Hi everyone! Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! :) Okay, you had to have seen this coming: an X-Mas chapter. I promise this isn't a bunch of filler crap. I also threw another surprise into the story... Please R&R and enjoy!

Love is a Lake

(A 'TFA' fan fic romance)

Chapter 35 A Decepticon Christmas

(December 22nd – 5:00pm: the peninsula)

"Hello?"

"Amanda, dear! It's your mother!"

"Hey, Mom… What's going on? Are you still planning on coming over here to Detroit for Christmas?"

"Of course! I'm packing up as we speak. I'm thinking about coming down tomorrow morning where I'll stay with you and your sister for a few days. I have to be back here before New Years… Is that alright, honey?"

"Yeah, of course. Why would it be a problem in the first place?"

"I know you and your sister are busy bees. Do you know if your handsome friend Hunter will be there?"

Lockdown could hear the conversation on her phone since Amanda was sitting on his shoulder. He laughed softly. Amanda brought a finger up to mouth, telling him to hush. The bounty hunter rolled his optics. Mandy smiled.

"He's in Austria with Johann, remember?" she told her mother. "They most likely won't be back for Christmas until they get what they need get finished with over there."

"That's a pity. You girls are all alone… Alright, well, I just wanted to check in with you about our Christmas plans. I'll see you tomorrow morning, baby. Bye!"

"Bye, Mom."

She disconnected the call and put her phone into her pocket.

"Mom?" said Cynthia.

"Oh, yeah," her sister answered. "She'll be here by tomorrow morning."

"Vait, zhou mean ve von't be able to celebrate Christmas togezher?" Random asked sadly. "Zhour mozher vill be over and ve can't be vith our lovelies?"

"It's only for a few days, Blitzwing," his sweetheart assured. "We knew Mom was going to come down soon but we planned on having our own little Christmas party after she left."

"No, ve'll do it tonight!"

"And how are we going to do that?" said Lockdown. "I agree with Cyndi: just wait until their mom leaves. We don't even know how to celebrate Christmas! We're not Humans!"

"I vant to celebrate it and ve vill! I vant to have my first Christmas vith my Cynthia! I know a little about it and I vant to do it! I vill get everyzhing ready and ve'll have a party tonight before Helen comes!"

"I get nervous when you plan stuff, especially when it's you, Random," said Amanda. "You do know that Christmas involves a tree, mistletoe, carols… And other happy and Christmasy things. Not death, destruction and crushed Autobots, right?"

"Of course! I know vhat Humans do for Christmas! I vas one for a month, remember?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Blitzwing set Cyndi on the ground.

"Everyone, go back to zhe base," he instructed. "I vill go fetch zhe tree now and ve can begin all of our fun!"

He turned into a jet and flew off towards Detroit. Cynthia shook her head.

"He really likes all of these holidays, doesn't he?" said Lockdown.

"Good God, I can just picture what he'd be like if he found out about Mardi Gras or St. Patrick's Day," Cynthia sighed. But then she grinned. "I can't wait to see what he does for Valentine's Day!"

"Yeah, me too." Amanda looked directly into Lockdown's optics.

(A half an hour later.)

"Christmas?" Starscream sounded disgusted. "Ugh, that glitch head would want to celebrate something as mundane and ludicrous as a Human holiday like that."

"Well, I think it's a very sweet thing for him to do," Cynthia glowered at the seeker. "He's rushing to have a little party for me and Amanda because we won't be interacting with any of our lovely Decepticon friends for the next few days."

"Where do you think you're running off to? You just can't abandon us so quickly like that."

"My mom is coming tomorrow and we have to pretend that we're not spies," said Mandy. "I don't mean to be a smart alec but Megatron did say we had to keep our other jobs as his spies as secrets. We have to make everything seem normal for our Mom."

"Just make sure you celebrate this holiday without me."

"We'd probably have more fun without you anyway so go on."

Megatron entered the throne room where they were congregated. Everyone fell silent and turned to his direction. The head 'Con looked straight back at his minions.

"Please, do carry on with whatever ruckus you were going on with," he said. Then he paused when he realized something. "Where is Blitzwing at?"

"He went to go get something called a 'Christmas tree', Lord Megatron," said Lugnut. "The Human femmes want to celebrate a holiday that is unique to their species which involves gaudy trees, singing and a fat merry prowler who breaks into Humans' dwellings through something called a chimney and leaves gifts for organic sparklings."

"Let me know when the festivity is over."

