No way. It couldn't be. I looked at everyone and told them to stand down.

"Arcee? What are you doing here?"

"Blue? Its nice to see a familiar face. I seem to have gotten the wrong coordinates. I was trying to get to the scrapyard in Crown City and the ground bridge brought me here. Wherever here is."

"You're on Griffin Rock. Why do you need to get to the scrapyard?"

"Optimus sent for me. Needed me for some mission with some of Bumblebee's team."

I snorted at Prime's name. Arcee noticed and asked what that was about.

"He drove Bee to suicide." Then I looked to Boulder. "Play the video, Boulder."

I pointed to the monitor and Arcee watched it. She couldn't believe what she was watching. She looked at me with sad optics.

"I'm so sorry, Blue. Give me the whole story from the beginning."

I sat down on the floor and Arcee joined me. No one said a thing while I told her how it all started. She was shocked that Bee and I were dating, let alone engaged.

"So, Optimus just switched you and Heatwave even though you didn't want to?"

"Yep. We're gonna bury Bee here in a nice, secluded area. Away from prying optics. Prime isn't allowed to come. He's the reason why I lost Bee."

"I still have to get to the scrapyard regardless, Blue. Can your friends get me there?"

I looked at Boulder who nodded. He opened the ground bridge again. "I'm gonna come with you, Arcee. I need to talk to a few mechs there."

"I hope Optimus isn't one of them?"

"No. I need to talk to Drift, and the twins."

Arcee facepalmed when I mentioned the twins. I chuckled. "You don't like them, do you?"

"I can tolerate Sunstreaker. Its Sideswipe that I can't stand."

"Sides has grown up a bit. He's not as bad as he was back in the day. He pulls pranks once in a while. We were too busy hunting down Decepticon stragglers."

"I know. Jack and I drove through about a week ago. Came across a few ourselves."

"How is Jack?"

"All grown up. Just lost his mom about a month ago. I've taken him in and become a surrogate parent for him."

"What about Miko and Raf?"

"Raf went to medical school on Cybertron. He wants to be like Ratchet. Miko went back to her country after her host family found out what she had been doing after school."

"I'm glad Raf is pursuing a good career. He was starting to turn into a Human version of Ratchet. Has anyone told the doc?"

"Nope. In fact, Jack and Raf are waiting for me at the scrapyard. They would love to see you again. I appreciated the times I couldn't take Jack with me on patrol, Blue. All he did was talk about you."

"I made a good impression on him."

"Yeah, you did, Blue. Hey Arcee."

"Jack! Look at you. All grown up now. Arcee told me you lost your mom. My condolences."

"Thanks. Optimus has been trying to get a hold of you, Blue."

"I have nothing to say to him. He made it very clear he didn't care what I thought or say." Then I walked away. I had to go see the twins first, then Drift.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

I found the twins beating each other up, like they did back in the day. I broke up the fight.

"Ok you 2. That's enough."

They stopped when I showed up. "Hey. How you holding up?"

"I'm doing the best I can. We're gonna bury him on Griffin Rock."

"I wasn't crazy about that place when I first showed up."

"But when Blurr showed up here, you had him doing your chores, Sides."

Sunny looked at his brother and smacked him upside the head. I shook my head back and forth.

He rubbed the back of his head. "What was that for, bro?"

"You're an idiot, Sides."

"But you love me."

Sunny sighed. "Yeah, I do. I won't deny that." Then Sunny looked at me. "Hey, is Boulder still painting?"

"Yeah, he is. He told me you and him did art shows all over Cybertron. Why didn't you ever tell me, Sunny? I loved the art shows you guys put on, just never knew who did it 'til today."

"No offense, but you don't peg me as the type to enjoy something as sophisticated as art."

"Then you don't know me as well as you thought. You'll have to come with me when I go back to Griffin Rock. His paintings are all over the Rec. Room where the team hangs out."

While the 3 of us were talking, Heatwave walked up. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was standing behind me.

"What do you want, Heatwave? It seems you didn't care what I had to say, either."

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Blue. You know this is what I've been wanting since we were on Griffin Rock."

"If you were really sorry, you would have thought about my feelings on this. I told you I didn't want to switch. I told that sorry excuse for a Prime I didn't want to switch, either. Neither of you cared what I said or how I felt about it. He just did it. Not thinking about what it did to Bee."

"What do you mean?"

