

"Not quite, I want you to deliver a message when the time is right."

---

After a long and loud debate, Optimus Prime and Starscream came to an agreement dealing with the seekers. As long as they were around, they would assist in patrolling Detroit as well as construction of Bumblebee's temporary home on Dinobot Island. The seekers were not happy about it. But Bee was especially not happy about it, either. For one thing, he wasn't allowed to go on patrols nor was he allowed out of the factory unless somebot was with him (Sari didn't count much to the techno-organics dismay). No one wanted to run the risk of having him get hurt or being botnapped. But it didn't mean he had to like it.

"So bored!" he moaned, dropping the video game controller onto his lap. His days pretty much consisted of staying indoors, watching the monitors for any alerts, and staying calm. Since there wasn't much to do Bumblebee alternated his time between video games and napping but even with the new game Sari had brought he was getting bored pretty fast. He was allowed outside but he always had to go with somebot to keep an eye on him, and that usually lead to an argument among the seekers who were each determined to spend more time with him. It had gotten to the point where one time Sunstorm and Ramjet had each taken a servo each and nearly threaten to tear him in half when Prowl swiftly dealt with them, stating that if they couldn't act like civilized mechs, then they could go to Dinobot Island and help with construction there. They didn't listen and before the solar cycle was over, they were flying to the island, grumbling under their vents at the "punishment".

"Still bored…" he muttered to himself, pushing himself up from the couch he vented softly and looked down at his mid-section. It didn't look any bigger but Ratchet had mentioned if it did get any bigger he would have to perform surgery to let his protoform expand. Why? Simple enough: he was a minibot, his frame was designed to carry minibot sparklings; Starscream was a full-formed seeker, much larger than him and while their frames were sleek and created for agility in the air, their sparklings were much larger than that of a minibot. There had never been a case of a minibot and seeker hybrid before and there was a 50% chance of the sparkling being born to either frame. But Bee knew his sparkling was going to be a seeker just like her sire. He flushed slightly when he had told Starscream and explained his dreams.

The red-violet seeker stared at him for a full breem, making the minibot worry but before he could ask him if there was something wrong he reached out and rested his servo over his mid-section. "We need more femmes in our world," he said softly and smiled up at him. It wasn't snide or even a smirk, it was warm and genuine. "They help balance out the idiocy of mechs."

"Is that why you created Slipstream?" he asked even as he reached out and covered his servo.

"It was by chance, but you've seen her around the others. She can help teach our own femme how to be strong and fearless."

Rubbing at his stomach plates he took a walk around the old factory, moving from one part to the other. While he wasn't allowed outside without a chaperone and Sari was stuck at home, catching up on homework (he still didn't understand why she couldn't do it here), he was getting bored again. He was tired of napping and decided to see if Prowl would be willing to let him go outside even for a joor. That was another thing he noticed had changed and secretly, he enjoyed it. The Cyber Ninja was always there when he needed him, making sure he was getting enough fuel, that he didn't over indulge in his chocolate covered bon bons, but that he also walked as much as he could. He didn't want him to transform unless he had to, given that he was afraid that it would accidentally harm the sparkling, but Ratchet, Psyche, and even Skyfire had remarked that until the sparkling moved into the protoform he could transform and it was better if he decreased the usage little by little. He paused during his walk when he felt a stirring in his chassis and smiled.

"I guess you wanna go for a drive?" Another pulse, filled with excitement made him grin even broader. "Yeah, you're gonna be a racer just like me. Let's go ask Prowl."

The ninja was trying to meditate, clearing his processor, trying to achieve enlightenment but his thought process kept going back to the scout and his sparkling. Even since Bumblebee told him that he was sparked and that the sire was Starscream he had tried to help him however he could, but he didn't want to smother him like he had seen the seekers do. He was surprised that Bee hadn't yelled at them to leave him alone but this was new to all of them. He had done his own research and knew that Bee was an active mech and being cooped inside for so long was bound to drive him crazy, and carriers needed to keep moving. Any meditation was gone when he heard a gentle knock on his door and he vented softly. "Enter."

The door opened and Bumblebee gave him a shy smile as he stepped into the doorway. "Hey Prowl, trying to meditate?" he asked.

"I'm afraid I'm not getting much done today," he admitted as he stood in one fluid move. "How are you feeling? Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I'm fine, just really bored." He took a few steps into the room, looking at the floor before looking up at him. "Can I go outside? Just a little drive."

