Hey, everyone. It has been a very long time since I wrote chapters of this story. I was busy with a lot of stuff, including writing chapters of my other story.

I have receive reviews and PM of people that they wanted the next chapter. Like I promise, I stopped writing my other story for this chapter.

So I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 23: The Punishment

"Oh, Jackie." Sam sang in a sweet, yet terrifying way. "Come on down here. It's time for your medical science and mechanic lessons." Sam stepped aside to show Jack all his dangerous, sharp tools that begin to glint evilly.

Jack gulped in fear at the sight of those tools that are lying so innocently on the table. "Uh, no thanks, Sam. Maybe another time... when you're not trying to kill me." Jack lowered down the volume of his voice out of fear when he said the last part of his sentence.

"Oh, come now, Jack, now you're just talking crazy. Why would I want to kill my best friend in the whole wide world, who just happens to forget to pick me up after the race, and just realized that I'm not with you when you all returned back to base." Sam's face had twisted into a pissed off look for just a moment, before returning it back to his smiling face. "So just come on down from there and let's begin your lesson. Your first lesson is learning how to survive my torture– I mean, die a slow and painful death– I mean... just get your butt down here!"

Jack began to tremble in fear. He knew it was a bad idea to return back to base the next day, knowing that Sam is still angry for what he and Bumblebee did to him back at the race. He was hoping that Sam would cool off during the night and forget the whole thing happened, but who knew Sam can actually hold a grudge?

"Jackie. Come on, you can't stay up there all day. Don't you want to see all the wonderful things I can do with these deadly tools? It's pretty amazing, but you got to be up real close, got it?"

Jack shook his head. "That's alright. I'll just stay up here, catch some Z's. Some other time... maybe never?"

That seems to be the last straw for Sam. "Alright, that's it! Jackson Darby, you come down from the ceiling this instant!" Sam is now fuming with anger as he started to throw all his tools at Jack, who is perched up on the ceiling beams as a means of escaping Sam's wrath when he arrived. But it seems it's not working for Jack as he cowardly dodges the flying objects approaching towards him.

As for the other Autobots and kids, they all seem to be enjoying the show while the kids are eating a giant bowl of popcorn. Neither one of them even bothers to rescue Jack from Sam's murderous rage.

"So let me get this straight," Miles spoke with his mouth full, "the only reason why Sam is so pissed off is because both Bumblebee and Jack completely forgot to pick him up when they came back to base without him?" Arcee nodded. Miles sucked in a breath. "Damn, I feel bad for Jack."

"Let this be a lesson for you, Miles." Bulkhead pointed at Miles.

"What did I do?!"

"It's not what you did, it's what you probably might do in the future. If you make Sam real angry like what Jack and Bumblebee did, you'll be in Jack's shoes in a snap." Bulkhead finished his sentence with a snap of his finger.

"But why me? Why not the girls and Raf?"

"Raf is a kid, so all he's gonna get is a pardon."

Raf smiled, while Miles just pouted at the excuse. "Yeah, alright. That makes sense. But what about the girls?"

"Seriously? Do you think Sam will put the girls in that kind of danger?"

"I would." Miles' replied got him a smack on the head by Mikaela. But the truth is, Sam wouldn't hurt the girls. With Raf and the girls out of the picture, that means that both he and Jack need to be careful around Sam. One small wrong move, and they'll end up missing a limb. But then he thought of something. "And what about you guys? What would happen to you guys if you guys make Sam mad?" Miles asked, looking at Arcee and Bulkhead.

"Tell him, Bulk." Arcee leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, smirking at him when she saw how nervous Bulkhead got.

The kids removed their sight on Sam and Jack to Bulkhead when they heard him stutter for a bit. They could see that if Bulkhead had a collar shirt, he would be tugging it.

"What's wrong, Bulkhead? Scraplet got your tongue?" Arcee asked, teasingly.

