Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers.
Just the plot and OCs.
Well hello again everyone! Are you ready for one of my favorite chapters so far?
I'll take this moment to once again thank everyone who gifted me with your wonderful reviews. You are awesome! I look forward to hearing what you have to say about this chapter.
Enjoy!
Chapter 6
When Ratchet went right on blinking at the lab results before him Jolt finally just huffed out a breath and rolled his optics.
"I told you I wasn't making it up."
Magnus just stared at the test over the medic's shoulder.
It was a plain as the sun. The young mech wasn't lying. You couldn't change CNA.
Slowly the two mechs along with the other two commanders and Prowl turned to look at Jolt as he stood leaning against the medical berth not far from them with his electric blue optics narrowed and his doorwings arched up rigidly in tension. Ultra Magnus's sparked ached at the sight.
He was scared of them . . .of him.
Scared about what would happen now that he had come clean about what he was hiding. For the life of him Magnus couldn't figure out why. However, there was a lot that still needed to be said between them, a lot that Magnus needed to know right fraggin' now. Though it was not a conversation he was going to have in front of everybot. Taking a deep steady breath he glanced to Optimus who was still staring with wide optics at the bot across the room.
"We'll be back." He said.
"You have a lot to talk about." Optimus agreed.
"Do tell when you're finished." Hot Rod added with a chuckle that made his spark light and excited. Magnus ignored him though as he stepped forward and tilted his head toward the door as he gazed at Jolt.
"Come with me." With that he turned and walked out of the medical bay his audios on high waiting for the footsteps that he desperately needed to follow him.
They did.
For the life of him though Jolt had no idea why he was agreeing to go be in a room alone with this mech. Sire, Autobot, or not they were all probably going to kill him once they figured out what he knew that he'd kept secret.
He wasn't looking forward to that in the slightest.
He walked on a few steps behind him nonetheless as they navigated the halls of Eternity until they left the ship behind all together and walked through the linked tunnels onto Magnus' ship, the Victory. It was a short silent trip and before long Jolt found himself seated in a chair in front of the commander's desk. Upon which the larger mech sat.
And for a long few klicks they just stared at each other until Magnus found his nerve.
"I don't even know where to start." He admitted as he took in the young blue mech.
Jolt offered a tentative smile. "That's probably because you thought I was dead before I was even sparked right?"
Magnus nodded painfully.
"Yeah well . . . I'm not."
"That much I can see. I just do not understand how."
"The 'Cons didn't kill Carrier." Jolt lowered his optics. If he was going to tell he might as well start at the beginning. When he was finished he guessed he'd find out if he was gonna get put before a firing squad or not. "That night in the base. They took her hostage though they never ransomed her. Why, don't ask me, I don't know. She never really told me much about it. All I know is what I lived through and the small things she told me. She told me about you." He let his optics dance over his Sire's frame for a moment. "You're kinda just like she described. A little different from the picture I had in my head all these vorns, but you know youngling's imagination and all that."
Magnus nodded as he listened.
"Anyway, they didn't ransom her. They . . . sold her. To the Rings, or you know what is left of them."
Magnus went ridged. One for the fact that his mate and his sparking were sold to the rings and two because they all thought the Rings fell at the beginning of the war. How were they still up and running by the time that Artemis was killed . . . or taken as it seemed now?
"I was sparked there and . . . well you're a commander I bet you know what that place was like, and I'm sorry but I don't really want to talk about it all that much. All I can tell you is she lived until I was about twenty vorns old before they killed her."
Magnus's breath caught.
"She always talked about you though. She always said that you would come to save us. But you never did."
The commander felt like the ball of energy in his chest split in half.
"I spent most my life down there," Jolt tapped his knuckles over his spark to the armor that covered it. "I got the scars if you want the proof."
"I believe you." Magnus whispered. In all honesty he didn't want to see them. He didn't want to be forced to see the proof that his own youngling had grown up in those horrors.
"Yeah well . . . when the places started imploding on themselves for the first time I made my break for it. Been running ever since I guess you could say. I do well on my own . . . I'm a loner by nature. That doesn't mean I haven't seen my share of your war though. I've done quite a few things I'm not proud of to stay alive. In that Pit and in this broken dying world. Been fighting, killing, lying, cheating, and struggling to stay alive for a while now. I've . . . seen things I'll never talk about. That was how I survived though, until Hammerdown found me that is. I know it was wrong to not just come out and tell you bots up front who I was. It probably was wrong that I didn't come looking for you when I got out of the Rings, but . . . to tell you the truth I was afraid. I still am. I'm not really the regal son of the mighty Autobot Commander. I'm a thief and a liar . . . I'm a survivor. Because I refused to lay down and let it kill me like it killed her. I know you probably hate me for lying, for not telling the truth until you saw me and recognized her in me, but I mean what was I supposed to do? Walk up to you mechs and be like 'hey I'm Ultra Magnus' mechling that he thinks died before I was sparked nice to meet you!'. I would have been shot on sight, or they'd have hauled me in thinking I was glitched."
"Not when they recognized those optics they wouldn't have." Magnus countered.
Jolt shot him a look. "You would have called me a spy. A 'Con trap. You probably think I still am. Even with the CNA test."
Ultra Magnus narrowed his gaze. "I didn't need the test to know my sparkmate's optics when I see them. The test was to keep Prowl from glitching."
"Like you did?" Jolt tilted his head a smirk playing on his lips.
Magnus couldn't stop his own smirk. "Yes."
Silence followed a few klicks until Magnus sighed. "If I had known about you . . . if I had known she was still alive! Damn it all I felt them kill her! I felt her get ripped away!"
