a/n: Well, this is another short chapter. Not sure how I feel about it, but here we go.

Chapter 5: A Father's Worst Nightmare

Taiyang tinkered with the AC, tightening a few bolts in a desperate attempt to lock in the Dust cylinders.

"Come on, come on..." He grunted as he tried to turn the wrench, the sound of the doorbell echoing through the house.

"Dad! There's someone at the door!" Ruby shouted.

"You're the one who's closer!" Taiyang shot back, right as the bolt locked into place. "FINALLY!"

.

Ruby grumbled as she put down her comic book and marched over to the door, not wanting to lose her place in the comic. Said comic was completely forgotten when she saw who was at the door.

"I take it you're Taiyang's daughter," Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon, remarked, "May I speak with your father?"

"... You're Professor Ozpin…" Ruby remarked.

"And you have silver eyes," Ozpin replied.

"If you two are done stating the obvious," a blond woman remarked, "We didn't come here for idle conversation."

"Ruby, who is that at the- Oh," Taiyang chuckled as he walked into the room and noticed who was at the door, "I probably should've expected this reaction."

"Can I have your autograph?" Ruby asked.

"Please, come in," Taiyang welcomed as he pulled Ruby away from the doorway, "Would you like anything to drink?"

.

"We're in the middle of a precarious situation, Taiyang," Professor Glynda Goodwitch opened as Ruby sipped her hot chocolate awkwardly, eyeing the two most important Huntsmen in the Kingdom just sitting on her couch, "I hope you didn't bring us here just to waste our time."

"Don't worry, I didn't," Taiyang assured her as he took a seat and pocketed his Scroll, "It's just that my elder daughter kinda has to be here for the explanation and she's currently running an errand."

"Is she…" Ozpin trailed off, realizing that Taiyang would kill him if he accidentally pulled Ruby into their shadow war.

"No," Taiyang answered, "I wouldn't let her out of my sight without at least three bodygaurds if she was."

"If she was, what?" Ruby asked.

"I pray that you never have to find out," Taiyang answered, "I just sent Yang a message. As soon as she gets here, I can explain everything!"

.

"She hasn't even read the message," Taiyang remarked, some time later.

"Teenagers do tend to be rebellious," Glynda observed.

"Oh no, if Yang was deliberately trying to cause trouble, she would've left me on 'read'," Taiyang replied, "The fact that she hasn't even looked at it has me worried."

"Do you think the Nevermore…" Ruby started.

"Ruby, keep our guests entertained," Taiyang interrupted as he rose to his feet, "I'm taking the car to where Yang was supposed to go and to look for her." He stormed off to the garage. I swear, if that alien got Yang hurt…

Taiyang Xiao Long wasn't sure what to make of Bumblebee. So far, the Autobot hadn't given Taiyang any reason to distrust him, he wouldn't have let Yang go with him if he believed him to mean her harm, but even disregarding the Decepticons, Bumblebee had made a powerful enemy in the Atlesian Military.

Then again, I guess I've also made a few, Taiyang thought bitterly, recalling his first encounter with one of her agents. He drove down the road, praying that Yang was alright when he noticed the billowing pillar of smoke in the sky. His mind wandered back to the day he first held Ruby in his arms, and how his heart sank when he first saw her eyes. The eyes that painted a target on her back and ensured that Ruby would never know peace as long as she lived. The eyes that sealed Summer's fate. He would never forget the mix of pride and terror that filled his heart when Ruby told him she wanted to be a Huntress.

Taiyang pushed those thoughts back. He was driving, it was dark out, and he needed to keep his eyes on the road. In fact, that was his turn coming up. He rounded the corner, and hit the brakes the second Zippy's headlights illuminated a yellow shape. The car skidded to a halt as the familiar-yet-battered motorcycle and its rider swerved. Taiyang unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the driver side door as he noticed Bumblebee wasn't stopping.

"Yang?" he called.

"DAD!" Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't for Yang to throw herself at him and pull him into a near-bonecrushing hug. That… Something had to have gone wrong.

"Yang, what's wrong?" Taiyang asked.

"They're here," Yang started, voice shaking, "The Decepticons are here!"

"What?!"

.