"Bumblebee…" He encouraged exercise, but it seemed that every time he went outside something happened to him and he was never able to get to him in time.

"Please Prowl! I'm really bored and I need to move! Even my sparkling wants to me to get outta here and drive!" Stepping closer to him he reached out, taking his servo and pressed it firmly on his chassis. "See? She wants me to go outside and drive for a bit! And I'm not going alone, I'm going with you."

"B-Bumblebee…" He wasn't use to physical contact, the most he'd ever done was hold the scout when he needed comfort and support, so which his servo pressed against his chassis, feeling the warmth and vibration of the sparkling he was housing, it made him smile ever so softly. Looking up into the large, bright blue optics he sighed but nodded. "Alright, I'll let Optimus know-" His words were cut off and he staggered a bit as the minibot launched himself into his arms, wrapping both servos and stabilizers around him in a tight embrace.

"Thank you! I was gonna die of boredom here! I promise, I'll listen to whatever you say, I'll even stay under the speed limit! Thank you thank you thank you!" He didn't mean for it to happen, he was just so happy, still holding him tightly he kissed the startled ninja on the side of his faceplates then just as suddenly as he jumped on him, he let go. He was flushing a bit himself but he was still smiling. "I'll meet you at the exit!" he was gone in a flash.

Prowl, well, prowl was stunned but there was no denying that he was blushing quite hard. He never expected the minibot to actually kiss him like that but it warmed his system nicely. He ended up standing there in the middle of his room for several more kliks before his processor reminded him that Bumblebee was waiting. Heading out he sent a quick comm to Optimus who had actually gone to Sentinel's ship to see if he was willing to cooperate and behave. "Optimus, please come in. This is, Prowl."

"Optimus, here. Is something wrong?"

"No, but Bumblebee has expressed a need to get some fresh air, I'm going to take him to the park for a mega-cycle then return to base."

"Are you sure that's wise? At least take the jettwins with you."

"Everyone is either at Dinobot Island or patrolling the city. I'll leave me comm link open just in case there's an emergency, but I think we should let Bumblebee have a little bit of freedom for the time being." There was a long pause of silence before the team leader spoke up.

"One mega-cycle. Comm me immediately if you so much as sense something wrong."

"I will. Prowl, out." He didn't know the air stalled in his vents until he released it. It didn't escape his notice that their leader had also been acting differently, but he couldn't place his digit on it. Heading to the exit they used he was surprised to see Bumblebee just standing there; he seemed so excited earlier and now he was frozen on the spot. As he stepped closer he realized he was fidgeting and his EM field spoke of fear. "Bumblebee?"

He jumped and whirled to the ninja before ducking his head down. "S-Sorry, didn't hear you," he said quietly. "I-I changed my processor, I'm gonna stay here. I mean, I can always hang out in your room! You got a tree, that's enough nature for me!" he turned and was prepared to head back inside but froze when a servo caught his own.

"Bee, I know you're scared," the ninja said softly, feeling him tense but he gave his servo a gentle squeeze. "But you can't hide from your fears. You said it yourself, your sparkling wants you to be outside, and I know you miss it as well."

"… each time I go outside, I end up getting botnapped. First it was Starscream, then it was his clones, then it was those creepy new 'Cons. What if this time its Megatron and he decides to just offline me right there?" His servo shook as he held it up to his chassis, suddenly feeling even more afraid than before. "I don't want her to die."

He hated seeing him like this, it wasn't fair. Without releasing his servo Prowl stepped up behind Bumblebee and hugged him close, pressing his chassis into his backplates. "It's alright to be afraid, Bee. I was afraid I would never see you again when you went missing, I was afraid you would never be the same annoying speedster I grew to appreciate, and even now I'm afraid of any complications that may arise with your sparkling," he said softly, arms tightening around him.

"You-You're afraid? But you're never afraid," the minibot whispered back, squeezing the servo tightly.

"Not true. I'm always afraid, I choose to keep it hidden and let it fuel my desire to protect those I care about." He paused and vented softly as he hugged him closer, gently touching his mid-section as though afraid to touch his chassis. "I will protect you and your sparkling, Bee. I promise you."

"Prowl…" He felt as though coolant wanted to pool behind his optics, a sob trying to work itself free but he swallowed it back. Psyche had mentioned something about mood swings, was this what she meant? He closed his optics and continued to hold the servo tightly; he just wanted to be held, to know that somebot was there for him. After a full breem he tilted his head back and gave the ninja a sweet smile. "Thanks, Prowl."

