I'M BACK! It's been too long. WAAAAAY too long, but I'm super happy to finally be able to come out with another update. This chapter ended up being 46 pages long, so I hope that makes up for the long wait!

Please note: I do not own Transformers. I do, however, have my own OC's which I have inserted into the story. My OC's include Reese Shields and Chase Sanders. Electra belongs to my sister.

Chapter 18: Flight of the Bumblebee

This chapter corresponds to the episode "Operation Bumblebee Part 2"

Ratchet sped into the base, barely stopping long enough to let the kids out before transforming. He ran over to the ground bridge controls, pulling up the last entered coordinates.

"You two stay here; I'm going to go through to help Bulkhead and Bumblebee. If the others arrive before we return, send them through as well. Understood?"

"Got it!" Reese nodded.

Ratchet ran through the bridge, leaving a very distraught Reese and Raf on the other side.

"What do you think happened?" Raf tried to fill the tense silence.

"I don't know if I even want to know…" Reese wrapped her arms around her middle tightly. Worst case scenarios were running through her head, and she was finding it difficult to keep her panic at bay.

Both kids turned when they heard Optimus and Arcee speed into the base.

"Hey, glad you're here! Ratchet went through to help Bulkhead and Bee. He said to send you guys through if you got here before they got back." Reese ran over to the railing of the platform, sounding a little frantic.

"Understood," Optimus and Arcee transformed and prepared to go through the bridge, but before they could, Ratchet and Bulkhead came through, supporting an unconscious Bumblebee.

"BEE!" Reese gasped, covering her mouth.

"Help me get him to the medical berth," Ratchet ordered Bulkhead, carrying the unconscious scout into the med bay and laying him down on the berth.

"WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED!?" Reese ran up into the med bay where Bumblebee lay. She climbed up onto the berth, taking in Bee's condition. His chassis was dented and scratched up in several places, and there was energon leaking from several mesh wounds all over his frame.

"We, uh, picked up another Iacon beacon and went to investigate. I told Bee to stay behind, but he insisted on coming. He chased after Knockout while I dealt with Breakdown… When I found him, he was lying at the bottom of a cliff, unconscious," Bulkhead rubbed the back of his helm awkwardly, as he recounted what happened.

"You had one job! You were told to make sure that Bumblebee didn't leave the base! What were you thinking?" Reese jumped down from the medical berth and stomped up to Bulkhead. She was seething.

"I just… I don't know…" Bulkhead glared at the floor, internally berating himself.

"You had the ability to stop him, to make him stay here at the base, and yet, you let him come with you, even though he couldn't transform! For crying out loud, we can't even trust you with the simplest of tasks!" Reese threw her hands up in the air in frustration. If something had been lying around, she probably would have chucked it at Bulk; she was that angry.

"I'm sorry. I messed up."

"You're dang right, you messed up! But apologizing isn't going to fix Bumblebee, now is it?" Reese spat.

"Reese, that's enough. Why don't you go up top to cool down for a bit," Optimus interjected, effectively ending Reese's verbal attack on Bulkhead.

"I can't just leave Bumblebee," Reese argued, tears welling up in her eyes. She ran back over to the unconscious bot, hugging his servo, which hung limply off the side of the medical berth.

"We will let you know when he reawakens. For now, you need some time to clear your head," Optimus wouldn't take no for an answer.

"But…"

"That's an order, Reese".

Reese looked up at the Prime, dumbfounded. He had never ordered her to do anything before. All she had done was yell at Bulkhead, so why was Optimus ordering her to leave? Arcee yelled at Bulkhead all the time, and Optimus never ordered her to leave.

"Yes sir," Reese mumbled, wiping her eyes as she shuffled towards the elevator. She stepped into the elevator and hit the button to go to the top, avoiding eye contact with the other bots as the doors closed.

When the elevator reached the top of the plateau, Reese stepped out, kicking a rock that lay by the door. She watched as it skidded across the ground, coming to a stop close to the edge of the plateau.

"Why would he order me to leave? All I did was yell at Bulkhead… I mean, I suppose that maybe I went too far, but I was justified, right? I mean, Ratchet and Arcee have said much worse before." Reese stalked over to the edge, picking up the pebble she had kicked. She rolled it around in her fingers a couple times before chucking it as hard as she could off the plateau. It felt good to throw something.

"I don't know what I would do If I lost Bumblebee…" She sat down, hugging her knees. Bumblebee was one of her best friends. In fact, he was family. Just the thought of him dying made her heart wrench in her chest. "How could he be such an idiot? He knew that he couldn't transform. He's so selfish!" Reese threw another pebble off the edge.

"I need to go do something constructive. Something to get my mind off all of this. Besides, I'm running out of things to throw." She stood up again, brushing the dust off her shorts. "But, where can I go? If I go back downstairs, I will just get told off by Optimus, again."

Reese looked out over the desert, and her eyes landed upon the little plateau where she and Bumblebee had found the outpost when she had first come to the base.

"Heh, I had almost completely forgotten about that little outpost. Well, I suppose I could go back and explore it some more. I mean, what could it hurt?" She thought aloud as she made her way over to the stairwell that led back into the base. She figured if she took the stairs, the others would be less likely to notice her.

She tiptoed down the stairs, making as little noise as possible. The others were all crowded around Bumblebee, who seemed to be possibly coming to. She desperately wanted to go check on him, but she didn't want to risk making Optimus angry, so she sneaked past them, darting into her room.

"I will just grab a few necessities." She mumbled aloud as she grabbed her backpack off the chair. She stuffed her laptop, flashlight, and thumbdrive into the bag and zipped it up, slinging it over her back. Then, she very sneakily crept down the corridor that led from her room to one of the hidden side entrances for the base.

Just outside the side entrance lay Reese's bike. Agent Fowler had brought it from her home a while back, but up until now, she hadn't really had a need for it. She lifted the bike upright and hopped on, pedaling towards the outpost. It was about a mile or two away, so it was going to take a few minutes to get there.

After about twenty minutes of riding, she finally pulled up to the outpost. Breathing heavily, she climbed off the bike and leaned it against the rock wall of the plateau.

Then, she walked up to the large metal door that she and Bumblebee had used to get in last time. It was still open, leaning slightly ajar. They must have forgotten to close it behind them when they left.

