No way, it couldn't be happening. It couldn't be him. He disappeared a few centuries ago and was assumed to be dead. Well, assumed was the key word in that sentence, but the odds were against the theory. Still, that didn't explain why a big yellow mech just fell from the sky and made a crater the size of a semi-truck right outside of Detroit. Ok, maybe the crater was bigger than a semi...

She had heard the stories from her great-great-grandmother (ok, maybe she missed a few "greats") but this couldn't be him. He was supposed to be child-like, happy-go-lucky, and friendly. He was supposed to be very young and mischievous. He wasn't supposed to be some broken-down model of the 65356-9292-346 body-type, was he?

But there was no doubt in her mind that this was indeed the bot from the stories. This severely damaged mech was definitely Bumblebee.

"Guys, we're going to need a lot of help," she stated. Turning to the young man beside her, she said, "Send a message to Nana and tell her to get in contact with Cybertron. She's in for a big surprise."

"Of course Miss Sumdac," the man replied. Two sets of fierce blue eyes met before breaking apart and concentrating on their separate tasks.

"This is going to be a long day..." the girl mumbled to herself. She cast one last glance on the fallen Autobot and began her assignment.

"Your relative said what?" Optimus Prime shouted at the monitor. Other members of the Elite Guard gave him an odd look before going about their daily business, oblivious to how shocking the news really was.

"We found him Optimus," Sari confirmed with a smile, "we finally have him back." After a few centuries, the techno-organic hadn't aged as much as an ordinary human. Now, she looked as though she was middle-aged. It was a bit mind-boggling thinking about how Cybertronian technology could alter something, or someone, like that. She had taken to her life-span extension well, even when the professor passed away. After the initial grieving period, Sari admirably continued her father's work and became the official head of Earth-Cybertron relations. Even the Space Bridge was still installed in the Tower.

"I'll find everyone and tell them what happened," Optimus said. "I missed the little guy." Sari smiled.

"We all did Optimus," she replied. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go!" She chuckled as Optimus fumbled around and switched off the monitor. Turning around, she gazed over the battered, prone form of her friend.

"Grandma, how long has it been?" the girl from before asked, walking around where they had placed the mech as her blue eyes took in all that they could. Her short auburn hair swished from side to side across the back of her neck. Sari watched her with a sad smile.

"Far too long," she replied. "He left when I met my husband and that was a few centuries ago. It's my fault he left; I didn't even realize he was gone until it was too late. When Bumblebee sets his mind to something, he's determined to complete it. Did he see you when he crashed?" The girl looked up, a bit surprised by the question.

"Um...yeah, I think he did. He thought I was you. I didn't mind it so much, but it really made Harry freak out." She chuckled to herself, remembering her friend's discomfort.

"Well, even after the good Captain, the Fanzones haven't relinquished their prejudice against machines." After a moment of silence, the girl spoke again.

"So...when are they going to be here?" she asked.

"Very soon Sami," Sari stood up. "Let's get the Bridge ready."

"C'mon Ratchet, lighten up!" Arcee shouted over her shoulder joint. "They're just showing their affection for you!" She laughed as she urged the two mechs ahead of her to keep running. She was bringing up the rear, trying in vain to keep the medic's wrench-wrath under control. The keyword there was "trying".

"Yeah! Besides, we know you like pink!" the red one shouted while pointing to the femme behind him. His reply was a wrench to the helm, causing him to stumble slightly.

"You idiot!" the yellow one huffed as he helped his brother catch up. "You're going to make me off-line some day!"

"Whatever Sunny, I know you're more worried about saving your paint job than saving your brother from the wrath of Ratchet." This earned him another blow to the helm.

"Don't call me Sunny! Now run you glitch-head! The door's right there!" As another wrench flew overhead, the brothers ducked through the door and ran through the streets of Iacon. Ratchet leaned against the doorway, groaning.

"Why do they always have to cause trouble?" Arcee just rolled her optics at the rhetorical question.