Taiyang felt his blood run cold as Yang spilled out how everything had gone south. From what he could make out, they had been ambushed by someone shortly after finding the homing beacon, lost the homing beacon, and then the Decepticons arrived and tortured Yang. His 17-year-old daughter had been tortured. His daughter had been tortured. Those savages had tortured his sunny little dragon.

"Thank God that Nevermore showed up when it did," Yang continued (A Grimm attack should never be a good thing, Taiyang thought, even if he agreed with Yang's sentiment), "If it hadn't…" Taiyang felt Yang step away from the hug as she gripped her right arm. Her entire body was bruised, her clothes were torn and burned, she was covered with some kind of pink substance, her helmet was cracked, and there were several breaks in the skin on Yang's right arm around her elbow and shoulder. His eyes turned to the currently silent alien disguised as a normal motorcycle, his blood boiling.

"And what do you have to say for yourself?" he asked.

"Dad?" Yang shot a confused look at her father as Bumblebee shifted back into robot mode, revealing the dents on his body, and the burn mark on his chest.

"I tried to keep the enemy focused on me before the Decepticons showed up," he explained as he rubbed his neck.

"And when the Decepticons did show up?" Taiyang pressed, anger leaking into his voice.

"My Projected Spark Field had taken a lot of damage," Bumblebee opened, "I tried to use my Distinction on Shatter, but she was able to break through with one shot…" His hand went up to the burn mark on his chest. "After that, she pinned me down, and I wasn't able to protect Yang from Dropkick."

"... So I take it all of that 'two million years of combat experience' was just pointless bravado then?" Taiyang continued, "You said you wouldn't let anything happen to her! And yet a freaking Nevermore did more to protect her than you did!"

"Dad, that's enough!" Yang interrupted, "This isn't Bumblebee's fault!"

"How is this not his fault?!" Taiyang shouted back, "The Decepticons are his enemies! You got hurt trying to receive his homing beacon! And let's not forget that the only reason we're in this mess is because his friends had to crash land on our planet! How is he not responsible for this?!"

"He didn't ask to crash here!" Yang shot back with a swing of her arm, wincing from the pain, "And if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't even know that the Decepticons are a threat!"

"How do you know that he's not the reason the Decepticons are here in the first place?" Taiyang asked, "For all we know, they could've been tracking his ship!"

"Given that they didn't know where the Ark was-" the argument was cut short by a snarling sound. A Beowolf lunged from the treeline, only for Bumblebee's Energon saber to slice through it, and a howl followed by rustling leaves indicated its pack's retreat.

"You'd better run…" Bumblebee growled.

"They'd only flee like that if there was an Alpha controlling them," Taiyang remarked, "That's… Not good." He turned to his daughter. "Yang, get in the car. We need to explain the situation to my friend." Yang glanced apprehensively at Zippy.

"Bumblebee needs a rider," Yang replied, "In case we pass anyone on the way back."
"Scrap, I completely forgot about that!" Bumblebee admitted, before folding back into vehicle mode. It was at that moment that Taiyang noticed that the same pink substance that was staining Yang's front was also covering Bumblebee's seat in a diagonal splash.

"What's with the pink paint?" Taiyang asked.

"That's his blood," Yang answered, "It started pouring out of him after he tanked a hit meant for me." Taiyang winced as Yang mounted the motorcycle and turned to drive in the direction of the house.

"... Good going Tai… Scold the guy who saved your daughter's life," he mumbled to himself as he made his way to Zippy, closed the driver-side door, and buckled up, "Summer would be real proud of you if she could see you now." Memories of his greatest shame nagged at the back of his mind as he followed behind Yang, careful to keep her in his headlights as they headed home.

Taiyang tried to block out whoever was knocking on the door as he flipped through the pages of the photo album, looking for every picture of Summer's smiling face, anything to block out the reality

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Taiyang I swear to the Brothers! If you don't open this damn door this second I'll tear it from its hinges and smash it over your thick skull!" Qrow shouted. Taiyang groaned as he pushed himself from his spot on the table and shambled to the door.

"Qrow, can you please watch your language, I have chil-" Taiyang froze as he opened the door to see that Qrow was holding Ruby, her Silver Eyes filled with confusion, and Yang was clinging to his pant leg with a terrified look on her face. "What are you two doing outside?"

