The Diego Diaries: WAR! (dd6 320)
-0-House
"ADA! I DOING! HIM NOT DOING ME! I, ORION, DOING!"
"Ada, Orion won't clean up his room."
"Clean up your room, Orion. Hero? Can you be good enough to HELP HIS SORRY AFT!?"
Both of them looked up at Ratchet, Hero with a giant smile and Orion with a giant fake smile. They ran like the wind for his room. Ratchet walked back to the table to sit where Halo was perched, wobbling as she sat up by herself. Ironhide was watching her as he joined the table. "What a cutie. See this? All this is yours, you poor little slagger," Ratchet said as he kissed her helm.
She smiled, then flapped her arms. "ADA!"
Ratchet smirked at Ironhide who frowned slightly. "Halo love Ada, slagger."
"LOVE ADA!"
It would take a moment to screw optics back into heads as the parental units took a moment to reboot.
-0-A moment later
"Atar love Halo."
"APPA love Halo." Frowny face glowers at son. Son glowers back.
Alor smirked at Blackjack and Ironhide, then grinned at Halo who was basting herself in all the attention. "Amma love Halo best."
She smiled at Alor, then her binky fell out of her little mouth. She stared at it in her lap, then looked at Alor. "AMMA! AI!?"
Huge internal combustion happens in those not saluted thus far as Alor does the Happy Dance.
-0-Meanwhile, down at the Game Board
It had been placed under surveillance for a few decaorns when the game club had been working on it. It still was watched to disallow Wheeljack who had been suspended from the design committee of the Autobot City Gamers Association from emptying all his unresolved childhood issues onto the game board. It had burned until someone showed everyone at the meeting the highlight reel of Wheeljack's shenanigans. Perceptor who smirked at 'Jack as he fumed was delighted. This game was going to last longer than the others. Maybe his own little bot with all its secret embellishments unknown even to Wheeljack would make it to the end.
Who knew?
The game board had more features, many of them water, and was designed to specs for groups that asked for and claimed various types of forts. This would have more mesas, an underground fort and extra cities. It would have mazes, a large frame fort and other features to be named later. The crew had been working all night long to add the final touches including the Temple and triage center which was going to be considered holy ground and therefore, off limits. If you could make it there, you were safe.
There can be Only One.
The field was over a mile and a half long with 2 big lakes and an 'ocean'. Beachcomber had asked for and been granted a fort in the middle of the sea and an array of boats, human and Cybertronian that could be used to get to it. There would be two docks and a submarine base to access his heavily fortified stronghold.
Heh-heh-heh …
The Dinobots asked for and received the underground fort.
The humans had the farthest fort away, past the ocean and near the razor wire.
Yes. Razor wire.
Metroplex had a city as did Hammer of Primus and Consolation who was coming to watch. Hammer was sweet on Consolation so he intended to surprise him by having one of the cities doomed to be destroyed to the sub basements named after him. Nothing says love like burning to the ground.
The romantic.
There were rocky crags, a mountain range and a deep crevice that would be for an interlude. Some of the little kids both human and Cybertronian had gotten little models of themselves made and were working on gaming as members of the Autobot City Junior Gamers Society and thus, there was a treasure hunt for them in that area. It would be held during the interlude in the middle where the dusty remains of Those Who Lose would be swept off the game board unless their demise was so funny that they would be left where they fell, burned, exploded, or were walking in circles quacking for shits and giggles.
There as a tower installation inside of razor wire that would part of the adult treasure hunt. The committee liked the idea so well, they made a treasure hunt for the slaggers that would be going on during the game. There were five discs hidden and the first one would be in the Tower of Death inside the Razor Wire of Doom.
An aspiring writer was on the treasure hunt committee.
Sub adults.
There was a tremendous, fast moving, rock and rapid filled river connecting all of the lakes and ocean. There was a bridge where one could cross that was wide and solid. It also had an ogre living under it. (A member had a tiny mech who loved (the three) billy goats (gruff). The river was designed to cut through a number of features such as Yellow Fort, Metroplex, the Large Frame Fort, and the Triage Center.
No one has told Ratchet yet.
The river was even faster than before and given its size and malevolent bad-assed-ness would be considered another playah.
There were mesas everywhere as per the Whining of Starscream.
"Winning. Winning, slaggers," he had said to the committee while Rainmaker laughed his aft off next to him.
Another maze bordered the Ocean which the same tiny child being babysat by his atar while his ada was at his book club, who liked Billy Goats, sweetly named 'Pretty Ocean'. Just west of Pretty Ocean was 'Blue Lake' and west of that, courtesy of the same little mech was the scarily swirling clusterf**k called 'Swirly Hole'.
Given that the baby went home with several cookies for his cleverness, Atar would find himself babysitting more often when the baby told Ada how much fun he had. Atar wouldn't really mind except when there was a card game at the club he couldn't attend.
That one.
Here is basically what it all means:
Large Frame Fort Tall Fraggers aka CAMP FRAG YOU, XANTIUM! I HOPE YOU DROWN!
Temple and Triage Holy Ground: 'Go there to die' with a tiny mausoleum in the back. Actual funeral piers optional. If you aren't already burned to a crisp, that is.
City of Hammer of Primus and City of Consolation nearly next to each other.
Ah, love, sweet love.
Mesas: Mesa Where Starscream Bites It Epicly and Mesa of the Dinobots or as they like to call it, Victory Plaza.