"Scrap, how did we forget to close this place up?" Reese facepalmed. She shuddered to think of what wild animals could have taken up residence inside during her absence.

She leaned her shoulder against the door and pushed it open a little more, widening the gap enough for her to slip through. As she stepped inside, her shoes kicked up a huge cloud of dust, stinging her eyes. She covered her nose and mouth, wafting away as much of the dust as possible. It had been dusty last time, but not this dusty, right?

She slung her backpack off her back and fished around inside for her flashlight. Finding it at last, (all the way at the bottom, go figure), she pulled it out and turned it on, shining the beam into the darkness.

As the beam pierced through the thick air, Reese found the source of all the dust and dirt. It seemed that a large portion of the ceiling had collapsed, leaving debris and dirt everywhere.

"Huh, this must have happened back when Unicron was causing all those earthquakes." She mused to herself, continuing to survey the damage. She pointed her flashlight over to the computer mainframe and let out an audible groan. It was completely crushed under several large boulders and metal crossbeams.

"Welp, so much for finding out what was on there," She sighed, her shoulders drooping a little. "Stupid Unicron had to go and ruin everything."

She turned from the computer towards one of the hallways that led deeper into the outpost. The entrance to the corridor loomed eerily before her. She shined her flashlight into it, but it only illuminated a couple of feet, at most.

"That's not spooky at all," Reese sweat-dropped, debating whether or not it was worth it to actually go exploring around in the dark… alone.

"Well, here goes nothing." Her curiosity got the better of her and she pushed forward, shining her light down the hallway and trying not to think about what could be lurking around in the darkness.

Back at the base, everyone was stressed out. Bumblebee had come to, only to have Ratchet scold him and Optimus order him not leave the base until his T-cog could be retrieved.

This, of course, sent the scout into a downward spiral. What if he couldn't get his T-Cog back? What if it was gone forever and he was never allowed to leave the base again? What then?

The others tried to comfort the distraught scout, but it was no use. He was inconsolable.

Ratchet's spark broke a little to see Bumblebee so distressed. Bee had a right to be worried about his T-Cog. Who knew what MECH was planning on using it for? There might not be a T-Cog to retrieve by the time they found MECH's base.

A seed of an idea had been growing in his processor since they first learned that Bee's T-Cog was gone, and now he was almost certain that it was the right idea. He pulled Optimus over, away from the rest of the crew.

"What is it, Old Friend?" Optimus quizzically quirked an eyebrow at Ratchet.

"Listen, I know you probably aren't going to like the idea very much, but I might have a solution for Bumblebee's predicament," Ratchet vented.

"Is that so?"

"Well, I was thinking. There is no guarantee that we will be able to retrieve Bumblebee's T-Cog from MECH, at least, not in working order. So, I am willing to give him my T-Cog."

"That's a generous offer, Old Friend, but your solution would only end up trading in one autobot's handicap for another."

"I don't need it as much as Bumblebee does. The ability to transform is practically wasted on me. This is where I spend my days, working in the base, using my mind and my hands. I'm not the one who is out on the field, fighting the decepticons. You know, as well as I, that we can't afford to be one bot down." Ratchet argued.

"You make a compelling case, but we will get Bumblebee's T-Cog back."

"Optimus, it's in MECH's hands. They are savages. Who knows what damage they may have already inflicted upon it, or if I will be able to fix it…" Ratchet trailed off, looking a little disheartened.

Optimus vented, knowing what Ratchet was thinking about. "You did everything you could for Bumblebee that day."

"Look, this isn't just about my inability to repair Bumblebee's voice box. I just… I just want to do what's right," Ratchet looked away, his shoulder plating sagging a little.

"Very well, Old Friend. I'm sure that Bumblebee will greatly appreciate your offer," Optimus finally conceded, though it still left a heavy burden on his spark.

Down the corridor Reese went, shining her flashlight in every nook and cranny, although, there really wasn't much to be seen. Other than a few rusted pipelines and some empty crates, the hallway was relatively empty. She was about to just give up and turn back, when something shiny on the wall glinted in the beam from her light.

"Oooh, what have we here?" Reese walked over to the shiny object, and upon closer inspection, immediately recognized it as a keypad for a storage room. She would know, since her bedroom back at base was actually a storage room that had been converted into a living area.

"I wonder if this thing has a master override key like all the ones back at base do," Reese inspected the keypad closely, typing in the master override key code that she used back at base.

For a second, she wasn't sure that the key was actually going to work, but then, the keypad glowed blue and she could hear the sound of bolts retracting. She lightly pushed on the door, and it slowly swung open.

She shined her light into the room as she slowly stepped inside.

CRASH!

"AAAAAAHHHH!" Reese shrieked and jumped back out into the hallway, clutching her chest. She slammed the door shut and sank to the floor.

"Breathe, Reese, Breathe," she coached herself, trying not to panic. Surely there was a logical explanation for what had just made that noise. It was probably just a small animal that knocked something over, right?

Shakily, Reese stood back up, turning to face the door once more. She was half tempted to just leave it be and go back to the main room, but her curiosity was just too strong.

Cautiously, she opened the door once more, carefully peeking around it before heading back in.

She flashed her light all around the room, looking for whatever had caused the crashing noise from before. To her left, she noticed a bunch of metal parts scattered around on the floor. And behind them, cowering in the corner, was a raccoon.

"Ah, so you're the culprit. Poor thing, me coming in here probably scared you as much as you scared me." Reese chuckled a little at the fact that she had been so terrified of a small animal.

Now that she was able to relax, knowing that there wasn't anything to be afraid of, she took to inspecting the room more closely. It wasn't very large, seeing as it was just a storage unit. There were boxes and piles of stuff scattered around, but none of it looked terribly interesting. Most of the stuff was just spare mechanical parts anyways.

Reese made her way over to one box in particular that caught her eye. Well, box wasn't the right word for it. It was more like a large storage crate, like the ones that the autobots used back at base. The crate had large red words painted on the side that read "REJECT PROJECTS".

She opened the lid of the crate and shined her flashlight inside.

"Oooooh, now we're talking," Reese stared greedily at what appeared to be a bunch of different prototypes. She put her flashlight in her mouth so she could use both hands to pull out the device that was closest to the top of the crate.

