His heart stopped when a car horn screamed into his ears.

Ratchet! he screamed as his head flung towards the car racing towards them, his blue eyes wide and terrified.

The older cat tensed as his paws hit the concrete again, a grunt coming out of him as he pounced again, his gaze fixed on the other side. Bee heard several screams just like when Bulkhead had fallen. The horn only got louder and the kitten saw something flash before his eyes as the bumper drew mere inches from them. He would have screamed, but no sound came out as he watched himself fly away from the moving vehicle, frightened that this second would be his last.

As everything slowed, Bumblebee was unable to close his eyes. His mouth hung open as the car zoomed past them, only centimeters from hitting the two cats. Ratchet winced as a bit of his tail got smacked by the speeding metal, but his paws landed on the sidewalk and he skidded a little, arching his back to try and steady himself. The kitten was frozen in his jaws as the older cat finally came to a stop, his head and heart pounding. Ratchet sighed and set down Bee gently, shaking himself as the others crowded around him.

"Ratchet!"

"Are you alright?"

"That was too close..."

"Maybe you should have waited."

Bumblebee's head felt like it was about to explode. Ringing filled his ears as he tried to calm himself from the near death experience, their questions and the loud noises of the city making the pain worse. He grit his teeth and lowered his head into his paws, pressing his little toes against his ears and tip of his nose, trying to squeeze the pain out. He began to hear his heartbeat as well, noticing that his vision was getting blurry and spinning. He mewled in a tiny voice and saw a white paw step in front of him.

"Would you all be quiet!" Ratchet yowled, flattening his ears with an annoyed look. The others blinked and backed away, Optimus giving Bee and the medic a very concerned look. Ratchet huffed and bent his head to peer at the ball of yellow and black fur. "Is your head bothering you?"

Yes... he muttered quietly, not wanting to add any more noise to what he already felt. He rubbed his head with his maws some more and whimpered. He hated feeling weak and holding back the others, wanted to do more, but the pain was so white hot he wasn't sure if he could even stand. His eyes flicked up to Ratchet who was still looking over him, concern twinkling in his narrowed eyes. The older cat scowled and lifted his head again, looking over to Arcee and Ultra Magnus. 

"This place you found better be close," he grumbled. "He needs proper treatment, and I'm not sure how much farther Bulkhead can make it on that paw." He frowned again and walked over to the big green cat, who lifted his swollen paw sheepishly. "Most likely sprained, but if it's broken I don't want you hurting it much further."

"Let's not forget the part where you nearly got you and the kit run over," Wheeljack mumbled with a smirk. Ratchet shot him a look and went back over to Bumblebee.

"It's not much farther," Arcee assured them, flicking her thin tail once. 

Cliffjumper stepped up, his white ears deflated a little. "We'd better go before some humans get curious." He wrinkled his nose at a human on the other side of the road who was walking with her head down. 

Optimus nodded. "Let us continue, then," he said quietly, his eyes flicking over to the sky blue cat. Ultra Magnus nodded and once again took off, though this time a bit slower, with Arcee right behind him. As the others ran after them, Ratchet quickly but gently picked Bee back up, the young one mewling in pain weakly, and hurried on, glancing at the speeding cars with disdain.

At this point, everything was a blur to Bumblebee. The streets buzzed by in a flash, the sounds and smells lingering in and out of the kitten's head. He eventually realized that he was only semi-conscious, and tried to wake himself back up. A zing of pain would always flare up whenever he did, forcing him to give up and let limpness take hold of him. Through his haze, he felt horrible for slowing Ratchet, knowing that he was probably getting heavy in the older cat's grip by now. As quiet buildings and old gas stations passed him, he slowly felt his stomach begin to heave. Feeling like puking, he clamped his jaws shut, gritting his teeth and deciding to keep his eyes closed as well. Sounds seemed to muffle after a short time, and he wondered if he was even conscious at all now. Bee had no idea how long it actually was before he felt the one carrying him finally begin to slow down, feeling hot breath pant on his scruff. 