His spark seemed to swell as the bright smile even as he nodded to him. "You're welcome. Do you still want to go for a drive?"

"Yeah… I really do." Slowly, reluctantly, the arms released him and he stepped forward before transforming. It felt good to be doing this and his sparkling seemed to be enjoying the gentle vibrations of his engine block. Hearing the ninja do the same he honked his horn and was soon driving, soon followed by the motorcycle. As long as prowl was with him, he had nothing to fear.

The skies were clear, the sun shining, the birds were singing their pleasant melody, it was perfect weather to be outside. True to word, Bumblebee was going the speed limit and not once attempted to go on the highway or sped between cars. Following at a respectably distance was Prowl, his hologram avatar inn full view. He was just far enough away so that the scout wouldn't feel like he was being followed but close enough that he could still see him within viewing distance. Pulling into the parking lot of a playground they parked and Prowl let his avatar fade so they would resemble ordinary Earth vehicles. The playground wasn't in use but there were a few people either sitting on the benches or walking the paved path. Bumblebee was hoping to see some children playing but checking his chronometer he realized that were still in school and wouldn't be let out for a few mega-cycles. He did enjoy the peace and quiet, it was soothing and the heat from the sun beating down on him was nice.

"Is it always this quiet?" Bumblebee asked the motorcycle next to him.

"It depends on the time of day. Even when it rains it's a soothing presence, not unlike the acid rain on Cybertron," he said quietly.

"I hate acid rain, ruins my finish." Plus, it hurt when the drops managed to slip into gaps and burned through the more sensitive wires and circuits. If you really unlucky, it would burn and badly scar the protoflesh beneath it all. He used to remember during those times the caretakers were extra cautious to make sure none of the younglings went outside, the few times they actually seemed to care about their welfare.

"True, but it serves it purpose as well, it washes away the old to make way for the new."

"You get that from your nature shows?"

"… perhaps." He wished he could smile in this form as the scout couldn't help but laugh, his frame shaking slightly. They didn't stay there long before Bee wanted to continue driving and they drove through downtown Detroit, passing by more organics, and the occasional Sumdac robot. It was perfect weather but the more they drove the warmer the minibot was beginning to feel. He tried to pass it off as the sun getting warmer and tried driving past the tall buildings in hopes of getting some shade, but even so it was still growing, stronger than before.

'Oh no, not now. Please not now,' he begged but he couldn't help it. Without meaning to he picked up speed, desperately searching for somewhere with a lot of shade he could duck into and found himself in front of the large parking structure with multiple levels going up but a few down as well. It was still under construction but the gate was open. Hearing Prowl shouting after him he quickly drove inside and headed for the lower level. The shade was cool and dark but the heat was still burning up inside him. 'Oh Primus… why now?'

"Bumblebee!"

'Prowl…' He should have stayed in his vehicle mode but he transformed, and ducked down as he tried to hide. "I-I'm fine!" he called out when he heard him stop then transform. "I-just needed to find some shade!"

"Why didn't you say something? I thought something was wrong when you took off," he said, turning on his headlight to see but was startled when the scout yelled at him to turn them off. "Bumblebee? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's w-wrong! I, just don't want the light on me." He tried to suppress the whimper as he felt lubrication begin to build behind his panel, his spike pressurizing behind his cod piece. 'M-Maybe, I ca-can overload—myself!' It was worth a shot, but he had to make sure the ninja didn't notice or hear him.

Something didn't seem right, but while he kept his lights off he turned on his night vision and adjusted it so he wouldn't get blinded by the streaks of sunlight coming through. "Bumblebee, I said I'm here to help you no matter what you need," he spoke softly, moving slowly and carefully.

"Y-You don't get it," he whimpered as both cod piece and panel slid open. Squatting against a thick support pillar he wrapped one servo around his spike and began stroking it. Oh Primus that felt good, but the heat was still burning hotly. "Jus-st, leave me a-alone…" Digits slowly moved down, tracing his valve for a few kliks before slowly pushing them in. Optics shuttered close, slowly losing himself in his self-pleasure.

Prowl froze and adjusted his audio receivers. What was that sound? It sounded, peculiar, but not a sound he was familiar with. It sounded, almost organic in a way but there were no organic life forms down here. "Bumblebee? Are you alright?" There was no answer but the sound was getting louder the closer he moved in. Was he hurt? Was something down here with them despite his scans? Should he comm Optimus for back up? He moved closer and could now hear very quiet whimpers and feared the worse.