Jolt lowered his gaze. "They almost killed her. There is a difference. There are some very . . . skilled hands working for the 'Cons when it comes to medical actions. Hands that I bet even you mechs don't know about. In fact I know a lot you mechs don't know about. You learn a lot I guess when you live in a world where no bot knows you're alive. What you felt when she 'died' was her almost dying. A spark really can't tell the difference when it's in distress. All it knows is it can no longer feel the other spark that is supposed to be there. So the bond breaks by the sheer force of the other spark trying to cling to the one too weak to respond."
Ultra Magnus marveled at Jolt's words. He'd never heard anything like that.
Jolt recognized the look. "Like I said. There is a lot I know."
Magnus tilted his head to the side secretly loving the tone and the energy that burned in this mech. He was so much like her. The way he spoke, quiet yet purposeful, he might even be—Magnus realized—a lot like him as well.
"Seems we really do have a lot to talk about." He said.
Jolt tilted his head in return. "You mean you mechs aren't going to kill me for keeping secrets from the Autobots when I joined?"
"Ever mech has secrets." Magnus answered. "They are a right of war. I would have preferred to know of you up front yes, but that is a Sire's selfish desire. Personally I don't understand how you can want anything to do with me. I should have searched harder. I shouldn't have given up on her or you."
Jolt snorted. "You couldn't have known that she wasn't gone. And I wasn't even sparked. I don't blame you for not knowing, Ultra Magnus." He tried the name out loud for the first time rolling it over his tongue and finding that it wasn't as hard to say as he figured it might be. The mech before him seemed to enjoy the sound of it as well.
"Well you have my word. I'm making up for it now. We don't know each other yet and I don't expect you to accept me right of the bat as your Sire, but I hope one orn you might."
Jolt considered the words for a moment before a small smirk ghosted up his lips. "Quite possible."
"JOLT IS WHAT!?" Jazz yelled across the medical bay when he walked in.
The mechs across the room all looked up not at all surprised that Jazz had barged in and was now storming across the bay to them until he was standing before his fellow officers with a huff.
"Where's Bee?" Ironhide drilled him.
"With Bluestreak. He won't get over-energized." Jazz told him before cutting his optics to the bright blue mech who was leaning on the wall not far from Ultra Magnus. The mech that was his SIRE! "You were secretly Ultra Magnus' sparkling and you didn't fraggin' tell me!"
"Hey, that's what I said." Hot Rod snorted.
"Jazz," Prowl rolled his optics. "Not that we weren't going to call you down here any klick, but how did you already find out?"
"Hammer has a big mouth." Jazz rolled his optics in return. The whole ship knew by now. It was old information as of three klicks ago. Nothing this big stayed silent for long. It was just too much of a shock to all the mechs systems.
"Great . . . ." Jolt sighed. "I look forward to the interrogations."
"You will not be interrogated." Optimus assured him.
"Isn't that kind of what we're already doing?" Hot Rod lifted and optic ridge.
"Mute it, Roddy." Ratchet glared.
"Just saying." Roddy shrugged. "Besides you can't expect me not to tell my 'officers'." He put air quotes around the word.
"Mech," Jazz went right on looking at Jolt. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"For one I didn't think you'd believe me." Jolt admitted. He'd just spent the last five long joors of the night telling and retelling his whole life story, to his . . . sire . . . and then the other commanders, and then Prime's officers, and he really didn't feel like retelling it to the one that had missed it because he was with the youngling. In fact, all he really wanted was to go to berth and not come out for a good few orns. His processor hurt.
"Mech," Jazz shook his head. "I was with the patrol that found a sparkling in the middle of a battleground long after the Sectors fell. I've seen and heard stranger things. Though with that out of my system let me say this. Nice to actually meet you as who you really are."
Jolt couldn't help his smirk. He really did like the silver mech. He was optimistic and charismatic. "Yeah well . . . I'm still just me."
"Except you're really Magnus' mechling." Crosshairs pointed out as he leaned against a medical berth.
Jolt shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't know anything about these weird messages you're talking about."
"Well that makes the lot of us." Jazz sighed tiredly. "Though I was kinda hopping you might, in a good way, not in the you're-secretly-trying-to-kill-us-all way. You know. Because that would be bad. Since I like ya and if you were we'd have to kill ya."
The other mechs blinked at him for a long moment.
Finally Ratchet spoke up. "Were you drinking?"
Jazz cut him a glare looking offended. "I had Bumblebee!" He stressed the little youngling's name with a hiss. "No I wasn't drinking!"
"I think this has just been a very odd orn for all of us." Optimus spoke up taking in each present before he spoke again looking to Jolt. "I hope you don't mind that we still have quite a few questions for you. About the Rings and what you've seen of the Deceptions, but for now I think it's time for all of us to either get some recharge or go enjoy the festivities. They won't last past all the hangovers in the morning."
Jolt snorted. "I don't drink, but a berth does sound good right now."
Optimus nodded. "We will figure all the rest of this out in the morning."
"It almost is morning." Crosshairs told him.
"Then I have a youngling to find and get to berth." Ironhide nodded his goodbye to his fellow mechs before leaving the medical bay in search of his adopted son with his processor spinning so bad he hardly noticed that Optimus was walking beside him. He cast the Prime a glance though the towering mech's optics were dark and far away.
He waited for him to speak on his own as they walked to Bluestreak's berthroom. That was where both figured the sniper would have took the youngling knowing it was well past his berth-time.
"He was actually afraid to tell us." Optimus mumbled finally.
"He's been alone all his life. Do you really blame him?" Ironhide felt a little funny being the logical one about all this, but Optimus was very clearly bothered by something right now. "He's never met his Sire and then suddenly he's a part of his fraction that he's stayed away from all these vorns."
"Why did he join if he was afraid?"
"No mech can be alone forever, Optimus. Not even a loner. It's just not the way we were made to be. Cybertronians need others by nature."
"Why would he lie about who he was though?"
"He didn't lie. We weren't asking the right questions."