That was, apparently, the wrong thing to say.

"YOU DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THEY WERE GONE?!"

.

It had taken some time, but Ruby and Yang had both been sat down in Ruby's room (Yang had been reluctant to leave her sister's side), while Qrow sat Taiyang down and let him have it. Yang had gone and tried to track down Raven, taken Ruby with her, and both of them would've been torn apart by Beowolves if Qrow hadn't happened to be flying in for a visit when Yang wandered off.

"Why would she-"

"Because she thinks bringing a Mom back will fix everything," Qrow interrupted, "Because she noticed a Summer shaped hole in your lives and thought Raven could fill it. Because she's just a kid who lost her Mom and doesn't know how to handle it!"

"I… I didn't realize-"

"Didn't realize what?" Qrow interrupted, "That Firecracker misses her too? That she has feelings outside of smiles and tantrums?!"

"That's not what I meant," Taiyang insisted.

"That's what it sounded like!" Qrow snapped back, "What was so important that you didn't notice that your own daughters weren't even in the house anymore?"

Taiyang's eyes drifted over the still-open scrapbook.

"So that's it then…" Qrow noted as he picked up the scrapbook, slamming it shut, "If this is putting my nieces in danger, then maybe I should burn it."

"NO!" Taiyang shouted as he yanked the album from Qrow's hands, "Please, this is all I have left of her!"

"What about Ruby?" Qrow asked.

Taiyang fell silent.

"If you don't clean up your act, I might not be here the next time one of those girls has a hairbrained scheme," Qrow continued, "Then those pictures will be all that'll be left of them as well."

"- and that's when I suggested that Akai could reinforce her fans so they could work as batons when folded!" Ruby finished.

"As… Fascinating as that all is, we didn't come here for personal anecdotes," Professor Goodwitch remarked.

"Indeed, while I trust Taiyang when he said this was important, I don't have time to stick around all night," Ozpin replied, "So how much longer do you think he's going to-" the sound of an approaching car grew louder.

"They're back!" Ruby dispersed into petals and dashed to the garage. Professor Goodwitch sighed.

"Just like her mother," she muttered.

"Summer was one of our best…" Ozpin pointed out.

"It doesn't change the years she shaved off my life."

"Hi Yang! How was- OH MY GOSH ARE YOU OKAY?!" Ozpin and Glynda froze.

.

"I'll live," Yang replied as she dismounted her motorcycle, her Aura already getting to work healing her scrapes and bruises.

Ruby pulled her sister into a hug.

Yang hissed in pain.

"Excuse me," Ozpin interjected as he walked into the garage, "But I do believe we were called here for a reason."

"... You're Professor Ozpin," Yang remarked.

"And your family has a habit of stating the obvious," Professor Goodwitch remarked as she followed after him, "What happened to you anyway?"

"I discovered that the Grimm are far from the scariest things in the universe," Yang answered, her voice somewhat shaky. Zippy's headlights turned off as Taiyang stepped out of the car.

"Ozpin! I'm glad to see you're still here!" Taiyang greeted, a pink stain on his shirt, "Sorry about this, but we've kinda had a crazy couple of days."

"I assure you Taiyang, when you've been around as long as I have, nothing surprises you anymore," Ozpin replied.

"Are you sure about that?" Taiyang asked.

"Dad, what is Professor Ozpin doing in our house?" Yang asked.

"Oh! He's the friend I mentioned to you three last night," Taiyang answered.

"Three?" Professor Goodwitch questioned, "Taiyang, what are you talking about?"

"You can trust them," Taiyang replied. Goodwitch's next question died in her throat as Yang's motorcycle loosened up and shifted, unfolding into a bipedal robot.

"Ow!"

Who hit his head on the ceiling.

"Ozpin, Glynda, say hello to Bumblebee," Taiyang introduced.

"Nice to meet you!" Bumblebee said to the two speechless humans.

"... Well…" Ozpin opened, "... That's a first…"

"I'm going to change into something that isn't covered in Bumblebee's blood," Taiyang announced, "Yang should clean up, Bee, why don't you explain this whole alien war fiasco."

"Wait… this pink stuff is Bumblebee's blood?" Ruby remarked as she looked over her corset, pink liquid seeping into the fabric from when she had hugged Yang.

