AN: Halloween 3/3 Sets

Day 25: Slime
Univserse: MTMTE
Characters: Brainstorm, Perceptor

Brainstorm was smart. In fact, he was the most genius of the genii found on the Lost Light, and he was perfectly aware of that. Who else could create a high powered EMP grenade with a small battery pack, paperclips, and a cracked chronometer? (And so what if it had ended up knocking out a few allies? The point of the matter was that he had built it, and it had worked.)

Unfortunately, Perceptor wasn't as receptive to his genius as he was. Hence why the former Wrecker didn't even bother to look up from his work when Brainstorm strode into his lab. The jet took a moment to admire the small space (and how much better his lab was) before approaching the other mech. "Perceptor—"

"Whatever you have accomplished in the last hour is of no interest to me."

Brainstorm immediately stopped and propped his hands on his hips. Perceptor continued to jot down notes on his data-pad, not even bothering to turn around and acknowledge his fellow crewmate. "How rude! Here I was, simply stopping by to say hi…but since you are the one who opened the conversation—"

Perceptor sighed and stood up, causing Brainstorm to take a step back with the small box he had pulled out from behind his back. The scientist-turned-sniper gave Brainstorm a blank look, frown deepening after seeing Brainstorm's wings mischievously wiggle. "I have a meeting with Rodimus that I cannot be late for. Don't touch anything."

"I would never." Brainstorm waited until the door had slid close behind Perceptor. He waited a grand total of ten seconds before tossing aside the simple mass-displacement cube he had developed out of boredom. The tips of his fingers diabolically clicked together as he shuffled over to what Perceptor had abandoned. "Now, what are you up to, my only rival on this ship of Neanderthals?"

Brainstorm's excitement quickly deflated when he realized there was no super exciting, blow-your-mind-it's-so-awesome device anywhere near Perceptor's workspace. In fact, the only thing within arm's distance was…a drooping organic weed. Well, this was disappointing. The inventor poked at the closed shriveled petals that were grouped at the end of a flaccid stem.

"Seriously? This is what he's been cooped up in here doing? Not even a tiny gun? A zapstick? Anything?" He poked at the petals again, pausing when the delicate bulb began to part. "Well, at least it does some—"

Brainstorm's huff was abruptly cut off as a projectile was suddenly ejected from the plant. An embarrassing yelp escaped him, and he jumped back to scrap away the fluorescent slime now blurring his vision. When the slime refused to be wiped away, Brainstorm focused on blindly reaching for something—anything!—on the table that would help wipe it away.

Then the burn began to set in.

Perceptor smirked from the wall he leaned against outside his lab as Brainstorm came running out of the room, calling for a solvent to wash away the slime. While First Aid and Ambulon peeked out from the med-bay down the hall, Perceptor made a quick note on the data-pad he had snuck away with him. "Note to self—the mucus of Subject S from the planet Venetrine contains acidic properties that activate on contact with metallic alloys. Further observation and experimentation needed to discover which alloys cause said reaction. Also, Brainstorm is an idiot. End data log."

Days 26 and 27: Demon and Reaper
Universe: G1
Characters: OC and Mystery Character

Gasps escaped the dark mech with each step he took, but there was nothing that would prompt him to stop his waning pace. The ringing bang of a waste bin he collided with after taking a corner caused him to jump and frantically look behind him. He doubled his pace when his red optic thought a shadow moved, curling towards him and maliciously smiling.

For a hardened Decepticon who had grown up in these very alleys of Kaon like Crossbolt, it felt odd to be frantically searching for a back door to duck into. The very fear that had his fuel pump pounding in his audials hadn't been felt since he had obtained the heavy upgrades for the gladiator pits. Next to Megatron, Crossbolt had been one of the most feared fighters in the ring.

Now he was running like a cowardly Autobot!

He should turn and confront his pursuer, but the moment Crossbolt stopped long enough to do just that, he would remember the sharp pang in his shoulder where his arm had once been connected. Feel the rivulets of Energon that still leaked from the various incisions along his torso. Become oriented enough to realize his field of view was limited to his left side.

Crossbolt's pace jolted to a new level, and he forgot the urge to face his hunter.

