Sorry for the long wait, but I finally have the next chapter out! Just got super busy with my other stories. In any case, we're getting back to Bumblebee and his efforts to gather resources for the Autobot base.

Not really much else to say here other than sit back, relax, and I hope you all enjoy the new chapter. Please let me know if you see any spelling/grammatical errors and I'll work on patching them up when I can.

Anyway, thanks to SwapAUAnon and Quantum01 for looking over a few things with this chapter. And thanks to TF Wiki for the Cybertronian units of time used in this chapter. Seriously, that site's awesome.

Mission 4: Building up a Base

It had been just over a Chord (or week, in Earth terms) since Bumblebee had been purchased by the Forger family, and thus far, things had been pleasant, barring the family getting the pet. He recalled how he was parked outside the adoption event for almost the entire Solar Cycle (day) while the Forgers were there, and with so many people around, he couldn't just drive off and do his own thing.

Still, Bumblebee thought, remembering how giddy Yor and Anya looked, as well as how exhausted Loid looked when they were driving home, It feels like I missed out on something really important.

Either way, he'd listened to Anya gush about how she finally had a dog and how she couldn't wait to welcome him to the family. A solar cycle after the fact, a suited man came over to the Forgers' building with the large, fluffy creature. Bumblebee recalled how one of the building's inhabitants walked out as the man walked in, asking where he was headed. From there, Bumblebee learned that the creature was the Forger family's new dog.

Still don't know what to make of him. He's just so...fluffy, Bumblebee thought as Loid drove him on route to Anya's school. He looked to the back seat of his interior at the creature. The dog wagged his tail and kept his eyes focused on Bumblebee's radio, Not to mention it feels like he's staring at me. Is that normal for dogs?

"The puppy sure seems excited, right Loid?" Yor asked, taking Bumblebee out of his musings for a Nano-klik.

Really gotta adjust to this Earth terminology, Bumblebee reminded himself they were called seconds on this planet.

"He certainly wants to see Anya again," Loid smiled and looked back to the creature before focusing on the road again. Soon enough, they'd arrived at Eden College, and right as Bumblebee came to a stop, he heard Anya's voice yelling out to them.

"Mama! Papa! Bumblebee!" the child ran up to them, waving goodbye to one of her friends in the process, and quickly opened the rear door. The moment she entered, the dog started licking and slobbering all over Anya's face as she laughed, "Mister Doggy!"

"Fasten your seatbelt, Anya," Loid reminded. After Anya did so, they were off and away from Eden. "So Anya," Loid said as he turned a corner, "How was school today?"

"I got to tell everyone about Mister Doggy today!"

"You didn't tell them about how you got him, did you?" Loid asked in a cautious tone, leaving Bumblebee to bristle a bit.

Seriously, what did I miss?

Anya shook her head, "No, just that I got a dog now."

"How did everyone take the news?" Yor smiled and looked back to her daughter.

"Becky was happy, and she said something about her pet too! Think they could play together?"

"I don't see why not," Loid answered, Anya smiling for a bit. However, her smile faded and gave way to a frown. Bumblebee wanted to ask what was wrong, but reminded himself that he couldn't. Thankfully, Loid voiced the question for him, "Anya, is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Anya looked to her dog and patted him on the head, "I just remembered Mister Doggy doesn't have a name yet."

"Oh," Loid said, "Well, have you thought of one?"

Anya shook her head, looking down to the car floor, "No, cause I'm really bad at that."

I beg to differ, Bumblebee thought. Ever since Anya gave him that nickname, he's found himself slowly but surely referring to himself by it. He couldn't help but be happy about that fact, finally having his own name. Sure, the Autobots tried to help him come up with names, but nothing stuck. He remembered when Hot Rod and Jazz suggested Goldfire as a name, but that didn't really work for him. Cliffjumper brought up Perceptor as a possible name, but Jetfire overheard the conversation and reminded them his fellow scientist already had that name. After they'd became friends, W-459 thought Goldbug would work, but that was too close to Goldfire. Bumblebee, however, was something that truly fit. That truly felt like...well, him, and he had Anya to thank for giving him his name.

As Bumblebee stopped at a red light, he listened to Loid help her with ideas for the dog's name, watching Anya shift from sadness to deep musings. The longer Anya struggled to think of a name, the more Bumblebee wanted to help give her ideas or even encourage her, but he had to maintain his cover. By the Pit, with his damaged voice box, he wasn't even sure humans could understand him! The first one he'd met certainly didn't seem to.

