Longest chapter of this fic thus far is now ready to go (though I say that, and I just know somewhere down the line I'll end up writing an even longer chapter. It's inevitable).

This chapter was actually inspired by a comment made by The Creative writer, and if you're on the Spacebattles thread, you can already gleam what this chapter's gonna be about. Then again, I changed the name from the previously mentioned "Storing Up on Energon" to a more fitting one that gives it away.

Not much else to say other than that I hope you all enjoy the chapter.

Special thanks to SwapAUAnon and Quantum01 for Beta Reading.

Mission 5: Drinking and Driving

The drive back to his start-up base (it was more of a hiding hole at this point though) was more than a bit stressful for Bumblebee. A good chunk of it did stem from the fact that he'd just gotten back from a power plant in Ostania, having barely managed to keep hidden from the guards there as he fired up the Energon converter. He was still calming down from that, but it admittedly was less stressful than the cargo he carried in his back seat.

Here's to hoping I got it right, Bumblebee turned his rearview mirrors and looked at the cargo in question. Next to his converter were three glowing blue cubes of Energon, and the first he'd ever made by himself. The fact that he wasn't sure whether or not he screwed up in making it was another contributor to his panic, but that paled in comparison to the final and biggest reason: getting back to his hiding spot without setting it off.

"Don't-want...BRRZT...*explosion sound*-happen," Bumblebee experimented with the different radio channels, trying to form something resembling a coherent sentence. Thankfully, traffic was incredibly light tonight, with the sidewalks having few pedestrians as well. He hoped that his windows hid the glow of the Energon cubes. Odds were someone would find it suspicious that the interior of a yellow car was glowing an ominous blue. Well, that and it'd draw attention to the fact that he didn't have a driver at the moment.

Almost there, Bumblebee sighed in relief as he recognized the foliage surrounding his spot next to the supply store, slowing down just a bit when he saw people walking out of it. Not taking any chances, he entered the parking lot and stationed himself under a light, hoping it would drown out the Energons' glow. From the looks of it, it was just a small family of four; a mother with brown hair, a father with black hair, and two wards taking after the mother in looks. The son was about Anya's age and wide awake while the daughter seemed younger and was held in her mother's arms. The father, meanwhile, was carrying a few bags of provisions in his hands. Both parents were happily chatting, saying something about a possible vacation to somewhere called Hugaria, as they walked past Bumblebee's still form, not paying him or the blue glow in his backseat any mind.

Huh, that vacation they were talking about sounds pretty nice, Bumblebee mused as the family entered their car and drove out of sight. For a moment, he stayed there and wondered what a vacation was like. Maybe it was something he'd have a chance to go on someday? Families seemed to go on them here, so perhaps one with the Forgers wasn't out of the question. But the second it entered his head; he shook it off and started driving to his hiding spot. Gonna have to face the facts, Bumblebee, he transformed once he was hidden behind the trees and carried the Energon and converter in his arms, You can't interact with anyone here, so no matter how much you'd like that, it's impossible. Besides, you're in the middle of a war and have a base to get started on, he thought as he stood in front of the covered hole, No time for vacations.

As soon as he finished removing the stones, he entered and placed everything inside. With a nod, he turned to head back to the Forger residence, but stopped when an errant thought entered his processor, Should I test the Energon myself first? He looked back at the three cubes and picked one up. Normally, it was better to test the Energon via specialized equipment, which he sadly didn't have on him. Not to mention he had no idea how to jury rig any for himself. There were two potential avenues; the first being that he got it wrong and would be too sick to get back to the Forger residence on time. The second was that he got it right and was worrying over nothing.

Either way, odds were that he wouldn't find out if he just left.

Well, Bumblebee brought the cube up to his mouth and took a drink, Bottoms up.

"Ugh," Anya groaned as she felt something nudge her. Instead, she turned away from it to get some sleep, snuggling into her blankets. But before she could go back to dreaming of mama and papa stopping a big bomb from blowing up the city, her blankets were pulled off the bed along with her. "Ow!" she fell to the floor and rubbed her eyes, tears forming in them. She didn't cry though, since a familiar, slobbering tongue licked at her face. Blinking, she saw it was Bond, who looked super sorry for pulling her out of bed.