In her hands was a prototype for what Reese could only guess was a jetpack of sorts. She set the jetpack on the floor and began inspecting it closely. "Of course, I would find something cool like this in an old military outpost. This place was probably a scientific research facility! I guess this thing must not have worked, seeing as it's in the reject box." Reese mused as she looked the pack over.

It was extremely rudimentary, and it had scorch marks all over it, like it had caught on fire at some point. "This is waaay out of my league. I doubt I could even get this thing to turn on, let alone fly…" Reese sighed, pouting a little. "Although… I bet Ratchet might have some ideas!" She immediately perked back up at the thought. "I will just set that aside for now and keep looking at what other goodies are stored in that crate."

"You're really going to give me your T-Cog?! Are you sure?" Bumblebee was flabbergasted by Ratchet's offer.

"Yes. I have given it a great deal of thought and run it past Optimus. It is a sacrifice I am willing to make for the greater good of this team.

However, I will be unable to perform the surgery, seeing as I will be one of the patients. That means that I will need someone to serve as my proxy," Ratchet turned to Bulkhead and Arcee. He gave one quick look at Bulkhead before shaking his helm. "Nuh uh, you're better at breaking things."

Bulkhead breathed a sigh of relief.

"That leaves you, Arcee," Ratchet placed a servo on Arcee's shoulder plating.

"Me? What about Optimus? He has much steadier hands than I do!" Arcee's optics widened at what Ratchet was suggesting.

"Much steadier, yes, but also much too large! This is a delicate procedure, and it requires someone with smaller servos to complete." Ratchet's mind was made up.

Arcee's shoulders drooped as she turned away from the others.

Jack seemed to notice this and came up to offer her an encouraging word. "Don't worry Arcee, you'll do fine. You're as steely as they get!"

"Maybe on the battlefield, but not in an operating room." Arcee vented.

"Same thing, right? As long as you're the one behind the knife, not under it." Jack shrugged, not sure what else to say.

Arcee remained unconvinced.

"Wait, does this mean that Bumblebee is going to transform into an ambulance from now on, and be all cranky all the time? Because, that would be weird." Miko wondered aloud, causing both Jack and Raf to facepalm.

"Miko, I don't think that's how that works. I doubt that cybertronian personalities are tied to their T-Cog," Rafael sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, I was just wondering, that's all," Miko retorted defensively.

"Hey Raf, you haven't seen Reese around, have you?" Bumblebee called over to his charge, diverting any further attention away from Miko and her weird ideas.

"Oh yea, she should still be up top. She was pretty upset, and Optimus sent her outside to clear her head."

"She was upset at me?" Bumblebee's door wings drooped a little.

"Well, she seemed to be more upset with Bulkhead. She lost her temper, which is why Optimus made her leave to cool off."

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm gonna go tell her about the operation. I bet she will be excited to hear the news." Bumblebee got up from the medical berth and made his way over to the Cybertronian sized elevator that led to the top of the plateau.

He mulled over what he planned to say as he rode the elevator to the top, knowing that Reese was likely still going to be upset with him.

The elevator doors opened, and Bumblebee stepped out onto the plateau.

"Reese, I'm sorry for going off and getting hurt. I was wrong. I apologize, but I have good news to make up for it." Bumblebee immediately began the mini speech he had planned in the elevator but stopped when he noticed that Reese wasn't there. "Reese?"

Bumblebee looked around, quite confused. Raf said she was up here, so where was she?

He went back downstairs and knocked on Reese's door, but he didn't get an answer there either. Disheartened, he made his way back into the main room.

"I can't find Reese anywhere. Does anybody know where she might be?"

"Last I knew, she was still upstairs. I didn't hear her come back down. Was she not up there?" Arcee asked.

"No, and she wasn't in her room either."

"Here, I will try to call her," Jack suggested, pulling out his phone. He dialed Reese's number and held the phone to his ear. After a moment, his face shifted to that of confusion. "Huh, that's odd. It went straight to voicemail."

"Miko, why don't you go and knock on the bathroom door? She might be in there. Also, Jack, Raf, you two go and check the rec room." Optimus instructed. "Bumblebee, you're sure she wasn't in her room?"

"Yea, she wasn't there." Bumblebee sounded concerned. He had an inkling as to where she might be, but he wasn't sure if he should say anything. Hopefully the kids would return saying they had found her.

Alas, when the kids returned, they all had the same response; Reese was nowhere to be found.

Bumblebee's tanks dropped. Knowing Reese, she probably went back to explore the old abandoned outpost they had found when she first came to the base. To be honest, he had almost forgotten about it, but the no phone signal was what reminded him. Should he tell the others? He had promised Reese to keep it a secret.

"If Reese isn't here, then we will need to split up and search the perimeter of the base. She could be in danger." Optimus ordered.

Bumblebee chewed the inside of his mouth, debating whether or not to say something. It would be unfair to make the others search the entire perimeter of the base for no reason, right?

After the others left to search the area, Optimus turned to Bee, seeming to pick up on his antsy demeanor. "Is everything okay, Bumblebee?"

"Uh… well…" Bumblebee ran a servo down his facial plating. "I think I might know where Reese is… I promised to keep it a secret, but it's not fair to make everyone else worry."

Optimus' gaze became quite serious. "Where is she?"

"Well, I don't know for certain if she is there… But there is this old abandoned outpost in one of the neighboring plateaus, a couple miles north from here. We found it when I was picking her up from work one day. There isn't any cell reception inside, which would explain why it went straight to voicemail when Jack called her."

"Understood. I will go check there." Optimus nodded, transforming into his vehicle mode, and driving out of the base.

Reese dug around in the box, looking at all the other discarded prototypes that had been left behind. There was what appeared to be a miniature holographic projector, which obviously didn't work, and some kind of energy rifle, but the autobot's weaponry put it to shame. Still, Reese handled all these devices with care, wondering if perhaps Ratchet could get them into working order.

"I wish I had a way of getting all these things back to base, but there is just too much to carry all in one trip," She sighed as she carefully placed the different items back into the crate. "Guess I will just have to get Bumblebee to help me carry it all back when he gets his wheels back. Speaking of wheels, I should probably go back and check in on him," Reese slid the lid back onto the crate and dusted her hands off on her shorts.

She slung her backpack on and made her way towards the hallway. Unfortunately, she hadn't gotten very far before her flashlight dimmed drastically and began flickering.

