Tough Love

A RETURNING NIGHTMARE

Bumblebee has been a very busy bot. On top of his official duties as an officer of the law and an ambassador to both Earth and Nova Terra, he is also in the middle of locating the mech known as Doubledealer and, subsequently, the one who offered a private contract to hunt down and capture Steeljaw and Ramulus. The main problem being Steeljaw's past. As in, no one seems to know anything concrete.

He closes out of one tab and is about to open another when he receives a call from Griffin Rock.

"By the Primes, please don't let it be Thunderhoof."

Bumblebee steels himself and answers. The feed sizzles to life, and Heatwave appears.

BB: "Hello there, Heatwave. What can I do for you?"

WAVE: "We need to talk. You need to get here, now."

BB: "What's wrong?"

Heatwave averts his gaze, mumbling something under his vents. Bumblebee strained his audio receptors in order to hear, but couldn't.

If this was about Thunderhoof, then Heatwave wouldn't be hesitating, right?

WAVE: "Honestly, I don't really know. Can you please just come over?"

BB: "Okay, I'm on my way."

After ending the call, Bumblebee leaned back in his seat and covered his face.

"Why can't it ever be good news?"

***

"By the Primes..."

When Bumblebee arrived, he wasn't expecting to see Blades patching-up Thunderhoof, who was leaning on Boulder for support, and everyone else keeping their distance.

"What happened?"

Blades moved out of the way just then, giving Bumblebee full visual access to Thunderhoof, and he was baffled by what he saw.

"Thunderhoof, I could've sworn I told you to stay out of trouble. How did you bang yourself up this badly? Where did you even get a mark like that?"

Were there hostile Cybertronians on the Island?

"To set things straight, I was lookin' for the bitlit," Thunderhoof said. "I looked everywheres I could, and then I discovered the tunnels."

"And you thought it was a good idea to go down there without telling anyone?" Bumblebee questioned.

"I panicked! We both know what will happen if I don't find her!"

Bumblebee couldn't argue against such a statement. Both of them have been on the receiving end of Steeljaw's temper, and with Ramulus, chances of being killed have skyrocketed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Bumblebee vented. "So, you went into the tunnels looking for her. Is that where you were shot?"

Thunderhoof nodded.

"Was it another bot?"

If Bumblebee hadn't been paying close attention, he would have missed the light smirk that adorned Thunderhoof's face for a brief second.

"Human. More than one, actually."

A pit formed in Bumblebee's tank. Humans – plural – with access to weapons that can harm Cybertronians can only mean one thing. His worst fears have come back to haunt not just him, but every single person and bot – Thunderhoof included – on Griffin Rock.

"I would have told 'em more, but I figured I'd save the details for the expert," Thunderhoof said.

"That's why I called," Heatwave said. "I don't believe a word of what he says, but I can't ignore a threat to my team or the humans, so if you have something to say, I suggest you tell us."