"Borf," he quietly yipped. Anya was annoyed, but Bond kept licking her face, and she couldn't help but smile and let out giggles.

"It's okay Bond," Anya hugged her dog, "But why'd you wake me up?"

Bond looked really scared of something as Anya realized his future vision was probably why. Staring into his eyes, she focused on his thoughts and read his mind, seeing images of a big yellow robot with a black stripe walking around the city. Is that what Bumblebee really looks like? Anya wondered, but she didn't have time to think about that. The next thing she saw was him stumbling about, bumping into people and driving them to panic.

And now Anya was panicking.

"Oh no," she said, shaking Bond's head, "Bond, what do we do? Mister Bumblebee can't be seen!" If people saw Bumblebee, they'd call someone, then they'd try to catch him. If he got caught, they'd stick him in a lab, poke him and run a bunch of tests just like what those people did with her. Plus, if he was caught, then the secret police could figure out Papa bought him, then they'd look into him, then Mama, then they'd all be found out, then...

World peace is in danger! Anya shook Bond's head even harder, "What do we do Bond!? What. Do. We. Do?"

"...Borf."

"You're right!" Anya whispered as loud as she could without waking her parents. She got changed out of her pajamas and into her everyday clothes with a black, fuzzy coat. "Starlight Anya and Bond have to save Mister Bumblebee!" she opened the door to her room and looked both ways, tip-toing to her parents' rooms and saw they were fast asleep.

"Borf?" Bond yipped just behind her, with Anya shushing him.

"They're sleeping," she whispered and tip-toed to the apartment door, "Let's go Bond. We gotta bring Bumblebee back."

"Borf," Bond barked as Anya slowly opened the door, letting both of them out before gently closing it behind them. When they were out into the streets, she hopped onto Bond's back, and he started running as fast as he could. He knew where Mister Bumblebee was, so Anya'd let him lead the way. Anya scrunched her face to look as much as Papa when he was super serious.

Hang on Mister Bumblebee. No scary people are gonna take you away, or my name isn't Starlight Anya!

Anya had no idea how long she'd been riding on Bond's back, or how long she'd been out looking for Mister Bumblebee. What she did know was that Bond was getting tired and starting to slow down. Wanting to give her dog a break, she got off his back and ran forward.

"Mister Bumblebee!" Anya shouted, "Where are you!?"

No one answered. The streets were empty with no cars or aliens in sight.

Maybe I shouldn't yell, Anya realized, remembering that Bumblebee didn't know that she knew that he was secretly an alien robot. But at the same time, that made things harder since she had to help him stay out of sight without him seeing her. How am I gonna do that? Anya put a hand to her chin and entered "thinking mode", And why's Bumblebee out like this? He's usually super smart about hiding. Is he looking for something too? Are there more space aliens here? What abo-

"Borf!"

"Just one second, Bond. Anya's thinking of something."

"Borf!" Bond bit her sleeve and pulled her back onto his back, forcing her to hold on tight as he zoomed down an alleyway. He ran down one corner, then another, then straight until he ran into a dead end. Bond sniffed the air, then barked, looking like he had another vision. Anya didn't get to see it, since he ran back and turned down a different corner.

"Bond, did you find Bumblebee?" Anya asked, but that was answered when she heard a loud crashing noise around the corner just ahead. Bond ran and turned, revealing to Anya a large yellow robot that looked like he fell face first on the floor. "Bumblebee!" Anya shouted, immediately regretting it when the robot lifted his head, Oh no, now he's gonna know that we know and run away. Instead of freaking out, Bumblebee made a loud, whirring noise as his...eyes? Lenses? The robot version of eyes drooped like he was about to sleep. He made a few more beeps and boops, with Anya realizing he was trying to talk. Since she couldn't understand what he was saying, she closed her eyes and focused, reading his mind.