"Scrap, I knew I should have brought a spare set of batteries with me. Don't go out on me, please." She shook the flashlight a little, trying to get the beam to stop flickering. The shaking only made it worse, and soon, the flashlight went out altogether. Reese sweat dropped. "That's not good."

She crept out into the hall, sticking close to the wall of the corridor so as not to get lost. "This is fine, everything's fine," She whispered continually to herself, trying to remain calm. "It's just a straight shot back to the main room. There's no way I could get lost or anything, right?"

Famous last words.

Several minutes passed and Reese still hadn't reached the main room. Instead, walking forward brought her face to face with a dead end. "Well crap, how did I get turned around? I could have sworn I knew where I was going. Oh no, what If I never find the exit." Reese clutched her chest as panic started to rise up within it. "Wait, no worries, I will just call the base and have someone come find me." She pulled out her phone and dialed the number for the base, but her heart dropped when she got nothing but the dial tone. "Dangit, I forgot there was no signal in here. Now what am I going to do? I'm such an idiot; I should have never come here alone." Reese ran her hand down her face, focusing on keeping herself from freaking out. "Alright, well, standing around isn't gonna do any good. I guess I will just have to retrace my steps. If I can get back to the storage room, then I should be able to make my way back to the main room. Yea, that sounds like a good plan."

With this game plan in place, Reese set off again, retracing her steps, which would have been much easier had she still had a working flashlight.

Down, down, the corridor she went, only to find herself at another dead end. "SHOOT! I really am gonna die in here!" Reese kicked the wall angrily and wiped frustrated tears away with her shirt. She sat down against the wall, hugging her knees close to her body and trembling, despite not being cold.

As if things couldn't get any worse, from deep within the darkness, came the sound of clattering and the screeching of metal, causing Reese to jump to her feet. She looked around for a weapon, but it was so dark that she couldn't even see if anything was lying nearby. Instead, she resorted to brandishing her dead flashlight in front of herself. It wouldn't do much, but if some wild animal jumped out at her, she could at least whack it in the head and run.

The creaking and clattering came closer, accompanied by the sound of heavy footfalls.

"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm so gonna die," Reese muttered over and over to herself.

The sounds grew louder than ever, as if they were right around the corner. Reese shrank back a little, only to find herself backed up against the wall. Then, bright lights flashed in her direction.

In an act of instinct, Reese threw her flashlight as hard as she could. "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!" she screamed, before promptly dropping into the fetal position, covering her head.

There was the sound of glass shattering as Reese's flashlight hit its mark. Whatever had been hit grunted a little, but otherwise seemed undeterred.

"Why would I do that?" a very familiar voice asked.

"Optimus?" Reese peeked out from under her arms. Squinting a little, and blinking through the tears, she was able to see past the blinding headlights and make out that it was, indeed, Optimus standing before her. The windshield of his chassis completely shattered.

"OH MY GOSH! I'm so sorry!" Reese's hands slid down her face in mortification. She was beyond thrilled to see him, but also appalled at the fact that she had just shattered his windshield with her impromptu attack. She found herself torn between running and hugging him and cowering in shame.

"Don't worry; I am quite alright. I am just glad to see that you are okay. We were worried when we couldn't find or contact you."

"Oh, Yea… Sorry about that. I forgot that there isn't any cell reception in here." Reese picked at some invisible lint on her shirt.

"Why didn't you inform anyone that you were going to leave the base?"

"I… I thought you were mad at me. I had only intended to be in here for a little while, and then I was going to come right back. I didn't plan on getting lost. How did you find out I was here anyways?"

"Bumblebee informed me that you might possibly be here. You should not have kept this a secret. We do not have permission to be in here."

"I know… Well, I didn't know we weren't allowed to come in here, but I know I shouldn't have lied about finding it. I guess, I just wanted it to be a secret between Bumblebee and me. I didn't think any harm would come of it."

"You had us all very worried because we couldn't contact you. In the future, if you plan to leave the base alone, you should inform one of us, and stay within communication range."

"Yes sir… I'm sorry," Reese hung her head in shame. Optimus didn't sound angry, but he did sound disappointed, which was undoubtedly worse.

"Well, let's get you back to base. I'm sure the others will be relieved to see that you are indeed okay."

"I hope you know the way back to the entrance because, well, I got a little lost."

"I do," the disappointed tone in Optimus' voice was now replaced with something along the lines of amusement, which only embarrassed Reese more.

Reese followed Optimus through the hallways in silence, marveling in how deeply she had wandered into the outpost. It was a lot bigger than she had originally thought. She was glad that Optimus had found her, but she couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable walking beside him. Was he still upset with her?

As if he had somehow read her thoughts, Optimus looked down at Reese gently and said, "You know that I am not mad at you, don't you?"

Reese froze like a deer in the headlights. How had he known what she was thinking?

"I was not angry with you when I sent you upstairs to clear your head. I was merely diffusing the situation. Though, perhaps it didn't quite come across that way. I sometimes forget that you are not a soldier, like the other autobots, and perhaps I was too hard on you."

"Well, now that I have had some time to calm down and think, I can understand why you did what you did. My outburst at Bulkhead was doing nothing to help the situation, and it was only causing more tension… I was just a little surprised by the order, I guess. I mean, you have never ordered me to do anything like that before."

"It was a stressful situation for everyone, but I am glad you understand why I did what I did."

"Are you angry at me for sneaking away without telling anyone?" Reese ducked her head shamefully.

"Angry? No. I am a little disappointed that you didn't tell us where you were going, and that you didn't tell us about this place sooner, but I also know that given the circumstances, the way you acted was to be expected. I do expect complete and total honesty and transparency in the future, though. Do you think that is fair?"

"Yes sir…" Reese stared at the floor as she walked, her arms laced behind her back.

The two walked in silence once more until finally, they reached the main room of the outpost. As they walked up to the door of the base, Optimus let out an audible sigh.

"Are you alright?" Reese quirked an eyebrow at Optimus' behavior. It wasn't like him to just sigh out of nowhere for no reason.

"I had a… difficult time getting through this door. I do not cherish the thought of having to go through it once more."

"Why didn't you just use your holoform?"