"I told you, that's how you know they like you," she replied with a smirk. "They're still younglings, they'll grow up eventually." Ratchet gave her an incredulous glance. "Hey, I did say eventually," she defended, raising her servos in submission. The medic smiled, but his optics became distant quickly. Those twins reminded him of another brash youngling, one that left and never returned…

Those twins were around Bumblebee's age and would have been best friends with the yellow prankster. In a way, he was trying to fill the kid's void with two mechs that mirrored him in personality and mannerisms.

"Hey, are you ok?" Arcee asked softly, placing a servo on the medic's shoulder joint. The light touch seemed to jolt him out of his reverie.

"I'm fine," he reassured, but the femme didn't buy it one bit.

"Don't lie to me," she said harshly, but soon soothed her tone again, "you were thinking about him, weren't you?" The silence was all the answer she needed. "I wish I got to know him as well as you did, he seemed like a fun kid; a bit inventive too, planting a spy-cam in my helm in order to stage a rescue. It was so overt, it was covert." She chuckled to herself. "Ratchet, it hasn't been too long. I'm sure you'll find him."

"Arcee, I stopped believing in happy endings a long time ago," Ratchet stated. "When I found you and restored your memory, that spark of hope just crept up on me again. But we lost Prowl and when Bumblebee disappeared, it just proved me right." The silence fell between them again as various mechs and femmes passed by their doorway.

"Ten million credits says you're wrong," Arcee finally said, a playful smirk on her faceplate.

"Ten million says I'm right," Ratchet countered. Before Arcee could come up with a suitable comeback, the communications monitor in the building alerted them to an incoming message. Walking towards it, Ratchet noticed that it was from the Elite Guard. What the frag did those stuck-up brats want with him? Didn't they know the meaning of retired? Ok, he wasn't retired per say, but he wasn't a field medic anymore.

Without further hesitation, he accepted the message. "This better be slaggin' important," he said gruffly, not caring who was on the other line just yet. When he saw Optimus' faceplate, he nearly toppled over.

"Glad to see you to Ratchet," the Prime greeted with a smile.

"Prime…what?" Ratchet stuttered out, taken aback by the incredibly unexpected message. He hadn't heard any word from the old team since a little while after their scout's vanishing act. They had all just split up, gone their separate ways. And by all, he meant the three remaining team members.

"I know this is unexpected, but I just got a transmission from Earth. Ratchet…they found him. Bumblebee crash landed about two Earth hours ago. Sari's got him at Sumdac Tower and they're prepping a Space Bridge for us."

"Prime, that's impossible! Nobody knew where the kid went! Is Sari sure it's Bumblebee?" Ratchet couldn't believe his audio receptors.

"I know, but he's back on Earth and yes, Sari's sure it's Bumblebee. She told me to tell you that she's old, she's not blind." Yep, that sounded like her. "We're going to Bridge to Earth. How fast can you get to the Spacebridge Nexus?"

"In a few breems, give or take."

"Good, I'm going to contact Bulkhead. It's going to be nice to see everyone again." Optimus smiled.

"Yeah, it will be. See you soon." Ratchet quickly ended the message, letting all the information sink into his processor. Bumblebee was on Earth. Bumblebee was alive.

A tapping on his shoulder brought him back to Cybertron. Arcee was tapping her pede against the floor, looking quite smug. "Ratchet, I believe you owe me ten million credits."

Frag it.

"Bulkhead, you coming?" Glyph asked the mech planted before the monitor.

"Yeah, just give me another minute," he replied, watching his search load on the screen.

"You're still trying to find him, aren't you?" She didn't have to ask to know the answer. Ever since she met him, he had run a search every solar cycle. It always came up blank.

"He's out there somewhere, I just know it." Bulkhead turned towards the femme. "I just can't give up on him that easily. I've got to do something!"

"I know, I know," Glyph said, sitting beside him. "What was he like?" It was weird to talk about Bee like he was dead. Well, he actually might be…no, no thinking like that.