Bulkhead swallowed a lump on his throat, looking back at the kids and chuckle nervously. "It, uh, happened a few years back, during halloween. Me and Cliffjumper... we, uh, we pulled a prank on Sam that day. One month later, after a few painful treatments, we were forced to sleep outside the base, equivalent to the human couple punishment 'sleeping on the couch', for two weeks. I tell ya, that boy can really hold a grudge." Bulkhead shuddered.

The memory of that day was still clear in Bulkhead's memory core. Those three weeks were torturous for him and Cliffjumper. Not only were they forced to sleep outside, they had to miss Sam's weekly car wash. And a car wash is very important to Team Prime, only because Sam is the one cleaning them, and that means something to them. What's worst is that Bumblebee always strutting around the base, showing off his new car wax to the two punished Autobots. He would give them a smirking look as he did so.

The one thing Bulkhead didn't mentioned to the kids was when the time he and Cliffjumper acted like rebellious teens. He had to admit, it was quite a fond and enjoyable memory. When Sam was at school, Bulkhead and Cliffjumper sneaked out the base and went to the NEST base, via GroundBridge. They met up with Captain Lennox and asked him – or begged, to be more accurate – if it would be alright for his soldiers to give them a carwash.

Will asked them why they're asking him and not Sam. They replied that Sam is very busy with his schoolwork and doesn't have the time to wash them. Will was somewhat skeptical for some reason, even feeling a chill down his spine, but he brushed it off and called some of his men to the hanger for some car wash. Everyone had gathered around and started washing up their assigned Autobot.

Cliffjumper and Bulkhead felt total relaxation as they felt cold water blasting on their dry and dirtied frame. Soon came the soapy sponges, rubbing all over their body and scrubbing off any stain and bird droppings. Once they're all covered in soap foam, they felt another blast of water, washing away all the foam. Once that's done, they dried them off and added the finishing touch: waxing.

Once the waxing is finished, Bulkhead and Cliffjumper transformed to their robot form to check out their new waxing on a Autobot-sized mirror. Happy to have finally gotten a wash, the two 'Bots thanked Will and the soldiers for taking their time to wash their dirty vehicle form and was about to contact base for a GroundBridge, but froze when they heard someone clear their throat loudly enough to get their attention.

Slowly, the two frighten Autobot turned around, looked down and spotted Sam, looking very angry, in a cute way. Behind him was Bumblebee, his arms crossed and is clearly smiling behind that mask of his.

"Base. Now!" Sam had ordered as he pointed at the GroundBridge.

Bulkhead and Cliffjumper nodded in silence as they walked towards the GroundBridge to wait their punishment for disobeying him. But it was worth it to get clean.

As Sam watched the two 'Bot disappear through the GroundBridge, he turned back at Will and the soldiers. He cleared his throat again when he saw that the guys are trying to get away. They stopped in their tracks and faced Sam, Will giving a sheepish smile. It's quite obvious that they are going to get punished by Sam, for some unknown reason. But something tells him that it has to do with Bulkhead and Cliffjumper being punished again by Sam.

"Since all of you love cleaning so much," Sam pointed at the GroundBridge again, "then you can join them as well."

"Join them for what?" Will regretfully asked.

"All of you will be cleaning up the Autobot base, with your toothbrushes. And that means this base, as well."

Will and his men had their jaw fall open in horror, while those around them just sucked in their breath sharply.

"You can't be serious!"

"You want to make it the whole perimeter of the base?"

"No, sir." Will lowered his head in defeat.

"Good. Now, march into your quarters, grab your toothbrushes, and get your butts to the Autobot base, right this instant!"

The guys nodded and did as they were told. Once they came back with their toothbrushes at hand. Sam signaled them to head to the GroundBridge. As they walked, they heard snickering and whipping sounds. The men just glared at them for enjoying their punishment. Will makes a mental note to increase their work once they get back.

Bulkhead smiled at the memory. He and Cliffjumper was also given the same task. They used a mop to help clean the higher places that the humans can't reach. Everyone was sore from cleaning. From then on, everyone learned not to disobey Sam and get him angry, because submissive males can be very scary, human and Cybertronian alike. They all have the power to order the dominate males around, and they have no choice but to obey the submissive.