Still, there's gotta be something I can do to help, Bumblebee wondered as the light turned green and he went forward. In that brief urge to lend support, something inside him acted before his processor could realize it, and suddenly his vehicular form's radio sprung to life, belting out "You...can...Do-it...YEAH!" before going silent.

"Loid. What was that?" Yor looked to the radio in surprise.

Uh, whoops, Bumblebee grew nervous, thinking he blew his cover. Radios weren't supposed to just suddenly turn on. Frag, he wasn't even sure how he did that! As Loid's gave on the radio knobs became more scrutinizing, Bumblebee pleaded, Please think it was a short circuit, please think it was a short circuit, please think it was a-

"It was a short circuit!"

As Loid stopped at a red sign, everyone looked back to Anya at her sudden outburst. "What?" he asked.

Anya's opti-eyes were wide and nervous before she explained, "Becky says cars can short circuit and do weird things sometimes."

…

"Huh, you know, I think I've seen that before, actually," Yor pondered out loud. Meanwhile, Anya sighed, though for what reason, Bumblebee didn't know. Loid gave the radio one last look and turned the knobs, cycling through a few stations before nodding.

"Well, it seems to be working just fine now. Still don't think it was that though."

"Maybe we just hit a bump in the road?" Yor suggested just as the driver behind them honked their horn.

"Hmm, that's more likely," Loid said as he drove and turned a corner, "Either way, we're almost home, so best not to dwell on it right now," looking back at Anya and the dog through the mirror, he asked, "On that note, when we get back, how about we all get ready to go to the dog park? We can try coming up with a name for him on the way there."

Anya had a cheery grin as the dog affectionately licked her. For the rest of the way home, things were peaceful, but Bumblebee couldn't help but think about earlier with his radio. Almost on instinct, he managed to form a sentence using the various channels. Even if he wasn't going to be talking with anyone here, the new communication method was something to look into.

Just need to figure out how to use it, Bumblebee stopped in front of the Forgers' building, the family exiting his vehicular mode, And while I'm at it, I should probably start looking for supplies to build up a base.

"Bond, go fetch!" Anya threw the ball as hard as she could, letting Bond chase after it. Her throwing had gotten better since the dodge ball game, but she couldn't throw as hard as Mama. Then again, no one could.

"Anya, be careful not to throw the ball into the river," Papa said as the ball got super close to the water. Good thing Bond got it in time.

"Okay Papa!" Anya waited for Bond to bring the ball back, petting and hugging him when he did. Bond licked and nuzzled her face, making her laugh before she got ready to throw the ball again.

I'm not sure I get this game, Anya looked back to where Bumblebee was parked, listening in on his thoughts, It looks a lot like Lobbing, but instead of throwing the ball back and forth, you just throw it and the dog brings it back?

That sounds like fun. What other games does Bumblebee have on his planet? Anya wondered if they were anything like the ones she played. The one he mentioned sounded like catch, and maybe it was just as fun as it.

"Something wrong, Anya?" Papa asked as he walked up to her.

"No," Anya shook her head and lied, "I was just thinking about Mama. Is she gonna be back soon?"

Papa knelt down, "Well, your mother said she saw something interesting on the drive here and wanted to go see it for herself. She didn't say where it was, but she did say it'd only take a bit," he looked to the forests surrounding the river, It's been about thirty five minutes since she left though, and she said that whatever she saw wasn't very far nor would it take long. I know Yor can handle herself, so why am I worrying?

Papa sounds flustrated, Anya resisted the urge to giggle since she was the only one who really knew where Mama went. When Mama suggested the sight-seeing trip, Anya read her mind and learned that she was gonna be doing her assassin job around here. While she didn't get everything, she did know that Mama was trying to find a "cereal killer" hiding in an area of the forest far from them. Hope Mama stops that bad guy, Anya thought, Only monsters would do something like kill cereal.

Anya saw that Papa was holding out his hand for the ball. Anya gave it to him, letting him throw it for Bond to go after. She watched in amazement as it went super far, bouncing on the grass a bunch of times when it landed. As Bond tried to get it, Anya looked back to Bumblebee, hearing him think, Alright, think I know the layout of Berlint down, and with all the driving, I should be good with how traffic in the city works. But that's not gonna be much use if I can't figure out where I can find supplies for a base. First thing I'm gonna need is a decent energy source to convert into Energon. Anything electronic in the city might work, but how am I going to manage that without drawing too much attention?

What's Energon? Anya wondered.