"To be honest, he could be a bit obnoxious at times. You know, all in-your-face about things," Bulkhead sighed. "But…Bee was one of the best friends you could ever have. He'd never abandon you once you got his friendship. Once you got his trust, you knew that he'd stand by you for anything." They sat in silence until someone pinged Bulkhead's comm.-link.

"Bulkhead, it's Optimus," the Prime said. "Can you let me through? There's something I have to tell you." He seemed almost…impatient? No, excited was more like it.

"Yeah, sure," Bulkhead replied, typing a code into the computer beside him. "Is it ok if Glyph is here too?"

"Well, it's a little late for that," Optimus said, walking into the room. "You have to prepare a space bridge to Earth."

"Did you get clearance from Ultra Magnus?" They could both get in trouble for this, a lot of trouble.

"I contacted him on the way here. He understands perfectly and wants us to go." Bulkhead shrugged and began prepping Spacebridge 5.

"So, why are you going to Earth? Does Sari need help with something?"

"You're coming too and you could say that she needs help." Now Bulkhead was beyond confused. Enough with the vague answers already!

"What's going on?" he asked, entering the last of the commands into the space bridge. Glyph watched the whole exchange curiously.

"Bulkhead," Optimus started, "Bumblebee crash-landed right outside of Detroit. He's back, but he's in rough condition. I'll need to tell Ratchet more once he gets here."

"What did you forget to tell me?" the medic inquired as he walked through the doorway.

"How'd you get in here without me having to let you in?" Bulkhead asked.

"I let him in," Glyph responded. "I noticed that someone was outside and I recognized Ratchet. Since Optimus Prime is here, I assumed it was something important."

"Now, what were you saying Prime?"

"From what Sari could see, Bumblebee's right servo is completely ruined. He probably has some other things wrong with his system, especially after the crash. He's been gone for a long time and there's no doubt in my processor that there's more we should be worrying about."

"Did Sari or anyone else notice open injuries?" He hoped that the answer was negative.

"Yes," Optimus sighed. "There's a large gash running up his servo. Nobody knows how long it's been like that, but it can't be good."

"The kid probably picked up a virus or two. We need to get there fast. Knowing Bumblebee's lack of self-maintenance, his servo's been damaged for a while," Ratchet huffed, walking towards the now operational space bridge. "You kids coming or what?" Optimus nodded, following after the medic. Bulkhead cast a glance at Glyph, who smiled in return.

"Go," she said, waving a servo at him, "It sounds like he's going to need your company."

"Do you want to come?" It was just polite to offer. He knew how much Glyph wanted to go to Earth, but her job didn't really allow her to. There was nothing related to Cybertronian history to be found on the organic planet.

"No, this is personal for you. I'll just continue my research at home until Tap-Out decides to drag me around Iacon. There's a lot I have to catch up on. You know where to find me when you come back." Bulkhead nodded and quickly caught up to the older mechs.

"Everyone still have their Earth modes?" Optimus asked. He was met with affirmative replies as the blue hue of the space bridge lit up the surrounding area.

"It's set for Sumdac Tower," Bulkhead added.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get the kid back," Ratchet said, immediately entering the bridge. Bulkhead went next, worry and happiness filling his processor. Optimus jumped last. Despite knowing the most, he was afraid of what damage Bumblebee had taken. He knew about the servo, but how bad had the landing been? How many viruses were in his system? What if they couldn't save him?

No, Ratchet would fix him and Bumblebee would laugh at them for ever doubting his ability to survive. Everything would work out. Everything would be fine.

But there was always that chance of everything going wrong.

A/N: Yep, I'm definitely going to have to speed write my way through this! XD Ha, not that funny…

Anyways, I'm going to try to update Egress, 365 (yes, I'm still working on that), and whatever other stuff I can before Sunday. Goal: complete this and Egress by Saturday night. Challenge = Accepted