"Something's wrong."

Bumblebee's ears pricked up when he heard the female cat's voice. He was sitting beside Ratchet, who was currently putting everything into their systems after successfully getting everything online. The little cat's back was turned to Arcee, but he could feel the distress in her voice before he even turned to look at her. His face fell a little when he saw how upset and worried she was, her body rigid while her tail flicked back and forth anxiously. 

Ratchet looked up for a moment as well, his features more grim. "You couldn't find him?" he asked tentatively.

She shook her head a few times, her ears flat against her head. "No, he's not here. Nor is he close by." She began to pace a little, her head low. "I called him several times. Surely he would have heard it. He couldn't have gotten far."

"Maybe you're over thinkin' it?" Wheeljack said. The wrecker was lazily sprawled across the floor, near the farthest wall from them. "I mean, he's only been gone a little over an hour." He shrugged, apparently pretty care-free about the situation. "You know how Cliff is, always runnin' around."

Arcee scowled, frustrated with him. "He's more careful than this," she said defensively, her tail flicking back and forth even more. She growled a little in frustration. "You can't tell me something doesn't feel a little off about this?"

Optimus, who had been listening in on the conversation, stood, his face grim as well. "I believe Arcee has the right to be worried. With the Decepticats out for blood, we cannot take his sudden disappearance lightly." He turned to Ratchet. "Do you think you could find his tracker?"

Tracker? Bee mewed, a little confused.

Ratchet sniffed, frustrated. "I doubt I could. For one thing, I've done my best to mute those things in the past, so that we couldn't be found. And even if they still were working, I still need time to log everything in." He lifted his paw and gestured to all the human computers, scowling at them slightly, as if angry with them. He turned back to the female cat, his expression softening a bit. "I'm sorry, Arcee."

Bee's ears drooped, the kit feeling terrible. He really liked Cliff, and now he was exceedingly worried as well. He perked up as an idea popped into his head and he jumped up onto all fours. I could... look for him! he mewed loudly, his voice only breaking slightly. I'm... scout! It's what I do! He paused for a moment, looking at everyone's slightly startled muzzles. ...Right?

The other cats glanced at each other uncertainly. Ratchet frowned at him, though not in anger. His eyes were more concerned as he shook his head. "I don't think that's a wise idea, Bumblebee. You're still recovering." His tail flicked once a little anxiously.

Bee frowned, pinning his ears. I know! he meowed loudly, raising his tail. But I.. to help! He looked over to Arcee, his eyes turning a little sad. I like Cliff... he's.. friend, too.

Arcee smiled at him a little, lifting her head and perking her ears a little. Bee was sure that she even purred a little, and he purred back silently with a smile. The others all glanced at each other again, as if having a conversation in their heads. Finally, Optimus nodded once and stepped forward. "Alright, Bumblebee. You may scout ahead. But we are coming with you."

"And at the first sign of trouble," Bulkhead said, the big green cat padding over and rubbing his head against Bee's, "get out of there. You're not ready to fight yet, okay?" 

The young one felt a little disappointed, but he was genuinely touched by Bulkhead's concern for his well-being. All of them were, and he was grateful that they all cared about him. He smiled wide and nodded his head in confirmation, purring as hard as he could and rubbing the top of his head against Bulkhead's chest. The bigger cat licked his neck fur gently, grateful about they agreement, and not able to resist spoiling the cute little one with cuddles.

Bee felt another body press up against his and turned his head. Arcee was rubbing her head against his shoulder, the female only a little bigger than he was. "Thanks for this, Bee." She looked a little embarrassed, but she offered him a smile.

Bee returned it with an even wider one. Arcee normally wasn't the soft type, but he was happy that he was helping her out. He mewed cheerfully and licked her cheek with a small purr, before bounding off suddenly. The others made sudden cries of surprise as he took off, his speed astonishing them yet again. The small cat ran over to a corner, a place where he had seen Cliff sleeping around a lot. His nose brushed the floor as he took in the smell, logging it into his memory the best he could.

It was like a mode he didn't know he had was suddenly switched on, loud and bright. The smell of Cliffjumper was strong and distinct, and it felt like just by smelling him, he could envision the cat and his build, how tall he was, how strong, how lean. His baby blue eyes widened slightly in surprise; this was new to him. He did not know that he had such an ability. The corners of his muzzle twitched upwards in a pleased smile as he lifted his head and sniffed the air tentatively. Plenty of smells where there, but now that he was focused on Cliffjumper, he could pick it up easily. His fur bristled, his body and mind at attention, he took a few more steps, looking around with his nose for more certain direction. The other cats remained silent as they watched him, ready to follow him at any given moment. 

The young cat's nose twitched, his ears pricking forwards. With a satisfied purr, he realized he had found the right way to go. This way! he meowed loudly back to his friends, excitement in his kitten voice. His expression determined, he quickly ran off, pulling ahead of the others with quite a distance. 

The sensation of his newfound abilities coursed through his body, sending power through his pace as he ran. His nose was constantly at work, and work it did. His scent focus was on his friend, and whatever other smells brushed by him seemed to fade away as he went. Cliffjumper's smell was always present when he looked for it, he found, and it awed him. Were the others able to smell like this, too? Or was this something he was made for?