"And what prank did you pulled on him?" Miko asked.

"We scared him after playing that video game of his. What was it called? It has something to do of him finding the main character's daughter inside a ghostly, foggy, abandoned town, filled with weird creature."

The kids all hummed in thought, trying to think of a game that fits that description. Well, only the two boys and Miko are thinking. Mikaela just sits there, since she's not a complete gamer.

"I've got it." Rafael turns his laptop around to let everyone else see. "Is this the game you're talking about, Bulkhead."

Bulkhead leans down, his optics zooming for a better look on the small laptop. His optics beamed when he recognized the cover picture of the game. "Yeah, that's the one. It really scared him, and we decided to scare him, just for the fun of it."

"It turned out well, I presume?" Mikaela asked, knowingly.

"Too well. We made him scream like a girl and he had to sleep with Optimus because he was very frighten."

"Aww, that's cute." Mikaela stated as Arcee nodded in agreement.

"I've been wondering, where's Bumblebee?" Rafael asked as he looked around to try to find the yellow scout. "He didn't picked me up from my place."

Rafael was expecting Bumblebee to pick him up to head back to base, but instead, Bulkhead was parked in front of his house with Miles, Mikaela and Miko. It's not like he's happy that Bulkhead came instead of Bumblebee, or disappointed that Bumblebee didn't came for him. He had a feeling in his gut that Bumblebee won't be coming by because of what happened yesterday night. Optimus must've told Bumblebee to remain in the base until further notice. But now that he's here, he hasn't seen his yellow Autobot friend. All that he saw when arriving was Sam chasing Jack around.

"Yeah, about that... I don't think you'll be seeing Bumblebee for a long time."

"Why? Did something bad happened to him?" Rafael asked with worry.

Arcee gave a reassuring smile. "Nothing bad happened to him... I mean, something did happened to Bumblebee, but is not really that bad."

"Well, where is he? Is he in the base?"

"Yes, he is. He's right over there." Arcee pointed at a shadowy area on the corner of the base. "Blink your light, Bee, so that the kids would know you're here." She tells him. Bumblebee blinked his lights twice to let the kids know where he is.

"What are you doing over there, Bee-man? Did Sam or Optimus put you on time-out?" Miles asked jokingly as he stood up and walked over to Bumblebee, only to stop in his tracks when Bumblebee let out a loud beeping sound.

"Bumblebee said not to come any closer. He sounded so nervous for some reason." Rafael translated, also taking notice on how Bumblebee's sound sounded off.

"What's the matter, Bee? Why are you sounding so nervous?" Miles asked with worry.

"I can tell you why." Ratchet came in to the room, ginning like a madman. "You see, because of what happened yesterday, Sam had Bee's..."

"Don't you dare, Ratchet!" Bumblebee quickly interrupts him.

Even though Miles didn't understand what Bee just said, he had a feeling Bumblebee told Ratchet to be quiet. That seems to intrigue him. "C'mon, Bee. Spill it. What's getting you so riled up?"

"Yeah, Bee. You seem pretty jumpy lately." Rafael added as he joined up with Miles by his side.

"Ooh, I bet Sam must've done something to embarrass Bumblebee."

Arcee chuckled. "Oh, you don't know how right you are, Miko." That seems to grab the kids' attention. Now they're eager to know what Sam did to make Bumblebee feel self-conscious. "Just come out from there, Bumblebee. You can't hide there forever."

"Yes I can." Bumblebee replied stubbornly.

"Bumblebee, it's not that bad." Arcee tries to reassure him.

"Yes it is. They'll laugh at me."

"Well, you kinda have to admit, this is your fault for forgetting Sam." Arcee reminded him, which made Bumblebee let out a whine sound.

"Wait, why would we laugh at you?" Raf decides to ask, feeling very confused right now.

Arcee looked at Rafael for a bit before looking back at the shadowy space Bumblebee is currently hiding in shame. "Bumblebee, you better come out from there. The three of us will be taking the kids to help Sam with the groceries, so there is no point in hiding any longer." When she heard Bumblebee's defiant beep, she sighed tiredly as she starts to threaten him. "Bumblebee, you don't come out from there, I'll call Sam and have him pull you out from there."

