A/N Okay, moving on.

How is he, Ratchet?

His mainframe is mostly dented, but it's still intact, thank Primus. He has a few blast burns, but nothing severe. The only serious injury is…

How bad?

I'm sorry Prime. There's nothing I can do about it.

Primus forgive me.

OIO

Bee groaned and stirred. He felt someone's servo slide underneath his head again.

"Bee? You okay?" Ironhide asked.

Bee forced his eyes open long enough to glare at him.

"Right. Duh. Well, at least you're alive."

"Oh, come on." Jazz chuckled as he entered the med-bay. "It'd take more than Megatron to get rid of this little glitch spark."

"Watch your filter in my sick bay, Jazz." Ratchet snapped from somewhere nearby.

"Yeah, you were just as worried as we were." Ironhide grinned, gently setting Bee's head back down.

Bee's mouthpiece widened slightly to speak. Then Ratchet's hand was over it. Bee looked at him in confusion. Ratchet gave him an reassuring, but unconvincing, smile.

"Don't strain your…voice, Bumblebee."

He backed off.

Bumblebee looked at his back for a klik. The rest of them were chatting happily over him. Other Autobots in far worse shape were laughing with their friends. He was fine, wasn't he? Except for the weird itch in his neck.

No one was paying attention. Bee raised a servo to rub at it. The memory hit him like Devastator on a bad day as his hand came in contact with the clamped wires in his throat.

No.

A squeal like rusty nails on a chalkboard escaped his lips as he whimpered. The entire bay flinched and fell silent as Bee began to thrash uncontrollably. Ironhide and Jazz were beside him in an instant, pinning him down against the repair unit's surface. Bee whined at them. They flinched but held on. Ratchet came running towards them. "Bee! Calm down! Please! You'll hurt yourself!"

"What's going on?" Optimus Prime charged into the room. His eyes locked onto the flailing yellow figure in the back.

"It's Bee, Prime. The recall is too much for him. He's going into shock again." Ratchet tried to explain as he rushed by.

Prime took three huge steps across the room and grabbed Bumblebee by the arms, pinning him as easily as Megatron had. Ironhide and Jazz backed away. Bee pulled uselessly, halfheartedly, at the restraints. Coolant began to leak from his optical ducts. He was crying. I'm crying!

He slumped, incensed with himself. Slag, Autobots don't cry! Get a hold of yourself! He wished he could raise a hand to brush the coolant away, but Prime wouldn't budge. Luckily, only Optimus would be able to see it. Unfortunately, Prime would see it.

Pain flashed through Optimus's optical sensors. Discreetly, he whisked one finger across Bee's face, rubbing the coolant from his mask. "Be strong Bee. You can do this."

Ratchet hurried to his side. "It will be hard to inject you with Optimus's arms in the way, Bee. Will you hold still long enough for me to look at you?"

There was a long moment. Bee's head moved microscopically up and down. Prime let go, leaving a tingling sensation in his arms as the energon rushed back in. He didn't move at all as Ratchet approached. Then his optical sensors flicked to Ratchet's face and did the talking for him.

Ratchet met his gaze uneasily. He glanced at Prime, who nodded. "Bee is a tough soldier. He can handle it."

Ratchet took a deep breath as he opened the panel on Bee's arm. "Megatron… when we came out of the AllSpark's berth we were too late. Ironhide and Prime managed to beat him off, but…" Another moment passed as Ratchet injected the shot into Bee's arm. "He…he ripped your voice box in half and crushed it against Prime's chest." He glanced at the stricken bot, resigned. "I'm sorry Bee. I can't fix what isn't there. We're lucky you're alive."

Bee didn't respond. He just lay there, staring at nothing at all.

"I'm trying to find a replacement but… you might never speak again." Ratchet whispered.

Prime stepped up to stand by the bay and knelt next to his smallest Bot, bringing him to his own level. He placed one gigantic hand on the bot's spark and whispered. "I'm sorry, Bee."

As the overdose kicked in and the world disappeared, Bee could have sworn he saw coolant welling in Optimus Prime's eyes.

OIO

Bumblebee rushed into the launching area, eager to be off. Ratchet had told him he was free to leave the sick bay, but he had to be extremely careful until they found a way for him to communicate. He'd agreed instantly…and set off to pack for the next raid. Energy was getting low again, it would be really soon. The newly revived Kup, Jazz, and Ironhide were deep in discussion with Prowl and Mirage as they boarded the transport. They fell silent when Bumblebee approached.

"C-come to…wish us off, Bee?" Mirage asked as casually as possible.

Bee froze. They were all looking at him in worry, as though unsure what to say or how to say it. As naturally as he could, Bee spun on his heel and left the launch area.

Prime found him a half orn later. Bee sat in his room, alone. His knees were against his chest with both arms folded on top of them. He blinked, seeming to jerk back into the present as Optimus entered the room. Prime carefully approached the berth built for someone of much larger stature than its occupant and sat at the base.

Neither said anything for a moment. They just looked at each other. Then Bee's head fell onto his chest plate.

"You want to know why I chose you to lead the Autobots on Cybertron."

Bee nodded.

Prime sighed, pressing his fingers against his temple nerves. "To be honest, I don't know."

Bee's head jerked up and down in understanding. Prime placed a hand on the bot's shoulder. "No, Bee. I didn't doubt you. I've never doubted you. I just didn't think about it. To me, you were the obvious choice."

Bee looked up at him in shock.

"I can't explain why I chose you then, Bee, but I never doubted it for a second. I would do it again in a sparkpulse."

Prime stood, leaving Bee to muse over this new insight in silence.

"You are an important Autobot, Bee. We would not have made it this far without you. Don't forget it."

