Author's Notes: Chapter 3 is up! Whoo.... I actually got this chapter over 1000 words!
I could only think of this fic when I passed a car lot that had over 15 Beetles. Again thank you to all who Reveiwed/Faved/Alerted. You all flatter me!
Every Autobot stood still and silent waiting for their leader to speak. Among them were Sideswipe, Bluestreak, Trailbreaker, Jazz, Blaster, Cliffjumper, Sunstreaker, Gears, Inferno, Hoist, Hound, Smokescreen, and Tracks.
No one dared move.
Optimus slowly looked around the room, his optics glimmered and emotional stare between disappointment and confusion.
Finally he spoke.
"Before I jump to any conclusions, I want to know what happened first".
No one spoke.
"Well?" Optimus spoke again. He didn't need this at the moment.
With the Decepticons being ever so quiet recently, Optimus increased his worry over them. He remembered a conversation with Sparkplug Witwicky that ended with "the calm before the storm" saying.
However when Optimus witnessed his own Autobots fighting in such manners, his worry increased. Had something come in between the Autobots to make them act this way? Would they be as effective of a team now?
Optimus mentally shook the thoughts and doubts away. He would wait to see what they had to say.
Finally Jazz spoke out.
"Hey, all's cool Prime. We were just playin' a game is all. Sorry to spook ya" he said calmly while lying on the floor with his back to one of the couches' sides.
The rest of the Autobots started to move, feeling safe now that somebody spoke.
"What sort of game is this that you would attack your fellow Autobots in such a way?" Optimus inquired further, almost feeling a little relief.
"Punch Bug" another voice answered.
It was Hound. He was slowly getting up from on top of Inferno.
"What?" Optimus had never heard of any game named such.
Hound continued "It's a human game. When you see a "certain" vehicle, you punch the others around you."
"But only a light punch" Jazz added. "We just got a bit excited Prime. That's why it seemed we were doing a little brawling."
"Don't forget about the "no-punch backs" rule" Inferno hastily added from his spot on the ground, chest to the ground.
"Oh right" Hound said. "See, after you punch someone you are supposes to say the vehicle, color, and "no punch back" to avoid getting punched by the one you punched. "
"Although some people seemed to forget that part" Gears said in an accusing manner. He directed his glare at Sunstreaker, who didn't seem to notice any of the conversation.
Sunstreaker was looking over his body with a displeased look to his features. Occasionally he muttered a few curses and choice words about his ruined paint job.
All the Autobots were calming down and intently listening to the conversation with Optimus.
Bumblebee was now off to the side of the Rec. Room also listening about the new game everybody but him and Optimus seemed to know.
The game seemed a bit interesting to him. He wondered why nobody told him.
"So, why is it called Punch Bug?" he dared to ask.
Sideswipe, who had remained quiet throughout the questioning and explanation to the game he had brought to the Ark, answered Bumblebee's question.
He dashed in between Bluestreak and Tracks.
"It's called that because you "bug" the other person by punching them" he said with a little more speed than he usually talked.
"Really?" Bluestreak asked. "Because I thought you said it was.."
Sideswipe made a quick death glance towards Bluestreak that stopped him in mid-sentence.
"Oh" Bumblebee replied. He walked to the back of the room where the energon dispensers were, a little embarrassed that he was so clueless.
"So Optimus" Jazz spoke, "Are we cool with the game?"
All the Autobots looked at Optimus with pleading and expectant optics.
Optimus took a few moments to contemplate and weigh out the options.
"Alright" he said.
Most of the Autobots in the room cheered. Sideswipe gave a sly glance to Sunstreaker, who then looked at him and pointed to a dent in his armor and frowned. Sideswipe gave a shrug. He fully agreed to it Sideswipe thought to himself.
"But," Optimus continued. "If it gets out of hand like today, I will have no choice but to ban the game permanently. It's your choice whether it goes that far."
With that said he walked out of the room.
A few minutes later, the Rec. Room returned to its own daily routine again. Autobots were conversing, laughing, and having a good time with the time they didn't already loose to the war.
Bumblebee was sitting at one of the tables, cube in hand, with Jazz and Cliffjumper. He relayed the incident with Wheeljack he had earlier.
"So he was playing "Punch Bug" too?" he asked.
"Yep" Jazz replied.
"And you said there was a "certain" vehicle used in this game. What is it" Bumblebee continued questioning.
"Oh, well..You see this vehicle is something we see daily" Cliffjumper hinted at. No one really wanted to tell Bumblebee that he was the object of attention.
An alarm rang off in Bumblebee's head. He had almost forgotten that he was going to see Spike today. It flattered Bumblebee to no end that Spike wanted to spend his first day of summer with him.
With a quick goodbye Bumblebee left the Rec. Room to meet up with Spike.
Jazz and Cliffjumper watched him go.
"Do you think we should have told him?" Cliffjumper asked with his optics focused on the now closed door.
"Probably" Jazz admitted. "But the lil' guy will find out in no time. This game's spreadin' faster than an ol' case of Cosmic Rust."
With that, the two continued their conversations while finishing up their energon cubes, both of them feeling a little guilty.
Ending Author's Notes: Hound's spot on Inferno was inspired by the little scene in "The Insecticon Syndrome" where Inferno is on top of Hound. I always have to laugh at the "then I'll get off your nogin" quote from Inferno.
I hope you enjoy!
Reviews are nice to!