Promptly, Megatron turned around to retreat to the sanctity of his quarters. He planned on getting plenty of hours of undisturbed recharge this evening. The door slammed shut behind him with a firm click. Secretly, Starscream was pleased that he was gone: that meant he was in control now.

"Perhaps I will stick around to see this merriment unfold," he said. "It'll be very humorous to see. Do continue, my organic friends."

Cynthia glanced over to the corner of the room where Professor Sumdac was isolated. He was sitting in a slouched manner on the cot. His head was hung low and clearly he looked depressed. Her own attitude fell a little bit when she saw his woe. It didn't take her long to remind herself that he was separated from his daughter, Sari. Christmas was practically here and he was stuck with a bunch of belligerent robots: she could imagine that it would suck for him.

"Why don't we bring Sumdac out?" she asked.

"The Professor will stay within his quarters," Lugnut proclaimed.

"It's Christmas though!" Amanda debated. "Can't you give him a break? And it can't be healthy to keep a living, breathing, feeling organism inside such an enclosed space for so long. I've never seen the guy out of his cell!"

"He can enjoy your pathetic holiday in there."

"It's not like the guy's going to run away," said Lockdown. "Why not let him out? We won't let him escape."

"No, don't worry about me," Sumdac spoke up. "Really, I'm alright here."

"Are you sure you don't want to come out?" Cynthia felt pity for him. After all, he did save her. "Come on, is it honestly more fun in there than it will be out here?"

"Thank you for your generosity and concern, girls. But I prefer to be left alone right now. I hope you can understand that."

"Well… If that's what you really want, I guess I won't try to convince you any further. I understand." She smiled. "Merry Christmas, Professor."

Isaac grinned back at her weakly. It was obvious this was a strained and forced gesture. The grin melted away and he laid down on his cot.

"I have returned!"

Blitzwing ran into the throne room, carrying a fully decorated Christmas tree on his shoulder. Cynthia and Amanda's eyes widened when they recognized it as the tree that was set up in downtown Detroit that they saw a week earlier.

"You stole the Christmas tree?" Cynthia said in an aghast tone. "Couldn't you find another one in the woods around here?"

"Zhis vas zhe best one I could find," said Hothead. "I vasn't going to look for a tree all night long so I zhought zhis vas zhe best one. Plus, it's already decorated!"

"I'm sure the Autobots were trying to kill you over a ridiculous tree too," Starscream laughed. "They'll protect anything no matter how insignificant it is."

"No, just a lot of Humans ran around screaming. I grabbed it and came back. It's not zhat hard at all, Starscream."

"Very funny, Blitzwing…"

"Alzhough I'm sure zhou vould've found some vay to ruin such a simple task so recklessly," Icy smiled softly.

"Knock it off," Mandy ordered. "This is Christmas! This is a happy holiday! It's all about peace, love, merriment and friendship!"

"That's disgusting," Lugnut rumbled.

"Okay, everyone who doesn't want to be here, get lost," said Lockdown. "The femmes want to celebrate their holiday and if you don't like it, leave." He focused his optics on Starscream and Lugnut. "Do I have to extend a personal invitation to you both?"

"I will not be bossed around by bounty hunting scum like you!" Lugnut pointed his servo at Lockdown.

"Neither will I," said Starscream. "Besides, I said I want to see just what this holiday is all about for myself."

"Alright, then shut up and stop complaining," the spike-studded bot rolled his optics.

(Twenty minutes later.)

"…not a creature was stirring: not even a mouse!"

"But vhy does Santa Claus come down zhe chimney?" Random Blitzwing interrupted Mandy for the seventh time. "If he's so fat, vhy go down zhe chimney? Zhat's avfully stupid!"

"Santa Claus isn't even real, Blitzwing."

"So he von't give gifts to all zhe good girls and boys and give coal to zhe bad children?"

"Their parents do. It's just a myth for children: that's all… Yes, I was crushed when I found out Santa wasn't real too."

"Vell, yes zhat's vhat I zhought," said Icy. "I don't comprehend how a supposedly magical man vith flying reindeer can deliver gifts all over zhe Earth in one night. Zhat's preposterous."

"And I vould destroy him if he tried to break into my home and leave gifts for me!" Hothead declared.

"Well, maybe he could deliver all those gifts if he had a capable and swift mode of transportation like a harrier jet," Starscream grinned.

"Reindeer are not capable of flight even if he was real and magical," said Lugnut. "Your holiday legend is quite foolish. Are your sparklings really that stupid?"

"Kids are kids," Amanda said with rising frustration. "I can't believe you're discussing the physics of Santa Claus."