Digits continued to stroke and thrust, trying to relieve the burning pressure in his system but it wasn't enough. He needed more, he needed a frag right now to help relieve the overload. 'O-Oh Primus—not, enough!' he whimpered, fans running hot, trying to cool down his system. So focused on trying to achieve an overload he failed to hear the Cyber Ninja getting closer until there was a startled gasp, vents stalling. Optics slowly onlined, having not realized he had shut them down he felt his entire system heat up as the slender mech standing before him. "Prrroowl?" Did he just purr his name? Whatever it was he whimpered and moved his servos faster, arching his chassis as he felt his system trying to open it up.

"B-B-Bumblebee? W-Wha… What are y-you do-doing?" Well that was a stupid question, he knew what he was doing! The real question was why was he doing it! Was this what he was trying to keep him from seeing?

"T-Too hot… ne-needa, overload…" he panted in an attempt to cool his system down. Oh he was so close, it was almost there but it was just out of his reach! "P-Prrroowleerrr… help me-e…"

"B-Bee…" Oh no, no way was his system heating up each time he purred his name like that. And where did he come up with such a nickname? But he had promised to help him with whatever he needed, and he looked like he was in so much pain… 'Primus, forgive me,' he whispered and silently knelt before the panting minibot.

"… B-Bumblebee… I, know you think you want this, but I can't… I can't, do this to you," he said softly. He hated the way the lust and desire in the optics began to lighten in color, turning to disappointed and shame. "Bumble-"

"Don't you want me? I-I want you! You said, you'd help me!"

"I do want you! More than you will ever realize, but I-" He halted but slowly his servos came up and removed the yellow digits from his helm and held them tightly between their chassis, forcing the words out even though each one cut through his spark like a sharp blade. "-I will not interface with you. Not while you're like this, not while you're carrying another mech's sparkling."

"… why?" he asked quietly, his words registering in his processor, words that were making his spark hurt. "Why?" he demanded louder, struggling in his grip but the ninja refused to let go. "Why?! Y-You said you'd help me! You were willing to do whatever it took to help me! So why now!? Why are you stopping!? Why!?"

"It was a mistake! I never should have done anything to you! Yes, I'm willing to help you in any way I can but not like this! I absolutely refuse to frag anybot who wants to act like some mindless pleasure drone!" There was a reason the Cyber Ninja kept quiet, why even in anger he chose to hide away instead of opening his mouth plates least he say something he never meant to say. That was the case now for as soon as the words were out he instantly regretted it, especially when he saw the hurt look in Bumblebee's optics. This time, when he pulled away from him he let him go, scrambling to his peds, trembling. "Bum-" He didn't bother to answer, instead he quickly transformed and with a sharp squeal of his tires he was gone. "Bumblebee!" he continued to call out for him, even tried his comm link but he was brutally shut down. "I'm sorry!" he shouted as loud as he could, even as he forced himself to his peds but he just stood there, wincing at the sharp pain in his chassis. "… I'm sorry…"

---

Optimus let out a weary sounding groan as he sat back in his seat. Construction was slowly but surely beginning to happen on Dinobot Island; after finding a suitable cave that was structurally sound the Autobots were turning it into a suitable home for Bumblebee and his sparkling. Bulkhead had suggested support beams to be added, something he had learned from his brief time with the Constructicons, to keep the cave from collapsing down on the scout. He had also suggested a flat-screen TV which would double as entertainment and a communication hub when needed. Sari had brought up wanting to buy her best friend a gaming console so he wouldn't be bored. The seekers helped by bringing on needed items such as a berth and items from the scout's quarters so he would be bored. They also wanted an opening in the ceiling so it would easier for them to come in and visit him at will, which also doubled as an escape route if needed. Ratchet and Skyfire were making sure there were medical supplies and equipment for when the time came for the delivery of the sparkling. Psyche was there to keep the Dinobots occupied and had her servos full: every time something new came to their island there were a dozen questions about it and its purpose. The one good thing was that Jetstorm and Jetfire came by to help but mostly kept the Dinobots entertained. He have just gone over an list of supplies and items needed for the continued construction and made a note to it to pass to their human ally. Dr. Isaac Sumdac was a bit absent-minded, but he was there to help them with their needs and when his daughter told him about the newest addition, he was happy to help in whatever ways he could.