They walked in silence for a ways before Optimus smiled. "You know, right now, you sound like Prowl."
"I know . . . can we talk about something else so I don't?"
Optimus snorted at that. "I doubt that would get us anywhere."
"It's worth a shot."
Optimus came to a stop in the hall outside Bluestreak's door with Ironhide.
"Magnus thought Artemis was dead." The Prime breathed out. "He felt her dead. Yet she wasn't."
Ironhide looked at him carefully. "What are you getting at?"
"What if . . . ." Optimus trailed off unable to say what he truly wanted too. "Never mind. It's foolish. Let's get our youngling to berth."
Ironhide watched him for a few klicks before deciding that whatever it was that was bothering him would be brought up when he was ready for it too. Turning to the door the weapons specialist knocked. There was no response. After a moment longer Optimus keyed in an override into the panel lock on the wall and the door swished open. What the two mechs found on the other side made every dark thought of war and questions leave them as all they could do was smile.
Laying curled up a tight little yellow ball was their tiny mechling held safely in Bluestreak's arms as the young grey sniper lay snuggled in under his blankets deep in recharge on his berth with the little mech safely pressed against his spark. Bee's yellow fingers fit into the nooks in his grown mechs armor as his little head rest over where Blue's spark was his little body rising and falling steadily as Blue's chest moved with his breath. However, the sound of the door swishing open drew Bluestreak from recharge and his optics slowly flickered open blinking to become clear. He smiled at the sight of the two mechs in his doorway though he dared not move for fear of waking the recharging bundle on his chest.
"Evening mechs." He whispered.
"Sorry to wake you, Blue." Ironhide rumbled softly as he walked forward to the sniper's berth. "I was looking for my youngling."
"Safe and sound in recharge." Blue commented his bright optic dancing down to the tiny creature on his chest. "Want him back?"
"If you don't mind." Ironhide laughed lightly softly plucking his charge from Blue's chest letting the younger mech sit up as Hide brought Bumblebee to rest in the crook of his arm. Bee shifted a little at being moved and let out a tiny whine in his land of dreams, but when Ironhide's spark wrapped safely around his own he settled back down and slipped into oblivion once again.
Blue streached once he was sitting up and smiled up to the two taller mechs. "Is what I heard true?"
"About Jolt?" Optimus asked.
Blue nodded.
"Yes." Optimus answered.
Bluestreak grinned. "That's awesome! I don't really get why he didn't say anything before now, but it's still cool! Magnus has his son back. A son he never knew! Now they can know each other! Isn't that neat?"
"Yes, Blue." Optimus laughed though all of the humor wasn't truly in his voice. "We'll see you tomorrow."
"Night, mechs." He called after them softly when the two massive officers left his berthroom before he snuggled back down into his blankets and fell quickly back into recharge. Once Optimus locked the mech's door back into place he and Ironhide walked the halls heading toward Ironhide's own berthroom.
To put it simply, Bumblebee was confused.
Very, extremely, confused.
Seven whole orns of this crazy mess and not a single bot had bothered to explain to him what in the name of creation was going on!
He was a little putout about it too.
So far all he'd managed to put together was that Jolt—his new friend—was really Ultra Magnus'—one of his dearly loved family members—son. He had no idea how or why this was only brought up lately though. He figured that was something that should have been told to him a while ago, but it seemed that the whole entire ship had kind of seemed to forget about him as of late.
This was also a reason for the little mech's putout-ness.
All three crews together again and not a single mech could be bothered to keep him occupied or tell him what the slag was going on! What was he, invisible?
The little mech looked at his reflection in the window he was sitting in and saw himself blinking back.
Nope.
Still visible.
So that wasn't a legitimate excuse. His optics narrowed at his own image.
What had he down wrong this time that had the whole Autobot fraction buzzing around busily and not even bothering to look up to see more than if he was fed or not? Hide was busy, Optimus was busy, Prowl was busy, Ratchet was busy, pit even Jazz and the twins were busy.
They all kept running around in circles.
Words like; The Rings, and messages, and past, and 'Cons, and so much other stuff that Bee didn't understand floating around the air, he guessed it was clogging their processors to the obvious fact that he was being ignored.
He'd stopped itching two orns ago, and much to his disappointment he was pretty sure he didn't even grow more than an inch. However, ever since than not even Ratchet had looked up more than once or twice to check on him.
Three whole crews and not a single mech seemed to care that he was alone or that he still hadn't the slightest idea what was going on.
Because ever since they all got together again and it came to light that Jolt was Magnus' youngling nothing had been the same.
Something was wrong. Bee knew that much. He could feel it in the sparks around him and in the air. He wasn't sure if it had to do with Jolt or about these messages he kept hearing get talked about. And since no bot thought he was important enough to have it explained to him he was pit bent not to ask. If they wanted to ignore him then by Primus he was going to ignored them too.
His spark rolled over painfully in his chest.
So far it wasn't really working that well though. He just wanted to curl up next to Optimus' or Hide's spark and have them explain to him that nothing was wrong and that the ships were just excited about Jolt being here.
He knew that that wasn't it though and Optimus and Hide did little more than feed him and put him to berth lately.
They were busy with something.
The little mech folded his antennas down and glared at his image in the hard glass. Too busy for him!
Since when did that happen!?
Balling up his little hand he formed a fist and smacked it hard against the window before him. All that did though was make his hand sting painfully and make him squeak out. No bot was around to hear it though . . . or even to care.
With a sniffle he bit back his tears.
He was not going to cry! What was the point? No bot was going to make him feel better. Even Fire was too preoccupied to care.