"So what other Christmas traditions and whatnot do you girls do?" Lockdown wondered. "The kid's stories are getting a little annoying and boring." He paused and smiled wistfully at his love. "Sorry, Blondie."

"When Mandy and I were kids, we played in the snow a lot," Cyndi told. "Our Christmases were really simple and uneventful actually. All we did was hang out together as a family and enjoy everything."

"That's awfully boring," said Starscream.

"I'm sorry my life wasn't overtly extravagant and exciting. But that's the truth."

"Zhen vhy don't ve play in zhe snow?" Random suggested. "Ooh, ve can have a snowball fight and build a snowman! Cynthia vill be on my team!"

"I refuse to participate," Lugnut folded his arms across his chassis. "We Decepticons do not engage in such frivolous and wasteful games."

"This actually sounds interesting," said Starscream. "What do you exactly do in a snowball fight?"

"Uh, you grab a handful of snow, roll it up into a ball and chuck it at someone," said Amanda. "And you call me stupid…"

"Count me in," Lockdown included himself. He relished the chance of venting his anger out on the seeker without actually killing him. Snowballs would have to do perfectly for the time being. "It sure is so much better than hanging around in this boring base… Amanda's on my team. Looks like you're on your own, Starscream. That is, if your pal Lugnut wants to help you out."

"Goodbye, I'm going to recharge early this evening," said Lugnut.

"I don't need him or anyone else to defeat you, Blitzwing and your Human friends!" Starscream boasted. "It's snow for Primus' sake! I, Starscream, will accept your challenge and utterly crush you!"

(Five minutes later.)

"Mercy!"

Random howled in laughter as he threw a gigantic snowball at Starscream. The air commander crumpled under the weight of the snowball and crashed to the ground, pinned beneath a mound of the white frozen water. Lockdown kicked a tree that stood above the fallen seeker and a blanket of snow spread over him, covering his body completely.

"Aczually, I found zhat to be quiet liberating and amusing," said Icy.

"Absolutely," Lockdown agreed, walking over to Blitzwing's side. "It helps you get that pent up fury out."

"He ain't so tough now," Amanda smirked.

"Okay, you caught me off guard," Starscream's voice came out as muffled from beneath the snow. He stood up onto his stabilizing shoulders and brushed the snow off of his shoulders. "Obviously, this requires a little more carefulness and skill for this particular art."

"You just suck that's all."

"It seems as if you've warmed up to your position within our ranks quickly, Amanda. You're abusing your comfort quite well to be so offensive towards me all the time. Why can't you be quiet and respectable like your sister?"

His four companions all gave him an odd and defensive look. Blitzwing was especially suspicious and wary of his words. Being the protective bot that he was, the triple changer practically held Cynthia against his chest to keep her out of Starscream's grip.

"I think I've had enough for one evening," he said, turning his back on the tiny group. "Have fun frolicking in the snow. I'm sure you can enjoy this holiday without me."

Walking away from them, Starscream went back to the base.

"With pleasure," Lockdown mumbled.

"I zhink I zhould've put a boulder into zhe snowball," said Hothead. "Zhat vould've made zhings more interesting!"

"Hey, Cyndi, are you okay?" Amanda noticed her sister seemed quiet and more mellow than usual for most of the evening.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry," Cynthia shot an assuring smile. "I guess all this coldness is just making me sleepy and lazy. I might be coming down with something. Tis' the season, I guess. It's nothing though."

"My Cynthia is sick?" Random gasped. "Oh, no! Zhat von't do!"

"I'm fine! You're so paranoid with me. If I was sick, you'd know it."

"Okay zhen… Vhy don't ve have anozher snowball fight? How about me and Lockdown versus zhou and zhour sister?"

"Ha, ha, I'd love to see that," Amanda shook her head. "We'd be dead. That's not fair at all."

"Actually, I've got something planned," said Lockdown. "If you don't mind, Mandy and I are going to go off somewhere."

"Is it my Christmas present?" She squealed. "You're such a sweetheart, Locky! You shouldn't have!"

"It's nothing much really but you'll like it."

"You're abandoning us again," said Cynthia. "Oh, well. Go on and have fun. Blitzwing and I will pass the boredom by."

"Alright, I guess we'll see you later," said Mandy. "You better be home by the time Mom comes over."

"Look who's talking. Now go and enjoy your early Christmas present."

Lockdown transformed into his vehicle mode. His holoform manifested and took up space in the driver's seat, insisting that he should be the driver. Amanda got into the passenger's seat. Then they sped off into the evening, making their way to downtown Detroit.

"Zhat reminds me…" Icy said in an ashamed voice. "I have forgotten to get zhou somezhing, Cyndi."