.

What followed that awkward introduction was Bumblebee sharing his story while Taiyang and Ruby went to their respective rooms to change out of their blood-stained shirts while Yang showered. By the time he got to Trannis, Ruby and Taiyang had returned. By the time Yang returned from her shower, he was wrapping up his story. While Bumblebee didn't know that much about humans, he did know that all lifeforms, be they technological, organic, or technorganic, typically dried themselves after cleaning themselves with water. But Yang's hair was still wet when she returned to the garage, even as she hugged Zwei to her chest. And had her optics always been blue? He could ask later, he had a story to finish.

"- So, since I needed to get to the Ark's crash site to refuel before my Spark burns out, I decided to go get my homing beacon," Bumblebee continued, "Yang tagged along because a riderless motorcycle would apparently stand out like a frayed actuator. That's when we ran into the Decepticons."

"So the Decepticons brutalized you enough for Ms. Xiao Long to be covered in your blood?" Ozpin questioned.

"Actually the bleeding was because this red-headed White Fang member hit him with his Semblance," Yang answered, "His name was Adam, had a really fancy Grimm mask so I'm guessing he was important."

"YOU GOT INTO A FIGHT WITH ADAM TAURUS?!" Taiyang shouted.

"She's definitely your daughter," Professor Goodwitch groaned, "And I can already tell that she's going to be a handful next year…"

"That aside, what can you tell us about your Decepticon assailants?" Ozpin asked.

"Dropkick's mostly blue, has both a car mode and a Bullhead mode," Yang answered almost immediately, "Didn't get a good look at his car mode, but he's got red, Grimm-like eyes in robot mode, and couldn't shut up about how much fun he was having when he…"

Taiyang pulled his daughter into a hug when her voice hitched.

"Shatter and Dropkick are Decepticon Security Officers," Bumblebee explained, "If they're here, then the Decepticon's Infiltration Protocol is probably well underway, and there's no telling how much military hardware, public transport, or emergency vehicles they've replaced while I was in stasis." He shook his head. "But as for the Decepticons I'm aware of, Shatter's an interrogator, while Dropkick's job is pretty much to execute prisoners once they've outlived their usefulness, and torture the ones who are being uncooperative. I unfortunately didn't get a good look at Shatter's flight-mode-"

"She turned into a red Atlesian Dropship," Yang cut-in, "I saw her transform while trying to climb out of the tree Dropkick threw me into after he got attacked by a Nevermore."

For some reason, THAT was what got Ozpin to spit out the hot chocolate he was sipping.

"I'm sorry, what?" Ozpin replied.

"The weird thing is that the Nevermore basically ignored him until Dropkick punched it," Yang remarked, "Why would it do that?"

"Oh, now it makes sense," Ozpin remarked.

"What do you mean?" Bumblebee asked, "Last I checked, aren't those Grimm things supposed to try and attack everything?"

"Perhaps, but they typically only go after humans and Faunus, and our creations," Ozpin explained.

"Legend has it that it's because they're spawned by Remnant itself to punish us for our sins," Ruby remarked.

"There's also the legend of the Two Brothers," Glynda commented, "Which states that they only go after humanity because the darker of the two gods created the Grimm to destroy the creations of his brother." Bumblebee froze.

"... Which brother is the elder of the two?" he asked, "Because if the elder brother is a Chaos Bringer who tore the Light Bringer into five parts…"

"Light is older than Dark," Ozpin explained, "A-According to legend at least."

"... Huh…" Bumblebee commented, "That's… Hrm…"

"Bumblebee?" Yang questioned, her eyes returning to lilac.

"I just thought that I had stumbled upon an answer to a question that's been nagging at my processor for awhile now," Bumblebee replied.

"That aside, have any Grimm harassed you in particular since you woke up?" Ozpin asked, "Excepting the ones produced by Winter's Semblance."

"Not… Really…" Bumblebee answered, "Not unless I attacked first…"

"Hmm…" Ozpin remarked.

"But Dropkick's reaction to the Nevermore attack implies that they've been attacking the Decepticons," Yang replied.

"Perhaps they simply prioritize humans and Faunus, and will only go after aliens when there aren't any locals around," Ozpin suggested, "Regardless, the White Fang has your homing beacon?"