Optimus stopped, optics wide, as he realized the logic behind such a statement. Why hadn't he used his holoform to get through? That would have been so much easier, and it would have prevented this whole situation.

"I suppose that the thought had never occurred to me."

"To be honest, I'm surprised you made it through the first time. Even Bumblebee had a little trouble getting through it, and You're even bigger than he is."

"Indeed, it was a tight squeeze…"

"Well, maybe this place has a larger exit, like the one back at base does," Reese began looking around, hoping to find a large driveway tunnel like the exit back at base.

"It is unlikely. This structure is much smaller than ours. It was likely meant for military personnel only, not vehicles, or autobots, for that matter."

"That's unfortunate."

"Well, there is nothing else to do then but to just try to squeeze through. If I could get in, I can get out." Optimus vented, looking at the small opening reluctantly.

In actuality, the doorway really wasn't that small. By human standards, it was giant. The only reason Reese had been able to push it open on her own, was because of her enhanced strength, thanks to her cybernetic implants, and even then, she had to use all of her body weight just to open the door enough for her to slip through.

For Optimus, though, it felt like the equivalent of a human trying to climb through a doggy door after they locked themselves out of their house.

With one last sigh of resignation, Optimus made his escape attempt. Emphasis on "attempt". His first try wasn't very successful. He struggled to get his very large shoulders through the door frame, but it seemed like no matter what angle he went in at, he still got stuck.

"How did you even get through in the first place?" Reese had to cover her mouth to hide the fact that she was desperately holding back laughter.

"That is a good question. I would rather not talk about it. Perhaps, if I transform, I can get through that way."

"Even in your vehicle form, won't you be a little too wide?"

"Perhaps, but there is still the possibility that it might work." Optimus transformed and very slowly drove forward. This attempt was slightly more successful, with him getting about halfway through the door before the hubcaps on his tires began screeching against the metal doorframe.

"You might just have to push through and take the risk of damaging the hubcaps," Reese bit her lip to keep herself from smirking. She couldn't help it. Optimus was always so serious and stoic, and it felt like he could do just about anything, but now, watching him try to squeeze through a door that was just too small for him, well, it was absolutely comical.

Optimus let his engine idle for a moment, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do, and then he gunned it. Sparks flew as his hubcaps scraped against the metal doorframe.

Reese had to cover her ears; the noise was so painful. It was like nails on a chalkboard. But almost as soon as the noise started, it stopped, and Optimus was through on the other side.

Reese ran out the door after him, laughing outright with relief. "You did it! You got through!"

"Indeed, although, I doubt that Ratchet will be happy with repairing the damage."

"Oh yea, I hadn't thought about that. He's probably going to be really upset about your windshield…" Reese rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Probably. Speaking of Ratchet, there is something you should know. When we get back to the base, Ratchet is planning on undergoing surgery to have his T-Cog transplanted into Bumblebee."

"WHAT!?" Reese practically yelled. "How will he transform?"

"He won't. He is willing to give up that ability in order to make Bumblebee whole again. It is an honorable sacrifice, though I feel much the same as you. It is a rash decision."

"I want Bumblebee to be able to transform again, just as much as everyone else, but I don't know that a T-Cog transplant is the right way to go about it…"

"I agree, but as of right now, it seems that Ratchet's mind is made up."

"Well, when we find Bumblebee's T-Cog, then Ratchet can get his own back, right?"

"That's the hope. Now, we should probably get going. The others are probably wondering what's taking so long."

"Oh yea, I had almost forgotten. Here, just let me grab my bike real quick."

"There should be a place you can put it on the back of the cab," Optimus offered.

Reese ran over to her bike, which was still propped up against the wall of the base. She wheeled it over to Optimus and placed it on the back of the cab of his vehicle form. Then, she ran around the side and hopped into the passenger seat.

"Alright, all ready to go," Reese gave Optimus the green light, and with that, he put pedal to the metal and sped back to base.

Bumblebee paced back and forth, wondering why Optimus hadn't returned with Reese yet. Had something happened? He couldn't help but worry.

"Bee, relax. I'm sure that both Reese and Optimus are fine," Bulkhead, who had returned from his search, tried to calm the anxious scout.

"Easier said than done…"

Arcee pulled back into the base and transformed, venting loudly. "Couldn't find any sign of her anywhere. Guessing you didn't have any luck either?"

"Yea, saw a lot of desert, but no Reese. But I'm sure she's fine. Optimus went to check out one other place." Bulkhead tried to sound confident.

"Let's hope he's had better luck than we have." Arcee sat down, resting her chin in her servo.

As if on cue, the sound of an engine echoed up the tunnel that led into the base. Optimus pulled in, and Reese hopped out of his cab.

"Reese! You're okay!" Bumblebee jumped to his pedes and rushed over. "What happened?"

"I got lost… that's all." Reese avoided making eye contact with anyone in the room.

"Optimus, what happened to your windshield?" Ratchet gasped, seeming more worried about that than the fact that Reese had been missing for several hours.

"There was an… accident," Optimus seemed to choose his words carefully. Reese appreciated that he was purposefully not mentioning that she was the cause of his shattered windshield. Ratchet would never let her hear the end of it if he found out.

"Replacement windshields aren't easy to come by, I will have you know."

"That is a concern for another day. For now, we should just be relieved that Reese is safe."

"Yes, yes, Well, since everyone is back, I suppose we should go ahead and get this transplant underway," Ratchet huffed.

"Oh yea, Reese, Ratchet is going to give me his T-Cog!" Bumblebee explained.

"I know, Optimus told me on the way back. Are you sure that's such a good idea, though? Shouldn't we just wait and see if we can get your T-cog back from MECH?"

"I know it's not the most ideal of situations, but the odds of getting my T-Cog back in one piece are slim to none. This might be the only way for me to get my wheels back."

"But you won't know until we actually find your T-Cog. Can't you be patient for a little longer?"

"You're kidding, right? I thought you would be excited about the idea, but instead, it feels like your rejecting it."

"I'm not saying it's a bad idea. I'm just saying that it should be a last resort.

"Forget I said anything," Bumblebee grumbled and sat back down on the medical berth, folding his arms over his chassis and avoiding eye contact with Reese.

"Bumblebee, don't be like that," Reese couldn't believe how childish Bee was acting.

Bumblebee didn't respond, he just continued to look away. Despite this, Reese could still see the frustration in his optics.