All Bee could do was sit there in his window perch along one of the main halls of Eternity and pout as he stared out into the world before him. Because there was nothing else to do and no mech even bothered to realized he'd snuck off from a recharging Hound and Trailbreaker. They were both passed out cold on the rec room couches and he got tired of sitting there staring at their blank faceplates so he had picked his little self up and strolled out of the rec room without looking back and not a single stupid mech had even noticed!
He'd been out here sitting in a window for two joor AND NO MECH NOTICED!
"What frag goin' on?" Bee mumbled out loud, secretly hoping that the sound of him saying a word he wasn't supposed to say would bring every caretaker he had down upon him, but nothing happened. No bot rounded a corner calling out for him, no questioning pulses in his spark, nothing at all.
They were too busy!
He glared at his reflection on the glass, that is until something occurred to him. Suddenly sitting up he pressed his little faceplate up against the glass and stared out at the wide open space before him. A small, devious little smile crawled up his lips.
Well, if they wanted to ignore him than fine. He'd see just how far he got before they figured out what ignoring him brought them.
He was going on a field trip, and that was that.
Giggling happily Bee clambered to his little feet and grinned at the latch to the glass a few inches above his head. Pushing himself up onto his tiny toes he stretched with everything he had, his little fingers wiggling and grasping, until he latched onto the small black twist knob and yanked for all he was worth. It took him a few nano-klicks but soon there was a satisfying 'pop' and the window lock came open.
Bumblebee grinned even wider.
And his caretakers thought he didn't pay attention to some of the stuff they did. He bet they didn't even know he knew how to open the windows of the ship. He smirked. Well he did. He'd seen them do it before and it wasn't nearly as hard as he figured it would be for his little hands.
Now that he had it open he just gave it a hard push and it shoved out into open air.
He clicked in excitement.
Holding tightly to the edge of the window Bumblebee poked his head out into open air and blinked.
Freedom!
The whole world right there before him. It never looked so big before. So wide and wonderful and full of stuff for him to do. Out there it wouldn't matter that he was being ignored.
His spark pulsed strangely in his chest making him pause for a moment.
Glancing back he bit his lip.
It would upset Hide and his family when they realized he was gone . . . wouldn't it?
A part of him wasn't so sure. He would never doubt they loved him, but . . . they were acting like he wasn't even important anymore. Too busy to do more than cast him a glance or hand him a cube of energon or put him in his berth and tell him to go to recharge.
His spark shivered at the thought that maybe they didn't want him around at the moment. Maybe he had done something wrong and they were ignoring him because he was in trouble.
He didn't know.
Stealing himself he turned his back to the hall and made a decision. He was going on an adventure and that was that. If they wanted him they could find him and if they didn't . . . well than maybe it was better to leave.
Slowly, carefully, Bee backed his way out the window holding onto the edge as he judged the distance to the solid ground below. He was on the first floor so really it was only about ten feet to the ground, but for one as small as him that was a long way down. So he did the only thing he could. He held tight to the metal of the ship and maneuvered himself so that when he let go hopefully he'd slide down the ship's outer wall and that would break some of his fall.
It worked—oddly enough—and in a screech of metal on metal he slide down the outside of the ship and plopped down not really so painfully to the ground. The action did draw a huff from his lungs as the air was knocked out of him slightly, but when he picked himself up and glanced all over him he didn't find anything broken.
He gave a happy little squeak. "Field trip!"
With that he hurried his little feet around the side of the ship and peaked out from the cover of the morning shadows. He had ended up on the outside of the ship circle and all the guard posts that were station had their backs to him for a moment. Bee watched them carefully though when he saw the familiar red form and golden form of the twins far on the other side of the ships. They were standing on the open ramp of one of the hangers staring out into the empty grey wilderness of metal and stone looking as if they were talking to each other.
Bee's spark gave another twist.
They would be mad when they figured out he was gone.
He narrowed his optics.
Well they should have been concerned with that when they ignored him for multiple orns straight.
Spinning the other way Bee put his back to his family and their ships and headed off into the towering fallen metal structures that were like something he'd never been close too before.
This really worked out better in his head.
Bee would admit it.
Started out as I good idea, but now . . . well he was tired, he was hungry, he had no idea where he was, and he was pretty sure that Ironhide was going to weld him to the wall when he found him because it was getting dark.
He couldn't bring himself to worry about it though. He just kept putting one little yellow foot down in front of the other. He really didn't think he could have gone that far. After all he was a tiny youngling who didn't reach most of his family's knees but in all actuality he really had walked a long way. More than the youngling would ever have thought he was capable of, but that was because he was following this weird pull that had started up in his spark.
It was something he'd never felt before. This weird tugging as if something was pulling him in the direction he kept walking.
Something was.
He was just too young to understand that.
His spark gave another twist in his chest and the little mech ducked under a crumbling stone wall as he kept on walking toward where the sun was disappearing over the horizon. Part of him wondered if he kept on walking toward it could he catch up and keep the light with him so he wouldn't be alone in the dark. He didn't really know, and the thought of being alone in the dark did kind of scare him, but somehow it didn't make him sit down and cry for his family. Instead he just kept following the pull.
It was like something inside him was pointing him the direction he needed to go. Maybe it was pointing him home. He wasn't sure. He didn't think it was, but at this point he really didn't know. He was just walking. Following. Watching the big open world around him fall into shadows. Picking up little things along his way, stones, bits of metal, broken pieces of glass. He had them all tucked into his crossed arms as he kept on walking among the grey wilderness.
He had no idea where he was going or what he was looking for, but something told him he'd know it when he found it.
Ironhide rubbed his hand down his faceplate tiredly as the code came back unbreakable once again.
"Still can't get it, Jazz?" He mumbled.
Jazz just punched the desk beside the keyboard in answer.
He couldn't figure it out! But he had to figure it out. They had to know where these messages were coming from and what they meant! Something weird was going on here and they had to know what it was!