The Crags: Snow capped mountains above the fruited plains (Google America, the song)
The Underground: An installation built to specs for the Dinobots who swore the committee to secrecy.
(Insert horror here.)
Bridge over the River Styx (and not the band) where the Ogre lives.
Two mazes: one by Pretty Ocean and one by Lake Swirly Hole.
Two, count them, two mini-con towns because mini-cons: Village AWESOME led by reigning champion and soon-to-be-reduced to a pile of bubbling plastic, CLIFFJUMPER! The other which was called More Slagging Mini-cons City behind their backs would be led by the more respectable and normal Leader-1.
Razor Wire Maze, because.
The Tower of Death: Three giant towers inside four concentric circles of blazingly sharp razor wire.
Of course.
A big long snow capped mountain range near the sidelines which hid the N.E.S.T. and All Other Human (sacrifices) Fort. That one. It was Fort Earth or as the big frames called it Camp Sitting Ducks.
"BWAHAHAHAA!" all of them but the metro/dread kids who were much more polite
Quack. (That would be its final designation. Camp Quack.)
Last but not least, there was a canyon filled with twists and turns, boulders and the such which was part of the children's treasure hunt but could also be a great hide out to the end because once you went into it no one could see you again until you clambered out.
If you could.
There were forts all over the board designed and constructed for the returning teams who apparently didn't get enough slagging the last two times. As it was, most of them were tall, made of stone, bristled with guns and one, Yellow Fort, had a river running through it. Green Fort even had a moat for some reason. Only time and full disclosure would tell.
Thus, given a few hidden features that had nothing to do with Wheeljack and his major psychoses, the game was set to play.
Oh. There was also an oil pit. (Flames optional)
-0-All around the watch tower …
They began to gather, some to dine together and others to pack up their little fraggers and head toward the game board. IntraCom was already doing the pregame show as the players began to arrive to check in with Vinn as game director, main referee and judge, Joon who would keep the (death) statistics and the rest of The Squad who were going to be watching around the edges of the board for anyone and anything that needed Vinn's attention. They had little yellow flags and would wave them. Edict, Anders, Madura, and Laslo were gathered together chatting excitedly as they waited to be deployed.
Standing together chatting as well, Lucien, Burris, Proteus, and Hobbes were ready to watch. Proteus held his son in his carrier as they laughed together. Ratchet would have been pleased to see Lucien. This was the first time that he had actually looked somewhat at ease since Primus slapped him to the outback of the beyond. An ecstatic Partition with Lancer, Morius, Inweld, Lon, Bezel, Bron-E and Borealis as well as Cargo and a pensive Keystock were with them, waiting together for the show to start. They were going to be allowed into the 'league' next game.
Of course there was.
There would be teams in different age group divisions who would duke it out, then in the end meet up with the 'A Team' in the 'finals'. Given this had started with those coming today, they were 'grandfathered' in and would be the team all the others would face for supremacy.
Crowds came to stake out their places as humans arrived as well. There was a platform built in the middle area of the sidelines that allowed viewing of the entire board. Climbing a set of stairs, the humans would be able to stand together and watch the show behind a clear shield of the type that was used to make view ports on battleships. It was thin, light and strong enough to take anything the little bots could throw at them. When not in use, it would be stored at the Speedy Delivery warehouse between games with all the other stuff that was crucial to the action.
Safety first.
Humans came from Earth 1 who now had freedom of travel and fraternization, The Resort and Family Tower, Sciences who also could fraternize, N.E.S.T, the Hu-An, the Consulate who was still earning props, and a handful from Earth2 who were guests allowed by Prime. Anyone who could drag a leg and who was allowed to come did.
In all the annals of televised events, including the races and Cybertronian Football, nothing was more loved and anticipated than this. There were probably few monitors, televisions and telephones on Earth, among the Decepticons nearby, Cybertronians on Cybertron, and here on Mars that didn't have this playing. Human sports broadcasters were here as guests, all of them standing on the surprisingly spacious platform to watch. The anticipation was incredible.
Jazz and Blaster were doing the pregame but would hand it off when they had to begin play. It was hilarious and dominated channels throughout the MCA and her partner broadcasters.
"So, the reigning champion is Cliffjumper who with Buzzie is expecting a sparkling any orn now. They will be here. Cliffie is commandant and el supremo of the mini-con village he calls CAMP AWESOME which is over there," he said pointing to the far end at the right. "He's between the Oil Pit and Metroplex. Yellow Fort is also going to be an issue along with that slagging river. What's it running? Forty miles an hour? Frag."
"I think so," Blaster said as he scanned it. The light of his optics could be seen as he did, then it went off. "Forty-five miles per hour to be exact. The last time we saw a river, Bluestreak and dinobots met a grisly end there. It was hilarious."
"It was," Jazz said. "Here come the Dinobots."
The entire attention of the crowd turned to the boy band of the Autobots. Grimlock came holding a folding screen, a bag of something and was followed by his team carrying another bag and their own enhanced miniatures.
Frag, were they ever enhanced.
They walked to the underground installation, surrounded it by the screen, then emptied one bag into it. They then walked to the side, put their gear down and huddled. They were monsters in size and malice and even though most were used to them, it was still frightening how big and malevolent they looked at times. Even though Grimlock, Swoop and Sludge came often to the Diner At The Corner for pancakes and eggs, they were still huge and mind blowing.
It was then that the Seekers began to arrive.
-0-TBC 4-7-18 edited 4-13-18
To be grandfathered into something is to be allowed to stay or continue no matter what changed otherwise.