There was a long silence from Bumblebee's part until he let out a reluctant beep. There was no way he's gonna receive any more punishment from Sam. The punishment he has right now is far worst than any punishment he could think of. With what remains of his dignity, he turns on his engine and slowly pulls himself out from his hiding place. He heard the kids gasp out loud before they all burst into fits of laughter that now destroyed any pride, dignity, and any other things he had left in him that defines him as a man...'Bot.

"Oh, my god, Bee. What happened to you!? Is that even you?" Mikaela asked in between laughs.

"You look so girly! Like something out of Barbie." Miko states as she looked at Bumblebee again before laughing and clutching her stomach.

"You do look better in pink than I would." Arcee added with a small giggle.

That statement from the girls caused Bumblebee to let out a small whimper. It's true, he does look girly. If there was a mirror in front of him, what he will see is not his usual yellow and black stripes, but a pink camaro. That's right, Sam had Bumblebee painted in pink. He's no longer the yellow camaro, he is now the pink camaro. This is his punishment for forgetting to pick up Sam and leaving him out on the cold dark night.

Hearing everyone laughing at him made him feel even more self-conscious and embarrass about himself, he reversed back to hiding space.

Miles took noticed on Bumblebee retreating back to the dark spot and he could feel that they all hurt his feelings. He could tell that this was his punishment, going out all pink and making him feel like a girl. If Sam forced him to wear girl clothing and his friends starts laughing at him, then he would definitely understand what Bumblebee is feeling right now. So instead of continuing laughing at him, Miles decides to comfort his now pink friend.

"Come on, Bumblebee, it ain't that bad." Miles turns his head over to the others who are laughing and he mouthed at them to stop their laughing. Once they stopped laughing, he looked back at Bumblebee. "Yeah, pink isn't all that bad. Pink can be a very good color and can be very stylish for both genders here on Earth. It's one of the badass color in the world." Miles stated.

"It is?" Bumblebee asked as he slowly pulls out from his hiding space. Maybe being pink isn't so bad after all.

Miles nodded in agreement and smiled when Bumblebee fully came out from the shadow. He felt proud that he was able to cheer Bumblebee up. Now, let's just hope no one ruins this moment. If anyone comments on how Bumblebee looks all girlish, then Bee will go right back to being gloomy.

Unfortunately, he just happened to jinx it as Fowler exited from the elevator, wearing his usual suit. He looked around the base to find Sam, when his eyes landed on Bulkhead, Arcee and the kids that gotten themselves in this war. His eyes also landed on the pink car that he has not seen before. Could be a new arrival. So he decides to ask.

"Who's the new Autobot lady, or that's just a regular car?" Fowler asked, pointing at Bumblebee with his thumb.

Hearing being called a lady by Fowler brought out a pitiful whine from Bumblebee. Miles glared at Fowler for calling Bumblebee a chick. Fowler better not screw things up, now that he had just cheered Bumblebee up from his insecurity.

"It's Bumblebee, Fowler." Miles corrected him.

"It is?" Fowler leaned a bit closer over the handrail to make sure his eyes aren't fooling him. He can't be sure if it is Bumblebee. Bumblebee is yellow with black stripes, while this one is all pink. To make sure this pink camaro really is Bumblebee, he needs to see him in his robot form. "Do you mind transforming?"

Bumblebee seemed to have jumped a little in his vehicle form. He had already seen himself in the mirror at the washing area, and he really does look like a female. He could easily be mistaken as Arcee's sister. Another reason why he should just hide and lock himself in his quarters. But Sam told him to wait in the command center while he takes care of Jack. But he has to transform in order to convince Fowler that he is not a lady. With slight hesitation, he transforms, now standing tall.

There were a few snickering coming from the kids' direction, but he ignored them. There was a cough coming from Fowler, looking away to hide that smile of his. But he soon straighten himself up and looked directly at Bumblebee.