"You keep looking at the car," Papa pointed out, "Something wrong with it?"

"Uh, NOPE!" Anya said to quickly just as Bond brought the ball back. Taking it from him, Anya ran over to Bumblebee, Papa following like she wanted. When they were in front of him, Anya threw the ball again, letting Bond chase it. With Bumblebee able to listen, she asked, "Papa, where do you go to find electonics?"

"Uh, you mean electronics?" Papa corrected just when Bond came back, putting the ball to the ground for it to be thrown again.

"Yup!"

"Hmm, well," Papa threw the ball far, Bond going after it again. He put a hand to his chin and asked, "Normally, people go to stores to buy them."

"What kind of stores?"

"Anything that sells televisions, radios, or household appliances," Papa raised an eyebrow, "Why the sudden interest?"

"Uh, it's for school...?" Anya nervously lied.

Seems odd that Eden would include that in their curriculum, Papa didn't seem completely convinced, making Anya panic, but thankfully, he thought, Then again, Eden is the most elite school in the country, and many aspects of their education include business fields, which this pertains to. It's likely the instructors want to make sure all students are eased into it and have a head start. Anya sighed just as Papa knelt down and smiled, "Well, what else do you need to know?"

"Umm..."

Okay, so that's one place I could get electronics from, Anya listened to Bumblebee's thoughts, But I don't think I could fit inside a store. Doors are too small for me to go through and I'd probably freak out anyone inside. Maybe if I could figure out where the store's supplier was or where the electronics were being held before they were brought there...

Thanks Bumblebee! Anya looked Papa in the eyes and asked, "What kind of places are electonics kept in before they get sent to stores?"

"Let's see..." Papa started thinking of a good way to answer.

Okay, Anya's asking a lot of questions and all of them are weirdly matching everything I need to know, Bumblebee thought, making Anya nervous. Her eyes darted between him and Papa, hoping she could say something to make Bumblebee less sus-

Eh, I'm sure it's probably a coincidence, came Bumblebee's next thought, Kid just seems naturally curious.

PHEW! Anya sighed at the close call just as Bond came back and gave her the ball. She gave him a quick hug and head pat before turning back to Papa, who looked ready to answer.

"Normally, electronics like those are made in factories and held in storage facilities like warehouses or shipping yards before being sent off to be sold. There's a lot more to it, naturally, but that's the basics."

Anya nodded and was about to ask another question, but before she could, Mama called out, "I'm back! Sorry that took so long!" Everyone looked to her, and Anya picked up on Mama's thoughts, It took way longer than I thought it would to dismember the killer's body and bury the parts all over the forest. What followed next was a bunch of scary images of what Mama did to the cereal killer. Anya could only blankly stared at her mom. At this point, she was getting numb to how graphic Mama's mind was.

"It's fine Yor, though we were starting to get worried with how long it-" Papa stopped and had that worried look on his face again. He walked up to Mama and pointed to her sleeve, "Yor, it looks like you have a scratch there."

Mama looked down at the sleeve, and Anya saw that there was a tear in it. "W-what? How did that happen?" Mama asked while thinking, I thought I dodged all his knife strikes. Are my reflexes growing dull?

"Hmm," Papa held out Mama's arm and looked at the tear, all while Mama turned super red, "It doesn't look like it could've been caused by a stray branch. Looks more like either a knife or claw slash of some kind. Thankfully, whatever it was missed your skin, so there's no blood," Papa looked Mama in the eye, "Yor, were you attacked by something?"

Oh no, I can't let them figure out what I was doing or that I'm an assassin! Come on Yor, think! Say something, anythi-

"Mama, did you fight a bear?" Anya asked, helping her mom out.

What's a bear? Bumblebee wondered, Anya trying not to giggle.

"What, no I did-wait a minute," Mama clapped her hands and put on her best smile, "Yes, I fought a bear! It had large claws sharp enough to cut down trees and was incredibly tall! It was even bigger than our car!" I mean, most of it's true since the killer could cut down trees with his knives. That's what he tried to do to me, Mama thought, Plus he was taller than Bumblebee's roof, though me and Loid both are, so that's probably not saying much.

That sounds so cool! Anya thought in excitement, her smile growing brighter as Bond barked.

Wow, this planet sounds like it has some intense wildlife, Bumblebee's own thoughts sounded amazed, And Yor fought it off! Wonder if all humans could do that. Is everyone on this planet crazy strong even with their small size?