"Fine then, throw a temper tantrum. I don't care," Reese huffed and turned away, irritated by Bumblebee's behavior. I'll be sitting over here if you change your mind and decide to stop acting like a child." She stalked up the stairs and plopped down on the sofa, her back to Bumblebee.

She couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of regret as she sat there. She knew she was being just as childish as he was, but still, she wasn't in the mood to deal with his sour attitude.

She picked up a fashion magazine off the coffee table and flipped through it while everyone else prepared for the surgery. Ratchet briefed Arcee on how to perform the surgery, while Raf got Bumblebee hooked up to the Cybertronian vital monitors.

Reese knew she should probably be helping them get the surgery set up, but seeing how she wasn't on board with it in the first place, she probably would have been more of a hindrance than a help.

Soon, everything was set up and ready to go. Bumblebee and Ratchet were both lying on medical berths, hooked up to vital scanners and stasis inducers.

Arcee went ahead and induced stasis for Ratchet, making sure that he was good and sedated before moving on to Bumblebee. Before she could induce stasis for him, though, alarms began sounding throughout the base.

"What's that?" Reese looked around worriedly.

"RATCHET'S FLATLINING!" Miko shrieked, slapping her hands on her face, making her look like a live action version of The Scream(1).

"WHAT?!" Reese practically levitated off the sofa.

"No, he isn't!" Arcee snapped.

"It is an Iacon homing beacon," Optimus informed, pulling up the coordinates on the computer.

"But, if we are picking up the signal, then that means the cons have already unearthed the relic," Bulkhead pointed out.

"Then we must be quick. Autobots, prepare to roll out," Optimus ordered, much to Arcee's relief.

Bumblebee jumped up excitedly, but was immediately shot down as Optimus added, "Except for our patients".

He sat back down on the medical berth with a disappointed whine.

"I think it would be best to interrupt stasis," Optimus instructed, turning to Arcee.

"Understood," Arcee nodded, adjusting Ratchet's stasis flow.

Reese ran over to the computer and locked the ground bridge onto the Iacon beacon's coordinates and fired up the bridge. She waited for the autobots, save Ratchet and Bumblebee, to go through, before shutting it back down, ignoring the frustrated grumbling that came from Bumblebee.

Once the bridge was closed, she went over to check on Ratchet. He was out cold. It was going to take a while for him to fully awaken from stasis.

"It's not fair. I hate not being able to go with them. I hate being useless…"

"Bumblebee, so help me, if you complain one more time, I will find a way to induce stasis on you," Reese snapped. She felt bad that Bumblebee was in such a predicament, but his incessant grumbling and complaining was more than enough to frustrate even the most patient of people, and Reese was not known for her patience.

"You just don't get it do you?"

"No, I do get it, but complaining and throwing pity parties isn't going to change the fact that there is nothing we can do at this moment in time. I'm not trying to be insensitive to your situation, I'm just sick of your complaining!" Reese threw her hands up in exasperation.

Bee looked a little taken aback by this and decided it was probably best not to argue any further. Instead, he went back to silently skulking.

Reese pretended to fiddle with some of the buttons at the control panel, trying not to focus too heavily on the thick tension that hung in the air.

Thankfully, a few minutes later, Fowler came in over the intercom, interrupting the awkward silence.

"Prime, do you read me?"

Bumblebee jumped up and ran over to the video display. "Optimus and the others are away on a mission right now. What can I do to help?"

"What was that? You know I can't understand you…" Fowler sounded a little annoyed.

"Just tell me what to do! You don't need to understand me to do that, right?" Bumblebee continued to attempt to communicate, but to no avail.

"Look, just let him know, that I think I just found, the center of operations, for MECH," Fowler said slow and haltingly, as if talking to a toddler.

"You found MECH's Base!? Send the coordinates right now!"

"Oh for heaven's sake, can I please talk to somebody who speaks something other than bleep?!" Agent Fowler exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Sorry Agent Fowler, Bee just got a little excited, that's all. Thanks for the heads up, we will let Optimus know as soon as he and the others get back from their mission." Reese stepped up to the monitor, addressing Fowler on Bumblebee's behalf.

"Where is Ratchet? Doesn't he usually stay behind at the base when the others go on missions?" Fowler squinted at the screen to see if he could spot Ratchet. It was at that moment that a very heavily sedated Ratchet decided to start spouting gibberish from the back of the room.

"You know, I don't even think I'm gonna ask," Fowler gave a look of pure confusion.

"Yea, that would probably be best," Reese stifled a snicker. "Thanks again for the heads up."

"Sure thing, over and out," Fowler saluted before cutting off the communication link.

Bumblebee immediately jumped into action as soon as the call ended. This was not unexpected, but still extremely frustrating for Reese. She knew that she couldn't physically keep him from going and getting his T-Cog on his own. The only person in the base who could do that would be Ratchet, and he was still unconscious.

Bee bounced around impatiently, waiting for the perfect moment to ambush the ground bridge control panel. Reese turned and gave him a look that said "take one step closer to that control panel. I dare you."

"Reese, don't give me that look, you know I can't just sit around and do nothing after finding out the location of MECH's base. Who knows what they could be doing to my T-Cog right now? The sooner I can get it back, the better."

"I can't let you go, not without the others. You have no weapons or means of escape. If you went in now, you might end up losing more than just your T-cog. I know you desperately want it back, but I can't risk losing you. You're my best friend, and the closest thing to family I have. Please, use your head."

Bumblebee looked extremely torn. He knew he had to make a decision, but the consequences of either choice were almost too much. If he waited around, he could risk losing his T-Cog forever, but if he went, he would damage the friendship and trust that he had with Reese. His door wings drooped as he weighed his options.

Finally, after what felt like forever, He looked up at Reese with sad optics. "I'm sorry… but I can't wait and risk losing my only means of transformation. Please forgive me." Bee avoided eye contact as he made his way to the ground bridge controls, plugging in the coordinates that Fowler had provided. He couldn't bear to see the look of sheer disappointment and anger on Reese's face.

The ground bridge roared to life and Bumblebee stepped up to the threshold of the portal. He paused there, for a moment, weighing his options one more time. It wasn't too late to turn back, to wait for the others.