Whash's Anya doing here? And why are the four of her...shpinning? Bumblebee's head was looking in a circle, like he was trying to follow something, Heh, that's a fluffy looking protoform.

Why're Bumblebee's thoughts all weird? Anya wondered, They're a lot like when Momma and Uncle Scruffy were... her eyes widened and she understood, Oh I get it! He's drunk! That's why he's stumbling around all...wait, robots can get drunk? More questions entered Anya's head, like what could possibly get a robot drunk? Did robots eat? What was a protoform? Why was Bumblebee making a bunch of beeping noises? Couldn't he talk? Were the beeps some super confusing alien language that no one could understand? Or was it space scout talk to hide stuff from the bad guys like Papa's ciphers?

"Borf."

"You're right Bond, we should get back home," Anya ran the corner alongside Bond and looked back at Bumblebee, "Mister Bee, follow us!"

Bumblebee stood up, stumbling after them with a loud whir, Hey, you forgot to pay the Shannix! Courier's gotta make...HIC...make a living!

Is that space money? Anya turned another corner, a loud crash coming from behind as she looked back and saw Bumblebee bump into a wall. A few toppled trashcans were behind him too. Calling out to him again, she led him through the alleyways to the exit. She walked out to the streets and looked around, seeing no one on the sidewalks. A car did drive by then, making her worry. Then another car, then another.

This is bad, Anya looked back and saw Bond making his way around the corner to her, Bumblebee following the dog like he wanted to hug him. Thinking quick, Anya ran back into the alleyway, stopping to the right of some stairs on the side of a building. "Bond, don't move!" Anya ordered, getting her dog to stop as Bumblebee picked him up, making more beep boops.

Fluuuuffy-HIC-protoform! Bumblebee sat down, leaning against the building as he petted Bond, Fluffy protoform.

"Borf! Borf! Borf!" Bond loudly barked a few times. He didn't look happy to be in Bumblebee's arms. Maybe he was petting him too hard? Or maybe the cold metal didn't feel good on his fur?

Gotta think of a way to get Bumblebee home without the cars seeing him. Not to mention get him to let Bond go. How am I gonna- Anya's thoughts were cut off as the door to her left creaked open. Out walked a woman with long black hair (though the lighting made it look kinda blue) in a nightgown rubbing at her eyes.

"What's going on out here?" the woman asked, noticing Anya, "Hey, are you okay, miss?"

"Uh, I-I'm fine," Anya answered as the woman walked in front of her.

"What are you doing here? A child shouldn't be out this late," she worriedly said, completely unaware of what was behind her.

"I...I got lost?" Please work, please work!

You poor child. Did your parents leave you behind? "I'm sorry to hear that," the woman said, followed by a lot of bad thoughts towards Anya's parents.

Mama and Papa are not "deadbeats", Anya frowned. The only reason they didn't know she's here was because she snuck out. They were the best parents she'd ever had! A perfect 100 points!

She didn't have time to say anything in her parents' defense, as the woman's mind went, Alright Kelly, no way in hell are you leaving a kid on their own. And maybe you can give these terrible parents a piece of your mind after you help her.

No! Anya panicked, seeing that the woman was about to turn and see Bumblebee. Before Miss Kelly could move, Anya yelled, "Uh, it's okay though! I can find my way back on my own."

Miss Kelly looked confused, and now Bumblebee was looking their way. His robot eyes had that same look Anya's had when the teachers at school said something confusing...which was a lot. "Uh, I don't mean to offend, miss," Kelly scratched her head, "What'd your name, kid?"

"Anya," she answered, getting nervous as Bumblebee put Bond down and stood up.

"Okay, Anya, it's really not safe for you to be out here. I'll go inside and call the police, see if they can escort you home," Kelly said as she knelt down to meet her at eye level, all while Bumblebee was stumbling towards them.

No, Bumblebee, stop moving! Anya couldn't motion for him to stay still. That'd just make Kelly look behind her.

Whysh Anya talking to a tiny lamppost? Bumblebee thought, And-and did Anya alwaysh have two sets of...what are organic auditory resheptors again?