"It really is you, Bumblebee. But why are you pink? Are you having some sort of gender identity crisis? Is that why you're in pink?"

Bumblebee's optics went wide. He let out a high-pitched wail as he transformed back into his vehicle form and drove off down the hallway with a screech of tires against the pavement. Miles tries to call Bumblebee back, but Bumblebee's roar of engine blocked any sound made from Miles or anyone at the command center.

Miles crossed his arms and glared at Fowler with anger. "Nice going, Fowler! You just destroyed what's left of Bumblebee's masculinity!"

"What did I do?"

"You just insulted Bumblebee! He was already feeling insecure about his appearance, and now you just made it worse by telling him that he has a gender identity crisis!"

"Well don't blame me that I didn't get the memo."

Miles just rolled his eyes. It's true, he can't really blame him. He has no idea what is happening right now. They should've just called ahead and tell him what's happening around the base. Or maybe Fowler should've called ahead to tell them that he's coming over. So this was all his fault for not calling.

"What brings you here, Fowler? Here to bite Optimus' head off?" Arcee asked with slight teasing in her tone. Whenever Fowler visits the base, it's mostly of him coming to yell about their reckless action and destroyed properties.

"No, not today." Fowler answered as he walked down the stairs. "I actually came here because Sam invited me to go grocery shopping with him. And speaking of Sam, where is he?"

Everyone pointed up the ceiling without leaving their eyes on Fowler. Fowler followed the direction of where their fingers pointed and saw Sam and Jack are up at the ceiling beams. Sam has Jack pinned down while sitting on his back. By the looks of it, it seems that Sam is painfully twisting Jack's arms as Jack cries for mercy. Hmm, Bumblebee in pink and torturing Jack... that only mean one thing that he can come up with.

"Bumblebee and Jack must've done something to make Sam really angry."

"How would you know? Did you do something to make him mad as well?" Miko teased playfully.

"Sam never gets mad at me. I know because the murderous look on Sam's face. And also I was here when Sam had Bulkhead, Cliffjumper and a couple of soldiers clean this whole base."

The kids looked at Bulkhead for explanation, but he just turned away in embarrassment. Moments later, there was a loud and heavy footsteps which indicates that Optimus has arrived.

"Agent Fowler, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Optimus asked when his optics landed on Fowler.

"I'm here to accompany Sam on grocery shopping. That reminds me... Sam!" Fowler hollered. "C'mon, Sammy, we got some grocery to do! You can kill Jack later!"

"Oh, scrap! I forgot!" Sam grabbed Jack by the collar as he shot a grappling hook on the ceiling so that the two can descend to the floor safely in front of Fowler. "Thanks for reminding me, Fowler. I completely forgot about what I'm suppose to do today."

"That's okay, it happens to everyone." Fowler smiled as he ruffled Sam's hair.

Sam smiled at the affection he's getting. He loves it when the people he loves ruffles his hair. It gives him the warm feeling in his heart. His eyes went wide in confusion as he sees the others. "When did you guys get here?"

"Since a long time ago." Mikaela replied.

"Sorry. I didn't see you arrive." Sam rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"It's okay, we had fun watching an interesting show." Mikaela smiled at Jack who looked away in embarrassment.

"Really? What's it called?"

"A little slow on the head, isn't he?" Miko whispered to Bulkhead.

"Anyway, aren't we suppose to go to the grocery store? That's why you called us here, right?" Rafael asked.

"Yes, yes, let's go." Sam hummed as he looked around the area. "By the way, where is Bumblebee? I told him to stay here."

"Bumblebee drove away when Fowler insulted him by basically calling him a girl." Miles replied, still glaring at Fowler who seems unfazed by it.

"Really?" Sam asked as he looked at Fowler, in which he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he does looks like a girl in that pink color." Sam mumbled in agreement. "I'll call him back." He sighs as he used his earpiece to contact Bumblebee.

Bulkhead chuckled as soon as he spotted Sam's annoyed look. "Oh, boy. This is gonna get interesting." He declared, earning confused looks from the kids. "Just watch." He said as he pointed at Sam who has now contacted Bumblebee.