He was reminded several times that another special quality of his was speed. Consistently, he slowed down, sometimes even coming to a stop, to look back at the others and wait for them to catch up a little. He didn't want to lose them, as his leader had instructed him to stay with them, only scouting ahead enough to spot trouble. He anxiously mewed to them a few times, especially as he sensed they were drawing closer. Each time they got close enough once more, he took off again, eager to find his friend quickly, as well as eager to prove himself to the others. 

As they got even closer, another strong scent mixed with Cliffjumper's aroma. The smell made Bee falter a little, glancing around and pinning his ears back in frustrated confusion. Why was it that this smell was intermingling with his search more than the other ones he had already passed? It only took him a few moments to realize why, the strong aroma becoming familiar to him. 

Blood. He smelled blood.

Inevitably, Cliffjumper's blood, since it seemed to mold itself into the red cat's scent.

Panic swept over the cat, his heart picking up quickly as he hurried to a stop very suddenly. His ears flattened farther onto his head as he whimpered slightly, instinctively cowering a little. The last time he had caught the scent of so much blood, he had nearly died. He remembered the pain that the large grey cat had inflicted upon him and shivered. His eyes wandered to an abandoned lab, the same lab where the cats had attacked, and instantly he knew it was where the scent was coming from. Cliffjumper had to be in there, and if he was, he was seriously injured. He turned to the others with a look of anguish as they all caught up with him, worried expressions all around their faces as well. 

"What's wrong, Bee?" Bulkhead asked anxiously, brushing against his little friend in hopes to help comfort him. He could tell the small cat was afraid and worried about something, whereas he had seemed just fine before. 

Ratchet's ears flattened a little as his nose twitched, flinching. "He smells blood, Bulkhead," he answered quietly, lowering his head and narrowing his eyes. 

Arcee was the most jittery of all, her eyes wide and her tail swiveling back and forth in panic. "Cliffjumper's?!" she asked in a panic, her fangs flashing instinctively. Her gaze wandered to the lab, her tail bristling. "He's in there, isn't he? Why would he go back?" she asked in anguish, stepping forward.

Even Optimus looked upset as he stepped in front of the smaller female to stop her path. "We cannot afford to be rash, Arcee," he told her evenly, his voice gentle. "We must proceed with caution."

"My partner is in there!" she cried, her fur on end. "And he's hurt!"

Ratchet took a step. "That's why I'm here. Calm down, Arcee. Panic will get us nowhere."

Bumblebee watched the anxious chatter unfold, his big green friend beside him, nuzzling him comfortingly. Wheeljack watched from behind, his tail flicking back and forth nervously. The young cat took some deep breaths to try and calm himself down, although he was immensely worried as well. What could have happened to his friend? He was afraid to find out, even if the others were all dying to go find him. 

I'm worried... he mewed helplessly, shivering once.

Ratchet heard the quiet whisper and turned to him, his expression softening a little in apology for the poor scout. He felt bad that the young kit had to go through something like this, especially right after being introduced to his own traumatic injury. He padded over and nuzzled his head softly. "You should remain here. You've done your job." He looked around, his eyes focusing on an alleyway. "Hide there. We will call you if we need you."

At first, Bee wanted to protest. Slowly, though, he realized that he was right. The young cat was frightened, shaking terribly and nerves at their highest. He was not ready yet.. not ready for this sort of thing. It upset him, but he was grateful that the medic was looking out for him. He nodded carefully, offering Ratchet a shaky smile, as forced as it was.

Okay.. thanks, he said softly, standing straight. He rubbed his head against the older cat's furry chest, and felt a little comforted when the medic returned the gesture with gentle licks between the scout's ears. A small purr rose from the young cat and he felt himself calm down slightly. Quickly, the medic pulled away, clearing his throat slightly before nudging the Bee and urging him to go hide. The scout did as he was told and bounded into the alleyway.

Ratchet turned to the others, flicking his tail. "Bumblebee will remain here. We should go, but Optimus is right. We must be careful. Whatever has injured Cliffjumper could still be present."

Optimus nodded, turning towards the lab carefully. "Bulkhead and Wheeljack, on either side of me. If any attack comes, I want Ratchet and Arcee to remain at the rear, for now." The big cat glanced back at where Bee was hiding. "If we do not return in ten minutes, I want you to run back to base. Don't let anyone catch you or find you."

The little cat nodded, mewing slightly to encourage him. The Prime smiled ever so softly, his eyes still twinkling with the pain of worry, before he led the others towards the lab. They crept low on their paws and moved with the wind and shadows, their effortless ways of stalking quietly amazing. Ratchet glanced back towards Bumblebee one last time, before turning back around and following the others inside. 

Bumblebee watched with a heavily beating heart as they entered the lab.

Five minutes later, he heard their cries of despair. 

~

I

HAVE

FINALLY

UPDATED-

Please don't ask me when this will be updated again, I really don't know and I'm already crying about how short this chapter was (oh and also the emotions so yeah-)