(I just can't type these chapters fast enough! Sorry for the long delay, everyone. I am in the process of typing the first chapters of one of my newest stories, X Horses: Mutations Origins. Well, I have managed to take some time to work on this chapter and have added a few suggestions requested by antubis0.)

Barricade was just returning to the bad lands, feeling the grass underneath his paws becoming scarce and only only dirt and small stones could be felt instead. "It's a good thing Bumblebee has soft grass and cool dew to walk upon instead of this," Barricade said under his breath. "Otherwise he would have to suffer at having small bits of pebbles or other stuff being stuck to his paws." He then say himself down to licked at his front paws, licking off some small pebbles or dry grass out off the pads of his feet.

He then heard a scuffle going on ahead; he rushed on over to see what was going on. Could it be that Starscream had decided to run his mouth again? When he came to the center of the den area he found that it was Bonecrusher and Megatron, and they were barking and fighting each other. At first Barricade thought that Bonecrusher had done something wrong to upset the grey and black Dire Wolf, but then heard Blackout come over to him and placed a front paw around him.

"Not to worry, 'Cade," he said gently. "They are training. We have to be strong if we are to gain new territory, and to be strong we have to train." Barricade nodded but then grumbled that he was expecting to see Starscream get beaten up by Megatron. To him, it was the only thing that made him laugh. The very thought of that sly Dire Wolf of a fox being ripped to sheds made him giggle since she and Starscream did not get along well. For a while Bonecrusher and Megatron continued their practice fight, the two giving it their all when Megatron got the upper hand and used his head to slam into Bonecrusher's side and the other combatant was sent rolling over a few times before Megatron placed both his front paws onto the brown Dire Wolf, using his weight to hold him down.

"Okay, sir, you win!" Bonecrusher gasped and whimpered as he kept himself in a submissive stance, even though he was on his side. Megatron stood still before he then let him go.

"You need to be quicker, Bonecrusher, or else you will be taken out much faster than you, such as I." Megatron snorted and as he shook himself to get some dirt off of him. "I will not allow pack members as slow as winter months enter battle, for slow fighter are quickly defeated." He then turned and saw Barricade and growled. "And just where have you been, runt? It is forbidden to leave the den area without my knowledge to consent."

"I just went to go pee, that's all, Megarat!" Barricade snapped and Megatron barked at him, making the black and white pup land on his back with the alpha Dire Wolf looking down at him.

"AND IT IS FORBIDDEN TO MOCK YOUR ALPHA WHEN HE IS ABOUT!"

"Megatron, please," Bonecrusher went over and took Barricade and kept him to his chest. " He is still a puppy, he will learn what to do."

"Yes, my lord," Blackout interrupted. "We know he will learn soon about how to treat others," he then sternly looked at Barricade and the little pup looked away. "...and how he should treat those who are of higher rank if he is ever to be allowed on the hunt."

Oh no, Barricade thought to himself. He had always wanted to go out and hunt by himself, and the thought of losing that privilege so far ahead in the future was a nightmare.

"Now, apologize to him, Barricade." Bonecrusher said as he pushed Barricade out to face Megatron, the little pup lowering himself and turned around in hopes that maybe he could get away with what he did, but his two guardians kept a stern look and Barricade sighed and apologized.

"I'm sorry, Megatron," he weakly said and then whispered something under his breath; so low and minute that no one heard him, and what he said was probably not worth to say in projective volume. Megatron then softened his angry look, yet he still looked still and cold as his red eyes blinked and glared at Barricade.

"Fine, you are forgiven. Now get away from me," Megatron then turned around, but thence turned back to Barricade and his gaze was fixed on the pups cheek. "What is that? You have blood."

"Blood?" Barricade perked his ears in alert and looked down his nose. Sure enough, there was a noticeable red splotch upon his right cheek. Barricade went cold. He had forgotten to clean his cheeks after leaving Bumblebee.

"Barricade, how did that blood get on you?" Blackout asked in concern.

Oh, great, Barricade thought to himself. I can't tell them about Bumblebee, but then I can't lie in front of them. Blackout and Bonecrusher can tell lies from truths, but Megatron will be furious if I lie in front of him. Barricade soon took a deep breath and then made the decision.

"I caught a mouse. That's why I have blood, and it's from the mouse. I ate it," he fibbed, making sure to not look like he was telling a fib. He kept his face calm and his ears forward, and also made sure to not lower his tail between his legs.

"A mouse? I never knew that mice bled that much," Bonecrusher mentioned when he noticed the splotch was a little big bigger. He had, on occasion, caught mice before Barricade came along and he remembered by experience that mice would only leave small splotches, not big ones. "Are you sure it was a mouse?"

"Yeah, it was a mouse, a fat one." Barricade finished and slurped away the blood form his cheek.