"Really, it's okay," she said. "I mean, you don't even celebrate this holiday so it's no big deal."

"But I have zhe perfect idea!" Random smiled. "Zhou vill love it! It's a surprise and zhou can't look!" He removed her from her seat on his shoulder and placed her on the ground. "Go take a short valk around zhe base and I vill come after zhou vhen I'm done, okay? No peeking!"

Without a word, Cynthia smiled and walked off into the snowy woods that surrounded the mine.

(Fifteen minutes later.)

Cynthia found herself to be not especially bothered by the frigid air and chill of the snow. As long as she kept on moving, her body was quite warm. Her temporary and fleeting moments of feeling a little under the weather disappeared and she felt especially happy and joyous. For her entire little hike, she wore a content and serene smile.

Currently, she didn't have a care in the world. Her conscious wasn't torturing her. She had finished her exams (she did manage to study sufficiently even though Starscream interrupted her first efforts) and she was waiting to start her final semester in a few weeks. Her life as a spy was still under close wraps as far as she could tell. She had her health and her family. Lastly, she was still in love with her special someone since the spring.

Life was good.

Cynthia brushed off some snow on a fallen log and sat down. Flurries began to fall. The wind scattered them and a few stray flakes clung to her jacket. The brisk wind brushed up against her face but she didn't care. All she could was sit happily and silently. Her eyes shut and she decided to sit on the log until Blitzwing would retrieve her.

About two minutes passed and she suddenly opened her eyes. Her ears picked up on a peculiar noise. It sounded like something was scuttling through the snow, crunching it. As soon as Cyndi's eyes opened, she saw something that made her wonder if she was high or not.

There was this giant purple and black spider about a few yards away from her. Its ruby eyes gazed at her with this look that Cynthia could not decipher. Its legs almost seemed to be shivering as it stood before her in the snow. She wanted to break the stare with this monstrous arachnid but she couldn't. At the back of her mind, she was sure that if she tried to scream or run away, it would wrap her up in silk and drain her fluids.

"Holy shit," she breathed.

Cynthia practically fell out of her seat and slowly crawled away from the creature. Her eyes were still glued to the spider thing. It inched closer to her with every foot Cynthia advanced away from it. When it started to approach her, Cyndi got up onto her feet and ran for her life.

"Blitzwing!" she screamed. "There's a giant spider chasing me! Save me!"

"Wait a minute there, organic!"

The young woman stopped dead in her tracks. She heard a fellow female's voice. It sounded Cybertronian too. Cynthia turned around, seeing that the spider was still there. She shook her head in disbelief.

"Did you just talk?" she gasped.

Before her eyes, the spider transformed into a femme. Cynthia spotted a tiny Decepticon emblem located near the base of her neck. Blackarachnia walked over to Cyndi and knelt down to her.

"Who are you and how do you know Blitzwing?" she interrogated.

"Um, I work for Megatron." Cyndi preferred not to say she was in love with Blitzwing. "I work as a spy for him…"

"You work for the Decepticons?"

"Yes."

She noticed the techno organic was rubbing her arms and holding herself. Cynthia was perplexed when she saw a robot who could feel the effects of the cold. Neither did she ever meet one who could transform into a spider.

"I find that hard to believe," said Blackarachnia, "but I'm willing to buy that for the time being. There is a base around here, right?"

"Yes, it's in the mine."

"My organic side doesn't handle this planet's snow too well and I need some shelter. I plan on moving on after I warm up a little."

"Blackarachnia?"

Blitzwing halted in his tracks when he saw her. The two looked at each other, not expecting to see the other at all. The last time they had seen one another was fifty years earlier aboard The Nemesis.

"Blitzwing," she acknowledged in an annoyed voice, "it's been awhile."

"Let me guess," said Icy. "Zhour organic side can't take zhe snow?"

She grimaced at him. Cynthia took a few steps closer to Blitzwing's side.

"Yeah, you got it just about right," she said. She visibly shivered. "I figured I could reside in the base for now until things got a little warmer. It can't hurt me but it causes me a lot of discomfort."

"Megatron vill be most surprised to see zhou. Starscream recently rejoined us a few veeks ago."

"Ugh. I'll take my chances."

Blackarachnia walked off into the direction of the base to find solace and warmth. Blitzwing and Cynthia watched her until she disappeared over a hill.

"I guess you're acquainted with her?" Cyndi asked.

"Yes," said Blitzwing. "She vas zhe one zhat made me a triple changer in zhe first place."

