The Past Always Comes Back to Bite (RID2015 Fanfiction)

Chapter 2 - Landing

The further Bumblebee drove, the more guilty he felt. How could he have not noticed her absence long enough for her to have wandered this far? But if Steeljaw was the one responsible for his daughter's pain, then that mutt had given his last howl.

The feeling guiding him was what Bumblebee could only describe as a bond that only they shared. Sideswipe understood that perfectly, feeling the same thing with his twin brother Sunstreaker. The pair were keeping in touch much better than they had in a long time since they'd been reunited and reconciled on Earth six months prior, and whenever Sunstreaker called up on the holo-screen, Flashdrive and Sunstreaker's charge Starstrike could have a chance to talk. Flashdrive loved showing her friend all of the sculptures she made out of scrap metal.

The pull led him, Sideswipe and Strongarm along the coastline and into a wooded area. In fact, it was only a few miles from where Bumblebee had given birth to Flashdrive only a few months prior. He paused at a clearing, dotted with picnic tables and several large boulders; a rest stop for humans traveling long-distances. He made a quick search for humans, and then transformed into bot mode. "Flashdrive?" He called softly. "...Flashdrive, please answer me...!"

A sound caught his attention, and he saw a little hand peeking out from between a few of the boulders. "Hold on Sweetspark, I'm coming!" He called.

He ran over to her, followed closely by Sideswipe and Strongarm. His optics went wide and he gave a sharp gasp as he saw his daughter, lying on the ground with energon all over her and in a puddle underneath her. "Sweet Solus Prime...!"

"Oh...Oh that's nasty...!" Sideswipe whimpered, swallowing hard to try to force down the sudden wave of nausea washing over him.

Bumblebee reached down slowly. "What hurts? Are you bleeding?" He asked, trying to sound calm and gentle despite panic wanting to take over.

Flashdrive shook her head. She opened her mouth a little, and then with a cry, heaved up some more energon. "I-It won't stop coming back up...!" She cried, her chassis trembling. "H-Help me...!"

Bumblebee's fears were quelled a little bit. She wasn't attacked and bleeding out, but she still shouldn't be puking up energon, especially this much in comparison to her size. "We're gonna get you home and cleaned up, okay...? How'd you get out here...?"

"I-I don't know! I was just sitting at home and then...Everything was spinning and I was here and...And-"

"Shh shh shh..." Bumblebee picked her up, holding her closely to his chest. "It's okay...You're gonna be okay, I promise..."

"Sir..." Strongarm murmured. "How can you hold her when she's covered in energon like that?"

Bumblebee smirked. "It's a parenting thing, you wouldn't understand." He replied. "Fixit, get us a groundbridge ASAP, and get ready to examine Flashdrive...She's really ill."

Of course, Lieutenant.

Flashdrive swallowed hard, resting her head on his shoulder plate. "I-I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. We'll get this figured out and get you feeling better..."

The Groundbridge appeared after a moment, and Bumblebee hurried through it, reemerging in the Scrapyard. Flashdrive continued to tremble, giving little sobs. "Try not to cry, that'll only make you feel worse, alright Sweetspark...?"

Flashdrive nodded, giving a sniffle.

Bumblebee wouldn't put his daughter down, instead sitting down on the trailer where Fixit could reach her.

"That's just nasty..." Grimlock murmured. "You're gonna need a bath, Bee."

Bumblebee chuckled. "Yeah...But it's not like I've never gotten energon on my hands."