All the Decepticons looked closely as the items in the box, awestruck at each's appearance. Inside said box were attachable ears and beautiful accessory cat tails, five ears and five tails. At first, the red-eyed mechs stared bewildered at them, not knowing what to do, but at the same time, an idea hitched to their minds.
In sync, they turned towards the five Autobots present in the room. Arcee, Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Optimus, and Bumblebee; five Autobots, five pairs of ears and tails. Without revealing what they were planning, they each grabbed on pair of items and hid each behind their backs.
All five Autobots heard the commotion and turned to see Megatron, Soundwave, Breakdown, Knockout, and Dreadwing smirking viciously at them with their hands hidden behind them. Wheeljack narrowed his optics at Soundwave who was slowly making his way towards him. The others soon followed carefully stalking the Autobot they desired. The Autobots in return crept backwards until their rear chassis hit the control panels attached to the wall.
Bulkhead, not wanting to find out what the Decepticons were going to do, sprinted away through the only exit, only to be pursued by Breakdown seconds later. The rest of the Bots got the memo and ran for it, each with a different chaser.
The game had begun!
Bulkhead slowed to take off down the nearest corridor but heard the booming voice of his rival taunting him. He panicked before leaving the halls to the Energon Storage chamber, sealing himself inside and hiding in hopes that Breakdown would lose his scent.
"Bulky! Oh, Bulkhead! Don't run, my friend, I won't harm you, but I have a pleasant little bequest for you, along with perhaps my affection! Come on; come to Daddy!"
The Wrecker squeezed himself into a corner with an Energon barrier taller than he was. He knocked over a few to get through but restacked them to the best of his ability to make it look like he had never been there. Of course, there was only one way to know for certain if his hideout worked, and it wasn't going to be a cake walk.
The doors across the hall parallel to the Storage opened and Bulkhead could hear the blue mech searching it down to the tiniest crevice. He curled into a silent ball when he heard his own chamber's doors unseal themselves and heavy footsteps wandering through carelessly.
"You can't hide forever! Why not get it over with? Believe me, it's not as bad as you think."
By the time Breakdown finished talking, Bulkhead was scrunched in the corner to the point where his features were trapped between two other pieces of armor. The footsteps grew louder as the blue mech's shadow was disoriented by the Energon but he was still visible. Luckily, the mech couldn't see the same when he glanced directly in the Wrecker's direction.
The green mech moved to the left of his position before realizing he made a mistake. The sound of metal scraping across the Energon surface was loud enough to receive the Decepticon's attention permanently. That's when things went to hell.
Like Bulkhead's own wrecking ball, Breakdown broke through the Energon barrier with a wide smirk on his faceplates. He raised the tail and ears happily next to his helm, shaking them a bit with the psychotic grin still present. "Very clever, Bulky, but it's not enough to escape my gift to you! Merry Early Christmas!"
Bulkhead pressed harder against the wall as the mech proceeded to stomp towards him, towering over his shaking form like a predator waylaying his prey.
The silent mech was on the tail of the Wrecker for some time now, literally. In his servo, he held the second part of the costume, the ears. The tail he was able to put on the fleeing white Bot because a certain someone took a wrong turn into him with the awaiting tail in hand.
Now Wheeljack was running with the tail wagging behind him. He didn't bother taking it off since that would waste time and ensure Soundwave's victory over him. To his surprise, the purple spymaster moved very quickly so he had to run non-stop to keep away from the slender bot. The tail, interestingly enough, kept balance in his footwork which proved helpful around wicked turns in the Nemesis' vacant halls. It was also somewhat distracting to feel since his sensors weren't used to such things.
"Give up, Autobot! My work with you isn't through yet!" Megatron's recorded voice laughed at him. He remembered where the audio clip originated: the chase Bumblebee gave the warlord in the cherry blossom fields in Japan. Boy, what a day that was; Megatron almost sniped the poor scout from several hundred rows of blossom trees and on top of that, Dreadwing practically hit Bulkhead head on via jet vs. truck.
The sports car gave a yelp as he felt one of Soundwave's tentacle appendages snap out and graze his shoulder. The silent mech wasn't giving up any time soon apparently. The only thing he could do was run, but how long could he avoid the inevitable?
Not knowing how else to stall their little "game", Wheeljack slid to a halt and swerved around the spymaster, only to continue back the way he came. He glimpsed behind him to see the slender bot stunned for a second before he too turned towards the opposite direction. Finally, Soundwave wasn't following anymore.