"Well kept at it." Was all Ironhide could say to him. He was no good at coding. That was Jazz's forte not his. His forte was blasting things to slag. Which he hadn't been doing enough lately.
Jazz shook his head. "This slag is ancient. One I can't read it, and two I can't crack it. It's going to drive me glitchy! I swear to—"
"Hound to Ironhide," Suddenly the tracker's voice rang out over the private comm channel kept open between the most frequent of Bumblebee's caretakers. Ironhide tilted his head at the sound, but answered nonetheless.
"What's up, Hound?"
There was a pause before the normally laid back, nonchalant mech questioned a little worriedly. "Did you come get Bumblebee?"
Ironhide went ridged along with Jazz who set up straight in his office chair and stared at the big ebony mech whose gaze was narrowing.
"No. I've been in a weapons test all orn with Crosshairs. You and your brother were supposed to be watching him. Why do you ask?"
"Because . . . well . . . you see—"
"Spit it out, Hound! Where is my youngling!?" Ironhide snarled his cannons whirling to life.
Jazz stood from his chair.
"We can't find him." Trailbreaker answered and the panic that was rising in his voice was very audible over the comm. "Been looking for a few breems and we just can't find him. Anywhere."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIND HIM!?" Ratchet screamed over the comm link just before the twins voices joined.
"You've been looking for a few breems and you didn't say anything!?" They snarled in unison.
"He snuck off!" Hound pleaded. "Now we just can't figure out where he's hiding."
"You're the best tracker on the damn ship!" Ironhide bellowed throwing the door to Jazz's office open and storming down the hall with the silver mech at his heels.
"Ever mech calm down," Jazz spoke up. "He's around here somewhere. Probably just playing hide and seek again. We all look we'll find him."
"Jazz is right. Look for him. He's around here somewhere." Optimus spoke up having heard the whole conversation, but something in the commander's tone held the worry that was coming to life inside all of them.
A few breems?
Bee never hide for more than a breem. He couldn't hold still any longer. Sooner or later he got bored and came out to hide somewhere else and some mech always spotted him. Only this time no mech had been looking, because they had all been busy trying to either crack this code, restock the ships from the storage tunnels that were under this outpost they were stationed at, or just being soldiers.
Every mech in the comm was suddenly thinking very quickly trying to remember the last place they'd seen Bee. Only there was a problem. They hadn't spent much time with the youngling over the last few orns. They had been working and Bee had been pasted around from caretaker to caretaker until Hide put him to berth.
The mechs' sparks desperately reached for the little ball of warm light they all knew so well.
Only this time he didn't answer.
Within another breem they tore the ship apart. Every bot did. The twins, Hide, Prowl, Jazz, Optimus, Ratchet, Jolt, Gears, Hound, Trailbreaker, Bluestreak, Blaster, Drift, Silverbolt, Inferno, Red Alert, Hot Rod, Ultra Magnus, Quickfire, First Aid, all of them. And when they came up with nothing on Eternity they searched the other ships. But by the time the sun was setting over the horizon a sickening scene of dread crept in.
They couldn't find him.
Anywhere.
He . . . he wasn't there!
Ironhide threw an empty crate back over his shoulder before he slammed his fist into the wall of the hanger turning around franticly. There had to be somewhere! Somewhere they hadn't looked yet! He was on one of these damn ships! He just had to be!
"Bumblebee!" The guardian yelled at the top of his vocal processor the sound echoing around the hanger that Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, and Jazz were currently in with him looking. "Bumblebee answer me!"
Please! Answer me!
"Bee!" Jazz's voice joined, but he didn't get anything either. "Lil' Bee this isn't funny anymore come out!"
"Half Pint come on! You're scaring us!" Sides called throwing a shelf off the wall and searching behind it. Nothing. His spark rolled painful in his chest.
Where was he!?
With a snarl Ironhide left the hanger storming back down the halls of the ship.
"Anything, Optimus?" He asked over the comm while Jazz and the twins followed him.
"Please say yes." Jazz added quickly.
Optimus' sigh was not the answer they wanted. "Nothing. Same for you?"
"I can't find him. I don't know where else to look!" Ironhide growled desperately. "He won't answer!"
It was at that point both Ironhide and Optimus rounded the opposite corners of the same hall their dark blue optics narrowed and afraid as they walked to each other with the Twins and Jazz in toe with Hide, Ratchet and Prowl with Optimus. The rest of the crews were still looking frantically on all the ships but as the closest nit group of family and the closest to Bee came to stand before each other everything else kind of faded out.
"He won't answer." Hide's growl turned to a desperate sounding whine as his spark pulsed painfully in its chamber screaming to the bond it shared with the little mech, but the youngling either couldn't hear or refused to answer. Both were proving to drive Ironhide slightly mad.
"Why won't he fraggin' answer!?" Sunstreaker hissed staring at the Prime. "Where is he?"
"I don't kno—Jazz?" The Prime's response came to a rather abrupt end when he lifted an optic ridge to the silver saboteur who was suddenly staring behind him like he'd just seen a ghost. All optics turned to Jazz when he stood there frozen to his place beside Sideswipe his optics very clearly wide behind his visor as he stared.
"Jazz?" Sides shook him lightly and that seemed to snap the mech out of whatever world he was trapped, but it only managed to make Jazz squeak in fear before he bolted forward past Prime and the others and slide down the hall until he skidded to a stop in front of one of the porthole windows of the first floor.
An open porthole window.
He swallowed hard pushing himself up to lean out the window. What he found made a hissed curse leave him as he flung himself down the hallway heading out of the ship.
"No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please! No!"
"Jazz!" They called after him, but the silver mech didn't stop running until he flew out the main entrance of Eternity and raced around the back of the ship until he found himself on the ground under the open window. He crouched down staring with wide optics as he glanced between the scrapes that ran down the outer wall under the window and the tiny foot prints under his hand. With his spark still in his chest he shoved the visor over his optics to rest on his forehead trying to make sure what he was seeing was real as he traced a finger over the imprints before looking toward the setting sun following their path.