Nope, just Mama and Papa, Anya held a hand to her mouth to hold in her laughter, but nobody noticed anyway since Mama still looked a bit nervous and Papa was lost in his thoughts.

I'm not sure what species of bear Yor could have encountered. But it sounds like she had it well in hand, so it's probably nothing to worry about, Papa looked over to the forest, Still, just in case any animals like that are nearby, we should probably head back home now. He looked over to Mama and smiled, "Well, I'm glad you came back safe. Though I think we should head back home now. Don't want to risk another bear attack."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Mama nodded, her thoughts sounding relieved.

Seems good to me too, Bumblebee thought as everyone got in his car mode, I can try waiting until tonight, see if I can't sneak off to gather what I need to make some Energon. Not to mention there's a lot more I'm gonna need to find to get a base up and running.

As Bumblebee started listing off the stuff to make a cool alien hideout, Anya looked to her dad, "Papa, I still have a bunch of questions for school," smiling, she asked, "Could you help me with them?"

"Sure," Papa answered, "What do you need to know?"

This looks like the place, Bumblebee rolled up to a series of warehouses not too dissimilar to some of the ones he'd been to on Cybertron during his courier days before the outbreak of the war. It's just that instead of being given something to deliver, he was taking something from them, though that thought did give him pause. Should I really be doing this? he asked himself, I need to establish a base, but I don't feel comfortable stealing from this planet's civilians to get that done.

Sure, Bumblebee had to steal in the past, such as after he lost his courier job and needed a means to stay functional, but doing so always left a sour taste in his pipes. Transforming to robot mode under the cover of night, he activated his mask and began scanning the warehouses, No, focus Bumblebee. You can't procure anything on this planet like a human would. Like it or not, this is the only way.

He stopped in front of the large door of one warehouse and pulled it up, entering the building, seeing rows and columns of neatly stacked boxes. As he walked around, he took note of the varying sizes and materials, wondering which one had the materials he needed for Energon. His eyes scanned each of them for anything electronic in nature, showing the different kinds of tech and appliances the crates carried, though sadly, while plenty carried devices, none of them had an active charge going through them.

From the looks of it, most of them need to be connected to an external power source to operate, Bumblebee mused, turning a corner to another aisle, scanning through it. After several cycles of looking through, picking up and putting down boxes to get a closer look, it seemed the place was a bust. Okay, since the devices themselves don't have the charge to draw energy from, looks like I'll need to find a place in Berlint I can connect the converter to without drawing attention to myself. Not gonna be easy though.

Suddenly, his audio receptors picked up on a loud clattering within the warehouse, followed by a voice loudly saying, "Sorry."

"Would you shut it!" came a second voice that honestly wasn't that quiet either. Though Bumblebee didn't really pay much attention to that and was more focused on the lights that shined from the corner. Seeing that they were getting close, he panicked and backed up to get out of the aisle, only for his foot to step on something with a loud crunch. He looked down and saw that he'd accidentally stepped on one of the boxes, crushing its contents.

"What the hell was that?"

"I don't know, better check it out."

Frag! Bumblebee saw the lights drew too close for him to get away in time. Thinking quick, he shifted to vehicular mode and remained as still as possible. The sources of the light came down the aisle and made their appearance known; two tall looking mechs wearing dark clothes alongside masks covering their faces.

"What the hell's a VW Beetle doing in here?" the more well-built one asked.

"Maybe one of the workers left it here?" suggested the lankier one while his partner shook his head.

"Doubt it, but finders keepers and all that crap. Wonder how much this thing will sell for," he reached for Bumblebee's door and tried to open it, but the Autobot refused to budge. After several more attempts, the man got frustrated and pulled out a curved bar of metal, smashing it into the window. However, all it did was harmlessly bounce off Bumblebee's form, knocking the man back.

Weird, didn't even feel that, Bumblebee mused, So does that mean Yor's an outlier, or does being a parent cause humans to develop levels of strength comparable to Cybertronians?

"I thought that would work. What's this car made of anyway?" the partner asked.

"Don't know, don't care. Give me your gun," the man stood up while the partner did as was told, holding out a small firearm that was rudely snatched. Just as the man aimed the gun at Bumblebee's window, however, he opened his door as hard and fast as he dared, smacking the man back to his partner and knocking them both to the ground.

"Okay, to the Pit with this," Bumblebee growled out as he transformed and stood tall, glaring down at the shaking pair of robbers. Even though he didn't think he had much of a high ground in calling them out on that, no way was he going to take getting shot at lightly.

"W-What the..."