'So far there hasn't been any movement from the Decepticons, I can't help but worry about that,' he thought to himself. Ever since the last botnapping attempt there had been no signs of any of the 'Cons, new or old. Sure he and his team still had to deal with the criminals such as the Angry Archer and Professor Princess, but they weren't Megatron. 'Perhaps, I should alert Ultra Magnus to our situation.' Before he could dwell on it any longer his audio receivers picked up on a vehicle approaching the factory. Fast. Frowning he got up from his seat just in time to watch a yellow compact come racing into view, nearly running into one of the assembly lines before screeching to a halt. He was already running to the car as it transformed and caught the smaller mech before he could collapse.

"Bumblebee! Are you alright? What happened?" he asked in rapid succession. He was already fearing the worse, thinking that another attempt had been made and was prepared to call everyone back immediately but a quiet sob made him halt. He looked down at the minibot and realized he was trembling, yes, but he was also crying. "Bumblebee?"

"O-O-Opti- *ktch* -mus…" he clung to the strong servos holding him up and let loose the sobs. As much as he wanted to tell him what had happened, what hurtful words were said, he couldn't. He just wanted somebot to comfort him, to say he wasn't some mindless pleasure drone. Every time he opened his mouth plates to say something it was mostly static and soft ktch sounds. Primus, he couldn't even tell his commanding officer what was wrong! It made him even more depressed and he sobbed even harder, feeling his stabilizers give out from under him.

The Prime's optics widen when he felt the scout begin to fall and immediately swept him up into his arms, holding him tightly against his chassis. He quickly headed to his quarters since they were closer, ready to send an emergency comm to Ratchet when he received one from Prowl. As soon as he opened it he was bombarded with questions.

~Optimus! I lost track of Bumblebee! Has he tried to contact you!?~

~He's here with me right now, he just arrived,~ he answered back, walking into his room and setting the scout on his berth. Checking him over he was relieved that he didn't have any injuries on him but he was still in distress. :What happened? Ever since he arrived he won't stop crying.~

There was silence on the other line.

~Prowl. What happened?~

~… Bumblebee, asked for my help. I refused and I said something rather hurtful to him. I swear I didn't mean it but he took off before I could apologize. Prime, I… I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt him.~

~Well you did. Go patrol the city while I try and calm him down,~ he snapped and gently touched Bumblebee's shoulder. He barely registered the ninja acknowledging his order, closing his end of the link as the scout looked up at him with sorrowful optics before reaching out and wrapping his arms around his waist, burying his faceplates into his red chassis and continued crying. Venting softly Optimus wrapped his own arms around him, his servo coming up and gently stroking the back of his yellow helm. "Everything's going to be alright, Bumblebee, I promise," he said softly.

'I wish I could believe that,' he thought to himself but at least the Prime wasn't pushing him away. After a breem or two he managed to stop the sobs and pulled back long enough to look up, offering the taller mech a weak smile. "T-Thanks, boss bot. Didn't me-mean to cry like that-at," he said softly, wincing at the roughness in his vocalizer.

"Don't worry about it, it sounds like you needed it." Pulling away just enough he sat next to him on the berth and paused a moment before speaking up. "Prowl just commed me, he said he told you something hurtful which caused you to run away. Is that true?"

"… yes," he whispered and stared down at his lap, cringing when he saw he still had some trace of lubricant between his stabilizers but at least his panel had closed on its own. "I s-suppose, you want to know th-the rest?"

"Only if you want to." Once more his servo came up and rubbed his helm, one of his digits brushing along the base of one of his horns and smiling softly as he leaned into him. The carrier didn't want to, but he found himself telling the Prime everything from the moment they left the factory, to the drive about town, up to the point where he felt the heat start to take over. He explained how he had driven to an parking lot under construction and was trying to relieve the heat himself when Prowl found him.

"I-I don't know what happened, but I remember begging him to help me. So… he did." Even talking about it he could feel the familiar heat returning and he pressed his stabilizers together as tightly as he could. He was fumbling over his words as he explained just how the Cyber Ninja had helped him, and what it ultimately led to, both the good and the bad. "He-He said, he regre-gretted it. He practically called me a-a-a pleasure drone! I can't help this-s!" he stuttered slightly, feeling the sobs ready to rack his frame and pull him back down into a spiraling depression. "I-I told hi-im to leave-leave me alone! He did-didn't! He said he-he wanted to hel-hel-hel-"

"Help you." He nodded and Optimus vented heavily, now stroking the yellow backplates, listening to him vent brokenly. That would explain why the ninja sounded apologetic, but a dark vocalizer in his processor was bringing up the ninja wasn't able to bring completion to the carrier. Even now as he rubbed at the plating he could feel how warm he was becoming and it made him moan inwardly. "Bee… I, have to ask you something."