"Yeah, and the Decepticons can easily take it from them," Bumblebee answered, "You can probably guess why that's far from ideal for anyone involved, including the White Fang. "

"I'll see if I can't talk some sense into Ironwood," Ozpin replied, "Even if he's impulsive, I believe his heart's in the right place."

"Wait, the leader of the largest standing army on the planet is impulsive?" Bumblebee remarked, "How are none of your Kingdoms at war?"

"He brings his wrath down on enemies of the Kingdoms," Professor Goodwitch answered, "Even if I wish he'd listen when asked to use strategies outside of overwhelming force…"

"... You're joking," Bumblebee decided, "Please tell me you're joking!"

"Bee," Taiyang cut in, "We haven't had a real war since the Faunus Rights Revolution."

"... Solomus give me patience," Bumblebee prayed with a groan and a facepalm, "This… This is going to end badly if we don't get Prime back online…"

"Now I should be going," Ozpin remarked, "Now that the White Fang has what Winter was guarding, they'll probably shift their focus to the SDC's shipments. Speaking of, while I must insist that you don't go looking for trouble, in the event that Ironwood fails to see reason…"

"The Atlesian Military knows me as 'B-127', and Winter might recognize the name 'Bumblebee'," Bumblebee interrupted, "If you're going to talk about me with Ironwood, use my old name. I don't want Yang getting hurt on my behalf." Ozpin smiled warmly.

"Don't worry, I'll keep that in mind," he promised, "But before I go, you should know that she's called 'Specialist' Schnee for a reason."

"And that is?" Bumblebee asked.

"I'm afraid I have work to do, you should rest up for tonight," Ozpin replied, "Thank you for your hospitality, but we really must be going."

"You'll, you'll stay in touch, right?" Bumblebee asked.

"Glynda, we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow," Ozpin replied.

"Ah yes, the operation that doesn't involve genocidal robots from another planet," Professor Goodwitch replied as she followed after her boss, "I can't believe that business is going to be less stressful by comparison."

"Is he always like this?" Bumblebee asked as the two teachers walked out of the still-open garage door.

"The answer should become obvious after you've slept," Taiyang answered, "Speaking of, we should probably all be headed that way, you especially Yang."

"Yeah…" Yang replied as she walked into the house, taking Zwei with her, "... Goodnight…"

"Oh! Dad fixed up the A/C, so you shouldn't have to worry about overheating anymore!" Ruby stated.

"Uh... Thanks Mr. Xiaolong" Bumblebee started, "But I've camped out in extreme temperatures before. In fact, I think I can handle more extreme temperatures than you all can. But this should at least make my stay more comfortable.

"Okay, goodnight Bumblebee!" Ruby announced before dashing out of the garage and into the house.

.

"... So uh… About earlier…" Taiyang opened as the garage door closed.

"I did technically break my promise," Bumblebee interrupted.

"Not through any fault of your own," Taiyang replied, "And you did save Yang's life when the White Fang attacked."

"Adam only attacked her to spite me," Bumblebee argued.

"Adam Taurus would've attacked her for being human even if you weren't part of the equation," Taiyang insisted, "Also… You still have a little blood on your… Erm…"

"We can wash it off in the morning," Bumblebee replied, "Maybe reapply my paintjob too…"

"So… Uh… One last thing," Taiyang said, "We'll still have a fighting chance if the Decepticons decide to screw stealth and go for the attack, right?"

"I'll be honest," Bumblebee sighed, "If the Decepticons find the Ark before we do, your species will be extinct by the end of the week."

"Oh…" Taiyang replied.

"Don't worry, I won't let that happen," Bumblebee promised with a reassuring grin, "We've stopped the Decepticons plenty of times in the past, and we'll do it again."

"... Okay," Taiyang replied, "I can live with that. Goodnight Bumblebee." He turned to leave. "... And… Thank you…"

"Goodnight sir," Bumblebee replied as he transformed back into motorcycle mode. The lights flicked off, and Bumblebee sighed. "If only our defeats didn't outnumber our victories."

Yang wrapped herself in her blankets, trying to block out the image of those demonic eyes as she tried to drift off to sleep.