No, he couldn't wait, not this time. He stepped forward to go through the portal but stopped mid-step as Reese called out to him.

"Bee, wait!" She ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his pede. "Look, I know I can't stop you. There is literally nothing I can do. I am not strong enough to physically hold you back, but, if you are really set on going through with this, then please, let me come with you. I can at least provide a little backup."

"Reese, you don't have to face MECH again. I don't want you to get anywhere near Silas. Please don't make my battles your battles too!" Bumblebee tried to argue with Reese, but he could see that even though her face was pale with fear, she stood her ground right next to him. She was not going to leave his side for anything. With a heavy sigh, he looked down at her with grateful optics. "Alright, thanks for always being there for me."

"It's the least I can do," Reese gave Bee a watery smile, then she turned to the kids. "Raf, man the ground bridge while I'm gone. Oh, and let Optimus know that we will need him and the others as soon as they are available."

On the other side of the portal, Reese and Bumblebee found themselves in what appeared to be a military base. Everything was quiet, except for the occasional hum of machinery that came from one of the hangers nearby. That was probably the best place to start their search.

The two crept forward quietly, sneaking up to the hanger and peeking through the slightly ajar door. Inside, they could see Silas, Starscream, some other robot attached to the wall, and a plethora of MECH soldiers. Attached to the robot on the wall, was Bumblebee's T-Cog. Suddenly, everything made sense. MECH was trying to make their own transformer!

Infuriated that his T-Cog was being used to make a weapon for MECH, Bumblebee smashed through the entrance, attracting the attention of all of MECH's soldiers. Probably not the smartest decision.

Reese ducked behind some barrels of energon to avoid being noticed. She didn't have a weapon, and unlike Bumblebee, she wasn't exactly bulletproof.

She crept along behind the barrels while Bumblebee flung MECH soldiers in all directions, making a beeline (no pun intended) towards the robot that housed his precious biomechanism. It was behind these barrels that Reese found what looked to be a stun gun. Not exactly the most helpful, but it would do in a pinch.

"Well, beggars can't be choosers," She muttered as she picked up the gun. She could use it as a close-range weapon, but actually firing it would have to be a last resort, seeing as the nodes could only be shot once.

She peeked around the side of the barrels just in time to see Bumblebee take a flying leap towards the wall mounted robot. He latched onto it and promptly ripped his T-Cog from its very core. He let out an excited whirr of victory, but it was a bit premature. He had yet to get down from his precarious perch when Starscream shot an ion blast into his flank, sending him flying into the wall nearby, His T-Cog falling from his servos and rolling across the floor.

"No!" Reese cried out on instinct, rushing out from her hiding spot towards Bumblebee's fallen T-Cog.

"Well, well, who do we have here? Snooping around my facility, are we?" Reese froze as Silas's voice came from behind her. "You know, Reese, you never cease to amaze me. You seem so smart, and yet, here you are, right in the middle of my base."

"It won't be your base much longer. The other autobots are coming. If you were wise, you would retreat while you still have the chance," Reese bluffed. Well, it wasn't a total bluff, she was sure that the others would be there eventually, she just didn't know when exactly.

"Oh, come now, we both know that your precious Optimus Prime would never harm a human, even one like me. He's too soft," Silas jeered, pointing his gun at Reese. "Now, be a good girl, and drop your pathetic weapon."

"That seems like it would probably end badly for me, so, I'm gonna have to pass," Reese shrugged her shoulders, still gripping her stun gun tightly.

"Then you leave me no choice," Silas cocked his gun, preparing to shoot. Reese figured that he probably wouldn't shoot to kill, but she also didn't put it past him to shoot her in the leg or something.

"Nope!" Reese acted first, shooting her stun gun so that the nodes flew forward, embedding into Silas' abdomen. He dropped his gun and screamed as electricity coursed through his body.

Reese quickly backed away, preparing to make a run for it, when a crash from behind her diverted her attention. She turned to see Bumblebee's T-Cog flying through the air, the autobot desperately reaching out for it.

What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. Starscream pointed his ion blaster at the T-Cog and fired, causing it to slam into the wall and fall to the floor in a smoldering heap. Then, the decepticon second-in-command transformed and evacuated the base, leaving Bumblebee cradling his destroyed biomechanism.

Reese ran over to Bumblebee, too preoccupied with making sure that he was okay to notice Silas pull the nodes out of his side and start crawling towards the door. She didn't know what to say, so she merely sank to the floor beside Bee, comfortingly pressing her forehead against his arm. This is how the autobots found them when they arrived a few minutes later.

The team just kind of watched in silence as coolant dripped from Bumblebee's optics. Finally, Optimus spoke up. "Bumblebee, we should get your T-Cog back to Ratchet as quickly as possible. It may still be repairable."

"I doubt it," Bumblebee whirred back dejectedly.

"Bee, we won't know that until Ratchet can take a look at it. Come on, we probably shouldn't wait around here anyways, seeing how MECH could still be nearby." Reese spoke calmly and soothingly, gently tugging on Bee's servo.

Reluctantly, Bumblebee stood to his pedes and followed the autobots out of the hanger, his helm bowed and his door wings sagging.

Reese followed along behind him, only now registering that Silas was nowhere to be seen. Where had he gone? How had he been able to get up and leave so quickly and quietly after being tased like that? This knowledge left a sickening feeling in the pit of Reese's stomach. If Silas had escaped, then that meant that he could still come after her, and now, it wouldn't be just to turn her into some kind of super soldier, but also to get revenge. She kept these thoughts to herself, though, seeing how they would only make matters worse. With a feeling of heavy dread, she followed the autobots through the ground bridge back to base.

Upon their return, Ratchet went straight to work, attempting to repair the T-Cog, while Bumblebee explained what happened. Reese kept expecting Optimus to get angry, especially at her, for going along on such a reckless mission, but Optimus didn't say anything. He merely listened, nodding understandingly as Bumblebee recounted the events that had just transpired.

After the explanation was done, Reese ducked out of the room, sure that she would get lectured if she stayed any longer. She retreated to her quarters to hide, crawling into bed and burying her head under her comforter.

Despite being nestled into her comfortable bed, cocooned in blankets, she still couldn't help but feel the chill of dread and fear that continued to gnaw away inside of her. The fear that one day, she might end up getting caught by Silas again, and that if that were to happen, that he would torture her. She shivered as the thought echoed around in her head.