His vented stalled as he managed to choke back a sob and nodded. "Y-Yeah?" He tried not to lean into the blue servo but it felt really good.

"… are you still feeling, you know." It was embarrassing to ask but that same dark little voice was cackling as the deep blush gracing the minibot's faceplates. "I see." Slowly he slipped off the berth, sliding his servo from his plating. He tried not to smirk at the whine of loss but he stepped in front of him and reached out, using a digit under his chin to tilt his faceplates up. The blush was a lovely shade of red, making his optics stand out even more. Bee didn't stop him as his digit brushed over his lip plate, didn't say anything as he leaned down, and didn't pull back as he was kissed. Instead, he kissed the Prime back, leaning into him and moaning softly as he felt a glossia slip inside, rubbing against his own. He felt large servos touching him, starting at his shoulder joints then slowly moving down his sides before coming to rest at his hips, trying to slip thick digits between gaps to stroke at the sensitive wires. It wasn't enough and the scout was growing anxious, whimpering in want and trying to pull him down but he refused.

"B-Boss bot… please… want you, now," he panted, fans once more running hard in an attempt to contain his rising heat. "Please…!"

"You have no idea how long I wished to hear you say that to me," he whispered just as hotly and once more kissed him, sealing their lips together.

* Due to the graphic nature of the chapter, I have complied with FF's NC17 ban and removed portion. If you are interested in reading the unedited chapter you may do so at my AO3 account. Thank you. *

Instead of feeling good and sated it felt painful and empty. He was dimly aware of the servos leaving his servos and his spike. It hurt but he felt the bruised protoflesh retract and snapped the housing close but the Prime didn't care. His optics shuddered online when he felt those same rough servos groping at his chassis and it took him a klik or two to realize he was trying to open his chassis. "N-No… Opti-mus, please… s-stop…"

"You should be carrying my sparkling, not some defective seeker!" he snarled angrily, possessive. It didn't matter if his digits were too big, he forced them into the seams and nearly ripped the plating open but when he tried to get the protomesh to open it refused and he heard the audile click of latches sealing it. Nothing short of completely tearing it open would get him to reveal his spark but he tried and he didn't care that he was hurting the scout. "Open it, right now!" he bellowed.

"No!" He meant what he said, no one was going to take his sparkling away from him, and if he had to he would kill to protect her. Even with his servos bound their wordlessly transformed into stingers, and he thrust them forward to the Prime's chassis. Sadly, he didn't allow them to charge fully and his energy levels were low from earlier and trying to fight him off, as well as an overload, all it did was enrage him. He scrambling to send out an emergency comm to anyone and everyone he could think of but large blue servos wrapped around his throat, squeezing tight enough that he felt his energon cable being blocked. His stingers transformed back into his servos and he tried grabbing at the thick digits but the Prime squeezed even tighter, looming over him like a nightmare come to life.

"I am tired of waiting, tired of seeing you give yourself to everybot except me. I will have you and once I rip that sparkling away, I will make certain you carry mine," he snarled, his optics glowing so brightly they looked like the fiery fury straight from the Pitt. "You. Belong. To. Me."

"O-Op-ti-mus- *wheeze* -p-please!" Bee managed to force out but without the proper energon flow he could feel his processor begin to lag, error messages and warning filling his display. His spark was vibrating beneath his chassis and the fear that he was going to die and take his sparkling with him terrified him.

"Don't call me that!" he snapped angrily and leaned down, his enraged faceplates glaring down as the terrified ones below him. "Call me, Nemesis."

Before this, if anyone asked Bumblebee who he feared above anyone else, he would have joking said Sentinel but admit that he feared Megatron above all else. But the tyrannical warlord seemed like an immature youngling compared to the Prime above him, the one who demanded he be called Nemesis. He struggled to get away, to relieve the crushing pressure on his throat cables but it was no use. 'P-Prowl… S-Starsc-cream… Pri-Primus… any-bot… help me!' he silently prayed. 'I-I don't want to die!'

~ To be continued… ~

Author's Notes: Um… so I'm sure a lot of you are probably hating me right now. And I get it! I'm making sweet little Bee suffer after all the slag I put him through so why continue? (rubs head) I'm a glitch? I promise to have the next chapter up soon so please don't kill me! (runs and hides in own closet, barricading the door from the inside) Leave a review if you don't mind!