"Bee is dead, Heatwave! Optimus drove him to suicide. An hour before we heard the news of your new role on Bee's team, he had proposed to me and I had said yes. Bee wasn't the same after he watched me leave. You got what you wanted at the expense of Bee's death and my broken spark. You are no longer welcome at Griffin Rock from this day forward, Heatwave. Now, leave my sight."

He turned around and walked away. Drift had been walking towards us when he passed by Heatwave.

"What do you want, Drift? I'm not in the best of moods right now."

"I heard."

"I thought you frowned upon eavesdropping, Drift?"

"I do. I was on my way to come see you, my student. I only heard the last of the conversation." Then he looked to Sunny and Sides. They got the hint and left.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

I turned around and faced Drift. He saw the sad look in my optics. "You are still hurting, aren't you, Bluesteel?"

I nodded. "Its going to be a long time 'til I fully heal from that loss, Drift. I…I feel so lost now."

"In time, you will heal. He would want you to move on and not dwell on the past."

"Even if the past was recent? He would want justice."

"Not the justice you are thinking, my student. Exacting revenge is not what Bumblebee would want."

I knew he was right. Its not what Bee would want. I'll let the high council deal with him. Optimus is not fit to be a leader after what he did. I radioed Ratchet.

"Yes Blue?"

"Has Optimus been arrested yet?"

"He's currently in a stasis pod. I need to get him to Cybertron to stand trial in front of the high council."

"Without a leader, they'll just disband the team."

"What about you?"

"I have a team already. They're waiting for me back in Griffin Rock."

"For this mission, we need a leader."

I sighed. "Bee had a plan. I know nothing about it, though. He didn't get the chance to talk to me about it."

"Ask Drift about it. He knows the plan."

"I'll do that, Ratch. Thanks…for everything." Then I ended the call.

"Ratchet said you know Bee's plan to get our friends back. Care to fill me in, sensei?"

"Are you calm enough to implement the plan with us?"

"Yeah, but I'm a little rusty on fighting. Maybe some sparring would do me some good to get some of my frustration out."

"Perhaps after you talk with Optimus. He has been trying to call you."

"That's what I've been hearing, but since he's in a stasis pod, I don't need to deal with him."

"Ratchet put him in a stasis pod?"

"Yep. He's going to stand trial in front of the high council. Its the justice Bee would want."

"And the justice you deserve, Blue." Strongarm had walked up to us and heard the tail end.

"That is true, Strongarm. I know you looked up to Optimus. I'm sorry he's not what you thought he should be."

"Don't worry about it. The lieutenant is who I aspire to be."

"A damn good cop, that's for sure." Drift gave me a knowing look cause of my swearing.

"My bad. Let's get the plan in motion and get our friends back."

"Can you work with your brother though?"

"I don't have a choice, Strongarm."

"Yes, you do. Send him back to his team and take over the lieutenant's team."

"I can't do that. I told him he's not welcome back at Griffin Rock from this day forward. I meant what I said."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Chase to Bluesteel. Do you copy?"

"What's up, Chase?"

"The chief is wondering when you will be returning to Griffin Rock?"

"Not for a few days. You're in charge of the team 'til I get back, Chase."

"I will not disappoint you, Blue."

"I know you won't. Just don't have the funeral 'til I get back."

"We won't. Just come back safe."

"Will do, Chase." Then I ended the call. The 3 of us walked up to the command center and had Fixit pull up where our friends are being held.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Explain the plan one more time so I have it right." Fixit explained it again. "Thanks Fixit. I'm sorry you had to do that."

"That's ok. Lieutenant Bumblebee wanted you to lead the rescue mission. He knew you would be successful in bringing our friends back."

I smiled, then I put my hand over my spark. I silently said a prayer for him. "Alright Autobots. Let's go get our friends back. In memory of Bee, let's rev up and roll out!"

We all transformed and left the scrapyard. We were on our way to extract our friends from Steeljaw and his reject Decepticons.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Alright everyone, switch to camo mode. We need to have the element of surprise. So glad we left Grimlock back at the scrapyard." I looked to my brother. He's the only one who didn't have a camo mode.

"Alright Heatwave. You wanted to do this, so here's your chance. Don't let me down. Take down that sentry with the highest water spray you can and get closer the more you spray him. He can't sound the alarm if he's "underwater". Catch my meaning?"

"Heh heh, got it. Can we talk after we get back?"

"If I'm up to it." Then I directed everyone to take their positions. Drift, his minicons and I snuck into Steeljaw's base and were able to move around without being spotted.

"Where is the prison on this floating rust trap?"

"Just up ahead and to the right. Students, scout up ahead. We will be right behind you."

"Yes, master Drift." Then the minicons went ahead of us.