He was really gone.
He . . . left.
Jazz felt the energon in his frame grow cold when his family caught up behind him.
"Jazz what the pit are you doing!?" Ratchet barked at him only to come up short when he saw the imprints in the ground beside his hand.
"Oh pit." Sideswipe whispered as Jazz rose a little shakily to his feet. He looked off into the sunset with his spark aching in his chest.
"He ran away." He choked on the words as they came out. "He . . . ran away."
Bumblebee giggled to himself as he climbed a small hill doing more slipping and sliding than actual climbing as the rocks and broken metal rolled under his footsteps, but it was kinda like a game of sorts and he was having fun scrambling up and then sliding back down. He wasn't the lease bit concerned that it was now pretty dark and that it was getting kind of cold. His spark wanted him to go this direction so this was the way he was going.
He didn't know why he needed to go this way, or what he was going to find once he found what it was tugging him toward nor did he understand this pull in his chest, but it wanted him to find something in this general direction. He had no idea what it meant either. All he knew was something was this way. Something he desperately needed to find.
So he followed.
The pulling was a lot like one of his bonds in a way. A connection of sorts that was demanding he come to it. Though it was like nothing he'd ever truly known before. He just didn't know what else to compare it too. It was powerful and mysterious and it made him walk a little faster than he normally could, ignoring his tired frame. He had to figure out what it was. He just had too.
By the time the sun fully vanished over the horizon Bee had managed to walk himself a good seven miles from his home. Quite a feat for a mechling that sometimes got tired before he got to the top of the stairs. He just didn't feel the fatigue though. It wasn't clicking in his processor that he was exhausted and hungry. He was too busy listening to the pull in his spark to have time for anything else. However, a few klicks after he found himself in complete darkness the truth of what was going on settled in on little Bee.
His antennas folded down to his head slowly as he blinked around him when all of a sudden the pulling came to an abrupt halt. As if his standing there and thinking about what was really going on seemed to just shut it off. Like rationality brought a wall up between him and the strangeness leaving him standing there confused and alone.
He squeaked at the change running his little fingers over the front of his chest in confusion.
Where did it go?
Curiously he called out with his spark asking where the strange feeling had gone, but he didn't get an answer of any kind.
He was alone . . . all alone.
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker practically flipped out of their alt modes landing on their feet as they scrambled up the hill to where Jazz and Ratchet stood. Well Ratchet was standing, Jazz was crouched down his headlights lighting the dark ground before him while his fingers ran over a tiny foot print.
"He went this way." Jazz said pushing himself upright, glaring off into the darkness around them. "He can't be much further."
"The temperature is dropping." Ratchet growled. "We have to find him soon."
"Little glitch!" Sunstreaker hissed in desperation. "What the pit is wrong with him!? Why did he do this?"
"Maybe because we were too busy to even notice that he was gone." Sideswipe whispered his dark blue optics scared and very cold.
He had a very painful point too.
None of them wanted to hear it though.
"When we find him I'm welding him to the wall." Sunny swore, but the pain in his spark was clear in his optics.
"We will find him, Sunstreaker." Ratchet told him steadily.
"Oh I know we'll find him." Sunny snarled. "It's what I'm going to do to him when we find him you should be worried about."
"First we have to find him." Jazz reminded. "Before he freezes, gets ate by something, stumbles into a 'Con, or does some other fraggin' thing."
With those dark words the saboteur fell into his alt mode and raced toward the west opening up a comm link as the others followed.
"Prime?"
"Find the tracks?" Optimus responded hopefully.
"Yeah, I got 'em. I'm sending you our quadrants. Guess you mechs didn't have any luck?"
"None. We're coming your way."
"See ya in a klick."
It was official.
He was cold . . . and quite possibly an idiot.
This field trip had run out of fun. He was cold, tired, and hungry. He was ready to go back home. Even if they were still going to ignore him that would be better than where he was now, curled up in a little ball under some fallen something with his arms wrapped tightly around himself as he stared off into the darkness.
He flinched at every foreign sound.
Every shifting shadow or creak of cooling metal. It was all strange and it was all scary.
He was very much ready to go home. Only Hide and Optimus weren't here. No bot was here.
He didn't even care anymore what trouble he was going to get into now. They could spank him, ground him, or lock him in a storage closet! He didn't care! He just wanted his family to find him. Because he didn't know the way home and the pull was gone.
Curling tighter in on himself he shifted backward into the wall thing behind him telling himself that it was all going to be okay.
They would come and get him. They would always come and get him.
It was his family after all, they would never leave him alone.
Right?
The little youngling snuggled in tighter around himself blinking out at the blackness that was making him shiver from more than just the cold. Right now, he wasn't sure of anything and the last thing he knew before his tired frame pulled him into recharge was that all he wanted in the whole entire universe was to wake up in Ironhide's arms. He promised whatever powers at be that he would never misbehave again if only he could wake up to familiar optics.
The deep rumbling growl wasn't unwarranted and quite frankly it hadn't really stopped since they figured out Bee was missing, besides at that point most of them were pretty sure Ironhide didn't even know he was snarling anymore.
Or that he was pacing.
And cursing.
And not really helping Jazz and Hound concentrate on making sense of the little labyrinth of youngling foot prints that went up, down, around, back, cross-ways, left, right, mid-ways, and every other ways around the little mounds of stones and metal.
"What was he doing?" Hound mused trying to figure out where the tracks headed now.
"Playing would be my guess." Jazz offered as he followed the slid trail back down the tiny hill and then onto another one. His radar was picking up nothing which meant either Bee wasn't close or his spark was too cold to be picked up. Neither option was making Jazz feel better. "He is a youngling."