However, that didn't matter as he rounded a new corner and came face to face with his new nightmare. The sight of the little monster, with its devilish smirk and glowing red visor, made the mech violently recoil and stumble backwards. One foot tripped over another, and he was suddenly eye level with that malevolent smirk. Crossbolt scurried back, using his one good arm as his only leverage. A sob finally tore from the voice box that had been damaged by earlier torment, and the mech's bright vermillion optic attempted to convey his inner distress. "Please—"

All his haggard plea received was a tut of disapproval and waggling finger in his direction. "Now, don't be that way, my mech. If you hadn't run, we wouldn't be in this situation."

Crossbolt flinched as the tiny monster was suddenly crouched down between his legs, smiling that deceptive grin. He whimpered when a hand came up to roughly grab his wounded shoulder. He swallowed the Energon that threatened to travel back up from his tank and attempted to back away from the glowing visor leaning closer to him. His back hit the wall. "I won't tell anyone—I swear!"

Fear was stifled by a sudden surge of hope when Crossbolt saw the smirk waver. A frown took its place, and the dark frame leaning over him hesitated. He steeled himself and found that he was sitting at the perfect angle to see the muted blue optics flicker beneath the deep burgundy visor that hid them.

Crossbolt's tank churned at the clear view he had gotten of those blue optics when he had wondered into the storage room earlier. There hadn't been much time to do anything beyond instinctively drawing his weapon before he had been knocked out, and he had onlined later to find the visor back in place above the smirk that would quickly become ingrained in his mind. It was the only thing he had been able to focus on through the pain, both physical and mental. Minutes had felt like days, and Crossbolt wasn't even sure how long the torturous questioning had lasted before he had been able to escape.

But with the way he had been so easily overtaken, his great "escape" didn't feel like it had been a very grand accomplishment.

The monster shifted above him, and Crossbolt snapped back to attention, horrified by how difficult it had become to keep his head held up. He flinched this time when he saw the hand that lifted up to gently cup the less damaged half of his face. The movement was much too contradictory to his earlier treatment, and Crossbolt wanted to thrash away from it.

"You just had to walk in." The frown was almost as genuine as the soft tenor of the mech's voice. "I was starting to like you too."

Crossbolt wasn't allowed a chance to respond as the hand outside of his peripheral was thrust through his chest. The lone optic brightened for less than a second before going dark, and the larger mech's frame slumped against the wall. The hand gently retracted, and the remaining mech stared at the cooling frame for a moment before standing.

A washcloth was silently extracted from his subspace. The mess off Energon left behind on his hand was quickly mopped up, and he tossed it into the nearest waste bin before bending over the body once more. He tilted Crossbolt's head to extract the data slug that had been installed at the base of the mech's head.

After looking it over for damage, the small device was quickly stored, and the mech began walking down the alley towards the busy street. Midway down the alley, he reached up and lightly tapped side of his head. "This is Special Ops codename Meister. Assigned mission has been completed. ETA to Iacon base within the next day. Meister out."

Day 29: Scream
Universe: MTMTE
Characters: Ultra Magnus, Tailgate

It was Rodimus' fault.

This was a fact in Ultra Magnus' mind when the first scream tore through the corridors of the Lost Light. It was solidified by the sight of Tailgate turning the corner and scurrying towards him with a glitching visor. So great was the Mini Bot's terror that he didn't even notice Ultra Magnus until he nearly knocked himself out on the SiC's knee.

Ultra Magnus sighed in response to Tailgate's backwards stagger. "Tailgate, any noise above three hundred decibels is not allowed outside private quarters in accordance to sub-clause—"

The mech paused his dressing down to give the miniature mech an unamused stare. "Let go of my foot."

Tailgate trembled and scrambled higher up Magnus' leg. "M-Magnus! You're a big mech—one of the biggest and strongest ones on board. You've gotta protect me!"

Here we go. "From what?"

Tailgate's visor flashed, and he quickly glanced over his shoulder. He scooted higher, causing Magnus to sigh once more, and cupped the masked portion of his face with one hand. "The clowns."

"…what?"