"You did that so you could talk to me, didn't you, Drift?"

"Yes. I had noticed you had said a silent prayer in honor of Bumblebee."

"Yes, I did. His team needs a leader. The only one really capable of leading them is you, but…"

"Its best that I do not, Bluesteel. I do appreciate the offer."

"Then there's no one else. I don't see them following Grimlock."

"What about…yes, Jetstorm?"

"Our friends are not here. They have been moved."

"No, they weren't. Jazz and I are connected. He's leading me to where he is."

"Where?"

"Wait for us, Jet. We're on our way."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

We arrived at Jetstorm and Slipstream's position. "Follow me. I know exactly where they are. I just hope they're ok. I will tear Steeljaw apart, slowly and painfully if he hurt my friends."

Drift put his hand on my shoulder. I looked at him and nodded. He was telling me I need to calm down. I know him so well that we don't need to speak.

I had Bee's Decepticon hunter with me and I plan to skewer Steeljaw like a piece of meat. We found Jazz and his team not long after. I was glad he led me to where he was. I couldn't believe how bad he looked.

"Jazz. What did they do to you, buddy?"

He looked up and saw me. His visor was missing. So was one of his optics. "They really did a number on you. Where's the rest of your team?"

He pointed towards the walls. His team, or what was left of his team, were strung up and scattered everywhere. I almost lost it.

"Drift, Jetstorm, Slipstream. Get everyone down. Even if they are in pieces. We have to get them back to the scrapyard." I undid Jazz's chains and he fell down to his knees. I helped him up. "Can you walk?" He nodded. I noticed that his voice modulator was busted when he tried to talk.

"Don't talk. We'll get you taken care of." Then I called Fixit. "We need a ground bridge now! Tell Ratchet to be prepared."

"Will do,…Lieutenant."

"I…thanks." Then I ended the call. I don't know if it had been a slip up or intentional. Either way, it was a nice homage to Bee.

The ground bridge opened at our location and we took everyone from Jazz's team through it. The twins found Inferno's team and got them back to the scrapyard too. Along with my brother. He came back with a busted knee joint. He was limping.

"Chase is going to kill me."

"If he doesn't, Kade will."

"Or both. Bee's team needs a leader. I don't know who I can trust."

"Why don't you take his place?"

"Cause I have your team."

"Switch back? I know my team better than you do."

"That's true. Then I rescind what I said about you not being welcome back to Griffin Rock. If you want your team back, you can have them back. I know Bee's team better than you do."

"See, we know our teams better than the other. I was just glad to get the opportunity to help with a rescue mission against the Decepticons. Maybe let me come help once in a while?"

I smiled and hugged my brother. He hugged me back. "Thanks bro. You're welcome to come and help when we need ya. I wanna come help you guys out too. I could learn a lot from your team."

"Same with your team, too. Sunstreaker is a good teacher. I learned a lot about firearms. I'd like to learn more, if possible."

"You want Sunny to teach you again?"

"Sure. Right now, I'm going to have Fixit call Chase and tell him the good news."

"Don't tell him you got hurt. If him or Kade finds out, they'll come after me."

"Kade especially."

"Don't remind me, bro. Hey, see if Boulder wants to come talk with Sunny."

"Why?"

"They did art shows all over Cybertron before the war started. You didn't know that?"

"No. It does explain why he's so mellow. If it helps to keep the big guy calm, that's good enough for me."

"Chase needs a better hobby than trying to write a book. He's too literal with everything."

"Tell me about it. We have to explain everything to him so it makes more sense."

Heatwave noticed I got quiet rather quickly. "You ok?"

"No. Jazz's voice modulator is damaged. Ratchet doesn't know if it can be fixed."

"What about his team or Inferno's team?"

"All of Jazz's team is dead. Jazz was the lone survivor. Inferno's team survived."

"I heard you and Jazz are connected. You're not bonded to him, are you?"

"Not in the way you're thinking. I was part of his team at one time. Everyone was connected to each other. It was part of being Spec. Ops."

"Like Quickshadow is?"

"I'm sorry, who?"

'Quickshadow. She's Spec. Ops. too."

"Not on Jazz's team, she's not. I would have known about her."

"Maybe Jazz kept it from you."

"J-Dawg? Naw. Jazz doesn't keep secrets like that from me. I can read his mind. Its part of Spec. Ops. training."

We had been walking up to the command center while talking about switching back to our correct teams.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Fixit, get Heatwave connected to Chase on Griffin Rock, please."