"Son of a-" the first robber grabbed the gun and started shooting. Or at least, that's what Bumblebee assumed he was doing, since every shot harmlessly bounced off him. When the firearm started clicking, both robbers started screaming and ran away in terror.

Well, I guess that's the end of that, Bumblebee began making his way out of the warehouse, transforming and driving back to the Forger home before any of them could learn of his sudden absence. But just before he could start resting, he snapped awake and realized, I probably shouldn't have done that.

"And in other news, a pair of burglars where recently apprehended late last evening when authorities caught them running through the streets," Yor listened to the news station as her husband drove, "Statements given by the police confirm that they attempted to rob a nearby warehouse. The criminals were found raving and screaming about something called "The car devil". One officer stated-"

"Papa, can we listen to music?" Anya asked, bouncing in her seat.

"Sure," Loid changed to station to one playing a rather upbeat song, though Yor struggled to follow the lyrics.

"Hey Loid, what do you think they were talking about when the news mentioned a car devil?" Yor wondered, mind racing to figure out what that meant, Could it be the name of a new kind of criminal gang? Maybe those robbers encountered a rouge assassin trying to make a name? Or maybe they were being literal and they encountered an actual demonic car inside a factory? her expression darkened, Though if they are a rogue assassin or gang, I'll have to take care of them should they start targeting the innocent.

"I don't think it's anything significant if I'm being honest," Loid said, drawing Yor out of her thoughts as she lightened up, "If you ask me, it's more likely they had a psychotic break and saw things that weren't actually there."

Yor thought about it for a second and remembered the events of when Loid proposed to her, how they had to fight through several of his patients when they were having such breakdowns. Nodding, she replied, "Makes sense."

"Papa, the city runs on electicity, right?" Anya asked.

Yor and Loid turned to face Anya, though the latter refocused on the road and answered, "They do. Why?"

"Where does it all come from?"

"Is this for school too?" Yor asked her daughter, who cheerfully nodded. It's nice to see Anya so excited for things like school. She's already a lot better at it than I ever was at her age, Yor thought, remembering how her brain struggled to keep up with everything in school, with things not getting any better as she got older.

Stopping at the light, Loid began explaining to Anya, "Most cities draw their power from a variety of sources, like power plants that operate on generators, or hydroelectric plants and nuclear reactors. Berlint, for instance, mostly operates on the former, though it has one nuclear power plant as well."

"Where are they?"

Anya's question was met with a hum from Loid, who continued driving as the light turned green, but Yor beat him to the punch. "Oh, I know where one of them is," she said with a smile, "Visited it once on a trip."

"Huh, sounds like it must have been fun," Loid smiled back, "Was it a tour of some sort?"

"U-Uh," Yor stammered, "Yeah, I went there my co-workers when we had a day off is all," she looked away as her thoughts became fraught with panic, I can't tell them I was there to kill the then manager for extorting and abusing his employees, not to mention stealing the factory's funds for personal gain.

"Can we go sometime too Mama?" Anya asked, Yor regaining her nerves and happily grinning back at her daughter.

"Of course!"

"I'll see if I can schedule a tour for us to go on at some point," Loid said as he brought the car to a stop at Eden College, both him and Yor saying goodbye to Anya as they headed off.

Probably not a whole lot, but given that we're only in the fourth chapter, that's to be expected.

But I was able to drop hints here and there regarding Bumblebee's past, as well as namedrop a number of other Transformers characters we're all familiar with. I was originally gonna namedrop Bulkhead rather than Hot Rod, but I decided to namedrop the latter instead.

Would you believe I didn't know that Bumblebee's job prior to the war in the original IDW continuity was that of a courier until after I finished writing this chapter? I had that idea for months at this point and I didn't realize it was part of the IDW series already until I looked up Bumblebee's 2005 IDW history. Though I did find it pretty funny when I read it.

Again, thanks to SwapAUAnon regarding the different names Bumblebee had throughout the franchise since it allowed me to reference them here. Though Perceptor's admittedly a stretch, given that Bee's Japanese name is Bumble, which just so happened to be shared with the Armada incarnation of Perceptor (in the Japanese version that is). But I figured I could include that as a mythology gag along with the rest of the names anyway.

Next time, Bumblebee's finally gonna have some Energon made for consumption. I'd go into more detail, but I kinda want to keep the extra details of the next chapter a bit on the down low for now. All I will say is that you can expect a fair bit of comedy. So I'll see you then with Mission 5: Storing up on Energon.