"And she happens to be zhe most manipulative, unpleasant, vhiny and disgusting creature zhat ever lived," Hothead said angrily. "Zhou vouldn't believe how many times I vanted to offline her."

"Well, I just met her and I have no clue what she's really like but for now I'll believe you," she said. "Thanks for coming. I thought I was going to be turned into a dried out husk."

"I vould come rescue zhou vith some bug spray," Random laughed. "I just got finished vith my gift for zhou! Come see it!"

(Amanda and Lockdown)

"Thank you for treating me here for a lovely dance…"

"Not a problem, Blondie."

Even though he was in his holoform, Lockdown was capable of making his disguise more solid or thin on will. He was holding her hands as they were on the dance floor of the 'Steel Star'. Surprisingly, the club was dead and they were amongst the few people there. The music playing was a slow tune but romantic and lovely sounding.

"A stranger's light comes on slowly. A stranger's heart without a home. You put your hands into your head and then its smile covers your heart… Fade into you… Strange you never knew. Fade into you…"

Amanda rested her head against his chest, wanting him to hold her even closer as they still danced. Lockdown still wasn't used to this. He never was the cuddly or loving type for that matter. Sometimes when she embraced or kissed him, he didn't know how to react. He didn't know whether he should return her affections or not.

After hesitating for a few moments, he lifted up his arms around her and embraced her. Mandy half expected to pass right through him because he was using his holoform but she was delightfully surprised to see this wasn't the case.

"I have to repay you," she said. "I did get you a gift for Christmas."

"No, don't bother," he said softly. "I honestly don't want anything from you, hon."

"You don't want a Slayer CD?"

"That was thoughtful of you but really, it's no big deal. It's all about you. I've been living my whole life without this holiday for so long. I don't mean to sound too corny or fluffy but it's nice to spend it with you."

"Who'd think that beneath that mean and tough exterior you're such a sweetheart?"

"Don't tell anyone else."

"My sister and Blitzwing know."

"Besides them I mean."

She chuckled.

"Oh, alright," Mandy kissed him. "Thanks again, Hunter. I love you."

This time, it wasn't so hard to figure out what to say. He grinned.

"I know," he kissed her lips.

(Cynthia and Blitzwing)

Cyndi couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her jaw was dropped and her eyes were wide with awe and admiration. She wanted to comment on its impeccable beauty and perfection but she could find no words. She placed her hands over her mouth and a muffled laugh came out.

"Oh my God," she finally spoke, "that thing is more beautiful than I am!" Her fingers ran across the smooth and perfectly crafted ice sculpture. It was none other than herself. "I… I can't even describe how stunning it is! You really exaggerated my beauty."

"Zhou really zhink so?" said Icy. "I zhink I captured zhou perfectly."

"I look like some kind of Grecian goddess in this! My waist is not that thin…" She found herself blushing. "But I love the dress you put me in."

"Zhou don't zhink zhou're beautiful?" Hothead wondered. "Did someone tell zhou zhat zhou're ugly? Ves did it, I'm sure!"

"I don't think I'm supermodel material, that's for sure. I mean… Do you really see me that way?"

"I zhink zhou're beautiful zhe vay zhou are!" Random gushed. "Besides, I like my femmes vith a sassy chassis!"

Her face felt so hot. Blitzwing noticed her blushes and was pleased to see this. He kissed her cheek.

"Obviously, zhou do like it," said Icy. "I'm pleased."

"If Michelangelo was alive, he'd be so envious of you!" Cynthia praised. "I never knew you were an artist."

"I made a sculpture of Megatron not too long ago to honor him vhen I zhought he vas off lined," Hothead recalled. "I put a lot of effort into it and of course zhat idiot Lugnut had to destroy it!"

"That blows… But I'm going to make this last forever! It is going to melt when it gets warmer and I need to preserve this." She took out her cellphone and took a picture of it. Satisfied with how it turned out on the screen, Cyndi put it back into her pocket. "Now, I need to repay you. I have some stuff for you at the apartment…"

"No, I don't zhink so."

"Why not?"

"Because I have zhou!" said Random. "Zhat's zhe best Christmas present ever! Seeing zhou so happy is vonderful enough too… But if zhou insist on giving me somezhing: tell me zhat zhou love me!"

"I love you. Also, thank you for such a lovely Christmas."

"Zhat's better. I vill miss zhou vhile zhour mozher vill be at zhour home… I vant to see zhou as soon as she leaves!"

"Don't worry, I'll see you soon. Mom won't be hanging around for too long because I have distant relatives she needs to visit back at home. I'll see you in a week. I promise."