It was a cool, clear October day. Thundercracker was out on patrol but his mind wasn't. Something had been bothering him as of late, and he couldn't quite put his finger on to why.

The month before he'd been out on patrol, much like he was now, and he'd seen a lot of human merchants setting up displays and getting out decorations with some rather scary-looking images. At least, he was certain that the humans would think they were scary. White blobs with eyes saying "Boo!" and humans with no flesh or muscle in windows would certainly keep him from going in if he were human.

Instead, they were excited and bought similar decorations themselves. It baffled him, even after he had learned that they were celebrating a holiday called Halloween. Once he learned the name of the holiday, he'd ran search after search on the holiday but came up with nothing for its origins.

A laser blast whizzing by him brought him out of his thoughts, and he quickly rose higher into the clouds. Thundercracker ran a self-diagnostic scan to make sure his systems were working properly then he looked to see who had attacked him.

"Powerglide and the Aerialbots," he muttered. "Let's see how well they can do when I do this!"

He began a series of rolls as he dived straight for the ground. It was a crazy tactic, to be sure, but he had a funny feeling that it would work.

'Give me a chance to find out what's going on and why they nearly got the drop on me,' Thundercracker thought idly.

Instinctively, he ran scans on all six Autobot planes as he went on his rolling downward spiral. To anyone on the ground, it would have looked like he had lost control and was going to crash. And the Autobots were still tailing him!

"Come on," he muttered. "You guys aren't that crazy, are you?"

As if they had heard him, they immediately disengaged and Thundercracker pulled up in the nick of time.

"I better get back to base . . ."

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"Excellent job," Megatron stated through a frown. "We'll make good use of this information."

"Thank you, Megatron . . . Requesting permission to leave the base for a while."

"Permission granted. Stay out of trouble."

"Yes, Megatron."

Quickly, Thundercracker exited the command center and headed for the life. Once air was hitting his face, he transformed and was gone.

Not far from the Decepticon sea base was the shore. A few miles down the shore sat a section of woods. Hardly any humans went into the woods, making it very quiet and very secluded. Thundercracker liked it for that very reason. Once he was there, he found the clearing where he liked to sit and sat down, drenching himself in thought.

"Upcoming human holiday called Halloween," he murmured to himself. "No traceable origins. Can't be linked to any of the religious holidays they celebrate. Not very straightforward. Why is that?"

"Maybe because you're looking at the wrong religion," a voice commented.

Startled, Thundercracker looked up and saw a human female standing in front of him. She was clad all in black and her hair was pulled back. What struck him the most, though, was her lack of fear. She gazed at him, half in amusement and half in curiosity."

"How long have you been standing there?" he demanded. He didn't like the fact that this human female had snuck up on him. Not after the surprise attack the Autobots had nearly nailed him with earlier. Once was bad enough. Twice was inexcusable.

"Long enough to know you're interested in All Hallow's Eve," she smiled.

"All Hallow's Eve?" he echoed.

"All Hallow's Eve, Samhain, Halloween," she shrugged. "Different names, same holiday."

"Why so many different names?" Thundercracker asked.

"Different cultures," she explained. "Every culture has its own way of celebrating the time of year when the dead can walk among the living."

"What do you mean?" his optics narrowed. "How can the dead walk among the living?"

"Yeah . . . See, there are some that believe there are two worlds. The world of the living and the world of the dead. There's a veil between the worlds. Around All Hallow's Eve, the veil is said to be the thinnest, allowing the dead to come back and visit their loved ones."

"But that doesn't explain why the holiday is the way that it is," he frowned. "Isn't there somewhere where I can find more information?"

"Yeah. Books," she stated. "Best one is by a lady named Silver Ravenwolf. It's called Halloween. Read it. You might just like it."

Thundercracker thought it over for a few moments. It couldn't hurt to find out more. He didn't really have anything to lose, after all.

"Thank . . ." he began then saw that the human was gone, "you . . . Where did she go?"

He sat there for a few moments, just staring at the spot where the woman had been standing just a few moments before. How could she have disappeared so quickly and without him noticing?

"Strange," he murmured. "Very strange . . . Better get going before an Autobot patrol comes tearing through here to try and pound on me."

Thundercracker took to the sky and set about finding the book the human had mentioned.

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"Are you crazy?" Starscream hollered. Thundercracker had just returned back to base not only with the one book that had been recommended but with a few others as well. The humans, though frightened at first, had been more than helpful in finding the book, and a few others, for him. Now he was back at headquarters and, as luck would have it, Starscream had been the first one he had run into.

"What do you think you're doing, bringing human books here?" he continued.

"I was thinking of delving into their history and beliefs," he sighed, trying to make his way by the Decepticon second.

"Going soft?" Starscream sneered. Thundercracker snapped for reasons he couldn't quite identify.

"I thought it would be good strategy to learn about this belief of two worlds," he replied casually. "After all, many humans do believe in ghosts and that the spirits of the dead walk among them. But if you don't think we could use that to our advantage . . ."

"Excellent thinking, Thundercracker," a familiar voice stated. "You shall proceed with your research. Unhindered."

Both Seekers looked up as Megatron approached them. Starscream wore an expression of absolute rage and he glowered at his leader.

"Thank you, Megatron," Thundercracker said as he quickly retreated to his quarters. Once there, he began to read.

"Delving into human lore is research and beneficial to the Decepticon cause? You've gone mad, Megatron," Starscream scoffed. Now it was Megatron's turn to scowl.

"Don't push me, Starscream," he growled. "I could care less about some lame human holiday. However, if it keeps Thundercracker occupied for a few moments, so be it. He's earned it. There are other things to worry about."

"Like countering the Autobots' new weapon. Right, Leader?"

"Exactly. Take Skywarp and Buzzsaw. I want you to go to these coordinates," he handed Starscream a datapad, "and see what you can find."

"Yes, oh Mighty Megatron."

With that, Starscream left, still not looking very thrilled. Megatron just shook his head. The things he did to keep his warriors entertained.

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There was a full moon out as Thundercracker and Soundwave watched a group of pagans and witches in the distance. Thanks to Soundwave's abilities, they were able to hear the night's festivities and spellcasting, and, from the sound of things, they had no intentions of stopping any time soon.

"They sure do use a lot of energy for this," Thundercracker commented. Soundwave merely nodded and they continued their observations. Eventually, the festivities faded and the two Decepticons were watching an empty area. Or so they thought. After a few moments, lights began to appear.

"Soundwave . . . I thought the humans had left," Thundercracker frowned, zooming in on the lights.

"They did."

"Then what are those lights?"

Silence.

"Soundwave?'

"Origins of lights unknown."

To hear Soundwave say that frightened Thundercracker a little but he wasn't about to say so. What spooked him was the shapes some of the lights took. One of them resembled a human female . . .

"Well, we got what we came after . . ." he began, shaking his head in disbelief. It couldn't be!

"Agreed."

Without saying another word, the two Decepticons took to the air. They never saw the little children and their guardian materialize out of nowhere nor did they ever speak of it to anyone. It had been a very unusual Halloween indeed.

The End