Smugglers 3: The Beginning Is The End
Chapter 11: Kidnapped!
A/N: In the last chapter Wasp when used the EMP he originally had it set to kill (an EMP can kill a bot as well but only if it's set really, really high) but it was damaged in the fight and so that's why Bumblebee's memories were scrambled. I hope this explanation makes sense but if it doesn't please let me know (preferably through a signed review) and I will try to explain it better. Also I would like to ask that you either sign in or get an account on fanfiction so that I might address your concerns better and faster. Please and thank you.
A/N/N: Yes Bumblebee had a flash of the future and as for feeling sad it's because he knows that his time with them is coming to an end.
"Vhere are they?" Blitzwing's Hothead personality demanded. "You said they vould be in the Bassan Galaxy."
Wasp sighed and tried not to lose his temper which was next to impossible at the moment. After spending an entire week with the three, technically five, Decepticons was enough to drive a bot insane! If he hadn't been insane before he certainly was now, he thought sourly. "Bot say big green bot come this way often," he said, referring to the store owner who had been more than happy to tell them exactly which direction The Smuggler had last been seen going.
"He could have been lying," Blitzwing protested.
"Wasp threaten him with death. No bot wish to die; except for yellow bot," he added as an afterthought.
"That wouldn't be the same yellow bot that the store owner said had a nervous breakdown in his store would it?" Slipstream questioned from her position across the room, leaning against the wall.
"No," Wasp denied, shaking his head rapidly. "Wasp destroy yellow bot. Yellow be dead!" Wasp was so worked up that his optics were beginning to turn red.
"Okay, okay," Slipstream held up her servos in surrender. "It's a different yellow minibot."
Wasp subsided, his optics returning to their usual violet.
"Do we even have a plan?" Skywarp whined.
"Wasp get revenge on big green bot."
"That's some plan," Slipstream said sarcastically.
"Vy are ve helping him?" Blitzwing asked; his voice no louder than a whisper.
"Because he had an intact ship," Slipstream hissed, "and we wanted to get back at the yellow minibot who's traveling with the green bot he," she gestured to Wasp, "is chasing."
"Oh," Blitzwing fell silent then, "vhy do ve vant to get back at the yellow minibot?"
Slipstream groaned and began banging her head against the wall in a desperate attempt to send herself into emergency stasis.
Several hours later found the Decepticons and Wasp rapidly approaching Earth's atmosphere. None of the Decepticons were entirely sure if this was where they were supposed to be but none of them really wanted to ask Wasp so they stayed silent, exchanging worried glances all the while. Finally Slipstream had had enough. Rising from her console she walked over to Wasp and directed one of her glares at him; he didn't even flinch. "Why are we here?" she demanded.
"Decepticons board Wasp's ship after it be fixed," Wasp replied.
Slipstream's faceplate turned crimson and she said through clenched denta, "I am aware of that. What I meant was why are we at this particular planet? There are nine planets in this galaxy; what makes you so sure they're on this one?"
"This be only planet with Cybertonian energy signatures. Femme say green bot travel with four other bots; planet have five energy signatures," he explained.
Slipstream's faceplate turned red again but from embarrassment this time and not rage. She merely nodded and sat back down in front of her console, refusing to meet the optics of her fellow Decepticons.
What exactly happened next Blitzwing was never sure. One second he had been telling Wasp that they were coming down too fast and the next he was waking up to find himself on the floor, his view obscured by something metallic and purple. He groaned as he tried to sit up and almost immediately regretted it. The room was spinning, much like the brightly-colored toys that sparklings like to play with. Somewhere in front of him was a large purple blob that appeared to be floating. He blinked several times then tapped his optics lightly and was soon able to discern that the purple blob was, in reality, Slipstream with Skywarp draped over her chassis.
"That vas not fun," Blitzwing said seriously, all three of his personalities agreeing before Random took over and said, "can ve do it again?"
"Never again am I coming to this planet," the Decepticon femme vowed as she shoved her fellow clone off before she attempted to stand.
"I don't want to land with him period," Skywarp said.
"Wasp not crash; that be good landing," the pilot declared as he marched over to a console and began punching buttons.
"You better hope we don't get stuck here permanently," Slipstream muttered, shooting the minibot a threatening look which he ignored in favor of staring at the screen in front of him.
"Energy signatures getting close," he announced.
Earth wasn't so bad Optimus supposed as long as he didn't get stuck here permanently. The very idea made him shudder fearfully as he remembered those harrowing few days. Even Ratchet didn't like to think about it as there were some things he would prefer not to remember. Optimus and Prowl were inclined to agree with him.
