Smugglers 3: The Beginning Is The End

Chapter 14: Flashbacks: The Hospital

At night after all of the visitors had gone home for the day the lights in the hallway dimmed as nurses came to check on their patients one last time. In the ICU there were three bots; one was Bumblebee was hooked up to several different machines and monitors. The nurse who was making sure all of the equipment was hooked up properly turned to the very worried Bulkhead who was sitting by his friend's side and said, "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Bulkhead looked up and managed a weak smile. "Yeah knowing Bumblebee he'll probably wake up any minute and ask where his ship is."

"Maybe so," she agreed, bending over to check a wire that was on the floor. Straightening, she began to walk out of the room and paused in the doorway. "You can stay as long as you like. I'll tell the other nurses to leave you alone."

"Thank you," Bulkhead said as she disappeared down the hallway. He turned back to the unconscious bot lying in the hospital bed. "I hope you're going to be okay, Bee," he whispered. "I don't think I could live with myself if you went off-line."

Wasp was beginning to wish that he had never agreed to meet Sparkplug on that particular planet. Ever since then everything had gone downhill. As if getting arrested once wasn't enough now he was being pursued by the Elite Guard and they were gaining on him.

If they thought that they were going to catch him without a fight then they were dead wrong. Wasp gave the engines full power and the chase was on. Since he had the advantage there was very little doubt that Wasp would've won had it not been for the asteroid that he hadn't noticed until he hit it. The force was the impact was powerful enough to send Wasp to the floor. As he lay there stunned he could hear the sound of the Elite Guard boarding the ship. He groaned ever so slightly as they approached him and thought, One day, Bulkhead, I will get my revenge on you.

Bulkhead had been deep in recharge when he suddenly woke up. He looked around wildly in a desperate attempt to discover what had awoken him. Seeing nothing he shuttered his optics and settled back in the chair only to jerk up when he heard a faint moan. "Bee?" he said excitedly as he looked down at the yellow minibot whose digits were moving ever so slightly.

Bulkhead ran to the door and shouted "Nurse!" before going back to the bed. "Come on, Bee," he coaxed, gently taking hold of Bumblebee's much smaller servo. "You can do it, Bee, I know you can."

Slowly, almost reluctantly, Bumblebee's optic shutters began to flutter then opened to reveal brilliant, baby blue optics.

"You're awake!" Bulkhead cried in delight and pulled Bumblebee into a hug, being mindful of all the wires and the fact that he could easily crush his friend without meaning to. "I'm so glad you're okay," he whispered then pulled back and frowned at the little bot. "Somethin wrong, Bee?" he asked, noticing the confused look on his friend's faceplate.

"Who are you?" Bumblebee asked.

With that Bulkhead's world came crashing down around him.

First Aid loved being a medic. He loved the feeling that he got whenever he successfully fixed up a bot. it had been worth all those years of studying and preparing to get where he was today. Yet there were times when he wished he had chosen a different career…

"What's wrong with him?"

The voice interrupted his internal musings and First Aid sighed heavily, deciding to be honest with the big green mech sitting in his office looking at him worriedly. "It appears that your friend Bumblebee was struck by an EMP of some sort."

"So does that mean his processor's been wiped clean?" Bulkhead asked, looking slightly confused.

"No," First Aid hastened to assure him. "For some reason the EMP didn't completely erase his memories but merely misplaced them." Seeing that other occupant of the room looked even more confused than he had earlier First Aid attempted to explain further. "He still has all of his memories but they're so jumbled up right now that he can't make sense out of anything anymore. He knows who you are but when he looks at you, instead of automatically knowing your name he might get a flash of memory."

Bulkhead scratched his head and thought about the medic's words then nodded, grinning. "Okay I think I got it now."

The big green mech rose to leave but First Aid's voice stopped him. "Just because remembers you does not mean that he will be the same bot that you remember. More than likely he will develop a new personality; one that is the exact opposite of who he used to be."

The grin disappeared from Bulkhead's faceplate and he nodded his head somberly. "I understand. Thank you."

As he watched the large bot disappear through the door First Aid leaned back in his chair, the sigh that escaped his vocal processor sounding weary. Now I remember why I hate being a medic, he thought to himself.

The Elite Guard were having a very busy month; capturing and re-capturing Wasp had been the highlight of their week. Now they had Wasp in their custody, heavily guarded of course, and were towing what was left of his ship.

"So what's gonna happen to him?" Red Alert asked, inclining his head in the general direction of the brig where their prisoner was currently residing.

"They're taking him to a maximum security prison," Inferno answered.

Red Alert nodded and was silent for a few minutes then, "Why are the twins guarding him?"

The twins. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker; more Decepticon attributes than Autobot and participators in almost every riot. "Because Wasp has already escaped once and we didn't want to take any chances. Besides what bot would be stupid enough to take them on?"

"I guess you're right," Red Alert agreed.

Suddenly one of the consoles began beeping. Inferno looked at it and frowned. "According to this there's an abandoned ship not far ahead of us."

"What do you mean abandoned?" Red Alert demanded. "The nearest planet is unoccupied."

Inferno heaved a sigh and said "I don't know, Red. Let's two it and we can always leave it at the impound lot; maybe put up a poster or two."

Red Alert continued to grumble but he did help Inferno attach the ship before they took off again, The Smuggler coming along behind them.

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