Is he talking about my ears? Anya shook off the question, trying to find an answer to her problem when suddenly...

"Borf!" Bond ran up to Anya and began licking her face, giving Anya an idea.

"Bond!" she cheered, hugging him, "I found you!"

"Wait, you got lost looking for your dog?" Kelly asked.

"Yup! I got lost looking for Bond. That's exactly what happened. You can go inside because Bond can take me home!" Anya hoped that would be enough for Miss Kelly. But that hope vanished when she saw Bumblebee clumsily looming over them. Without thinking, she motioned for him to get away and hide.

"Ooookay? Either way, I'll call the authorities to help bring-what are you doing?" Kelly looked where Anya was motioning, jumping back as she stared up at the large yellow robot. Bumblebee just wobbled in place, making a beep noise that sounded a lot like a hiccup.

"Uh," Anya ran in front of Miss Kelly and waved her hands, "You're dreeeeeaaaaaming thiiiissss."

Miss Kelly didn't even move. She just stared, and stared, and stared. Anya tried reading her mind, but it was a complete blank. Before anything else could be said, Kelly's eyes rolled back and closed as she fell to the floor.

"Oh no, we killed her!" Anya shook Miss Kelly while Bond nudged her.

"WEEEEEEEEHHHHH!" Bumblebee whirred out, falling back with a loud thud. Anya gave him a glance before she saw that Kelly was still breathing. Letting out a sigh of relief, she and Bond picked her up by the arms and leaned her against the apartment door. It took a lot, since she was big and Anya was small, plus Bond didn't have hands, but they managed. Hopefully she'd think everything really was a dream when she woke up and not go to the Secret Police. That last thing she needed was for Mama's brother to go after Bumblebee.

"Bumblebee," Anya ran up to the robot's head, "You gotta get up! We gotta get you home." Bumblebee just let out a loud beep, leaving Anya to look over and see that there were still cars zooming by. She had a feeling it would be the same for every exit these alleyways had. And that was if they didn't wake more people up. There's gotta be a way to sneak Bumblebee home, Anya thought, It's not like he can hide in public like a- and then it hit her like a brick, mostly because she slapped her head, I'm such a dummy.

"Borf?

Anya looked to her dog, "I got an idea," poking Bumblebee's head, she said, "Bumblebee, transform!"

"WEEEHHH?" Bumblebee droned out as he picked himself up.

"You know, turn into a car?" Anya asked, putting on her best pleading face as she clapped her hands together. Not even Papa's super cool spy training could resist the pleading face. And he tried. Mama never lasted long though.

Instead, Bumblebee just looked confused and hiccupped, Ish Anya clapping or praying? Anya tried waving her arms around to get him to focus, but instead, he thought, I didn't know humans had wings.

With a huff, Anya knelt down and folded herself, hoping she looked enough like a car, "Like this! You need to turn into a car like this!" Bond followed Anya's actions and did the same thing to help her out. Bumblebee still looked confused, but then his robot eyes lit up, like he just understood something, and then...

TSCHE-CHU-CHU-CHU-TSCHE!

...Bumblebee's parts shifted and warped around. Anya looked up, her eyes going wide as she watched the whole thing. Car lights, windows, wheels, and mirrors all moved into place. In a few seconds, Bumblebee wasn't a robot anymore, and was now Papa's car again.

That was... Anya jumped and cheered, "That was so cool!" Now that Bumblebee was in car mode, Anya opened the door and helped Bond into the back while she sat in the driver's seat. Even though she couldn't see what was in front of the car, she couldn't help but grab the wheel. I feel just like Papa, Anya smirked, "Okay Bumblebee, let's go home!"

Bumblebee revved up, going so fast that Anya's head hit the back of her seat. They zoomed right out of the alleyway, but a bright light came from the left. Anya looked to it, but everything went all blurry as something crashed into Bumblebee, sending him and them spinning out of control. Anya was knocked out of her seat, face hitting the side window before sliding down. Her forehead felt a constant stinging as she rubbed it and started to cry. Bond's bark drew her attention to the back seat, and she saw him through tear-stained eyes.