The little cat finally forced his eyes open, flinching at the dim light. He dazedly looked around and saw that he was laying down now on a makeshift bed of old blankets the others had found in a corner. Bulkhead was laying close by, licking his paw with pained eyes. The young kit looked up and saw that Ratchet had just set him down, standing right above him. He frowned at the wound on Bee's head and flicked his tail back and forth. 

"I'm going to have to see what supplies I can find here," he said softly, a slight purr of assurance rising from his throat, but he hid it just as quickly. "Remain here and rest for a while." He licked the young cat's ear once before padding off in search of anything he could use. 

Bee watched him look around for a little while before his curiosity brought him to gazing around the place. It looked like an abandoned silo, not a small building, but not large enough to attract attention either. In one corner there stood several dead computers and machines that the young cat had no idea how to use. There were only a few doors in the place, but he saw a hall that led farther down the building. He and Bulkhead were in a far corner of the building, near plenty of crates that would keep them hidden if need be. Bumblebee sighed softly and laid his head back down, wishing he had seen just how they had gotten in here.

Bulkhead finished cleaning his injured paw and looked over to the yellow and black kit. "How ya feeling, Bee?" he asked tentatively, limping over and settling himself down behind the younger one, his body pressed up against Bee's side. 

He sniffed. My head hurts, but I'll be fine, he meowed quietly. Ratchet said he'll help when he can. He's a good medic, isn't he?

Bulkhead paused for a second. "Well, I'd assume he is. Because we've been kept in a crate for so long, we haven't really had the chance to really see him in his element in a while. But what I remember from previous times we escaped, he always knew what he was talking about. And Optimus has been with him longer than me 'n Wheeljack have." He gently licked the top of Bee'd head. "I'm sure he can fix you up," he finished with a wide grin. 

And you, too, Bee mewled. How's your paw?

Bulkhead chuckled. "Aw, it'll be fine. I'm a tough guy!"

"Yeah, but don't let that get to your head," Cliffjumper said as he padded over, his ears pricked and his face beaming with a happy smile. "Might be the end of you someday."

Bulkhead laughed. "If I ever get my hide in deep trouble, I have no doubt that you'll do whatever you can to get me out of it." He rested his head down in his paws, chuckling once more.

Cliffjumper scoffed and shook his head. "Well, you know that's true. Same goes for you, too, kit!" the red cat said, looking to Bee now. "We got your backs!"

"But who's gonna have yours if you go off solo all the time?" Arcee said, sneaking up behind the bigger red cat and smacking his head with her paw. "That's how you got captured last time!"

The white eared cat only laughed. "Aw, don't be mad about that, Cee! I was only looking for something to eat, not looking for trouble."

Arcee sniffed, unimpressed. "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

You guys are funny.., Bumblebee said with a tiny laugh. Another sting of pain shot through his head and he winced. 

Arcee looked at him with slight concern. "We should probably let him rest," she said to Cliff, her voice quieter. 

The red cat nodded and smirked at her. "Ratch would have our heads if he finds us bothering his patients," he joked, earning himself another look from the female cat. 

Bumblebee sighed softly again, his eyes beginning to droop. All the drama from today certainly was tiring him out, and the headache certainly wasn't making it any better. He slowly closed his eyes and curled up into a smaller ball, getting comfortable against the already sleeping Bulkhead. Thoughts rushed by his head, but he pushed them back. He just wanted to get some sleep now, worry about all those kind of things later. 

~

 When he woke again, he heard several paws pattering around aimlessly. His head still hurt, but it felt so much better now, much to his relief. The kit lifted his head and yawned before he opened his eyes, blinking sleep out of them. When his vision did clear, he saw Bulkhead was now sitting elsewhere, talking to Wheeljack and laughing. Ultra Magnus was sitting in the corner, opposite from Bumblebee, and grooming himself. The kit couldn't see Cliff and Arcee and had to assume they were off somewhere else. Optimus and Ratchet crawling across the consoles and machines, talking to each other and trying to see how to make them work. Bee wondered why as he slowly sat up, glad that there wasn't too much pain when he did so. 