Her arms and legs refused to move as her window opened, and a metallic hand reached in. She tried to call for help, but all that came out was a strangled gasp as the metallic fingers closed around her. She was slowly pulled from her bed and out the window as her body refused to obey her brain and struggle. She was soon face to face with the glowing, red eyes she'd never forget.

"Did you think I couldn't find you? Squishy!" Dropkick taunted, "You still owe me an arm!" Yang was suddenly laying on a table as Dropkick's hand unfolded into all kinds of instruments, some of them were binding her wrists and ankles, while the rest were various drills and blades. "This won't take long." One of the bladed instruments, a buzzsaw, inched closer, closer, and closer to where Yang's right arm met her shoulder. Yang tried to get her body to move, but it refused to budge. She tried to scream, but all that came out of her mouth was a quiet exhale. She couldn't even tear her eyes away from the buzzsaw inching ever closer to her arm.

.

Taiyang bolted awake when he heard the shriek. He threw the door open just in time to watch a cloud of rose petals blitz down the hall towards Yang's room. By the time he got to Yang's room, her bed was empty, the curtains to her window were closed, and the normally fearless brawler was curled up in the corner of her room and was halfway between sobbing and hyperventilating as Ruby sat next to her.

"Bad dream?" he guessed.

"I'm fine," Yang lied.

"Yang, it's okay to be-"

"I SAID I'M FINE!" Yang shouted, eyes red and hair ablaze. Taiyang and Ruby both flinched from the sudden increase in volume, and Yang glanced nervously at the window as her flames died down. Ruby followed her sister's gaze, and Taiyang could see the gears turning in his younger daughter's head as she formulated an idea.

"Mind if I spend the night in here?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"I mean, all this Decepticon talk has me worried," Ruby explained, "And whenever I was little, I always felt safer when I was with you!"

"Heh," Yang laughed, "You know I won't always be here to protect you Rubes."

"But someday, the two of us will be unstoppable together!" Ruby insisted, "Besides, when was the last time we had a sleepover?"

She's not looking for Yang's protection, Taiyang realized, She's looking to help chase her sister's nightmares away.

"I… Alright Rubes…"

"Perfect!" Ruby squealed, "I'll go get Zwei!" She dispersed into a cloud of petals and dashed away.

"Seriously Yang, are you okay?" Taiyang asked.

"I have to be," Yang replied, "For her."

"You're still a kid," Taiyang insisted.

"... Not for much longer I won't be," Yang remarked dryly, "I don't want her to grow up as quickly as I had to." Ruby chose that moment to return with Zwei in her arms, cutting their discussion short.

"This has been an eventful day, but I'm ready to turn in," she dropped into the bed, letting go of Zwei so he could make his way to the foot of the bed, "Goodnight Dad! Goodnight Yang!"

Yang wordlessly pushed herself off the floor and walked over to her bed, flopping down on it next to her sister.

"Goodnight girls," Taiyang sighed as he made his way back to his room, I'm sorry for letting you down.

a/n: ... I'm sorry for that ending, it was supposed to be a heartwarming moment but... Well... Yang was tortured... You don't just bounce back from that. Taiyang's own feelings of helplessness in this situation just wrote themselves. I'm going to be going back and making some quick corrections to the opening scene of "World of Cybertron" and the nightmare sequence in "Cultural Exchange". Nothing that'll change the plot, just turning falshback!baby!Ruby back into a four-year-old and removing the formula for the Mantlite bomb (mostly because of certain reveals related to one of the Dust Types I included in the formula).
Now for reviews:
Sorna-Raptor: Yeah, his spite really overrides his common sense.
Z-King: At least she wasn't disarmed.
Farouk Shaban: Adam should just start running whenever he hears anything remotely Bee related. For added irony the "Bumblebee" team attack consists of Blake throwing Yang. Now, who was thrown at Blake last chapter?
merendinoemiliano: We'll see...

Update 9/25/2020: I revised the references to the heater to be about an A/C instead, to better line up with Yang's canonical birthday of July 28th. As such, this story's timeline has been shifted back by a little bit.

Update 1/6/2021: Removed Taiyang's f-bomb so I could use the Volume's precision f-strike elsewhere. Also made a grammatical fix to the brief Beowolf encounter.