"You must have either caught a fat one, like you said, or a pregnant one," Megatron pondered, but then dismissed it because he had to go with Soundwave to patrol the territory and leave Blackout in charge while they were gone. Their territory was relatively large, but not as large as most of Dire Wolf packs, or any wolf pack for that matter, but he wanted to get away from the stress of the den and to avoid Barricade, because he had a very deep annoyance of the pup. He felt that Barricade, no matter how much Bonecrusher and Blackout insisted he would improve in the future, was rather slow and defiant, especially towards him. So, with the case of the blood on Barricade's cheek, Megatron left with Soundwave by his side and they left on patrol.

"I can see you are hiding something, Megatron" Soudnwave turned to his leader, seeing that the alpha had his eyes directed to the ground and his brows furrowed into a angry stare. "Tell me, what is troubling you?"

"There is nothing to tell you, Soundwave. My position in this pack and how I am to run it is strictly of my accord."

"That isn't what I meant," Soundwave pointed out.

"Then, what is it?" Megatron growled.

"Whenever I see you around Barricade, you look as though you want to find an excuse to get away from him." Soundwave explained, but he then pointed his ears back and looked at Megatron rather seriously. "I have seen that look on your face once, Megatron. If I remember correctly, you had a similar feeling to that of Bonecrusher when he was a small puppy, at around Barricade's age, and you were a mere youngling and only tall enough to reach my shoulders. No matter how much Bonecrusher wanted to play or talk to you, you had a look that could be interpreted by others as hate and loathing,"

"That was a long time ago, nothing but a mistake," Megatron said, but then Soundwave growled.

"Whose mistake was it to trick Bonecrusher into hide under a tree trunk and abandon him there? Knowing all too well that sooner or later, Shockwave and Bonecrusher's mother would suspect that you might have had a hand in Bonecrusher's sudden absence? You tell me whose mistake it was, my lord, and maybe I will spare you the memory of you being confined to the den for an entire month without participation in the hunt as punishment."

Megatron was angered by what Soundwave had brought up. True, he did leave Bonecrusher alone, but Bonecrusher did return to the den and was found by HIM in his den area. But, he also remembered the enraged look of Shockwave when he scolded him; the way the one-eyed Dire Wolf stared into his own with those burning orbs scorching his spirit, and the snarling mouthing filled with pointed teeth that threatened Megatron if he even so had the gall to speak for himself, and the harsh, loud, growling voice of his leader. That voice once snarled at him, and it said that if Megatron did not cared for all the members of a pack he would be all alone, and it would be his fault. He felt scared and helpless when he was in that moment, but he was older now, and he had taken Shockwave's pack after he had fought for it. Shockwave was a great leader, but he didn't have any annoying little runt's like Barricade either complaining or constantly wanting the alpha to play with him. He was a different leader, and since Megatron was the alpha of HIS OWN pack, he could run it anyway he wanted.

He really wanted to say those exact thoughts in his head, but then he also knew it was not best to argue with Soundwave. Soundwave was his caretaker as a pup and that there would be no doubt that if he were to speak his mind at that moment Soundwave would leave, and probably tell the others to come with him and return to Shockwave.

Megatron did want things his way, but if that were to happen he would most definitely be by himself, and he sighed aloud. He had been all alone once, on that day when he and Optimus were still brothers. That day when their mother hid them away from human hunters. That day when Megatron left in search for her, only to find her corpse hanging from a tree without her skin. That day when he couldn't remember the path to the tree where his brother was. He did feel alone back then, but he was found by Shockwave and was taken into his pack. Had it not been for him he would have starved. Maybe going against the one who had saved him from starvation all because of one insignificant pup was not worth it, nor was it without consequence.

"Yes, I remember, and I do feel the runt is annoying every now and then, but I am not that one teen pup who wasn't as smart as he believed." he then spoke. "Then again, the thought of having one less of a member is more than likely to become a pack with one alpha and no other member. And, solitary leaders are the ones who find themselves dying of hunger than that of a battle wound."

Soundwave nodded. "So, you will cease thinning of ill thoughts against Barricade?"

"Yes, I will."

"Good. It is better for an alpha to follow in the paw prints of his ancestors knowledge than to be follow in the footsteps of his own ignorance."

Megatron and Soundwave then resumed the patrol, but Megatron felt that his words were only going to serve him a temporary vow; a vow that is as thin as a blade of grass and blades of grass can easily be trampled or sliced.

It had been at least one day after Barricade and Bumblebee's meeting, and at the moment, Bumblebee was walking alongside Ratchet, Ironhide and Optimus for a short walk about the territory that was over to the west. The western part of the pack's home was laid over with flower patches and small brooks, a sort of little patch of heaven where any member of the pack could come and relax. Bumblebee was busy sniffing the flowers while Ratchet and Optimus were conversing, and Ironhide kept watch of his little pup to make sure he didn't get in trouble.