Whatcha doing? he meowed over to them, standing up on his paws. 

The both of them immediately turned their heads to him, ears pricked. "What do you think you're doing?" Ratchet shouted quickly, jumping down from a console and beginning to walk over to him. "You shouldn't be up, you're still recovering!"

It's okay, I think I can move around now, Bee assured him, taking a step forward. To his dismay, a wave of dizziness hit him and he stopped, swallowing slowly. 

Ratchet huffed and reached him quickly. "I told you, you're still recovering," he growled, placing a paw on his chest and pushing him back into a sitting position. "The hit you took is still fairly recent. Five or six hours is too early for you to get up and walk around," he finished, rolling his eyes.

Sorry, the kit apologized with a nervous smile. So, did you find what you were looking for?

The older cat sighed in annoyance. "For the most part, yes. However, it mostly consisted of human equipment, and while I can use some of that, there are many things I cannot do since I am.. a different species," he explained, walking over to where he had set some medical supplies. "So I had to go out and find anything else that I could use, such as certain herbs for pain since we cannot take human pills." Ratchet wrinkled his nose, obviously disgusted by the thought. 

Bee chuckled slightly, wrapping his tail around his legs. Okay. So what were you and Optimus doing over there? He gestured over to the computers and machines as Optimus began to pad over to them.

"Ratchet and I were searching for a way to turn them back on," the big cat answered calmly. "If we want to remain out of the white coat's grasp, it is best if we track their movements. It will make it easier to avoid them, and to protect any other innocents from their experiments."

Bee cocked his head a little. Do you know how to work human computers? he asked skeptically.

Ratchet scoffed. "I do. I'm sure the others also have some knowledge, though not much." He looked to the red and blue cat who was sitting down next to him. "Other than Optimus, of course. He is well informed on all sorts of human technology."

The bigger cat said nothing, though his eyes sparked in a bit of amusement as he flicked his tail once. Bumblebee smiled to the older cats, looking around the base once more. Where are Cliffjumper and Arcee?

"On a scouting mission," Ratchet answered as he stood back up. "They need to keep out for the... others."

Others? Bee mewed curiously.

Optimus sighed softly, barely audible. "Remember when I told you that there were many in the labs that were adversely affected by the experiments?" He waited until the younger one nodded before he continued. "Those cats... once like us, are now determined to harm the human race, destroy them for what they have done. As I have previously stated, not all humans are corrupt, and none deserve the fate that Megatron wishes for them."

Bee wondered who that was, but decided not to ask when he saw the faraway look in the Prime's eyes. So, they are making sure that those.. others.. aren't hurting any humans? he concluded.

Optimus nodded. "That is correct. It is another reason that we are trying to get the human computers to work. Many of them are still chipped, so we may be able to find them if they ever start trouble."

Ratchet huffed, flicking his tail once as he looked over to his medical supplies. "But we must be careful as well. The others know what we stand for, and have made us their enemies. They will not hesitate to bring harm to us as well in order to continue their evil ways." His eyes seemed to soften a little, something Bee couldn't identify sparking in them for a moment before he turned and began to walk away again. "So we'd better get these ridiculous human machines working."

Optimus looked like he was biting back a smile as he stood also, watching his friend go. "Alright, then," he called back, then turning his head to Bumblebee. "It would be best if rested here for the remainder of the day. I assure you we can begin to show you our ways when you are fully healed, but until then, please do not strain yourself." With this, he turned as well and padded after the medic. 

Alright, thanks, Bee mewed back, curling his tail around his whole body as he lay down. He wasn't tired at the moment after his nap, so he contented himself with watching the older cats work on the computers. After a while, a thought came into his head.

If they made us their enemies... that means we have to fight.

~

I can't stop updating this, lol...