Chapter Three: The Protoes.
The following week, the new recruits for the Decepticons and Autobots arrived at their respected bases. The Decepticon recruit headed to the top of the base to see Frenzy and Starscream continuing their constant chatter,
"Hey, that's not exactly what happened," said Starscream,
"Yes it is," countered Frenzy, "You said 'I'm not going to the Gambling District', the next thing I know you're in a Cybertron cab headed for"
"Excuse me, sirs?"
"Sirs?" The two turned to the voice and saw another robot.
"Ah, crap," said Frenzy, this robot had red armor and did not have hands but two hammer-like parts.
"I was told to report to Blood Gulch Outpost No. One and speak to Megatron," he said.
"Sorry, Megatron is giving orders to another squad, ain't nobody in charge today," replied Frenzy.
"Actually, Private. He left me in charge while he's gone," countered Starscream,
"You are such a kiss-ass," criticized Frenzy.
"Also he told me if I have any trouble from you I should," Starscream continued as he tried to imitate Megatron's voice, "To get in the Scorponok and tear your head off like a can-opener."
"That's the worst impression I've ever heard," Frenzy remarked.
Starscream turned his attention to the new guy, "Okay, proto, what's your story?" he asked.
"Private Rumble reporting for duty sir, I'm ready to crush my enemies."
Neither Frenzy nor Starscream were impressed by Rumble's play on words.
"Couple of things, proto," said Frenzy, "First off, Private Rumble? I think someone needs a new name and secondly, what's with the armor color?"
"This is the standard issue Decepticon," replied Rumble.
"I know," remarked Frenzy, "Listen, Megatron only lets two people wear standard issue Decepticon; officers and recruits. And since you're not threatening to remove my spark, you're probability not an officer."
"Well he's wearing red armor," Rumble commented as he turned to Starscream,
"No, I am wearing white armor with red stripes," said Starscream, "You're armor is red."
"Well, how do I change my armor color?" asked Rumble,
"I bet the Autobots don't have to put up with this kind of crap," Starscream said to Frenzy.
The Autobots were putting up with that kind of crap. Their new recruit, Bumblebee, arrived with the Ark Class tank and was explaining how it got there,
"So I say to the guy, 'How are you going to get the tank down to the planet?' and he goes, 'I'll just put on the ship,' and I go, 'If you got a ship that can carry a tank, why not just put guns on the ship and use it instead?'"
"Hey, Bumblebee," said Jazz, "You're ruining the moment. Shut up."
"Okay, you got it man," replied Bumblebee.
"You know what, I could blow up the whole Primus-damn world with this thing," Optimus Prime told himself.
Starscream had a plan for the proto, "Okay Private Rumble, here's the deal."
"I just refuse to call him Private Rumble," Frenzy complained.
"We got a very important mission for you," continued Starscream, "You think you can handle it."
"Absolutely," replied Rumble.
"We need you to go to the store and get two quarts of rust remover."
"And pick up some headlight fluid for the Crab too," added Frenzy.
"The what?" asked Rumble,
"He means the Scorponok," said Starscream,
"You do know where the store is? Right, proto?" asked Frenzy.
"What? Yeah, yeah of course I do. Of course, no problem," said Rumble,
"Well, get going then," ordered Starscream. Rumble started heading in one direction,
"Other way," said Frenzy,
"I knew that. Just got turned around, that's all," Rumble stated as he headed the other way. Frenzy and Starscream watched Rumble head off into the open field of the canyon,
"How long till you think he figures out there is no store?" asked Starscream,
"I say at least a week," answered Frenzy.
Rumble was far from the base when he started talking to himself, "Rust remover? How stupid do they think I am? Once I get back to base with that headlight fluid, I'm going to talk to Megatron."
The Autobots continued staring at their new toy,
"You know what, forget what I said before," said Jazz, "We can totally pick up fembots in this thing. Probability two or three fembots a piece."
"Listen to you, what are you going to do with two fembots?" asked Optimus,
"Optimus, fembots are like combiners, the more you can hook up, the better it gets," Jazz commented.
Back at the Decepticon base, Starscream asked Frenzy a question,
"You think that we were too mean to the proto?"
"Nah, he'll just wander around on the cliffs for a few hours," answered Frenzy, "What's the worst that can happen?"
Rumble arrived at the Autobot base unaware they were the enemy,
"Finally there it is. Oh, sweet, they sell tanks."