The white, green, and red mech slowed to a jog, smiling as if he had won a marathon which in a way, he did. But the sound of an aircraft's engine caught his attention and right before he could transform, he felt someone jump on him. The force of the push knocked him forward, leaving him to rest upon the ground wincing. Soundwave began to chuckle darkly in his real voice which sent chills down the car's spinal cord.
"You're mine, little mech," the Megatron-voiced predator drone growled happily.
Fear and uncertainty flooded the katana-carrying mech's processor as he felt more pressure build up on his back with the spymaster above him holding the dreaded second half of his new guise.
Arcee hid in the ventilation system after losing Megatron through a small crevice that led to another room. It paid to be small but it was a bother that someone bigger than even Optimus was hunting her like a child does with a hidden cookie jar. The vents alone masked her presence and signal so she was not within range of any instrument the ship itself could provide.
Speaking of Optimus, she remembered they both fled from Megatron and Dreadwing in the same direction but got separated after the titan seeker body slammed her leader before chasing after him when he escaped the mech's grasp. She, of course, attracted the grey warlord elsewhere which eventually led to her small exodus. Whether she and the brutal ex-gladiator were still in the same room remained a mystery. She wasn't sure where she was, in all honesty. She could be anywhere in the Nemesis though she doubted that she had managed to get to the other side of the vessel.
She could hear various Vehicons scurrying about beneath her, yelling and sharing information about her fellow Autobots being subdued; that wasn't going to happen to her, not if she could help it. Like a lioness prowling in the tall grasses of the African Savanna, she moved swiftly through the pipe ways with utter care, not wanting the great big alpha lion to get an idea of where she was. Whether he too was beneath her or not was a scary riddle that she preferred not to solve.
Prior to her chance to cut another corner, a grey-clawed servo broke through the vent floor in front of her. The talons dragged across the metal before retreating back down to their disturbed master. She crawled backwards only to see a trail of claws breach the vent every second she stepped away from its grasp. Obviously, Megatron was determined to catch her and drag her back down to his awaiting present.
After turning away from his malicious pursuit and scrambling down a new vent way, the attack on the enclosed pathway stopped and she could hear the sound of pedes running under her position. Hastily, she took another route, only to step on an opening and fall to the ground. Thankfully, however, the vent exit landed her in a room where the door was shut tight; it was only accessible on the inside unless you had Soundwave with you. The new echo of the door being slammed against violently now rang throughout the chamber. She didn't have to take three guesses to point out who that was.
"Arcee, open this door! If you don't do so in two minutes, I'll make you regret it!" He roared enthusiastically, "Of course, it would be more fun to do that instead so keep resisting, I look forward to our encounter after I break this damn barrier!"
Arcee immediately began searching for a way out other than the now blocked exit with a mad warlord on the other side. While she was doing so, she heard the mechanisms on the door straining to keep from falling apart but it had already lost the left side's top hinges.
She couldn't reach the vents above her since they were installed in the ceiling but a few rafters at the end of the room were choices she'd most likely have to take, more or less. Not wanting to stay in the same spot forever, she climbed up to them and held onto one of the posts attached to it as Megatron shattered the door, sending pieces of it flying into other accessories in the chamber.
Smiling cruelly, the warlord zeroed in on his trapped victim, peering up at her "hiding" spot with glee. Too bad he could reach her despite her best attempt to escape him. "Well, well, my dear. I see you've lost your way. Now then," he purred as he raised the Persian cat tail and ears to her level, "I believe we can do this the easy way or the hard way."
Arcee growled before smacking Megatron across the face. His smile lowered slightly but didn't vanish entirely. "Very well then, the hard way it is," he blissfully replied.
Dreadwing tried to capture Optimus by trapping the Prime in his arms but the mech out-maneuvered him and went under the seeker running back towards the control room. Primes were very clever but how long could ingenuity outweigh strength and speed? The blue jet was fixed on finding out.
They at least ran through fourteen rooms before Optimus requested a bridge off the ship to the untouched forest below. Lady Luck decided to shine happiness on the Prime, for a bridge opened and closed right as Dreadwing was close enough to touch it. He missed and his target now ran in the dark tree-covered landscape.
Snarling at his loss, he made his way to the top-most deck and transformed into his alt. mode hoping to find his lost lamb that had been separated from his supposed shepherd.