Wiping her face, she checked to see if he was alright. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt at all. Anya was about to step out of Bumblebee to see if he was hurt too, but then she heard a door outside slam shut. Followed by hearing someone who didn't sound nice. She nervously poked her head up to look out the window, and she saw two large, mean looking grown-ups. One was holding a gun and the other was wearing a black coat.

Stupid ass driver, was what the coat guy was thinking, We're gonna miss our deal because of them. Good drugs like this ain't cheap.

When I get my hands on that damned idiot, I'll load him with lead, the gun man thought as both started to walk to Bumblebee.

Who're thosh guys? They look familiar, Bumblebee's mind slurred.

Uh oh, this is bad! Anya crawled under the car drawer and motioned for Bond to hide beneath the seat. He did, but not before he gave her a vision of the two scary men looming over her, pointing the gun and pulling the trigger. It was all too much like when Papa first adopted her; when bad guys kidnapped her and he swooped to the rescue. Only now there was no Papa, no Mama, no Bondman, or anyone like that to save her. Just her, Bond, and a drunk robot space scout who had no idea what was happening.

"Doesn't look like there's anyone in here," one of the bad guys said, but Anya couldn't tell which one. She was trying not to breath too loudly. If she kept quiet, maybe they'd go away.

"Open it up," the bad guy's command made Anya's heart jump into her mouth. She heard the door handle jiggle, but it didn't open. The bad guy got angrier with trying to get it open, even hitting the window, but Bumblebee wouldn't budge.

Bumblebee's...he's keeping them out? Anya's eyes went wide with wonder. Even though he wasn't thinking right, Bumblebee was still protecting her and Bond. She really did have a Bondman here to save her!

Okay, that guy'sh holding a...looks like a blaster pistol, the other's got dark armor and a logo on his... Bumblebee's thoughts went quiet before they suddenly screamed, These guys are Decepticons!

What's a Decepti- Anya didn't think to hard on that, as she was suddenly knocked down when Bumblebee revved up and shot forward with a burst of speed.

YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME! DECEPTICREEPS! Bumblebee swerved a few times before his driving straightened out. Anya managed to pick herself up and stand in the driver's seat to see they were about to run into-

"WHOAH!" Anya took the wheel and turned it to the right, helping Bumblebee barely avoid the car. Then she saw a sharp corner ahead and turned the wheel all the way to the left. Bumblebee skidded on the sidewalk and barely managed to get back on the streets, where he zoomed past another car. Anya saw that there weren't any other cars and sighed, now she just had to get Bumblebee back home...somehow.

"Borf!" Bond barked, Anya leaning over her seat to see him looking out the rear window, two bright car lights behind them.

"What is it Bo-?"

BANG! BANG! BANG! came the sound of a gun, bullets bouncing off Bumblebee's rear.

"Oh no! The bad guys!" Anya froze before bright lights flashed behind her. Thinking quick, she took the wheel and helped Bumblebee avoid the car.

Lots a shiny lights out here! Bumblebee thought, Just wanna go out and grab 'em!

"Nonono! Don't hit the cars!" Anya shouted, more gunshots coming in from behind. She tried looking in the rear-view mirror like Papa and saw the bad guys gaining on them. "Uh, Bumblebee," she looked at the radio, "Y-You gotta speed up!" Bumblebee made a loud siren noise, not seeming to understand what she was saying or that they were in danger. He was too drunk to know that they were being shot, and then...

"Born to be wiiiiiild!" the radio belted out, almost like Bumblebee was drunkenly singing at the top of his...whatever robots had for lungs.

"Bumblebee, listen!" Anya yelled over the music, looking back for a second to see that the bad guy car right behind them, "Those people behind us are Deceptitons! You can't let them catch us!"

Suddenly, Bumblebee's mind lit up in a panic, Decepticons? Oh scrap! Better get out of here! his driving stick shifted, Hold on to your skidplates!