"Bee, where are you...What are you doing over there...Get back here right now...Don't you use that tone on me...I don't care if the others are gonna laugh at you! That's what you get for forgetting me...Yeah, well, too bad...No, you are not staying, you're going out in public like that...I don't care if the Decepticons see you like that...Bumblebee, I'm getting tired of this. I want to get some food at the grocery store so I can make something up for the gang...Bumblebee, if you don't come out here, I'll make sure you stay pink for a millennia. So get your bumper back here, right now, mister!" Sam yelled throughout the whole conversation.

Bulkhead laughed after Sam finished talking to Bee. "Oh, man. I love it when Sam yells at someone other than me. He is just adorable when he yells."

"And I got it all on camera." Miko showed Bulkhead the video of Sam's conversation with Bumblebee.

A minute later, Bumblebee arrives, driving very slowly in defeat. He stops right in front of Sam and let out a whine.

"Great, now that everyone is here, let's get going."

"Wait a minute." Ratchet stops Sam before he opens a GroundBridge. "I'm detecting an underground Energon deposit just up at the northern state in a forest. I need someone to go and search for it."

"I'll go." Arcee volunteers.

"Aww, but why?" Sam whines.

"I got no trunk. How can I help out if I can't carry any groceries in my vehicle form?"

"You could nag at Bulkhead and Bumblebee." Sam suggested with a teasing smile.

"Very funny, squirt."

Sam sighs. "Very well. Can I come with you?"

"What about groceries?"

Sam reached for his back pocket and pulled out a folded paper. "Here are the things I need." He said as he gave the list and his Chase card to Fowler. "Also, if any of you guys want anything, don't hesitate to get it. I'm paying the whole thing." He then looked up at Arcee. "So can I go? I'm sure we'll have a great time together, out in the woods like we're camping. We'll probably see some animals there. Ooh, or maybe find some rare stuff out there like Bigfoot or a giant spider."

Arcee smiled at Sam's eagerness to explore. Maybe she should take him with here. But first she needs permission from Optimus. "So can he?" She asked.

"Only if he stays close to you and stays out of harm's way."

"You got it, big guy." Sam gave a wink at Optimus.

"Those two seem so chummy. Has Sam ever gotten mad at Optimus?" Miko asked Bulkhead.

"Never. The only Autobots Sam can't get mad at are Ratchet, Arcee and Optimus. Lucky them."

Ratchet walked towards Arcee and gave her the scanner. "Contact us immediately as soon as you found the deposit."

"Got it." Arcee nodded as she put away the scanner. "Let's go, Sam."

Sam ran to Arcee's side as the two walked towards the open GroundBridge. Sam stopped for a bit and looked back at Bumblebee with a smile. "If you stay here while I'm gone, you're dead-scrap." He received a terrified beep from Bumblebee. Once he's satisfied, Arcee and Sam continued to walk towards the GroundBridge. "I really hope we find something else other than Energon deposit. Like a giant spider. I want to know how Harry and Ron felt when they met the giant spider in The Chamber of Secrets."

Arcee chuckled. "It highly doubt we'll meet any giant spider on this planet."

"I know, but a guy can dream, right?"

"Right."

The two disappeared through the GroundBridge. There was a silent pause before Fowler cleared his throat. "Alright. Now, let's go shopping."

Everyone agreed, ready to hit the road, all except Bumblebee. He just wants to crawl in a hole and rust there. The humans will obviously treat him as a girl car. Let's just hope the Decepticons doesn't attack them, or else he'll become a laughingstock of the Decepticon army, and they'll never let him live it down. Primus help him now.

Truth be told, I was planning Predatory with this, but I decided to stop because all of you guys are waiting for this story to be updated.

I hope you guys enjoyed this after so long of not updating this. Should I continue writing more, or should I stop here and go back to my other story?

Next chapter is Predatory. And as you all noticed, Jack will not be joining Arcee to search for that Energon deposit like it happened on the show. I did said that I'm making this different from the show.

Thank you so much for your patience. You guys are awesome.