Optimus relished the moment as an easy win. He pranced around in awe until the seeker passed over him. His celebration would have to wait but it seemed the seeker didn't see him or did and was waiting for the right moment to strike. Not waiting on a welcoming meeting from the jet, the red and blue mech hid under the densest group of trees he could find closest to him. If the jet wanted him so bad, he'd have to come on land where this game of cat and mouse could be played fair.
Under pressure, the Autobot leader listened for the purr of the seeker's engine, but nothing sounded, leaving him in a cautious state of mind. His breathing grew hoarser as he tried to sense his pursuer's presence. It was like trying to sniff out a treat in a pile of skunks; it was wretchedly disturbing that no trace of the seeker could be located.
Slowly, he emerged from his nature-based hideout to look to the skies for any detectable movement. The sad part about it: there was nothing. Either Dreadwing gave up or he was still searching but in the wrong area. The first idea didn't seem likely unless he was called back by Megatron or Starscream, the former was busy with Arcee though and the Air Commander had no need of any troops right now since he was resting in his chambers last time anybody checked. The latter had to be most likely.
He narrowed his optics at the dull silence. He sniffed the air one last time and he got the seeker's scent; Dreadwing was too close now. A servo latched onto his arm from above and began dragging him upwards despite his struggling. Hissing, he felt himself tossed upside down, carried by his leg now, and lifted all the way to the top of a tree where he then dangled face to face with the jet.
Dreadwing had practically done the splits between two trees to reach him and now that he had his prey, all he could do was bask in smug victory with his trophy in hand. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Optimus, I expected better from you. You really think I couldn't detect your signal? Oh, I feel so ashamed of you. I should have known better than even I."
Optimus just crossed his arms and huffed which to the seeker, posed only as a smile since he was still upside down, only supported by a servo clasping his pede.
"Don't be sad, Prime. Besides, I think a makeover is in order. What do you say?"
The response hit Dreadwing by surprise. Optimus stuck out his glossa and held up the middle finger in front of the seeker's confused face. It was un-Prime-like but it was acceptable considering the truck wasn't going to escape his "punishment" no matter what.
The jet laughed, "I'll take that as a 'yes'!"
Knockout set the pedal to the medal through the halls of the vessel. His scout was nowhere in sight, but he knew well enough Bumblebee loved his speed and would most likely use that as an escape method. Then again, this was a ship they were on and Cybertronian aircraft tend to be bound skyward over a thousand miles above the surface of the planet.
Speed may have been a reasonable factor on the ground but it could only get you so far on a vessel before you run into the same areas over and over. But being two bots of auto-mobility, wheels made things like races and even hunts fun. It was an experience worth dying for, in his opinion.
The medic detected a surge within one of the rooms he passed. It was unnatural for Energon to spike energy like that unless it was being used in large quantities and/or being devoured therefore his prey was closer than he anticipated. Bumblebee must've stopped to refuel or it was a Vehicon just getting some go-to juice for later activities. Might as well check it out just in case.
The Aston Martin slammed on his brakes before backing up until he was in front of the door to what he recognized as his own Medbay. No Vehicons were permitted to go there unless it was an emergency so his little bug definitely was within his claws.
He transformed silently and punched in the code for access to the bay. He heard movement inside but it all went dead as soon as the door released pressure and opened to reveal nothing but darkness. Knockout shifted his optics to scan the chamber but no change seemed noticeable. The scout was good, too good but he knew he was better.
Carefully, he maneuvered around one of the slanted berths to move under it in search for his lost Bee. Still nothing. However, he jolted his helm to his right as soon as he thought he saw something dark yellow in the corner of his eye, lurking in the shadows. He shook his head a little as he gave a sound of displeasure. He was never one for games but for Bee, he would make an exception.
On the other side of the room, hidden from the red orbs that were attempting to track his every move, Bumblebee gave a silent squeal of fear. He wasn't too thrilled about Knockout's present for him but what made it terrifying was the fact that the medic wasn't giving up. He could hear the red mech growl impatiently every second he failed to find a trace of the scout.
When the Aston Martin moved one direction, he moved the opposite forcing him to be directly adjacent to the Con without Doc Knock even the slightest suspicious of his whereabouts. He continued this and kept his eyes locked onto his oppressor until he bumped into a berth, creating a loud clang noise that got the medic's attention with a nano-second.
Red spotted blue optics with insatiable lust that let a low growl escape Knockout's vocals before he sprinted towards the Urbana with vicious momentum. Bumblebee had limited time to react but managed to slip away from impact.
