A/N: HEY GUESS WHO'S BACK IN 2017? Yeah it's me. :D

First off, let me apologize for the unfairly long wait! The... two-year long wait. :P First I got out of TF:A, and other fandoms have since consumed my life (thanks a lot, Homestuck), and life is just. Busy. This also was just gonna be a part one, except then I suffered from writer's block on how to continue. I probably shouldn't be making promises in the summer before I go to college, but oh well-

I'm gonna finish this FREAKING story if it's the last thing I do!

Now... Once more into the breach!

Chapter Summary: As it turns out, distress beacons are much easier to find on bodiless corpses rather than places with interference. Like a lake, but that would just be silly!

- CHAPTER ONE -

Harry squinted at the sky, shielding his eyes from the painfully bright sun.

"If I never have to step out into the fragging sun again, it'll be too soon," the twenty-five-year-old muttered.

Laughter came from the small technology in his ear.

"Aw, c'mon Har-bear, don't'cha just love getting some sun? It's pretty healthy for humans-"

"UGH," said Harry very pointedly, cutting off the older male with growing exasperation. Bumblebee cackled. Harry just knew this was some sort of revenge for last week when some kids stuck gum on Bumbebee's windshield as he was recharging.

(As it turned out through various mostly-unsuccessful and sometimes explosive testing, sunlight was a pretty good source of energy - or at least earth's sun was. Who knew?)

"Are you really sure the signal's coming from 'round here?" He finally asked.

Bumblebee's laughter cut off.

"Sure I am," said the mech with false optimism, voice strangled. "I mean it's only been, what, eight years? I mean, stellar-cycles? For a cybertronian that's practically no time at all!"

Harry just managed to refrain from mentioning that Bumblebee was barely the equivalent of a sixteen-year-old by his species' standards and that Bumblebee had mentioned 'bots going mad within a very short while from prolonged isolation. Not that Bumblebee was completely isolated, but having only one person to talk to probably wasn't healthy... And online gaming forums didn't count.

"Well, let's get started. I think Sumdac Farms is just ahead of me, but you keep searching your area just in case."

"Roger that, Harry. And hey, there's a bright side to all of this!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! How hard can hiding a cybertronian be?"

Harry actually stopped on the small dirt road he was walking on, took out the device in his ear, and groaned as loud as he could. They'd definitely just been jinxed.

"UUUUUGH."

The rest of the way to the farm was littered with sporadic updates between Bumblebee and Harry, but was otherwise a pretty boring walk. But Harry knew instantly when he finally found what he'd been searching for in the fields. There was a large metal shed that towered over a simple house, and the lights were on inside the house. The sign proclaiming SUMDAC FARM in bold capital letters was also a dead giveaway, but Harry chose to ignore that in place of the suspiciously shaped ditch nearby.

"Hey, Bee, I found Sumdac Farms. Wanna start heading towards my location?"

"Primus, finally! I was beginning to think I got the coordinates wrong!" Bumblebee exclaimed in his ear, relief obvious.

"As if that can happen. I mean, what, were you gonna use Google Maps if you did?"

Bumblebee didn't respond.

"... Seriously?"

"... It's not like I have a lot of options," muttered the mech in a sulky tone. Harry didn't laugh only because that was true and it would probably hurt Bumblebee's feelings if he did.

"Right. Hey, I'm gonna be in the big gray building when you get here. And speaking of which, you running or driving?"

"You kidding? I am so sick of this place! Frag yeah I'm driving!

Harry snorted; he probably should have expected that answer.

Eying the house warily, Harry crept towards the shed. It was a bit large to be called a shed, Harry realized as he got closer, but he didn't know what else to call it. There weren't any locks on the door, but it was heavy so he struggled for a minute to open it wide enough for Bumblebee to arrive. The light from the evening sun, dim as it now was, thankfully lit up the room so Harry didn't need to turn on anything and risk alerting the up-and-coming scientist in the house. When his eyes adjusted, however, Harry's heart froze for a solid second before resuming with a rapid pace.

"Uh, Bumblebee? I-it's not-I mean, this is..."

"Harry?" Bumblebee said, concern coloring his tone, and the male winced.

"You might wanna get over here quick, Bee. This is... Definitely a cybertronian, but... Well, they're missing a body."

"... They're what." The mech echoed flatly. Harry winced again at the suddenly hard tone.

"Y-yeah... Their optics are offline, too, and it looks like Sumdac went rooting around in their head. I mean physically, by the way - I-I don't think they're... You know."

"I'm going to shoot something if that's Bulkhead," Bumblebee said in a dark tone that implied that something was a someone.

"Excuse me," interrupted a voice, noticeable with its accent and close proximity, "but what are you doing in my workroom, and what's a cybertronian?"

Harry jumped, startled despite himself.

"Holy frag!"

"Harry?!" Bumblebee's voice was alarmed.

"U-uh... Hi, there, Mr. Sumdac..."

The man raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"It's doctor, and you know what the head is," he said flatly. Harry winced; he really should have checked to see if there was a camera or motion sensor since that was the only plausible reason the scientist was in front of him.

"Er... I, uh... P-plead the fifth..?"

Bumblebee chose that moment to come careening out of the cornfield, coming to a screeching stop before transforming, stingers fixed on the human.

"Alright, step away slowly because if I find out that's my pal in there I swear to Primus-"

"Oh my god," Sumdac said faintly. Bumblebee's stingers sparked warningly, and he raised his hands in surrender and took a half-step back. His blue optics flickered to Harry, and he gave a half-hearted shrug.

"The, uh, mech's head is in there if you wanna check, Bee."

Carefully maneuvering himself so that he could look into the shed and keep Sumdac in his firing range, the bright yellow mech glanced inside. Harry held his breath, sweat sliding down his neck and chest feeling constricted with anxiety, butterflies churning in his stomach-

Bumblebee snorted.

He snorted, eyes disbelievingly wide, and then Bumblebee burst into relieved cackles that sent him to his knees.

"O-o-oh my P-Primus!" He cried. "Th-that's Megatron! Here I am f-freaking out thinking it's o-one of my team, and it's slagging M-Megatron!"

It took Harry a moment to process that, to connect the name with the stories of the cybertronian warlord Bumblebee had told him stories about and compared it with the lifeless head inside, but once he did he practically wilted with relief.

Sumdac, arms still raised nervously, face pale, eyes wide but fascinated, piped up.

"E-excuse me, but does this mean you would be amenable to answering some questions?"

Bumblebee beamed.

"Slag yeah! Just for this you might be my new favorite human!"

"Hey!" Harry protested, and that's how they met Isaac.