"Sure thing, Lieutenant."

"Then you and I are going to talk about that."

"About what?"

"Calling me Lieutenant. That was Bee's rank, not mine."

Strongarm walked up to me. "We all took a vote and we want you to be our leader, Blue. You deserve Bumblebee's rank now."

"I don't know, Strongarm. I'm just a soldier. I know nothing on how to be a leader."

"Optimus didn't at first, either. With time and help, he became a very capable leader."

"Only if you'll stay on as my medic, Ratchet."

"If you don't mind my intern helping me out." Then I looked at who his intern is. I was shocked when Raf and Jack walked through the ground bridge.

"Jack! Raf!"

"Blue! Its good to see you!"

"Raf can help you all you want, Ratch. He became a mini you when we were still at the old missile silo."

"I wouldn't go that far, Blue."

"I will cause its true, Raf. Miko broke something and you said, "Miko, I needed that!" Just like Ratchet. It seems to be his favorite line."

Ratchet laughed. I hadn't heard him laugh in a very long time. It shocked me. I looked at him.

"What?"

"I haven't heard you laugh in like forever. When are you taking Optimus back to Cybertron to stand trial?"

Jack and Raf looked at me then at Ratchet. "Why is Optimus going to Cybertron, Ratchet?"

"Let me leave before you say anything, Ratch. I don't need to be getting upset right now." Ratchet nodded then watched me leave.

After I was out of hearing range, he proceeded to tell Jack and Raf what happened and why Optimus was going to Cybertron.

"Bumblebee is dead? Where is his body then?"

"Griffin Rock. Blue wants to bury him there. Her choice."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"So, you're coming back soon, then Heatwave?"

"That's the plan."

"We can't have Bumblebee's funeral without Blue."

"I'll make sure she's with me. She'll have to leave someone in charge while she's gone. I know she's gonna want to take some time off."

"Damn right I'm gonna take some time off, Wave. I need it. Maybe I'll leave Ratchet in command of the team. He was always monitoring Decepticon activity anyways."

"Only if he's up for it."

"I can't leave anyone else in command that won't let it go to their head."

"Like Strongarm or Sideswipe?"

"Exactly."

"What about Drift?"

"He has enough to deal with. Besides, he already turned down the offer."

"Are you ready to go, sis? They're waiting for us?"

"Fixit, is there a way to broadcast Bee's funeral so everyone here can be present virtually?"

"I believe so, Lieutenant. Would you like me to tap into their communications towers?"

"Yes please, Fixit. I know not everyone can make it. I would like Sunny to come with us, if that's ok with you, bro?"

"I'm fine with that."

I turned towards the twins. "Hey, Sunny. Wanna come with us? After the funeral, you and Boulder can talk about your painting projects or whatever."

Sunny looked at his brother. "Stay out of trouble, Sides. I hear you pranked anyone, I will come back and weld your aft to Grimlock's tail."

"He'd do it too, Sides. He did it to Bee one time when he accidentally scratched Sunny's paint."

"Actually, I taped him to the wall."

"You have to tell that story after the funeral. I have a few myself to tell."

"Then let's go. You have a mate to bury." I smiled and nodded.

All 3 of us walked through the ground bridge and back to Griffin Rock. Like Sunny said, I have a mate to bury.

"If you don't mind, bro, I'd like to look presentable for his funeral."

"Go ahead. You know where the showers are." I nodded then headed for the showers down in the bunker.

Boulder got to spend some time with Sunny before the funeral. Sunny couldn't believe all the paintings Boulder had done since landing here.

"Wow Boulder. You have improved a lot."

"Thanks, Sunstreaker. What about you?"

"Hardly any time anymore. When I finally do have time, my idiot brother decides to drag me into his pranks and then I'm hauled off to the brig with him. Then there goes my time."

"We've met Sideswipe. He showed up here one time looking for a minicon named Bounce. We helped him find the minicon, capture him then sent him back to the scrapyard with troublemaker."

"He didn't cause any problems while he was here, did he?"

"Nope. He was surprised the Rescue Bots still exist."

"I am too. I heard that this whole island knows about Cybertronians. Whose idea was that?"

"Optimus'. I'm still shocked that he's the cause of Bumblebee's death. I have never seen Blue so spark broken like this."

"I can't believe it, either. Sides and I will keep her occupied as much as we can. We'll also talk to the others, as well. She needs a good distraction."

"Hey, I can hear you talking about my sister."

"Sorry Heatwave. We're just brainstorming."

"That's fine. Just no negativity about her, ok?" They both nodded.