"A youngling I'm going to murder!" Sunstreaker snarled not far off his foot tapping irritably on the ground.
"Sure ya are, Streaker." Hound rolled his optics.
A rock nailed the bulky green mech in the back of the audios.
"OWW! What the pit!?"
"Don't test me!" Sunstreaker hissed out dangerously taking a step toward the tracker before Sideswipe latched onto him and pulled him back a ways.
"Calm down, Sunny. It's okay. We'll find him."
"THIS IS YOUR FRAGGIN' FAULT IN THE FRIST PLACE!" The golden twin wasn't anywhere near done ragging at Hound though and didn't even seem to notice his brother hanging onto him like a bomb that was about to go off. Which in all honesty he was.
Hound flinched at the words lowering his optics to the ground. "We didn't mean to lose him. I thought he was recharging beside me."
"WELL HE WASN'T, WAS HE!? NO! HE RAN AWAY! DO YOU FRAGGIN' HEAR ME! HE SLAGGIN' RAN AWAY!"
"That isn't Hound's fault." Sides snapped trying to keep his panicking brother under control. Sunstreaker didn't handle panic well. Not in any shape or form, but he really didn't handle it well when it came to their Half Pint.
Sunstreaker shook Sideswipe off spinning around to nail him in a glare before he shoved him hard sending him staggering back a few steps.
"NO IT'S NOT IS IT!? IT'S ALL OUR FAULTS!"
Sideswipe, who was more than a little close to frizzing himself, didn't take to kindly to his older brother's shove and suddenly his own dark optics went a shade darker as his hands curled into fist his blades itching to come out and slice into something. The same feeling he could feel swimming in his twin's spark. For a moment they glared dagger back and forth fueling the rage in each other since they had no way to combat it.
This was the type of anger they usually unleashed upon Decepticons. This was the fuel that got them through charging headlong into the fray without a second thought. It was this unbridled fury that they could conjure up and then put into action that made them as dangerous as they truly were, but it was also an anger that had never been brought to life toward themselves.
Now it was.
At this moment, they fragging hated themselves more than anything else in the universe. Because they had been stupid enough to not notice that they were too busy being soldiers to see that they weren't being the brothers they swore they were going to be. They hadn't noticed that for a good many orns every bot in the ranks had kind of forgotten to look up and check on Bee. They had been too worried with strange text messages and restocking from the hidden mines before the 'Cons caught onto them.
And they hated themselves for that.
They hated everybot for that right now honestly, but mostly themselves.
Suddenly both mechs were yanked from the all out murder match they were about to start when Ratchet stepped in between, grabbed both by a shoulder, and pulled them in very close with a very real threat in his optics.
"If you both don't mute it this very klick I swear to Primus I'm going to smack you with each other and leave you here to rust. We'll find Bumblebee without you." He never raised his voice, but the words were eerie calm and pointed making both twins somber up fast.
They blinked at him owlishly for a few nano-klicks before they mumbled together. "Yes, Ratchet."
He snorted in return shoving them apart still watching them carefully for any sign that they were going back to almost trying to offline each other. When they stood quietly with their heads bowed he gave a silent approving nod before turning back to the rest of the patrol. Ironhide was still pacing not even seeming to realize that the twins had been yelling. Ratchet didn't blame him. This was hitting him hard. He was currently very obviously running the last few orns over and over again on repeat in his processor trying to figure out every detail of how he could have been foolish enough to make the youngling think they were too busy for him.
Which . . . they pretty much had been.
But runaway?
The thought made Ratchet shudder.
He had run away. From them? He actually left. Them.
The CMO kept trying to tell himself over and over again that he didn't mean it like they were seeing it. He was just bored, and a bored Bumblebee was most times a dangerous Bumblebee. He tended to get his little self in all kinds of trouble. So sneaking off to go exploring, Ratchet could see how that would amuse the youngling who thought the whole Autobot fraction had forgotten he was even alive.
They hadn't.
They never could.
It was just . . . things piled up so fast. Jolt was Magnus' mechling. The messages were coming more frequent and not Jazz, Blaster, Wheeljack, or Perceptor could figure them out. Then there was the fact that their whole fraction was kind of sitting out in the open above their hidden mines restocking the ship. They were sitting targets if Megatron decided he wanted to stop nursing his pride and play war again.
They had just been distracted.
Something Optimus swore as he stared out over the dark, destroyed, wilderness he was never going to be again.
He had been ignoring his might-as-well-be son. A part of him couldn't really fathom that idea. It didn't want too.
Because he would find Bumblebee and when he found him he make the little mechling understand that they hadn't been purposely ignoring him and he vowed to not let the youngling touch the ground for a least a Decacycle. He was going to be held none stop.
Damn Ratchet and his 'you're slowing his development by not letting him walk'. They were six miles from the damn ship! He walked just fine!
"Got it." Hound's words drew everybot. Hide, Optimus, Ratchet, Jazz, the twins, and Wheeljack who could not be convinced to stay back at the ship. Hurrying too him Jazz looked over the tracks and nodded.
"Still going west, no fraggin' idea why, but he is."
"Most likely following the sun." Hound offered. "It was getting dark. He'd head toward where it wasn't as dark."
"Makes since." Jazz nodded.
"Let's just find him before he freezes." Hide grumbled brokenly. "Then we can question if he's glitched or not."
One thing.
There was only one thing in the whole wide universe Bumblebee had asked for! To wake up to familiar optics.
That was not familiar optics!
Roused from his recharge by a heavy breathing type sound Bumblebee blinked open his own bright baby blue optics to come faceplate to very large blinking red optic. He squeaked in fright tumbling backward into his little hole until he slammed into the back of it leaving him nowhere to run or hide. All he could do was curl up in a tight ball and stare at the blinking red orb as one thought swam around in his processor.