OIO

This time the other Autobots were waiting when he entered the launch area. Jazz nudged Ironhide and the weapons specialist stepped in front of Bee as he approached the ship, consternation in his eyes. "Hey, Bee. Um…why don't you stay here this time? I mean, it'll be hard to keep a….I mean, wouldn't you rather…um…slag it all. Bee, what I'm trying to say is…"

Bee raised a hand, cutting him off. He reached down and pulled a chip of some sort from his subspace pocket. Ironhide accepted it with relief. "Oh, the program...from Ratchet…thanks Bee."

Bumblebee nodded curtly and stood. He watched the others board the ship unhappily. When they were out of sight he fidgeted for a long moment. Then he quickly scanned the bay to make sure no one was watching and slipped into the shuttle too.

OIO

Bumblebee, you are a fragging glitch.

Mute it.

Make me.

Bumblebee sighed, wishing he were equipped to turn his conscience-processor off as he dodged behind the nearest structure. So far, none of the Autobots had seen him. That was good. So far, no Decepticons had shown up either. That wasn't so good.

If the Decepticons don't show, how will I prove I can still fight? He fumed. Pfft. What am I thinking? He leaned back against the side of the tower. I should be thrilled this operation is going so smoothly! I'm getting selfish. He glanced wistfully through a crack in his hiding place, watching his comrades stacking energon leaked from a broken pipe nearby into the ship. In another few cycles the flow would run dry and Bee would have to slip back onto the transport for the ride home. It wasn't fair.

The one time I actually want a fight, and…

The ground vibrated beneath him, as though something heavy had landed nearby. The Autobots kept working, oblivious, while Bumblebee watched in horror as one by one Thundercracker, Skywarp, Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet and a few other Decepticon fliers landed unseen in a circle around his comrades.

Bee leapt to his pedes, ready to shout a warning…that was when it hit him, the reason no one had wanted him along. He couldn't warn them.

Bumblebee shook himself, slagging himself as every halfbit metalfragged junk piece he could think of, and began to run towards the battlefield. He wished he'd chosen a hiding place a tad closer as the ship suddenly went up in a blaze of energy. He could hear Jazz shouting as more ricocheting laser fire brushed against the remaining energon cubes and small explosions went off. One of the Decepticons was just ahead of him, back turned, firing rapidly into the crowd of Autobots below.

Almost there!

Maybe the Decepticon heard the pounding of Bumblebee's servos against Cybertron's surface. Maybe he sensed him coming through some other method. Maybe it was sheer bad luck that he chose to spin around at that moment and lock eyes with the approaching Autobot.

Bee skidded to a halt.

Oh slag.

Starscream's optics narrowed. "You."

Oh, SLAG.

Bee swallowed dry energon. He managed about three strides before the ground opened up in front of him with a flash. It was deep, really deep. We must be on top of one of the old energon lines, he noted in the back of his processor. He turned back towards Starscream as slowly as he could, knowing and hating the fact that the only way out was past his rival. Star looked at the hole with surprise for a moment, and then grinned.

"I think you forgot something back at our last encounter. What was it again?" Starscream leveled his ray at the bot's feet and fired once. Bee squeaked as the metal gave way beneath him, sending him tumbling down the shafts into the depths of the old energon plant. Star stalked over to the edge, peering into it with a smirk. "Ah, yes, I remember. You forgot to deactivate. But don't worry. I'll help you get it done now…"

He activated his thrusters, slipped into the hole he'd made, and leisurely began the long float down. "…no matter how long it takes."

Jazz glanced back up again. Even from down in the basin he could make out the flash of yellow flitting along the edge from hiding spot to hiding spot. He knew he should probably say something to the others, but he just didn't have the spark. Bumblebee was so young, and Jazz knew what it was like to feel unneeded, trapped, and unable to contribute. Jazz sighed, pushing the unwanted memories back. The point was Bee was a good soldier. He needed this, so Jazz intended to give him every opportunity to prove himself. That's all he wants from us anyway. He grinned to himself, turning to place another cube on the rapidly growing pile.

He glanced back at the pipe, where the others were already gathered. Shoot. All my ramblings gone and put me behind schedule!

Jazz finished putting down the cube and then froze. He couldn't explain it, but a tingle shot through his sensors. Before he could process it, the energon cube by his foot began to glow as a purple beam of light grazed it ever so slightly.

A moment later he was running like mad, pelting towards the other Autobots as the cargo hold exploded in all of its energetic glory. Stumbling back to his feet (When did I fall?) Jazz yanked his gun free of subspace and fired up at the edges of the crater, targeting anything that shot purple.

The peripheral sensors of his optic twitched and he managed to see Starscream fire towards them.

Nearby, Prowl collapsed like a string less puppet. Jazz skidded to his side, flipping him onto his back. Prowl's chest glittered furiously with dancing energy around the hole in his chest. The Autobot's optics were a dark gray, but not black. Yet.

A moment of terror seized Jazz and he tapped Prowl none too gently with his pede. "Don't you dare offline, Prowl!" He shouted. After firing again he added: "Not 'til you tell me who shot cha!"

To his intense relief his companion groaned.

"Five more kliks…"

"Whatever you want, just don't you DARE spark out on me!" Jazz shot back.

Prowl curled into a ball as his response. Jazz kept firing. Nearby he could hear Ironhide yelling into his com link for backup, and on his other side Kup was doing the same. All he could do now was keep firing and hope he, Prowl, (and Bumblebee) would survive until help arrived.

Worried, he risked a glance at the bot's last hiding place. Nothing. I hope he's all right. Jazz managed, but he couldn't afford to think any more.

A/N I hope that's a good cliffie! Next chapter: Bumblebee learns to swim!