"I like coming here," Bumblebee said as he then spotted a butterfly and chased after it.

"Yes, I agree," Ironhide smiled. "It truly is a peaceful place to go to."

Just then, Bumblebee had a curious thought and whaled his pursuit of the butterfly, catching Ironhide's attention. The black Dire Wolf went over to see what was wrong, and when he asked Bumblebee said that he had a thought.

"I was only thinking about something,"

"And what is that something of what you are thinking of?" Ironhide asked, sitting himself down to scratch at his left ear. He had a terrible itchy feeling going on and wasn't exactly sure if he had any mites or fleas at that moment, but then again he had only two experiences of having fleas at a young age and he knew the distinct feeling. If he were to have fleas he would have fleet several bites at a particular area of his body: behind his ears, his sides, or at the base of his tail. He never had mites and had only heard about one instance of one of his great-great-grandfather having them, and there was no way of asking a dead relative what having mites was like.

"Well, I was just thinking about eye color,"

"Eye color? Why would you think about a thing like that?" Ironhide asked, stopping in mid-scratch.

"Well, I have lived with your pack for a while, and I have noticed that everyone in the pack has blue eyes." Bumblebee answered. Ironhide was quiet as he listened, but he was also thinking to himself, thinking about why Bumblebee would bring up the idea of eye color and why the subject was so important. It wasn't important to him, but he did know that eye color among Dire Wolves only meant one thing: Eye color severed as a sign of what side you were one. If one was born with blue eyes, that one will be serving with the followers of Primus. If one were to be born with red eyes, that one was deemed an enemy and a follower of the Fallen.

"What's going on, you two?" Ratchet came over with Optimus Prime following behind.

"Ratchet, I was only talking about eye color. And, I have seen that most of the pack has blue eyes. No green, no yellow, no purple," Bumblebee turned to Ratchet. "Why don't we have other members with different eye color?"

Optimus perked his ears and looked at the little yellow pup; he was starting to get the feeling that it would soon be time for Bumblebee to learn about what their pack's purpose was. But, why would he think about eye color at such a young age? The only time Optimus asked asked about eye color was when he was a teenager, and was given his answer because he was at the right age.

"Well, I admit that everyone I know has blue eyes, Bumblebee," Ratchet answered, placing his paw to his chin as if to remember something he had forgotten. "But, then again, I have never seen a purple eyed Dire Wolf before, or of any other color."

"But then, if there were Dire Wolves of different eye color, would they be allowed to be in a pack of blue-eyed Dire Wolves?" Bumblebee asked.

"It would have to deal with what the ones with different eye color have done in their life." Ratchet answered.

"So, you mean to say is that a...red-eyed Dire Wolf could be in our pack?"

All at once, the three adults stood still and went silent, stagnating as still as rocks. Bumblebee was concerned and asked his question, but the answer that he got in return was something he hadn't expected. Ironhide, quite suddenly, began to chuckle; that chuckle then turned into a hard guffaw, and then it became a hysterical laughter as he rolled onto his back.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! A red eyed Dire Wolf? AHAHAHAHAHA! Why not a snake? Why not have a skunk in the pack? Or a boar? Oh, wait! Maybe even a human! AHAHAHAHA!" Ironhide howled with laughter as tears came to his eyes. Ratchet was not very pleased wight the way his friend had responded and slapped at him with a paw.

"Knock it off! This isn't funny!"

"Yes, it isn't," Optimus interrupted and turned to Bumblebee. "Bumblebee, I do see hat all of our pack members have a distinctive eye color. However, the ones of different colored eyes are those who follow in their own beliefs, and that some may not agree with one pack's beliefs or ways of life."

"But, don't you think that there could be a pack that have two different colored eyes?" Bumblebee asked. Optimus knew all too well that the possibilities of two-colored eyed packs would never survive, and it all dealt with those who had the same eyes and held true to their beliefs. He knew that there was once one time where one red-eyed Dire Wolf met and paired with a blue-eyed Dire Wolf, but he dared not delve deep into the experience should he suddenly start feeling great sadness and forlorn.

"I do not wish to speak about this anymore, Bumblebee. It is best to say, for now, that we must stick with those of our kind and our look on life." He was about to leave when he stopped and looked back. He didn't want to sound like one of bigotry, and he certainly did not like the idea of being one. He had always been one to wonder and dream of maybe one day when all creatures would see each other as equals, and when enemies become brothers. "But, I do believe that there could be at least a few groups that might be of different beliefs who live together, Bumblebee. I have never met them, but I am sure that there will be a day when we may meet them, and shall learn from them."

Learn from them? Bumblebee was confused about what Optimus had said, but his head was already filled with so many questions, but he could tell that Optimus Prime wanted some time to himself and allowed his leader to leave. He was still curious about Optimus and how he acted when answering him, how he looked a little serious, but not too much, and that moment when he looked almost like he was hurt. What was wrong with him?