"The clowns, Magnus—the clowns!" Tailgate's trembling began anew, and he clung to the Enforcer's leg with a new urgency. "Rodimus told me all about them. How they blind people by spraying acid in their eyes from fake plants. And turn poor little organic creatures into these things called balloons and pop them. And they eat the sparks of Mini Bots to make their puppets! I don't wanna be a puppet!"

Ultra Magnus stared down at the panicking little mech that attempted to scrabble up his thigh. He twitched when the sound of snickering reached his audial, and he looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of a yellow spoiler that vanished around the corner. He knew who it had been—his Rodimus senses weren't merely tingling but viciously stabbing at him. He was already three-fourths of the way through a very detailed and severe speech on the reasons why Rodimus should not—as captain—be spreading such ridiculous rumors simply to scare the Mini Bots.

Which Rodimus would never listen to, but it satisfied his core programing enough to make him feel better. Plus, he had been correct, adding another layer of satisfaction.

It had indeed all been Rodimus' fault.

Day 30: Undead
Universe: Pint Sized
Characters: Victoria, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Bluestreak

The young woman sighed and swept her fingers through short raven hair. Her dark grey eyes took in the scene before her, and she shifted where she sat on the floor. She sighed again. "Alright, I'll bite. What the heck are you supposed to be?"

Before her stood a trio of miniature robots. One smiled widely, his dark grey door shaped "wings" wiggling in amusement; another possessed a deep frown that did not reflect the cheery yellow of his armor; the last one held a smile similar to the first, but it was slightly crooked and resembled more of a grimace as he fought to keep two Styrofoam triangles wedged inside his mouth. Sideswipe dramatically flourished his cape, which appeared to be a swath of stiff cloth cut from the shirt Victoria had just thrown away. "I am Dracula! Bleh, bleh-bleh."

The red Autobot suddenly lunged forward and latched on to the woman's bent knee. Bluestreak snickered as Sideswipe began gnawing on the exposed skin. "I am going to suck your blood!"

Victoria stared, and Sunstreaker shook his head at his brother's antics. Bluestreak simply continued to laugh. When the pinches from Sideswipe's new set of canines began to irritate her, Victoria reached down and grasped the mech around his waist, bringing him up to her eye level. "Have you been watching those B-class horror movies again? Because I told you that the next time I get Ratchet on my back for Swoop thinking that the spiders I squish are going to suddenly rise from the dead, I'm sending him your way."

Sideswipe's optics flickered, and he crossed his arms in a pout. "You are such a fun sucker! Worse than Red. I don't even know why I try."

"Believe me, neither do I." Victoria lowered the mech back down to his brother and friend, and Sunstreaker proceeded to smack Sideswipe across the back of the head while Bluestreak's snickers faded. The woman waved him off when he expressed worry over the tiny speck of blood from where one of Sideswipe's fangs had managed to pierce her skin. "How did you even manage to make cut those things out? I haven't seen any of you running around with knives or anything."

"I took apart that blade thing you keep in the bathroom."

"You're the one that stole my only razor."

"Ye—" Sideswipe yelped when Sunstreaker violently elbowed his abdomen. He was about to attack his brother in retaliation when he noticed the deep frown on Victoria's face now. "I mean, no. Why? Was it important? Maybe you should blame Skywarp. I hear that makes everything better."

Victoria shook her head at Sideswipe's feigned innocence. "Whatever. I need to get back to cleaning. No more horror movies when I'm asleep. I mean it, Sideswipe!"

"Yeah, yeah." The red front-liner waved at her as he and his brother left the room. He had nearly made it out of the room when he elbowed Sunstreaker to get his brother's attention. "She never said anything about when she was awake."

Victoria rolled her eyes, missing Sunstreaker's murmured reply, and glanced down at her lap where Bluestreak had climbed up to sit. "It's only been a couple of days since you guys showed up, and I already understand why Prowl always looks so tired when Sideswipe's mentioned."

Bluestreak smiled, neither agreeing with her nor defending his friend.

AN: Hope you guys enjoyed these brief ficlets. That's all I have at the moment, but as soon as I wrote another set, I'll be sure to post them here :D