Is that robot for bu- Anya's head flung back into the seat as Bumblebee sped up. She heard Bond yelp in shock, with her looking back to see the car lights fading. She managed to look forward, seeing a few cars ahead as she helped Bumblebee get passed them. The music got louder, and next thing Anya knew, the road started rising above the buildings. I think I remember this in school, Anya thought, They called it an-an overpass!

"Borf!" Bond barked again, and this time Anya didn't need to look back to know the bad guys were catching up again. The pistol shot told her that already.

"Fire all your guns at once!" Bumblebee "sang" more of the song, "And explode into space!"

"Bumblebee, speed up! The Deceptitons are gaining on us!"

Not on my-HIC-watch! Bumblebee's speed hit its limit and they were propelled faster than ever before. Anya struggled to keep them from hitting any cars as everything outside was now all blurry. She had a close call with a big white car to the left, but she managed to just barely avoid it. There was a lot of honking coming from behind her, and she looked back to see that the white car had turned, now blocking the road and the bad guys' path.

"We did it! We Got away!" Anya cheered, Bond barking happily while Bumblebee stopped the music. His radio played what sounded like a cheering crowd. Anya faced forward to help Bumblebee drive, but her happiness went away when she saw the turn that was up ahead. It was too close for her to start spinning the wheel. So as Bumblebee ran through the stone that stopped cars from falling off, she screamed. She screamed and felt her feet lift above the seat as they soared in the air. Bond howled and barked.

Bumblebee, however, played more lyrics, "I never want to die!"

"We're gonna die!" Anya screamed as she saw them close in on the roof of a building. She closed her eyes and braced for impact. Instead, they landed right on the roof, causing her to let go of the wheel and fall back into the seat. She couldn't see where they were going anymore, so she fastened her seatbelt and shut her eyes, arms covering her face for safety. She heard Bond shuffle in the back, probably doing something to keep safe too.

Suddenly, it felt like they were in the air again, then it felt like they landed, then they were in the air again, then they landed. Instead of going into the air a third time, they kept driving straight. Opening her eyes, Anya kept her seatbelt on and poked her head up, seeing they were back on the road...and speeding straight for another building.

"Not again!" Anya spun the wheel to the right, making a hard turn around the corner that spun them out of control. Anya fell back in her seat, holding on to it and feeling like she was gonna throw up from all the spinning while Bond barked in a panic. She closed her eyes tight and braced for impact, but suddenly, they stopped, Bumblebee leaning to the side for a second before falling back down.

Is it over? Anya opened her eyes and unbuckled her seatbelt. She looked over to Bond and saw he was okay, petting him to calm both of them down. Checking on Bumblebee next, she gave the radio a worried look and asked, "Are you okay, Bumblebee?" No answer, not a beep, whir, or boop. Anya read his mind and sighed in relief. He'd just fallen asleep. Good, we're okay, Anya got out of Bumblebee and saw that they were right back at their building, with Bumblebee parked exactly where Papa left him before.

With a tired smile, she opened the back door and let Bond out before patting Bumblebee, "Goodnight, Mister Bumblebee."

She and Bond made their way to the front door of their building, but right when they reached the stairs, it slammed open. A very worried Mama and Papa stormed out, "Yor, we'll split up and cover more ground, I'll start around-"

"Hey Papa!"

Mama and Papa's heads snapped to her. "A-Anya?" Mama asked, sounding super relived.

"I'm okay! I was just-" Anya was cut off as Mama zoomed forward and picked her up, hugging tightly. Papa ran up and began checking on her, making sure she wasn't hurt.

"Oh Anya! We were so worried!" Mama cried, followed by thoughts of her being super happy she was okay.

"Anya, are you alright? What happened?" Papa was asking questions super-fast, his mind wondering on where she was. I thought she and Bond were kidnapped. It seems the only logical explanation for how she disappeared in the middle of the night. But how could I have not noticed? Were the kidnappers using some kind of stealth technique? Did Anya escape on her own? Was she afraid? I should've been there to help her. I really have failed as both a spy and a father.