Currently Optimus, Ratchet and Bulkhead were driving aimlessly through the streets of Detroit sight-seeing as it were. Bumblebee had decided to leave his gifts for the Professor today so Prowl had been elected to stay behind and keep an optic on him just to make sure he didn't leave anything…dangerous much to Prowl's displeasure.
Optimus wasn't really sure what they were supposed to do; after all they were several times taller than the local inhabitants not to mention the fact that they looked like modes of transportation. So Optimus found himself wondering if they were just going to drive around all day and look at stuff because, quite frankly, he was getting very bored of looking at buildings.
Thankfully Bulkhead seemed to sense his growing restlessness and turned left, taking them down a dirt road which, if the rumbling of his engine was anything to go by, Ratchet was not very happy about. They stayed on that dirt road for another ten minutes before Bulkhead turned again and suddenly they were facing the woods.
The woods did not look inviting in the least. A grim line of trees guarded the entrance like soldiers protecting a castle. The only way in and out of the forest was a very bumpy looking dirt road littered with dead leaves and fallen tree limbs reminding Optimus of a holopic he had seen once of a road in Cybertron during the Great War covered in energon and off-lined bots turnin pieces. Despite the fact the trees were clearly off-lined, beyond them he could just barely make out green leaves and trees that were still on-line.
"Why are we here?" Ratchet grunted.
"Because this is one of the few places that Bumblebee refuses to set pede in," Bulkhead explained, "and I thought you might want a little peace and quiet before we head back into space."
"Peace and quiet does sound good," Ratchet admitted.
"Vhere are they? I don't see them," Blitzwing said as he attempted to locate the bots that belonged to the energy signatures that had popped up on the console's screen earlier.
"If somebody would move out of my way I might be able to see," Slipstream said, giving Skywarp an accusatory look.
"What did I do?"
Wasp growled and magnified his x-ray vision. He could see three bots, one of them Bulkhead's size. "Big green bot be in trees with two other bots," he pointed. "You retrieve. Wasp only want big green bot alive."
"I think we can handle that," Slipstream said, smiling.
"Yes ve certainly can," Blitzwing agreed.
Surprisingly after you drove more than ten feet into the forest it was actually rather pretty. Instead of being bare and gray with branches so brittle that if you tapped one it fell off, they were green and bushy, the branches hard yet pliable stretching out towards the Autobots as if begging to be released from their prison. Some of the trees even had flowers, sweet-smelling buds of white and pink.
Optimus was just beginning to drift into recharge when suddenly Prowl's voice sounded urgently in his audio sensors. "What is it, Prowl?" he asked, only half-listening but what he heard caused him to jerk awake in alarm. "What do you mean there are other bots here?" he demanded, transforming and ignoring Ratchet and Bulkhead who were now looking at him.
"Bumblebee picked up four extra energy signatures and they're heading straight towards you," Prowl said in that infuriatingly calm voice of his.
"Got it," Optimus closed the com-link and informed his two companions of Bumblebee's discovery.
"As long as it's not Decepticons I don't guess we have anything to worry about," Bulkhead said, scratching his head.
"And if it is?" Ratchet asked.
"In that case we're doomed," was the immediate answer.
"So how are we going to do this?" Skywarp asked. "With all of these trees in the way we won't be able to fly low enough to capture the one we're after."
"Unfortunately you're right about that," Slipstream admitted with a frown then snapped her digits as something occurred to her. "Why don't you warp down there, grab the green bot, then warp to the ship?" she suggested.
"Okay," Skywarp said before disappearing.
"Vhy didn't you think of that vhen ve vhere stuck on that planet?" Blitzwing asked curiously.
Slipstream opened her mouth to reply then closed it and frowned as she realized, "I don't know."
It all happened so fast that years later when questioned about it all Optimus could say was, "One minute we were just standing there then Skywarp appeared, grabbed Bulkhead and disappeared." He was not very forthcoming with further details because there weren't any except for a few, non-relevant things.
The two friends taped at the empty space where Bulkhead had been minutes before. Then they slowly turned to look at each other and Ratchet said, "You do realize that one of us has to tell Bumblebee what happened."
Optimus groaned and replied, "I would have preferred to get kidnapped."
Slowly, reluctantly they transformed and began the long drive back, each one dreading what they were about to do.
A/N/N/N: 15 reviews, will be satisfied with 10. Thanks for all of the reviews so far and please keep 'em coming!