The other Decepticons were up to holiday shenanigans as well, but life still went on, whether they liked it or not. At the moment, Thundercracker, Long Haul, and the Reflector trio were standing at the spacebridge, awaiting supplies and several new troops. A new shipment was due from Cybertron already, with real, fresh energon and reinforcements. The bridge was opening up now.
“Incoming!” declared Long Haul. The portal appeared, swirling in front of them. Thundercracker could make out several silhouettes from the shadows. There appeared to be some more Seekers, a few military vehicles, a couple cars, and a bulky body that looked like it belonged to a truck… Thundercracker groaned inwardly. Megatron had brought the Stunticons to Earth. This meant putting up with that utter jerk Motormaster, Dragstrip’s competitiveness, Dead End’s pessimism, Wildrider’s ADHD, and Breakdown’s paranoia. The others emerged from the portal. There were the Combaticons, the Coneheads, the Triple-Changers, and that looked to be it. He sighed. Not the one mech or femme he wanted to see… So he was extremely surprised when a pretty red and violet Seeker femme popped out of the bridge and gave him a massive hug. “Surprise!”
He certainly was surprised! “Nacelle! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” “I wanted to surprise you for the holidays.” “How did you know it was a holiday season? I thought Megatron was keeping it to our Earth unit.” “TC, you know me and alien culture.” He put a servo to the upper part of his helm. “Primus, how did I forget? You’re just as bad as me sometimes.” Nacelle was quiet for a bit. “I missed you, Thundercracker.” “I know. But I’m here now.” In response to this, she gave him a kiss on the cheek plate. Dragstrip sniggered.Without batting an optic, Thundercracker calmly turned towards him and knocked him through the wall with a sonic boom. Motormaster surged forwards, but Thundercracker turned sharply on his heel strut so that his modified Seeker cannons were pointed straight at the Stunticon leader’s chest. “Anyone else jealous?” The room was silent. “Good.”
Long Haul spoke up. “Come on, guys. Let’s get these supplies to where they need to be.” Motormaster picked up a crate, still staring daggers at Thundercracker. He chose to ignore this, hefting a tank of energon. It was heavier than expected, and the blue Seeker staggered under its weight. “Here. Let me help.” Without so much as a drop of coolant falling, the Constructicon dump truck lifted Thundercracker’s tank, as well as one of his own, before transforming and driving off towards the common room. Thundercracker smiled. Despite his crabbiness, Long Haul was a good ‘bot at Spark.
. . .
Soundwave had assigned some datalogs on the history of Christmas, but Skywarp sure as the Pit didn’t care. The sudden influx of energon and holiday decorations meant that no one was paying attention to the black and purple Seeker. This also meant that he could set up as many pranks as he wanted. Skywarp cackled at the embarrassment of riches for his jokes. It was perfect. Now, all he needed was a likely and deserving victim… Ah! There was one now!
Motormaster was fragged off. First, he’d had to watch that disgusting display of affection. Pah! Affection had no place on the battlefield! Then, Dragstrip got knocked through a scrapping wall! And, worst of all, he couldn’t lift a digit in defense! Sure, all the Stunticons were idiots, but they were his idiots. Now he needed a piping hot can of oil… but where was the mess hall?
Skywarp watched as Motormaster stomped down the Nemesis's maze of corridors. His best guess was that the colossal Stunticon leader was looking for the mess hall, but he appeared to be lost. He would storm down to the end of one corridor, peer around the corner, then go in the opposite direction. This was slagging perfect! He brought up the ship’s blueprints for a second. Envisioning the gigantic engine room, he shuttered his optics. One quick teleportation later, and he was next to a freakishly large brain module.
“Trypticon, buddy. Can you hear me?” The voice that responded sounded primitive, yet it radiated power. “Me Trypticon hear Joke-Warp fine. What Joke-Warp need?” Skywarp couldn’t help but chuckle at Trypticon’s half-joking, half mocking moniker for him. “I need you to help me get the so-called King of the Road even more lost than he already is.” In response, a wired controller dropped into Skywarp’s hands. He smiled. It was surprising how willingly the beastly Titan aided him in his many shenanigans. He began to shift the corridors back and forth, giving Motormaster the illusion that he was moving forward. In reality, he was trapped in the same hallway that he was already in. And he was totally oblivious! This was too perfect! He continued to play with the controls until he felt a tap on the shoulder. “Surprise.” A smooth voice hissed into his audio receptors.
Skywarp jumped. “Shadowrider! I didn’t see you there!” “Of course you didn’t, bolts-for-brains. I’m a spy. The scarlet and black Ferrari 288 smirked. “‘Warp, I’m not sure whether to admire your initiative, or to report you for undermining a commanding officer.” The purple Seeker felt uncomfortable. “Um, I, uh, think I’ll be going now.” He warped out of the room as fast as physically possible. Shadowrider chuckled. “Some bots never learn, do they?” But she said it to herself.
While the other Decepticons were celebrating Christmas in their own unique ways, Megatron had a plan of his own, one that only he and Laserbeak knew…
“You, of all mechs, wish for a truce?” Optimus Prime was understandably incredulous, but Megatron exhaled hard through his vents anyway. “Yes, I do. And, before you ask, I swear upon my leadership of the Decepticon army that this is not a trick. Nor will this truce be permanent. This is simply a temporary arrangement to allow both sides to celebrate the Earth holiday of Christmas.” Optimus nodded, secretly impressed by Megatron’s acceptance of Earth culture.
“Well, I’m glad you reached out to me, Megatron. We have our own plans for these holidays, and it would’ve been a shame to interrupt them with an attack.” “Understood, Prime.” Megatron turned away, but Optimus wasn’t finished. “Merry Christmas, Megatron.” “Hmph!”
And the Decepticon warlord hung up. But before the line went dead, Optimus could’ve sworn he heard a ‘merry Christmas to you too, Autobot’ escape Megatron’s vocalizer.
Stick around, folks- part 3 is coming sooner rather than later!
[ Click to attempt signal recovery... ]