"No!" Anya realized too late she said that out loud and retracted, "I-I mean, I'm okay! I was just..." Anya looked down at Bond and got an idea, "Taking Bond out for a walk."

...

"Oh thank goodness! We thought you were kidnapped," Mama believed her immediately and hugged her tighter, For a second there, I was about to go through every criminal in this city to find you. Anya grimaced at all the violent thoughts running through Mama's head. Papa, meanwhile, looked at her with his usual seriousness, like he saw something and was now inves-tee-gating. He brushed the hair covering her forehead aside and his eyes went just a bit wide.

"Anya, did someone hurt you?" he asked, his thoughts trying to keep calm, but it was pretty obvious to Anya that he was angry at someone. Mama looked at her and gasped, thinking more angry, scary thoughts about killing "the monster who hurt her daughter". Anya felt her forehead and winced at the stinging, only now remembering when her face slammed into Bumblebee's window. It sounded like she had a bruise.

"N-No, no one hurt me, I, uh..." Anya stammered and tried to think of a good lie, "I...I fell?"

Mama calmed down, but Papa didn't look convinced. Anya got nervous, but Papa calmed down too, I suppose that makes sense, his mind flashed back to all the times Anya tried to do different sports, and all the times she fell on her face. Anya looked flatly as Papa thought, At the very least, I'm glad she wasn't attacked by anyone, but still, he sighed in relief before he gave her a stern look, "Anya, you shouldn't have snuck out like that. You should've woken us up first so we could go with you. Going out alone at night is a danger, especially in today's day and age."

"I-I know," Anya felt tears start to well up, remembering the bad guys that were chasing them. The whole thing was so scary, and she thought she was gonna die. She, Bond, and Bumblebee were just really lucky they came home in one piece.

"Anya, what's wrong?" Mama asked.

"It was-" Anya sniffled, "I was just really scared. I-I got lost, and Bond helped me get home." It wasn't a complete lie. She really was scared with what just happened, and looking back, she did kinda get lost trying to find Bumblebee, "I wanted to be b-brave like you, b-but I wasn't."

Mana and Papa looked to each other, then back to Anya as Mama knelt down to place her on the floor. "Anya, it's okay," Mama held her close in a warm hug, "Believe it or not, I'm not always that brave either. When we saw you were missing, I was terrified."

"So was I," Papa patted her head, giving his own small, reassuring smile, "Anya, I know you're a tough child for your age, but you're still a child. It's okay to be afraid. Even grown-ups like me and your mother get scared a lot." Especially in life-or-death missions like stopping nuclear bombs from going off or getting cornered by a terrorist cell, "Just promise us you won't sneak out like that a second time."

"O-Okay," Anya yawned, feeling her eyes begin to droop, "I'll try not to...sneak...out," she wobbled forward, with Mama there to catch her.

"We should probably go inside now," Mama said as she picked her up. Anya heard Papa say something while Bond barked, but everything was getting muffled. She managed to open her eyes just a bit, and saw they were walking inside. With one last yawn, she drifted to sleep.

Uuuuuuuuuugh, Bumblebee groaned as the sun rose, feeling his processor ache, What happened last night? I remember I was drinking the Energon and...yup, that was not good Energon. Gonna have to redo the current batch.

It frustrated him that his first attempt at making Energon on his own was a screw up, leaving him to stew in his failure until the Forgers walked out of the building. As they got into their respective seats, he couldn't help but notice that Anya seemed a bit nervous, but for whatever reason, he didn't know. Loid turned the key, but Bumblebee struggled to get his engine started, still feeling fatigued.

"That's odd," Loid muttered.

"Something wrong?" Yor asked.

"Sounds like the car's having some engine troubles," Loid answered, "Think I'll need to look under the hood to see what's wrong."

Really not in the mood for that, Bumblebee forced his engines to start up, revving to indicate he was set to drive.

"Huh, never mind. Everything seems to be working now," Loid took the wheel and pressed the gas petal, sending them off. Throughout the drive, Bumblebee still couldn't help but feel a bit bummed out regarding his Energon failure. His entire job here was to set up a base, and how was he supposed to do that when he couldn't get Energon right?