The two ran as fast as they could, jumping over berths and scurrying over control panels with adrenaline pulsing overtime in their systems. It was like two cheetahs trying to outrun the other with just mere speed. It took a few minutes for Knockout to realize he would never win like this. All the speed in the world wouldn't do no matter what, for the scout would always be top dog in velocity. Suddenly, the medic got a wonderful idea.
He slowed to a stop with anticipation before cutting around a berth to another hall in between rooms. The corridor led to the same room that attached to the Medbay, the place where Bumblebee would be heading now. Timing was everything right now; one little slip would cost him the chase.
His eyes were now dilated as he crossed and when the doors opened, he leapt off the ground right as Bumblebee was perpendicular to him. His leap turned into a kick which hit the scout in the side, bringing the speed demon to scrape across the floor with sparks in his wake. Knockout shook the pain of the attack off with no problem, but Bumblebee thought otherwise.
The hit stunned the poor Bot badly. It was enough, however, to let Knockout come close to him and kneeling to his fallen form, lifting his chin with a devilish smirk. "Games are only fun when you're winning. Ain't that right, Bee?"
Bumblebee moaned as he tried to rub his side. He had never experienced that before, nor had he ever witnessed the medic assault someone like that. Guess there's a first for everything.
Knockout opened his chassis compartment to show the Urbana a golden tail and matching ears. "Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty! Daddy's got something for you. Master needs his pet to be good while I attached these to you. Can you do that, Kitty?"
Bumblebee whimpered but did nothing as the Aston Martin drew closer.
All the Decepticons cheered as only twelve days were left before Christmas. Each raised a container of High-Grade in celebration. The party wasn't because of the days left; it was rather about how they now had five pets to play with.
Five Autobots now sit with new animalistic accessories attached to their figures. Each had the tails and ears dyed to match their color scheme and thanks to Soundwave, they now had collars in a color that also fit their paint. The tags, of course, had the names of the Bots' as well as the owners'. Different colored ribbons bound their hands and feet in certain positions per their new owners' request; some even had a bow on the back of their necks that wrapped around their throats softly.
Once in a while, some of them struggled at their unfortunate state, others, like Arcee, knew the attempts were futile and just leaned against her master's throne tiredly. She growled when Megatron picked her up and slung her over the armrest to lie on his lap. He merely nuzzled her cheek with his own as a response. To the warlord, she looked as pretty as a present with the bow glistening on the back of her neck.
Optimus was lying on his stomach on the rafter closest to Dreadwing who was stroking his tail. He couldn't feel it but he knew what the seeker was doing which made him somewhat uncomfortable to an extent. When clawed digits ran over sensory nodes in his audial fins-now-covered-as-cat-ears, he gave a small moan and without alerting the Con, pressed into the touch slightly. Like a cat, ironically, he purred at the feeling.
Wheeljack had been suspended off the ground by the ribbon tied around him. He was hanging upside down for all to see while Soundwave used his own tentacles to form a swing of sorts for himself. He swung next to his prize with a heart emoji on his visor.
Breakdown and Bulkhead were recharging propped against each other. Apparently, they fell asleep immediately after the green mech's capture because they had depleted a ton of energy playing the game. They were back to back out like a light with the Wrecker's head resting on the plating between the Army recon-jeep's shoulder and helm.
Bumblebee giggled as Knockout tickled him. It was a cruel torture indeed but the medic saw it as a game he loved to play more than any other. Childishly, the scout pounded the ground trying desperately to get away from the hell that was messing with his sensors in an unorthodox way. As he tries, his cries and laughter of delight burst out through beeps and whirls; his voice becoming raw by his non-stop playful bellowing.
It wasn't a normal pre-Christmas that anybody was used to, but some had to admit, it was better than nothing. There was one thing that concerned Optimus most of all: what would Christmas Eve and Christmas Day be like if the days before it are this wild and downright alarming? He gave that a thought; it occurred to him that it was best not to think about such things, for it would only worsen the twelve long days ahead.
A scary Merry Christmas to all, and hopefully, Megatron doesn't get the urge to bite again like he did during the dreaded Black Friday rush with Miko and Sierra commanding and forcing him to steal everything they desired. Holidays and events were nightmares.
AN: I know it's not Midnight yet so technically there's thirteen days left but you get the idea. This was inspired by the Pin the Tail on the Autobot thing from a Hub Commercial featuring the Transformers. Not what I really had in mind the first time but it works.