This not good.
The red optic blinked at him for a moment as he blinked back in complete fright until a rather loud bang sounded and he flinched only to watch in terror as a deep snarl came from whatever owed that red optic and it yanked back with a growl.
"Why you stupid Slag hit me Grimlock!?" The beast from the entrance of the hole rumbled as Bee blinked at the voice. It sounded downright terrifying, like gravel rolling around in blender. It was harsh, deep, raspy, and underused. On top of that it didn't speak very well—kinda like him in fact—only that giant optic in no way belonged to any kind of youngling. That belonged to a full grown mech. A full grown mech that didn't talk like a grown bot? Bee leaned forward a little listening closer.
"Grimlock not fair!" Another deep raspy voice only this one sounded a little more airy.
"Swoop right! Grimlock not let other Dinobots see!" Echoing like thunder as if it came from a beast twice the size of anything he'd ever seen. "We want see!"
"Want is there that so interesting!?" A snarled rasp that sounded like it hardly ever was true words.
"Other Dinobots want see!" A hissed out threat just as deep as the others but it made Bee tremble a little. Five different voices he'd never heard before. All of which were like nothing he'd ever known. They didn't talk like full grown mechs, but they rumbled the very ground he was curled up on. They must be huge!
Before he even really knew he was doing it the little mech crawled to the entrance of his little hole and was about to stick his head out and look when the ground under him slipped and with a scared squeak he rolled out of his hideaway landing with a thump against something very hard and very big.
His world rolled around his dizzy processor for a moment from all the tumbling he'd just done until he found himself laying on his back with his little feet stuck up in the air propped between massive clawed toes. His short arms were sprawled out over his head in his half slumped upside down state and his big optics blinked up in utter bewilderment at the towering form that he found himself crashed into the foot of.
For a moment all Bee could do was stare at the grayish-black scale like armor with hints of red and yellow splashed in here and there not to mention the jagged red spikes that looked like—compared to the rest of him—little daggers that started at the base of the massive head and ran all the way down his spine to fade out about halfway down his gigantic swishing tail. However, one quick sweep of the massive beast who he was now laying upside down in-between the toes of and Bee found himself blinking in wonder at the massive muzzle that was thrust his way suddenly only inches away as air began to be whooshed over him as this mech drank in his sent while Bee blinked at the action. After a moment the rushing air stopped and the massive beast's head was titled slightly so the huge glowing fire red optic to the right of its head—even this things optics were bigger than Bee—could zero in on the tiny youngling who lay there in frozen curiosity and slight fear as the beast blinked back at him.
He was aware of movement all around him.
It had to be the other four things, but honestly Bee was scared to take his attention off the red orb that held such power, ferocity, and mystery. Its owner was absolutely terrifying and yet for the life of him Bumblebee couldn't make himself be truly afraid of it. He was scared, but in his spark something was telling him that this beast would not hurt him.
For a moment longer the two blinked at each other before the head tilted again and it spoke flashing dagger like teeth that were three times the size of Bee.
"Me Grimlock. Why you Itty Bitty so itty bitty?" The beast rumbled slightly shifting his foot that Bee lay halfway slid up against between two of his toes. The movement didn't hurt Bumblebee it just kinda pushed him up slightly until the momentum shifted and he found himself somehow sitting on top of one of the giant toes.
Still all he could do was stare up in awe at the massive mech that shifted his head again to gaze down at him.
Grimlock?
Bee kept right on staring as he rolled the name around in his processor. It sounded as equally terrifying as the beast who's toe he now sat on, but for the life of him Bee found no reason inside of him to be afraid. He . . . liked the name.
Very slowly a small grin spread its way up Bee's lips as the monster mech still crouched over his own foot his huge body angled in an odd way that couldn't really be comfortable as his long tail swished back and forth behind him in almost amusement it seemed.
Grimlock.
It was strange, just as much as its owner, but Bumblebee was not afraid of it. His spark somehow assured him that nothing about this monster or the other ones Bee was still a little hesitant to look at but could feel shifting around him was a danger to him. So just like with every name Bumblebee liked he looked up smiling into that massive right red orb that was twisted to gaze down at him and he gave his name back.
"Me Bumblebee." He almost clicked the sound but couldn't make himself care as a slow animalistic type grin worked its way up the monster mech's lips as he smiled in return and Bumblebee was no longer even the slightest bit afraid.
Oh Grimlock, you over grown puppy dog. You've found your knew best friend.
It makes me so happy! I love the Dinobots and I've been waiting since we started this thing to get to this point!
Ratchet and Ironhide are going to blow a gasket. Bumblebee runs off to find adventure and instead he finds the Dinobots. What are the odds of that? He really is just a trouble magnet. Though we all love him for it don't we?
Anyway, have you noticed that stuff might actually be starting to happen? Yeah . . . six chapters in and we're still no where near the actual action I guess you would call it. I hope you guys are still enjoying it though. A lot has to be laid out before I can get to where this part of the series is going.
So hang in there. Maybe the adorable trouble that is little baby Bumblebee is keeping you entertained. I know it is me. We're getting there. Just bear with me. When you figure out what I've got planned . . . hee-hee I hope you're going to enjoy it.
There is a very high chance, since it is now spring break *happy dance anyone?*, that chapter 7 will be out before next weekend. It depends on how much writing I get done. If I finish the chapter I'm working on now before then I'll post 7 and then you will also get chapter 8 next Saturday probably. Just depends on how much I get done though.
And I'm just saying, seeing all the wonderful reviews motivates me to get my butt in gear and finish chapters. So no pressure or anything, but chapter 7 is also one of my favorites. Just saying. If you love the Dinobots you're gonna want to see it.
So once again, hope you liked it and please review and tell me what you think!
Chat with ya later!
-Jay