"Papa," Anya began, getting everyone's attention, "What happens when you mess something up?"

"Hmm?" Loid looked back to Anya for a bit, "Why the question?"

"Because I-" Anya looked down, "Because I mess up in school a lot, and it bugs me. I want to do better, but...it's hard."

Yor looked back at her daughter with worry while Loid seemed lost in thought. Bumblebee wanted to say something through the radio, but he stopped himself, remembering he couldn't do that without arousing suspicion. Thankfully, he didn't need to, as Loid answered, "Anya, everyone messes up every now and then. I've made more than my fair share of mistakes at my job. I know that much."

"Same here," Yor added, "I can't even begin to tell you all the times I messed up when I first started working."

"But the important thing is you keep picking yourself up and trying until you're good at it. Nobody ever gets anything right their first go around."

Yeah, that's true, Bumblebee remembered Optimus' words that often, failure is a teacher. Everyone has made their share of mistakes, and what matters is that you learn from them. He even said something similar to what Loid brought up; that if they got everything right the first time, they wouldn't be at war. Still, he thought, Wish I could remember what happened last night, for some reason, Anya sighed in what looked like relief, It'd be a lot of trouble if I got seen by someone.

Anya looked a bit nervous again, and Bumblebee couldn't fathom why. He eventually shrugged it off and guessed it was about school.

"First Lieutenant!" Second Lieutenant Yuri Briar saluted as he walked up to his desk.

"What is it?"

"Police report," he answered as he held out the file, "They received a call from a civilian, one Kelly Shiragami, about something suspicious she witnessed last night."

"And they felt it curious enough to send it to us, huh?" the first lieutenant took the orange folder and opened it.

"Boss wants you to look it over, see if her claims are worth investigating," Briar answered, leaving the elder officer to thoroughly read through the file. The claims from the woman were that she ran into a hulking metallic beast in the alleyways the previous night. She went into detail about its freakish blue eyes and sickly yellow plating. But aside from that, there was very little else to work off of. In fact, the claims sounded more like those of a rambling drunkard.

"From the looks of it, we're dealing with either a crank caller, or someone who was drunk and saw things."

"You sure, sir?"

"Take it you read the report too?" at the question, Briar nodded, "Then be honest with me. You really think she ran into some giant metal monster in the alleyways? Sounds like pure science fiction. Besides, this isn't the first time we've gotten calls like this about the most outlandish things imaginable." He opened a drawer and put the file in it, "Best to just ignore it. Our job is to hunt spies. We're not paranormal investigators."

"Understood, sir!" Briar saluted and headed off, leaving the first lieutenant to ponder over the report one last time.

A giant robot. Tch, how absurd.

Yes, that's Kelly from the RID 2001 anime. Her bad luck shall follow her no matter what universe she's in. Her last name, Shiragami, is taken from her original Japanese name, Junko Shiragami.

As a What Could Have Been, I was initially planning for the chase scene to be with a police officer, but I decided to alter it to be with a couple drug dealing gang members instead. And I ultimately decided on Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf as the chase theme.

And yeah, Bumblebee petting Bond included a Big Hero 6 reference. Really, I kinda low-battery Baymax on the brain when I was writing out the scenes with Drunk!Bumblebee (aka Drunklebee).

And once more, thanks to TFwiki for having the transformation onomatopoeia available. Sometimes I wish all wikis were like TFwiki. Anyone else?

It's kinda funny that the recent SPY X FAMILY chapter was all about an over-the-top drunken Yor while this one's all about an over-the-top drunken Bumblebee.

Also, a brief cameo appearance from Yor's brother, Yuri. He doesn't quite have an active role in the plot yet, but he'll have one in the future.

Next stop will be the next Camien Odyssey Chapter. As for the next chapter of this story, let's just say that Bumblebee's gonna be getting a front row seat to Loid and Yor's fighting abilities. So, I'll see you then with Mission 6: Concussive Therapy.