Thankfully, she was distracted from these thoughts by a soft knock at her door. She climbed out of bed and opened the door a crack, surprised to find Optimus' holoform standing right outside. Reese had yet to see his holoform, so he caught her by surprise.

"Optimus?"

"I took your advice and used my holoform this time. May I come in?" Optimus asked, his gentle blue eyes conveying nothing but calmness.

"Uh, sure," Reese backed up, opening the door wider so he could come inside. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, I just wanted to check in on you, see how you were doing," Optimus spoke comfortingly as he stepped inside and sat down at the chair beside Reese's desk. His holoform was that of a tall, well-built middle-aged man. He had black hair, with hints of silver near the roots. He wore a red t-shirt under and navy-blue leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans. It was a much more casual look than Reese had expected. "Are you doing okay?"

This question caught Reese a little off guard. When she had seen Optimus at her door, she immediately assumed that he was here to lecture her, but instead, he was asking her how she was doing.

"Uh, yea. I'm doing fine."

"Did Silas hurt you?"

"Not physically, no. If anything, I hurt him."

Optimus raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing. His silence, however, seemed to urge Reese to continue.

"I shot him with a stun gun out of self-defense. He, uh… got away, though. Now I'm a little worried that he might come after me again, this time for revenge… I'm sorry… I put myself in danger and broke protocol. I know I should have just stayed behind at the base, but I couldn't let Bumblebee go in alone. I just couldn't."

"Reese, you do not have to explain. Bumblebee informed me that you tried to stop him, and he wouldn't listen. He said that the only reason you went with him was because you knew he would need backup. Perhaps your decision was reckless, but it was the right decision for the moment. I am glad that you were willing to face your fears of Silas in order to protect your friend."

"You're not mad at me?" Reese looked at Optimus incredulously.

"No, I'm not mad at you. I hope you didn't think I came in here just to scold you."

Reese looked away a little shamefully. That was indeed what she had thought he had come in there for.

"I am sorry that we have not been able to better protect you from MECH. I wish there was a way to make it so that you didn't have to live in fear of them finding you. We will continue to do our best to keep you safe, and I am sorry that you have had to suffer so much at their hands."

"I don't suppose I have made it easy for you to keep me safe, so you don't really need to apologize. I think I'm a bit of a danger magnet. It just seems to find me, wherever I am." Reese chuckled a little, mostly in an attempt to release some of the pent-up emotions she was feeling.

"Well, danger magnet or not, we are happy to have you on this team, and we will continue to do what we can to keep you safe."

"Thanks," Reese gave a genuine smile. Just talking with Optimus helped to dispel some of the tension and fear that had been building inside her. "Oh, by the way. How is Bumblebee doing, and how is Ratchet's work on repairing the T-Cog coming along?"

"Ratchet has finished the repairs and is in the process of reinstalling it into Bumblebee, however, I fear that neither he nor Bumblebee are very confident that the outcome will be good."

"I see, well, I'm sure that Ratchet has done his best, and we will just have to work with the outcome, whatever it may be. In the meantime, I suppose I should at least be there when Bumblebee wakes up from surgery."

"He would probably appreciate that," Optimus agreed, standing to his feet and following Reese back into the main room. "Bumblebee is lucky to have a friend like you."

"Well, you know, I'm lucky to have him too," Reese smiled.

As she and Optimus walked into the med bay, they found Bumblebee waking up from surgery. The T-Cog had been successfully reinstalled, but as for its functionality, that had yet to be determined.

"How are you feeling, Bee?" Reese asked, walking up to stand beside the scout.

"I feel okay, but I'm a little nervous about transforming. Ratchet said he repaired it, but he didn't sound very confident."

"The damage was extensive, but I did what I could," Ratchet mumbled, not sounding optimistic at all.

"Well, you won't know until you try. Go ahead, Bumblebee, try and transform," Rafael, who had joined Reese, urged his friend.

"Alright, I'll try," Bumblebee whirred as he stood to his pedes. He walked out of the med bay and into a more open area of the base. With a deep sigh, he cleared his processor and focused on nothing but transforming.

At first, nothing happened. It sounded like metal was trying to shift, but not enough to fully transform. Bee tried again, but the same thing happened. His plating would shift slightly, but then would shift back to its original position. Bee's door wings drooped as disappointment filled his optics

Ratchet cursed under his breath and looked away, mentally kicking himself for not being a better medic.

Reese, however, wasn't ready to give up just yet. She walked over to Bumblebee and tapped against his pede to get his attention. He looked down at her sorrowfully, but she met his gaze with determination.

"Come on Bee, you're so close. Give it one more go," she urged.

"It's not worth it, Reese. It won't work."

"You don't know that. Just one more try. If it doesn't work this time, then I won't ask you to try anymore."

"Alright, fine. I'll try again, but only this last time."

Reese backed up a little and gave Bee an encouraging thumbs up.

He nodded curtly and once again tried to transform. His plating shifted, as it had done before, and once again got stuck, but this time, Bumblebee didn't give up. He gave his T-Cog one final push, his optics narrowing in determination, and to everyone's absolute joy, his metal plates fully shifted, and he transformed into the sleek Urbana 500 that was his vehicle form.

"YOU DID IT!" Raf cheered, clapping his hands gleefully.

"I knew you could do it!" Reese cheered as well, beaming widely.

The sound of artificial laughter echoed from Bumblebee as he opened his doors and urged Raf and Reese to climb inside.

The two teens didn't have to be told twice. They both jumped in, laughing happily.

""Where should we go?", Bee whirred excitedly.

"Anywhere, just drive!" Raf cried out in joy as he buckled himself into the passenger seat

"Let's go, Bee!" Reese urged, buckling up as well.

With that, Bumblebee and his two favorite humans (well, human and techno-organic) sped out of the base as fast as his vehicle mode would let him, leaving the others behind in a cloud of dust.

(1) This is a reference to Edvard Munch's painting, The Scream. You know, the one of the person on the boat, holding their face and screaming. I'm an art major, what can I say. I have taken four semesters of art history (RIP me), so I should at least put some of that knowledge to good use, right?

Well, thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :D Hopefully, the next chapter wont take so long. I hope you have a lovely and blessed day. Until next chapter - Lucy