Suddenly, a large rabbit dashed across the little yellow pup, making Bumblebee yelp and back away, and not a moment too soon. Ironhide followed suit, chasing after the rabbit in hopes of possibly catching a free snack.

"Ironhide, you and your hunting instincts!" Ratchet yelled at the black Dire Wolf. "You nearly ran Bumblebee over."

"I'm okay, Ratchet." Bumblebee said as he and Ratchet ran off to catch up with Ironhide.

Just then, there was a loud sound; it sounded something like a large object being shot into a hollow obstacle, and as Ratchet and Bumblebee came around a corner and ran down a small hill they saw what it was and started to laugh.

Ironhide was stuck inside of a hollow log, with only his rear end and tail sticking out.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" sounded the muffled shouts of Ironhide, and his back legs began kicking and scraping the ground as he struggled to get himself unstuck, but his efforts were in vain. He was stuck. Period.

"Oh, Ironhide, you just seem to let your stomach take control of your actions, don't you?" Ratchet couldn't help but tease as he wiped away a small tear from laughing so much. Bumblebee, looking pretty mischievous at the moment he saw Ironhide incapable of moving away, giggled as he ran over, grabbed one of Ironhide's paws and started to lick it.

All at once, Ironhide's laughter could be heard form inside, and his body jerked and writhed as he felt the soft, wet tongue tickle his paw and in between his toes. Ratchet couldn't help it and laughed heartily again, seeing that this was an adorable scene between Bumblebee and Ironhide and felt it was best to let them have that moment for a while.

After hearing Ironhide pleading and crying with hysterical laughter for a few minutes, Ratchet finally decided that now was the time to end the game and help Ironhide out. "Okay, Bumblebee, that it enough."

Bumblebee whined but obeyed.

"Now, then, if you want to help Bumblebee, you grab hold of Ironhide's tail while I take hold of his other leg. Then when I count to three, pull as hard as you can."

Bumblebee nodded and went to grab the tail, clamping it tight.

"OW!"

"Sorry, Ironhide," Bumblebee apologized with the tail in his mouth.

After taking hold of the other leg, Ratchet began to count to three, and at the word three they pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and pulled, until-

Pop!

Ironhide popped out of the log, his face and upper body covered in moss and dead leaves, and was not looking the least bit amused.

"Now, don't tell me you actually liked being inside the log, Ironhide," Ratchet joked once again.

"Shut up, or I'll stuff you in there and I'll chew your tail off," Ironhide bowled, but was not in the best of mood for a confrontation; he would occasionally snap if he was pushed too far in humiliation, but seeing that Bumblebee was around he saw it was not the most appropriate time. He then got up, shook himself free from the moss and leaves before he said that the three of them should be heading back to the pack.

"Yay! I'll be the first one back!" Bumblebee barked as he immediately ran ahead of them, but the two older Dire Wolves just walked the rest of the way. On the way, Ratchet turned to Ironhide.

"Why would you laugh at Bumblebee's question?"

"You want me to answer him in different manner? The last thing I want to do is scare him," Ironhide answered. "Besides, who would want to live with those red-eyed Dire Wolves? You and I both know that they are dangerous and want to take over what we have, and the last thing I want Bumblebee to know about at his young age is the war we are in with them."

"Yes, I understand," Ratchet interrupted. "-but, why do you think Bumblebee would ask about something like that? For all I know he should be terrified after his capture by Megatron from so long ago."

Ironhide then lowered his ears when he heard the mention of Bumblebee's abduction. If there was one thing that could get Ironhide in an even worser mood was the mention of the abduction. "Yes, I know. I do not want that to happen again,"

"Neither does Optimus," Ratchet added, but then he remembered. "Speaking of Prime, did you noticed how he felt when Bumblebee asked him that same question? The way he felt uncomfortable and apprehensive?"

Kind to think of it, Ironhide did remember seeing Optimus Prime's behavior. And he had a very good reason for remembering. He had remembered who Optimus was born to after he found alone in the woods. The pup had explained that his mother had red eyes and that his father had blue eyes, and it might have been possible that Bumblebee's question had stirred up painful memories about his parents death by the humans.

"But, Bumblebee is still a pup, and he might probably forget about the subject after he has played with Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and Jazz."

Ratchet nodded in agreement, but then he still had that unsure feeling of Bumblebee's inquiry of the possible unity of Dire Wolf packs of different eye color. If Bumblebee had been terrified after his abduction, why would he bring up the idea of unity?

*Authors Note*
(Well, here you all are. Forgive me for keeping you all waiting. I just got myself a second job at a dog daycare center. I will be at work on the next chapter when ever I have free time. Sparkling Lover out.)